DAY 1                DAY 2               DAY 3

THE REMNANT OF ISRAEL, PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE!

Part 1

Part 2

[1] And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: [2] And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. [3] And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. Revelation 12:1-3.

We fully exposited on verses one and two in Birth Pang Update Number 36 last week, and proved that the “woman” represents Israel, and that an Israelite woman, the virgin Mary, was chosen by God to bear the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

In verse three we find the great adversary of the woman and her man child.  Their adversary is the great red dragon, the fallen archangel Lucifer, whom the world knows today as Satan.  He is portrayed as being made red with the blood of the prophets and other saints he has caused to be slain.  His seven heads represent the kings of the six great world governments that have persecuted Israel in the past, and one that will persecute her in the future.  The persecution began with the Egyptian Pharaoh of the Exodus, and will end with her persecution in the Negev Wilderness by the antichrist.  The six kings that persecuted her in the past represented the following nations in chronological order: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Italy.  The last world government will be the seventh, and its king will be the antichrist of Satan.  The seven crowns represent the authority given to the kings of these nations by Satan.

[10] And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. Revelation 17:10.

The seven kings are the seven governmental heads on the red dragon.  All seven wear crowns given to them by Satan because he personally brought them to power during their lifetimes.  The first six kings came from the six great world empires of the past beginning with the Pharaohs of the Egyptian bondage, and ending with the empire that was still in existence in John’s day, the great Roman Empire.  In John’s day all the learning and expertise of the previous five great empires had been passed on to the sixth empire of iron – the Roman Empire.  The last of these empires, the Antichrist’s, will have incorporated all the accumulated knowledge of the ages from Satan’s previous secular empires.  In the Bible, governments are frequently referred to as “mountains.”  This final government of the antichrist will be the seventh “mountain,” and it will have the political support of the great apostate system of religion known as the “whore of Babylon.”  She will verbally support the 10 Arab nations in their Jihad against Israel, but she will ride to her destruction on their back.  And, after she rides high because of the antichrist’s early successes, the 10 Arab nations, who have always hated her, will turn on her and burn the thousands of her churches scattered across their domains.

[3] So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. [4] And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: [5] And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. [6] And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. [16] And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. [17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. [18] And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Revelation 17:3-6 & 16-18.

[4] And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. Revelation 12:4

Continuing with the exposition of the twelfth chapter of the book of Revelation, we find that a bit of Satan’s past history is revealed.  We are informed that when Satan fell by sin about one-third of the angels (stars) chose to follow his leadership.  By the pulling power of his tail, much like some officials ride into public office on the political coattails of a stronger candidate, one-third of the angels exercised their free will and chose to follow Satan, rather than God.  They are forever sealed in their free will choice, just as my soul is sealed in its free will choice to trust in Jesus until my body is redeemed at the rapture.

[30] And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

The prophet Isaiah graphically portrays the ancient fall of the beautiful angel Lucifer.

[12] How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! Isaiah 14:12

[5] And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. Revelation 12:5

The woman Israel is symbolized as the earthly wife of God.  So here is the picture presented in verse five – Satan’s greatest fear is realized – the symbolized wife of God gives birth to God’s Son through a direct descendant of Israel, the virgin Mary, who has all the correct genealogical credentials from Seth to Heli via Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and Zerubbabel.  Beginning with Herod, Satan attempted to destroy the Son both spiritually and physically.  Finally, he thought he had destroyed him physically on the cross, but God completely turned the tables on Satan, and openly revealed the great mystery of all the ages to all the world – the great mystery of Christ crucified for all the sins of all who would believe he alone was the total price for completed salvation, and that he alone, with no additional requirements from the recipients, was the provider by His one time sacrifice for all sins.

[18] For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. [18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. [2] For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. [5] That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. I Corinthians 1:17-18 & 2:2-5

God shocked Satan!  He took Israel’s sinless “man child” of verse five, and “her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.”  God resurrected His child, Jesus Christ, and He is in heaven today as the eternal Son of God.  He was “caught up unto God, and to his throne” more than 2000 years ago in prophetic years of 360 days, and He is still there.  Very soon, the woman of chapter twelve is going to have to flee for her life during the Great Tribulation Period.  I believe this fleeing will occur within the next eight years, and if God had not provided a place of safety for her in the Negev wilderness, she would be utterly destroyed.  We will continue this exposition in Birth Pang Update 39 next week with Revelation 12:6, Lord willing.

[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Revelation 12:6

The Remnant of Israel, Past, Present and Future!

Part 4

[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Revelation 12:6.

The woman is Israel and the wilderness is the Negev of Israel.  I will not spend any time elaborating on this verse.  Prophecy Updates 5 through 11, found in our Prophecy Archives, contain more information on this verse than you could ever use in expositing on it.

[7] And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, [8] And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. Revelation 12:7-8.

Revelation 12:4 indicated that when Lucifer left Heaven he took about one-third of the angelic host with him.  However, the book of Job clearly indicates that Satan still has access to God’s presence in heaven at God’s invitation.

[6] Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. [7] And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Job 1:6-7.

While it is true that Satan’s appearances, in the Heaven where God the Father dwells, are rather rare, it is evident that he has never been completely cut off from access to Him.   And here, in Revelation 12:7, we are advised that a great spiritual battle will occur in Heaven between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels.  In verse eight we are advised that Satan’s spiritual army loses.  Furthermore, verse eight also tells us that Satan and his hoard will never again be allowed in the Heaven where God dwells.  This great spiritual battle is still future, but will be occurring after Israel flees into the Negev wilderness.  It will end with Satan being cast permanently out of heaven.

[9] And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9

This confining of Satan to the earth will mark the point in time that Satan enters the body of the man of sin (anti-Christ), and thereafter dwells on the earth as Satan incarnate for the rest of the Tribulation Period.

[10] And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Revelation 12:10

At this point in time the rapture of the saved will be drawing near, and Revelation 12:11 informs us as to how those who are to be taken will be selected by God.

[11] And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Revelation 12:11

Those taken at the rapture did not overcome the Devil by baptism, by works, tradition, or any other humanistic endeavor.  They “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.”  It is our faith that His sacrifice of His body, and of His blood, for our sins was more than enough to save us from what we are by birth and by our inherited nature, sinners separated from God, who must have a savior.   We are born-again by belief in His Word that the Overcomer, Jesus Christ, will make his abode in us to live His life in us.

[4] For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. [5] Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? [7]  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. [23] Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. [20] I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. [21] I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. I John 5:4-5 & John 3:7 & I Peter 1:23 & Galatians 2:20-21.

If you have been born again of God, you have overcome the world by His shed blood sacrifice for your sinful state.  Faith allows you to have obtained the victory over the world by His power.  It is your belief in the sacrificial offering of the sinless Son of man, Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, as the all-sufficient price for your complete salvation, that causes you to be identified as an “overcomer.”

[18] Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; [19] But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: [5] And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, [14] For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. I Peter 1:18-19 & Revelation 1:5 & Hebrews 10:14.

The Remnant of Israel, Past, Present, and Future!

Part 5

[14] And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. Revelation 12:14.

[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Revelation 12:6.

The woman is Israel.  The place that God has prepared for her is the Negev wilderness.  A time is one 360 day year, times are two 360 day years, and half a time is 180 days, which totals 1260 days or 3 and ½ prophetic years.  Both these scriptures describe the time period of 42 prophetic months (30 days per month) before the end of the Tribulation Period.

[15] And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. [16] And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Revelation 12:15-16.

Lord willing, I will continue to exposit on these verses in Birth Pang Number 42.

The beginnings of a pattern of military unity between Syria, Iran, and Iraq are now emerging in the Mid-East. Iraq recently conducted large-scale military maneuvers on the Syrian border, reportedly by prior agreement with the new President, Bashar Assad. Bashar then made a trip to Iran to hold talks with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. The talks were described as “a strategic dialogue.” Eventually there will be some form of peace between the Palestinians and Israel. It may be a “forced” peace, but the end result will be an enclosed Palestinian State within the borders of Israel. This will create an impossible situation for Israel. There is no worse military position than to have an enemy within while being attacked from without. I believe it is quite likely that, by the time the year 2003 rolls around, there will have been numerous meetings behind closed doors between the leaders of Iran, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Libya, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. I believe that these meetings will eventually result in a consolidated plan to lure Israel into a sense of false security. After which a vicious surprise attack will be launched against Israel from the borders of Syria and Lebanon. It will be the best co-ordinated attack ever launched against Israel and, with the Palestinians operating from within, it will force Israel into the Negev. I suspect this attack may occur at some point in time between 2003 and 2005. I will be reporting events that I consider to be tied either directly or indirectly to biblical prophecies as they occur. There are some interesting things happening in two cities in the extreme western Palestinian territory on the bluffs to the east of the western coastline of Israel. More about this later.

Every nation has a war contingency plan. And, the smaller the country, the more imperative the requirement for a detailed war contingency evacuation plan. Israel began to formulate, plan, and build her evacuation area in the early fifties. She chose the only reasonable zone, the Negev wilderness. The Negev comprises more than one-third of the total land area of Israel, beginning just north of Beersheva, and extending all the way southward to the Gulf of Aqaba. Why was the Negev the only reasonable area? From the historical prospective, the majority of Israel’s major conquerors have come down from the north. Even Nebuchadnezzar, whose great empire began to the east of Israel in Babylonia, first went northwest through southern Syria to eventually attack Israel from the north. Once Israel had signed a peace treaty with Egypt, and then with Jordan, it became evident to her political and military leaders, that they had been correct in selecting the Negev. At present, it appears very unlikely that an attack will be made against Israel from any zone other than the Syria-Lebanon area. Some minister, no one knows who, during the early part of the last century, visited Petra in Jordan, and formed an erroneous opinion, which has become very popular among many teachers of prophecy. Whoever he was, his military training was sadly lacking, for he looked Petra over, and decided it would make a great defensive position for Israel to occupy, that is, if she ever had to flee her homeland. As a graduate of a military academy, and a retiree from the USAF-NSA, I can assure you, Petra is the worst possible place to evacuate the survivors of a successful Arab attack against Israel. I doubt if the one who first advanced this idea actually walked all the way through Petra’s narrow northern entrance and then continued to walk out on the vast open plain to the southwest. Petra may have been a great place to defend in biblical times with the weaponry of those days, but it would be impossible to defend today. But there are other compelling reasons why Israel would never flee to Petra. There are no natural water sources in that area, and water collection by its ingenious ancient inhabitants from desert thunderstorms was never able to support a population of more than 20,000. And food production in the soil horizons of this area could never support the evacuation of one-third of Israel’s population. It is also a certainty that the modern day occupants of Jordan would not offer to help Israel escape the Antichrist. But the belief that Israel will flee to Petra has become so popularized by many prominent ministers, it makes it very difficult to dissuade most followers of prophetic events. However, the fact that Israel has spent billions and billions of dollars turning the Negev into the most fortified zone on the earth, gives me the growing assurance that this is the place the woman Israel, who is described as going into the wilderness in the 12th Chapter of Revelation, will soon end up for the last three and one-half years of the tribulation period. In the next prophetic update, Lord willing, I will discuss the military developments that turned the Negev into the best prepared evacuation zone in the world.

Prophecy Update Number 5 ended by mentioning the area to which Israel will flee for safety during the later portion of the tribulation period. In Revelation 12:6 we find this flight described in graphic detail: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Prophetic years in scripture are based on a year of 360 days, hence this represents a period of three and one-half years. So Israel will be kept trapped in the Negev wilderness for the last 3 and ½ years of the tribulation period. Israel has spent billions and billions of dollars preparing the Negev for the possibility of such an evacuation of her population in the in the event of a sudden attack from the north. The Negev has been the central focus of her war contingency plan from the beginning. Her God put this thinking in the minds of her political and military leaders in the late forties, and active preparation of the area began in the early fifties. Today, the Negev is the most cleverly camouflaged zone on the surface of the earth, and unless sky satellites had watched it being prepared, one would not suspect that numerous military installations were implanted in it. Even knowing where certain defense mechanisms were originally placed, it is now extremely difficult to spot them, even driving by them at ground level. Thousands of tourists pass through the Negev and admire the beauty of her terrain from her roads, but her military capabilities are cleverly camouflaged on the surface, hidden beneath her, and concealed inside her mountains. Active preparation of the Negev began in the early fifties. After the Six Day War of June, 1967, Israel poured her finances and efforts into the creation of a hidden fortress in the Negev wilderness. The Yom Kippur War of 1973 was followed by Israel quadrupling her military forces by 1980, and the bulk of this increase was placed in the vast Sinai. The peace treaty between Israel and Egypt led to the evacuation of this increase in men and equipment from the Sinai into the much smaller Negev. This turned the already heavily fortified Negev into an impenetrable fortress. By 1983 the Sinai IDF and equipment had been withdrawn into the Negev. The IDF packed up about 80 thousand tons of military equipment, same 3800 military vehicles, and 3 airfields, and moved it into the Negev. The Negev is about 20 percent the size of the Sinai. By 1988 about 40 new military camps had been set up in the Negev. By 1990 the Negev had been topographically transformed, at a fantastic expense, into an area no enemy would dare to attempt to penetrate. When Syria, assisted by troops from Iraq and Iran, secretly and very slowly smuggled in across her southern and western borders, attacks Israel from the north, then Israel will get to use her Negev wilderness for about 3 and ½ years. These three nations, because of the sharing of satellite information received from the Russians about the Negev, know all about the military strength there and, because of this, will stop their southward push into Israel just north of Beersheva. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will be able to hold the Negev, and the woman Israel will stay there for the last 3 and ½ years of the tribulation period.

In Prophecy Update Number 6 we discussed the military buildup by Israel in her Negev wilderness. The Negev is the wilderness of Revelation 12:6, to which the woman, who is Israel, will flee in the tribulation period: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Within the foreseeable future, Syria will lead an Islamic array of nations against Israel. The well coordinated effort of these nations, aided by the Palestinians within Israel, will be able to initially defeat the woman Israel, and she will be forced to remain in the Negev for three and one-half prophetic years, or 1260 days. According to Zechariah 13:9 to 14:2, only one-third of Israel will make it into the Negev, and the city of Jerusalem will fall to the Islamic conglomerate: “[9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. [1] Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” Considering the present number of Jews in Israel, about 4.8 million, if the attack were to occur now, that would mean about 1.6 million Jews would be hedged in the Negev for 1260 days. If the attack were to occur in the distant future that number could reach 2 million. I really do not expect such an attack to occur this year, because it has to first be secretly coordinated behind closed doors, between several Arab nations confederate with Syria, and with the terrorist groups they control. This will take several years. I feel confident the attack will not occur before 2003, but I do believe it will occur before 2012, with the most likely time being between 2004 and 2005. But if 1.6 to 2 million Jews are to survive in the Negev, they must have enough water and food to sustain them for 3 and ½ prophetic years. Has God already been instrumental in assuring they will have it? More on this in Prophecy Update Number 8.

In our last update we revealed the fantastic amount of water God has stored deep under the Negev. It is in the Negev wilderness that between 1.6 and 1.9 million Jews will live during the last 3 and ½ years of the Tribulation Period. But what about food, could the Negev use this great surplus of water to produce enough food for this new population? The truth is this: Israel is well on the way to doing this today! Once Israel was able to tap into the billions of cubic feet of fossil waters under the Negev, she immediately began to put it to use in production of a variety of botanical products. It has caused the spread of hothouses, orchards, and fishponds from one end of the Negev to the other. The Negev now grows tomatoes, olives, and melons along with other types of vegetation. Pipelines from the fossil water sources, laid to fish farms, have generated some 15 fish farms in the Negev. Some farms have ponds up to 75 feet in length, which can contain up to 20,000 fish. The fish industry continues to grow and expand, as do all the Negev’s agricultural endeavors. Successful production of a crop of seedless, purple red grapes, will eventually lead to grape vines covering the barren Negev from Ramat Hanegev to Mitzpe Ramon. This botanical development can only accelerate, and within three years there will be enough foodstuffs produced to sustain an initial influx of up to 1.9 million Jews for a few months. The utilization of a part of this population explosion will dramatically increase food production by the end of their first year, and it will be sufficient to feed all the Negev residents for the rest of their stay. However, there will be a period of insufficient food, but this same God, who provided the water and technology for developing the Negev, will also cover this need by the “they” in verse 6 of Revelation, chapter 12: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that THEY should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” I was taught as a young man that the “they” were angels. I certainly do not preclude this possibility, because God has used angels in the past for such situations. However, I believe I can prove from scripture what seems more reasonable, and will cover this in our next prophecy update.

In our last prophecy update we discussed how the usage of a vast underground water supply in the Negev was producing a large variety of foodstuffs across its surface. However, when one-third of the population of Israel is pushed into the Negev by the Antichrist in the middle of the Tribulation Period, the initial food supply and production will only be sufficient for a few months initially, and it will take a year to bring it to adequate levels for such a rise in numbers. So, for a few months, additional food will be provided by the “they” found in verse 6 of the 12th chapter of Revelation: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that THEY should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” The answer, as to who the “they” represents, is to be found in the preceding verse 5, where the word “NATIONS” acts as the precedent to the word “THEY” in verse 6: “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all NATIONS with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” (Revelation 12:5). Remember, in the initial attack of the Antichrist from Syria, all the nations of the world are not involved. All the nations of the world do not become involved until some three years later at the final battle identified as Armageddon. So the “they” in verse 6 refers to nations from the free world. Such nations as the United States, England, Canada, and Australia, will airlift food, clothing, and shelters to Israel in the Negev during this critical period of shortages. The Antichrist, since he has previously overrun the fertile and industrial heartland of Israel, will seek to gain world approval of his actions by appearing, at this point, to be a merciful conqueror, and will not contest this airlifting of foodstuffs to the Negev. In fact, his aircraft will be under orders not to fire on any foreign aircraft for fear of getting involved in a war with the western powers. As I informed you in previous prophecy updates, the Antichrist will be well aware of the defenses in the Negev, and will have no desire to penetrate any further south than Beersheva. But at the end of the Tribulation Period, he will send out a call to the European mainland, all the nations once under the Soviet Union, Russia, and all the countries of Asia and Africa, and many will come to this final great battle: “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:16).

Before the sons of God were to appear in glorious manifestation on the millennial earth, there was to be a groaning of God’s creation. The earth was to travail like a woman experiencing birth pangs. We were advised of this by Paul in verses 19 and 22 of the eighth chapter of Romans, where he wrote: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God,” and “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and trvaileth in pain together until now.” The birth pangs were occasionally felt during the time of Paul’s writings, but Matthew indicated they would increase noticeably just before Christ’s coming for his saints in verses 7b and 8 of the twentieth-fourth chapter of his gospel, where he wrote: “And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers (many different) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows (odin).” The word “odin” is used for “sorrows” by Matthew, and the same root word for “odin” is used by Paul in Romans 8:22 to describe the “travail” of God’s creation. You may use any Greek lexicon of your choice, and you will find that the basic meaning of the word “odin” refers to the birth pangs experienced by a woman in the travail of delivering a child. Therefore, when the Lord said “All these,” in verse 8, he was referring specifically to the birth pangs that would be suffered, in a period of time just before his coming, because of famines, pestilence, and earthquakes. He indicated that all three of these phenomena would increase steadily like a woman’s birth pangs, ever increasing in this period labeled as “the beginning of sorrows.” Down through the centuries earthquakes, famine, and pestilence have been used repeatedly to teach that the coming of Jesus was at hand. However, they have never followed the “odin” pattern of a woman’s birth pangs during recorded history, that is, until now. In order for this prophecy of Christ to be fulfilled these phenomena had to behave like a woman’s birth pains. When true labor pangs begin, they become greater and greater in frequency and intensity with the passage of time. Earthquake surges have come and gone in short duration patterns since this prophecy was uttered, but now, for the first time since it was given, they are steadily following the pattern of “odin.” The same basic pattern is now being followed in famine, pestilence, and earthquakes, just as Jesus indicated. In this update we will show the “odin” pattern in earthquakes. In future updates we will cover pestilence (loimos) and famine, Lord willing. The statistics which will follow were first extracted from the Earthquake Data File Summary, U. S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Data Service, Boulder, Colorado, which was issued in May of 1976. I have received updates to the original report from the same source every year since 1977. While the intensity of the earthquakes is similar to the Richter scale, with which most people are familiar, they are not exactly the same, but rather than launch out into a technical discussion of the difference, let me simply state that, for comparative purposes, they are the same. They come from Table 2 – Summary of data file by year by magnitude and depth. As you read the numbers which follow in the narrative, remember they are referring to earthquakes reported across the earth greater than one in intensity on the Richter scale. Before Israel officially became a nation in May of 1948, there were never more than 6,000 earthquakes greater than one reported in any 19 year period. I chose a 19 year cycle, because that is the number of years which passed between the time that Israel became a nation (1948), and the time she finally took back Old Jerusalem and her Temple Mount (1967). During the 19 year period between 1948 and the beginning of 1968, 32,789 earthquakes were reported across the surface of the planet. In 1967 Israel recaptured the Old City of Jerusalem and her Temple Mount and, for the first time since she lost it to the Romans in A.D. 70, she regained sovereignty over it. During the 19 year period that followed, from 1968 to 1986, there were 125,011 earthquakes reported across the earth. In just 14 years, from 1986 to 2000, we had 247,347 earthquakes reported on this globe. I assure you that they will continue to accelerate, but if they were simply to continue at this static rate of 17,688 per year then, by the time that the 19 year cycle is completed in 2005, there will have been 335,687 reported across the earth. The average number reported per year since 1948 has increased, in 19 year cycles, from 1,726 to 6,579 to 17,688. I realize that a large part of the increase is due to better seismological equipment, a better reporting system, and an increase in the density of population, but it cannot be attributed to these factors alone. And, after all, Jesus simply said, for all practical purposes, that more and more would be reported in may different (differs) places just before he came again. And, in saying they would be in many different places, one would have to surmise he knew man would spread across the earth and that technology would rapidly increase in the last days. In any case, it demonstrates he is who he claimed to be, the Son of God, who knows the future. Did not the Spirit, in Daniel 12:4, indicate that man would spread across the earth, and technology would bring a literal knowledge and capability explosion: “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.” Could Jesus have known less?

Famine

Verse 8 of Ezekiel 37: “And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.”  This verse continues the building of flesh and blood bodies over the dry bones God has gathered together in the midst of the Gentile nations.  “The sinews and the flesh came upon them” – By 1930 approximately 160,000 Jews had come home – Israel did not yet have the appearance of a nation, but it was developing the internal nucleus. “And the skin covered them from above” – By 1948 a breathless physical nation had grown as a body with the British Protectorate.  The full body was there, but one thing was missing – “But there was no breath in them.”  They were not recognized as a genuine, living nation.  They were a group of people with no national breath.

Verse 9 renders God’s solution to the closing breath problem of verse 8: “Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”  This is not God breathing spiritual rebirth into the Jewish nation – that comes later in verse 14.  The four winds represent north, south, east, and west, and, as such, they portray the locations of all the nations of the world.  Most of the nations of the world (United Nations) on May 14, 1948 breathed upon the dead body of Israel, under the direction of God, and Israel became a recognized, physically reborn nation.

Verse 10 shows the results of verse 9: “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army” – Worldwide recognition (except for Arab nations) gives them physical life, and they stand on their own two feet.  The fact that they have defeated the Arab nations around them in 1948, 1967, and 1973 testifies they have been an exceeding great army.

Verse 11 describes the symbolism of verses 1 and 2: “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.”  The bones are clearly identified as the entire nation of Israel.  It paints a concise picture of a dead nation, without hope, scattered across the world in small parts, cut off from one another.  This is a perfect picture of the descendants of Israel (Jacob) from about A.D. 135 until the twentieth century.

Verse 12 continues to explain the symbolism of verses 7 through 10: “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  This outlines the gradual drawing of Jews from out of their places in the Gentile world to their natural homeland – the land of Israel.  This began over 100 years ago and is still continuing.

Lord willing, in Prophecy Update 25 we will present the final aspect of God’s work – The spiritual rebirth of the nation of Israel.

In previous Prophecy Updates, we used a prophecy in Ezekiel 37, written in about 592 B.C., in order to show its fulfillment from A.D. 70 to the present.  Chapter 37, verses 1 through 14, which we covered in Prophecy Updates 22 through 25, not only brought us up to the present, but also carried us into our future in verses 13 and 14.  We closed Prophecy Update 25 by stating:  “The closing statement of verse 14 leaves no doubt that, at this point in time, the entire remnant of the nation of Israel, having survived the time of ‘Jacob’s Trouble,’ will have been made aware of, and will know, that all the words spoken by the Lord, concerning His remnant, have been performed by His power alone.”  So verse 14 marks the end of 3 and ½ years of Great Tribulation and the start of the reign of Daniel’s Messiah the Prince, Jesus Christ.  Christ will rule and reign over the entire earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem.

Verses 15 through 28 of Ezekiel 37 discuss the reuniting of the two kingdoms that were caused by the split in the kingdom of Solomon after his death.  These were the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  They are pictured as two rejoined sticks in verse 17: “And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.”  This is reiterated in verse 22: “And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:”  Verses 24 and 25 clearly identify the Messiah sitting on the throne of David as Israel’s eternal king: “And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. [25] And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.”  Verses 27 and 28 leave little doubt this is Israel’s time of having her Messiah living in her midst: “My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [28] And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”

Ezekiel 38:1,2 – “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”  Gog (high extension) appears for the first time in Ezekiel.  He is the Anti-christ of whom so much has been written.  Please note that he is identified as the “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.”  Many commentators, especially in the last 100 years, have not identified him as the Antichrist, but have identified him as the ruler or chief prince of the land of Magog, which I do not believe Scripture justifies.  Before the 20th Century, most identified him as the Antichrist. In verse 2 Ezekiel is told to set his face against two separate things, a person and a place.  The person is Gog (Antichrist), and the place is the land of the descendants of Magog where it existed in Ezekiel’s day.  If we do not locate the territories of Magog, Meshech, and Tubal as they existed in Ezekiel’s day, then we can have no idea as to where the Antichrist will soon rear his head, or the area from which his attack will be launched.  Why?  Because more than 2500 years have slipped by since Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, and the bloodlines of all three men been distributed across the entire planet.  In order to correctly identify the area, from whence the Antichrist will attack Israel, we must identify where the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were residing in 500 and 600 B.C.  Why?  Because the Antichrist is not the chief prince of Magog, he is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.  He will come from the area where their descendants were settled in 500 and 600 B.C.

I will attempt to use two different sources to locate where the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were clustered at the time of Ezekiel’s writings.  The first is found in the 27th chapter of Ezekiel, and the second is from the Assyrian monument stones of that period. Ezekiel 27:3 – “And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.”  Tyrus (Tyre) was a seaport on the southern coast of what we know today as Lebanon, which is directly north of Israel.  Tyrus built its first great sea wall to protect its harbored ships more than 3000 years ago, and was a thriving seaport in Ezekiel’s day.  Its ships carried merchandise from the countries of the east across all the Mediterranean, and even as far north as the shores of the English Channel.  Zidon (Sidon) was also a sea port, and less than 20 miles separated the two cities.  The wise men of Tyrus were the navigators of the ships, and the men of Zidon were the deck hands, as portrayed in Ezekiel 27:8 – “The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.”  Now, bearing all this in mind, let us look at Ezekiel 27:13 – “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.”  Meshech and Tubal were warlike tribes, who often took their captives (persons of men) and the vessels of brass they had captured, or hammered out themselves, and carried them to the  NEAREST seaport for trading.  The captives were, of course, loaded on the ships and sold as slaves in foreign ports of trade.  Why the NEAREST seaport?  Because, in Ezekiel’s day, travel was by foot, donkey, camel, and horse.  People always carried their trading goods to the nearest port, particularly slaves.  Therefore, I conclude that Meshech and Tubal must have roamed in the area we know today as Syria, Lebanon, northwestern Iraq, and southern Turkey.  Meshech and Tubal are the Mushki and Tabali of the Assyrian stone monuments.  In the time of Sargon and Sennacherib (700 B.C.) the territory of Tubal adjoined southern Cilicia, while that of Meshech filled the highlands to the east of Tubal.  Considering the locations derived from the Bible and stone tablets, it appears that the Antichrist, as the chief prince of the area once occupied by Meshech and Tubal, is likely to arise, and eventually to attack Israel, from Syria or Lebanon.  And, since Lebanon is virtually controlled by Syria, it appears Syria is the best guess for his homeland.

Prophecy Updates 22 through 28 have involved a line-by-line exposition from Ezekiel 37:1 through 38:3.  I have established a case to show that the Antichrist is likely to arise in Syria, and will launch his initial attack again Israel from that position.  Although he will have the support of ten Arab nations, I believe the nations directly involved in the initial attack will be Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran from without, and the Palestinians from within.  I believe the other nations, which will then immediately become involved in the Jihad, are most likely Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan.  Now, let us continue from Ezekiel 38:4 – “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.”  This portrays a man overtaking a fleeing beast, putting hooks into its jaws, then turning and pulling it  along a path the man desires to lead it.  The Antichrist will have no choice in this matter.  God will create political and economic circumstances whereby he must come down at exactly the appointed time.  I protest the efforts of some commentators to take the weapons of Ezekiel’s day, and attempt to carry them into our day and time.  Suppose God had inspired Ezekiel to write 1020 tanks, 923 MIG JETS, 3283 katyusha launchers, 12000 katyusha rockets, 723 SAM shoulder held launchers with 4673 SAM’s, and 2073 flamethrowers.  The readers of Ezekiel’s day would have laughed him to scorn.  I am persuaded that God meant for our final generation to picture a great, mighty, army, fully armed to the teeth with all the known modern weapons of warfare.

Verse 5 names three of the peoples from which the Antichrist will draw his initial attacking horde: “Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:” Persia was basically the peoples east of the Euphrates, which today would be Iran and Iraq.  Libya corresponds with the location of modern day Libya.  And Ethiopia in Ezekiel’s day was made up mostly of what we call Sudan today.  Once again the point is made that they will be fully armed for all out war.  I do not believe this attack will occur prior to 2003, but I am of the OPINION it will occur before 2008, with the most likely time being 2004 to 2006.  Again, I emphasize, this is an OPINION based on the events in Israel since 1967, and it may be totally incorrect.  The Scriptures clearly teach it will occur, and my GUESS is that it will be before 2008.

Verse 6 continues to name the peoples of Ezekiel’s day from which he will draw his support, and by knowing where they lived at that time, we can at least attempt to identify those nations that occupy these areas today:  “Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.”  Quite frankly, I have searched, and researched, the writings of many historians, both ancient and modern, and, in the end, knowing that honesty is the best policy, I can only say that there is a wide diversity of opinion.  Up to this point, as regards the locations of Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Libya, and Ethiopia, I have presented a case from both the Scriptures and historical records, which I believe is substantial.  But in the case of Gomer, and the house of Togarmah, as to where they were settled in Ezekiel’s day, I can only give a rough approximation.  The house of Togarmah and the descendants of Gomer were sandwiched between the Magogites (Scythians) to the north, and Meshach, Tubal, and Persia to the south. They stretched from west to east across modern day Turkey into the area south of the Caucasus Mountains, and through extreme northern Iraq and Iran.

We concluded Prophecy Update Number 29 with an exposition of Ezekiel 38:6, which had been continuous from Ezekiel 37:1.  We will now continue our exposition, beginning with 38:7 — “Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.” This is a specific warning to Satan and his antichrist to get set, to be ready, and to be prepared to protect his armies as a guard or big brother.  This is the showdown between God and Satan at the end of the age of the Gentiles, and God is literally saying, “This is it!  You had better be ready.”

Ezekiel 38:8 – “After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.” The “after many days” have piled up to some twenty-six hundred years since Ezekiel wrote these words.  “Thou” refers to Gog, the anti-Christ.  “Be visited,” means to muster, or to be called to arms.  The rest of the verse identifies the general time, the place of the battle, and the people he will attack.  The time (latter years) represents the closing years of the age of the Gentiles.  The land is the restored nation of Israel that has been “brought back from the sword” (that has been restored from war).  “And is gathered out of many people” refers to the residents of the land that is “brought back from the sword,” which have been gathered out of many nations across the face of the earth.  “Against the mountains of Israel, which have always been waste” gives a topographical description of the land of Israel into which the anti-Christ will plunge southward.  “Which has always been waste” refers to the hundreds of years between A.D. 135 and 1948 that the land of Israel was, compared to her former years of productivity, virtually a barren wasteland.  “But is brought forth out of the nations” is exactly how the present nation of Israel was formed – by Jews brought forth from virtually every Gentile nation on this planet.  Thus far, I am confident that all this has already been fulfilled.  However, the last expression in verse eight has yet to be fulfilled, but I am convinced it is very likely to occur before 2005.  The last phrase in verse eight, “And they shall dwell safely all of them,” has not happened since the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70.  Israel has not had a single year, since she became a nation in 1948, that she has not had the constant possibility of war, or a conscious awareness of a terrorist act at any given moment.  They have most assuredly not dwelled “safely all of them.”  In many of my previous Prophecy Updates, which you may bring up by clicking on the Prophecy Archive button on this page, I have detailed what I believe will cause peace to finally come to the Mid-East, in spite of what is currently going on in the region.  But it will be a false peace, and of short duration.  It will abruptly end with the forces of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran pulling off a surprise blitzkrieg attack from the north.  The Palestinians will attack Israel from within at the same time, and Israel will be forced to withdraw into the Negev.  There will be five other Islamic nations involved in the peace of deceit, but the five aforementioned nations will provide the bulk of the force.

We concluded Prophecy Update Number 31 with an  exposition  of  Ezekiel  38:12, which has been done continuously  from Ezekiel 37:1. We will now continue this exposition, beginning with Ezekiel 38:13    [13] Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

 I have been absent from the web site for the past several days in northern Arkansas. The horrific events that have occurred, which involved the Trade buildings and the Pentagon, have staggered the U.S. almost to unbelief. We all expected some terrorist activity to occur within our borders, but nothing so well planned, and of such a huge magnitude.

We concluded Prophecy Update Number 32 expositing on Ezekiel 38:13, which we have done continuously from Ezekiel 37:1 for the past several weeks.  We will continue this exposition, beginning with Ezekiel 38:14, and will close it by aligning it with the fanatical, cowardly act of war inflicted this week by Islamic terrorists on America.

Ezekiel 38:14   [14]  Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

The question of verse 14 is directed personally by God to Gog .  It is a question to which both know the answer, as attested by “shalt thou not know it?”  Gog will be well aware of it, because he will have made the agreement allowing Israel to dwell in safety.  And this will be one of the reasons the anti-Christ’s blitzkrieg attack will be so successful.  It will catch them by surprise.

Ezekiel 38:15 [15] And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

Verse 15 reveals some very important new information when it states: “And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts.”  When Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, the expression “the north parts,” to those who read it in those days, meant the area we call Syria and Lebanon today.  I am certain that the antiChrist will arise to power as the head of some country which satisfies the requirements of being from “the north parts” as they were identified in Ezekiel’s day. AntiChrist may arise in southern Turkey or northwestern Iraq, but in Ezekiel’s day “the north parts” encompassed the area occupied by Lebanon and Syria today.  His army will be composed of troops from ten Arab nations.  The initial attack will be conducted primarily by Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran, but others will participate in various ways.  When the Scripture says: “all of them riding upon horses,” it is picturing to the readers of Ezekiel’s day what would be a “fully equipped” army.  His army will be equipped with all of today’s modern weapons to meet this requirement.

Ezekiel 38:16  [16] And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

We are advised that the character of the attack will be like a lightning blitzkrieg strike.  His armies shall move south across the land like a fast moving thunderstorm cloud races across an area, leaving havoc in its wake.  It is to occur in “the latter days” of this Gentile age.  We are advised that God, not Gog, will determine when the attack occurs.  When the conflict is finished God will be set-apart (sanctified) in the eyes of all nations as being King of kings, Lord of lords, and God of gods.  For 1000 years it will be remembered what God performed before the eyes of all survivors of the conflict.   God is in charge!  He will determine the time of the attack by putting it in the minds of the attackers.  These 10 Arab nations will surrender their power to the antiChrist, but after Israel has suffered in the Negev for some 3 and ½ years, Christ will then return with the saints to end the Battle of Armageddon, and God will the sanctified (set-apart) in Christ as the all powerful King of kings.

Revelation 17:12-14  [12] And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

It will be highly advisable to watch the efforts of Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon to reconcile their political and military differences during the coming months.  They, along with the terrorist groups, after continuing attacks by the terrorist groups they control, can only come to realize that in order to come up with a plan to meet their common objective, the end of the Jewish State, they must fully cooperate and coordinate with one another.  They want to get Israel out of the land from Dan to Beersheva.  The continuation of terrorist attacks, no matter how numerous or violent they become, will never accomplish their objective.  If they will stop the terrorist attacks, and then settle for whatever they can get in concessions for the Golan Heights and the West Bank, Israel can be led into a false sense of security after a few years of what seems to be a genuine peace.  Then, and only then, can Israel be driven into the Negev by a blitzkrieg attack from “the north parts.”

What we have witnessed this week, as grim and terrible as it is, and as much as it has shaken our nation to a state of coming together against a common enemy, it has also made us acutely aware that we cannot stop ALL attacks by tightening security.  We can stop MOST of it, but we cannot stop ALL of it.  We will avenge the loss of those precious American lives, and we will obtain justice for this cowardly act of war against our citizens.  But after we rightly avenge this ungodly act against us, and have obtained justice against these murderers of humanity, we will still be under the threat of terrorism by the many Islamic groups that populate the Arab world.  Countless billions will be poured into travel security at all sorts of levels in our national transportation net, and perhaps even more into our state of military alertness for such occurrences as we have just experienced.

 We can ill afford such expenditures with such a delicate economy at this time. But since we must, and should, make them, I am certain it will cause American, as well as all free world politicians, to more actively find ways to bring the Middle East Conflict between Israel and many of the Islamic nations to a closure.  Only then will the terrorist leaders be held in check temporarily by the several Arab countries that sponsor, train, and supply them.

There can never be a true and lasting peace in the Land of the Bible until Jesus returns to reign on this planet.  However, out of this ungodly act of infamy against an America at peace, there will eventually come a brief period of peace, and many will believe it will be genuine and lasting.  But the terrorist groups will only hold off their activities for a short period of time, and they will do this only as a ruse to lead Israel, and the rest of the free world, into a false sense of security.  But this brief period of false peace will be broken by a blitzkrieg attack from the north of Israel.

This is a Summary of Prophecy Updates, pertinent to the recent terrorist act of war against America, issued since January, 2001.  You may view any of these updates by clicking the arrow found above on Prophecy Archive Reviews, and then clicking on the individual updates as they are shown.  We recommend viewing them in reverse order from the highest to the lowest number.Early in the year, in Prophecy Update Number 1, we detailed the actions that were being taken by Syria, Iraq, and Iran to work together for the first time in eons.  This eventually led to several meetings of the terrorist groups they sponsor in Iran.

Then, in Prophecy Update Number 3, we outlined why these terrorist groups are the controlling factor to peace in the Middle East.

In Prophecy Update Number 8A we showed how the first regular Arab Summit Meeting in 10 years would soon lead to secret meetings behind closed doors, and that this would mirror future events in the Middle East.

In Prophecy Update Number 12 we outlined why all the terrorist attacks would not suddenly produce a so called World War III, but how they would be the pre-herald to a process that would eventually lead to a blitzkrieg type attack, led by Syria, against Israel.  This attack will lead to the Battle of Armageddon some 3 to 4 years after it is launched with the support of many other Arab nations.

In Prophecy Update Number 13 we outlined how the terrorist groups would first accelerate their activity, and then suddenly stop it to lull Israel into a false sense of security.

In Prophecy Update Number 14 we detailed the terrorist religious fervor for dying as martyrs in the cause of their God Allah, and why they desire for a Jihad (Holy War) to be issued to all Islamic nations.

In Prophecy Update Number 15 we described what event would produce a call for Jihad, to which all Arab nations would respond favorably.

In Prophecy Update Number 27A, issued in July, we observed that communication and cooperation between all the terrorist groups had increased at least 100% since their first formal meeting in January, which had been followed by two other meetings prior to July.

In Prophecy Update Numbers 32A and 33 we covered the horrific act of war carried out by terrorists against America, and indicated what this would eventually cause concerning a peace settlement in the Middle East.

We concluded Prophecy Update Number 33 after a full exposition of Ezekiel 38:14-16, and then aligned it with the fanatical act of horror inflicted on America by the Islamic terrorists.  We will continue with our exposition in Ezekiel 38:17 and, once again, will connect it with the events of the past two weeks.

Ezekiel 38:17   [17] Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

This verse makes it clear that the antichrist prophecy was not a new thing introduced for the first time by the prophet Ezekiel.  God clearly proclaims his prophets had been crying out for many years that in the last days a great man of sin would be brought against Israel.  This man of sin is Gog (see prophecy archives at top of this update).  Gog is the antichrist of Satan, and will manifest himself in a country immediately to the north of Israel, and since Syria now exercises control over Lebanon, I will simply say, in Syria.

For ten days I have been besieged with phone calls and e-mails asking my opinion what this unspeakable terrorist act would produce “on down the road aways.”  What follows is consistent with all prophecy updates I have issued since the very first one.  Click into the prophecy update archives at the top of this update and look at updates 32A and 33, then go back and check out the rest.  So here is my belief as to what this latest act of war will produce:

Belief Number One – It has made all nations aware of just how burdensome a stone the nation of Israel has become internationally.  It has been as a trembling voice spreading a fear of war rather than of peace.  It has been instrumental in producing a pain in the stomach pit of men’s souls like a woman feels in childbirth.  It has made many aware that the tribulation period, the terrible time of Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble cannot be too far away.

Zechariah 12:3 + Jeremiah 30:4-7 + Matthew 24:21  [3] And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. [4] And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. [5] For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. [6] Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? [7] Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. [21] For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

There are other subsidiary reasons for this horrific act of terror, but the main reason we had this unholy act of war perpetrated against us was due to our support of Israel.  It is also true it was done because America used the country of Islam’s birth, Saudi Arabia, as a staging area to launch our attacks against Iraq, a brother nation of the Islamic faith, but that was not the main reason.

Well, what will the events of the past 10 days cause, or add to, as we “go on down the road aways?”  As we are extracting justice for the vicious Islamic terrorist attack, it will, during that time frame, draw 10 of the many Islamic nations into an even greater hatred of Israel and the “western devils” that support her.  It is not easy to get all Islamic nations to proclaim a joint, united Jihad (Holy War) against a formidable force.  During all of this present activity some will draw closer to us, some will try to maintain a course to stay out of harm’s way, and some will meet behind closed doors to plan a future Jihad.  I suppose among the most likely to be a part of this future Jihad are Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.  I am of the opinion these nations are the most likely to answer the call for a united Jihad.  But I am certain that within the next four years 10 Islamic nations will draw into a Jihad planning frame of mind.

Revelation 17:12,13  [12] And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

This Jihad, which they will initiate “on down the road aways,” will end at the Battle of Armageddon some three to four years after it begins.  It is the final battle in which the Lord is involved during this age.

Revelation 17:14  [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Belief Number Two – Since the best way we can stop Islamic terrorist attacks against us is for peace to come to the Middle East, we will put more and more pressure on Israel to give more concessions to the Palestinians on the West Bank territory issue, and to the Syrians on the return of the Golan Heights.  In the end, “on down the road aways,” you will finally see a false peace arrive in the Middle East for a brief period.  The countries that control the terrorist groups will keep them at bay during this supposedly genuine peace.  They will promise the terrorist groups that a full blown Jihad is coming, during which they will be allowed to slaughter Jews to the last man.  If you will read our previous prophecy updates in our prophecy update archives at the top of this article, you will see how I believe this false peace will come to pass.  And, if you will consult all the previous prophecy updates from one to thirty-three, as well as all birth pang updates from one to 14A, you will find outlined how the false peace will abruptly end, and what will follow in the tribulation period.

Belief Number Three – Concerning the economy: One of the purposes of the twin towers act of war was to disrupt the “western devil’s” capitalistic system.  The attack has done that quite well, but its disruption is only temporary.  In a few months the economy will recover.  However, it will never reach the previous highest peak, and it will be subject to wild fluctuations.  How long will it continue to recover?  I am persuaded, that at a point in time after 2003, but before 2005, it will take a fantastic plunge, from which it will not recover before the return of the Lord.

One of the Biblical Scriptures I once had great difficulty in comprehending is no longer a mystery to me.  It was exactly “how” God would bring to pass what is found in Revelation 17:12-14 & 17.  I did not doubt God would do it, but I wondered what He would use to cause it to be a reality.

Revelation 17:12-14,17   [12] And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. [17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

We finished our exposition of Ezekiel 38:17 in Prophecy Update Number 34.  We now continue our exposition of Ezekiel, which began several weeks ago in Ezekiel 37:1, by continuing with Ezekiel 38:18.

Verse 18 proclaims that God is about to cut loose on an unbelieving world His terrible wrath.  God’s creation is about to be shaken from one end to the other by geological upheavals like man has never seen before.

Verse 19 gives a general statement of what will happen in Israel.  It will be the greatest shaking the Israelites have ever experienced.  The Arabah Fault will split open from Lebanon to the Gulf of Arabah – the Mount of Olives will tear apart into two sections and a great valley will be formed through it – the western part of Jerusalem will be lifted up along a line from Geba to Rimmon – and many other prophesied phenomena will also occur.  This geological upheaval is dealt with more fully in our web pages by clicking on “Birth Pangs,” and examining our Birth Pang Updates and associated Figures.

Verse 20 lets us know that the great shaking will not be limited just to Israel with its local Arabah Fault line – it will occur on a worldwide basis along all the thousands of interconnecting fault lines, both on land and on the sea floor (See Figure 3 under Birth Pang Updates).  Read verse 20 very carefully and see if it does not very clearly picture a worldwide shaking of all things.

Verse 21 describes the effect that the great worldwide upheaval will have on mankind – in a word, total mass confusion as to foe or friend, amidst fantastic casualty rates, among many different nationalities involved on the battlefield throughout God’s mountains.

Verse 22 paints a picture of the destruction that God will reign down upon Gog and his mighty army.  It describes the fantastic array of pyroclastic associated materials, which will shower down on the antichrist’s army out of the volcanic activity unleashed, when the Jordan Valley tears open for about 185 miles (See Birth Pang Numbers 15 and 16)

Verse 23 confirms that God has a purpose in all this geological upheaval and destruction – it should leave no doubt as to who is God and who is antichrist.

At times it seems difficult for me to believe how near all this is to fulfillment.  Many preachers have preached its nearness for so long that most believers today seem to think it is still a long way off.  It’s sort of like the little boy who kept crying, “Wolf,” when there was no wolf.  Then, when a real wolf showed up, even the sheep ignored him, and then the wolf came and caught them by surprise.  I have believed since the early seventies that Jesus would come before 2008.  As 2008 approaches I am even more convinced.  I, along with countless numbers of other men expositing God’s word, have repeatedly stated for many years that a false peace would come to the Middle East before the antichrist attacked Israel.  From Prophecy Update 32A onwards I have detailed how our current war on Islamic terrorists will produce that false peace.  So what you intend to do with the Lord, about the Lord, or for the Lord, you had better do it soon.  No one knows for sure the exact date he will come.  And I could certainly be wrong about him coming before 2008.  But I know his true church members are not in darkness that that day should overtake them as a thief.  I believe we can know when it is “soon,” and I know that it is soon.

Ezekiel 39:1 [1] Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

Ezekiel 39:2  [2] And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

Ezekiel 39:3 [3]  And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

Ezekiel 39:4  [4] Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

Ezekiel 39:5  [5] Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

A Blitzkrieg:  a swift, sudden military offensive usually combined by land and sea forces.

The Scriptures clearly teach that a false peace will come to the Middle East, which will be followed by a surprise blitzkrieg strike into Israel from the north by the willful king of the north, who is antichrist.  This evil attack is carried out from the previous wicked plan perceived in the mind of antichrist, and his armies will plunge quickly southward across the glorious land of Israel, taking the city of Jerusalem within three days.

Ezekiel 38:10,11 + Daniel 11:41 + Zechariah 14:2

[10]  Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: [11] And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, [41]  He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

I realize it seems impossible at present for a false peace to come to Israel.  But the events that are occurring now, involving our treatment of a ruling government which sponsored terrorism, is having a profound effect on those governing bodies across the Islamic world.  Syria, Libya, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, and Iran are among the leaders of Arab nations that are continuing to sponsor and support terrorism.  They do not want to see the terrorist groups destroyed or severely crippled.  They want Israel out of all the land from Dan to Beersheva.  This has been, and will continue to be, the objective of a consolidated Arab brotherhood.  It will not change.  They are as one in this objective of national interest.  There is only one way they can save face and, at the same time, preserve the basic structure of their terrorist networks.  They must meet with the extremists, behind closed doors, in a series of meetings, and lay out a definite plan of a future sudden Jihad against Israel that will catch her unawares.  The extremists, from which the terrorist groups stem within each Islamic nation, under the plan would stop activities, allowing Syria, the Palestinians, and Israel to eventually reach an agreement on the West Bank and the Golan Heights.  A sudden, abrupt end of terrorist activities, in the land from Dan to Beersheva, would be so shocking after some 53 years of terrorist activity, that after only a brief period of non-activity, Israel would believe the peace to be genuine.

In Prophecy Update Number 37, I stopped the exposition of Ezekiel, which began months ago at Ezekiel 37:1, with 39:5. The update ended with the statement” “I assure you that by the end of the tribulation period, we will have seen how puny what we have developed is in comparison to God’s mighty arsenal.” Ezekiel 39:17-20 describes the aftermath produced by this mighty arsenal in God’s destruction of the Antichrist’s army.

Ezekiel 39:17-20 — [17] And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. [18] Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. [19] And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. [20] Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God.

Verse 17 issues an open invitation by God to all wildlife to come and dine upon the bodies of the corpses left by His great geologic holocaust.

Revelation 19:17-19 — [17] And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; [18] That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

Zechariah 14:12 — [12] And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

Revelation 14:17-20 — [17] And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. [18] And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. [19] And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. [20] And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Isaiah 34:1-3 — [1] Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. [2] For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. [3] Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

Jeremiah 25:33 — [33] And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

To many readers the horror of these verses has long been glossed over in their hearts as a thing of the distant future. Those who have lived in the ages before us have had the luxury of reasonably assuming that his would not occur in their century. We would be very foolish and unreasonable to make such an assumption in this century. All the prophecies of the age of the Gentiles are on the verge of being completely fulfilled, and the geologic, economic, and political, and religious structure of our planet and society are fully ripe for the beginning of the War of Gog and Magog within the next eight years. Soon this conflict will be history, and Jesus Christ will reign as King of kings on this earth.

I am not at all concerned about this current punishment of the Islamic terrorists in Arab countries leading to an immediate worldwide war. It will not! Instead, it will lead to a false peace between Israel, Syria, and the Palestinians, which most of the Arab nations will supposedly honor. But, after a brief period of what seems to be a genuine peace, the Antichrist will launch a vicious blitzkrieg attack from the north, and Israel will flee into the Negev Wilderness, where she will remain for some three and one-half years.

I Thessalonians 5:3,4 — [3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Daniel 11:41 — [41] He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

Zechariah 13:8 to 14:2 — [8] And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. [9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. [1] Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Revelation 12:6 — [6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Ezekiel 38: [16] And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

Now, let’s take a look at the aftermath of this attack after God has destroyed Gog’s army by the greatest geological holocaust that has ever occurred in the land of Israel.

Ezekiel 39:8-16

[8] Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. [9] And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: [10] So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. [11] And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. [12] And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. [13] Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. [14] And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. [15] And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. [16] And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

Verse 8 informs us that the day of the Lord is done. The events daily appearing in the Middle East are presently leading us to that great day of the Lord. Finally, it will be over – God’s wrath will have passed – and a remnant of Jews still in physical flesh will dig themselves out of the ashes of the Great Tribulation Period. They will begin to build a new millennial world with their Messiah, Jesus Christ, as their King.

Verse 9 pictures these Jews gathering the war weapons of Armageddon and smelting them with fire into weapons of agriculture and commerce. It will be seven years before the metals have all been recycled into materials to be used by a nation in peaceful pursuits.

Verse 10 advises us that wood will not be used to provide the fire necessary for smelting the metal in the weapons of war. They will take the oil of the Arab nations that spoiled them in the Tribulation Period. They will use their oil to produce the fire that fires the metal into useful peacetime products.

Verse 11 describes the massive cleanup of the millions of corpses from the Battle of Armageddon that still clutter the hills of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. They will bury them in a valley they will name “the valley of Hamon-gog.” Hamon-gog means “multitude of Gog,” and Gog is the Antichrist, so this valley can be referred to as “the graveyard of the Antichrist.” The exact location is unknown. We are merely told it will be to the east of the Dead Sea. You will not find directions listed as being anything other than north, east, west, and south in the Old Testament. Any direction from NE to SE was referred to as east, SE to SW as south, SW to NW as west, and NW to NE as north. So this burial zone could be anywhere from northeast to southeast of the Dead Sea. I rather suspect it will be to the southeast of the Dead Sea near Petra.

Verse 12 gives the length of time required to cover and bury the countless numbers of exposed bodies – seven months. However, many bodies will be buried under massive landslides associated with earthquake activity, and it will be necessary to continue to search for bodies for a much longer period of time.

Verse 13 tells us that all the Israelites will take their turn during the seven-month period of massive burials. It may be that each Israelite will be required to do one months service during the period. By the end of the seven-month period they will have buried most of the bodies.

Verse 14 advises us the compulsory graveyard service of all the Israelites will end after seven months, but that a new system will be instituted to continue the search as long as is required. It may work something like this: the nation of Israel will take some of its men, employed in other aspects of continuous nation rebuilding, and divert them to a full-time job of overseeing and performing the removal of the remaining bodies from the land. These full-time body disposers will work together with other Israelites (passengers) that travel routinely through the land.

Verse 15 describes how the full-time grave providers and passengers will work together toward a common goal. After seven months only skeletons will remain, so when a traveler happens across a skeleton, in his normal daily pursuits, he will stick up a clearly visible marker by it. When the full-time grave providers see the marker, they will carry the bones to the Antichrist’s graveyard for burial.

Verse 16 informs us there will be so many grave provider personnel that a city named Hamonah will spring up by the Antichrist’s graveyard. Since the name Hamonah means “multitude,” it is only natural to assume the city is named in memory of its permanent residents.

Jacob, as used here, refers to all the descendants of the man whom God gave the new name of Israel – the people we know today as the nation of Israel.  I believe the events, now occurring in the Middle East, are the forerunners of a process whereby more and more pressure will be put on Israel to sign agreements of peace with the Palestinians and the Syrians.  I believe this will probably occur next year, but if not then, at least within two years.  This peace, which at first will appear to be genuine, will, after a brief period of time, be dramatically broken by a vicious, preplanned blitzkrieg attack from the north, led by Syria and a confederation of Islamic nations.  Jeremiah states prophetically: “Alas for that day is great, so that none is like it.”  Christ also spoke of it in Matthew 24:21 as he forecast: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” This great time of worldwide judgment will be an act of God’s righteous judgment upon sinful mankind.  Once before mankind reached a state of such great ungodliness that God destroyed him.  He destroyed mankind by using the earth to flood itself with its own water supply.  This act of God upon sinful mankind is recorded in the sixth chapter of Genesis.

Genesis 6:11-13 — [11] The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. [12] And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. [13] And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

God destroyed mankind “with the earth” by use of the water he created upon it and under it.  Christ indicates that just before His Second Coming mankind will once again have reached a godless state similar to that attained before the flood.  He states this plainly in Luke 17:26 — “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.”

God promised mankind he would never again flood the earth, but he made no such promise concerning once again using the earth to destroy mankind “with the earth.”  In fact He has very clearly indicated that His next judgment upon sinful mankind will be by fire.  Malachi predicts this forthcoming judgment.

Malachi 4:1 — [1] For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Just as God drew water from within His own earthly creation to destroy sinful mankind in the days of Noah, so will he draw fire from within his earth to destroy corrupt man in the days of the Son of man.  Malachi very clearly indicates that God will use fire as from a great oven.

God will use His own earth to destroy mankind by fire.  Here are five of the many Scriptures that foretell a fantastic shaking of the crust and internal structure of the earth.  It is this shaking that will produce a massive movement of the earth’s tectonic structure and produce a holocaust of fire around the peripheries of their boundaries.

Isaiah 13:13 — [13] Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Haggai 2:6,7 — [6] For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; [7] And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.

Isaiah 24:1 — [1] Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

Isaiah 24:5-6 — [5] The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. [6] Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

Isaiah 29:6 — [6] Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

These Scriptures picture an earth whose external and internal components have been so shifted that the astronomical balance and orbit of the earth have been dramatically changed.  This composite picture, outlined by these Scriptures, presents a world so fantastically shaken that it is almost beyond human understanding to grasp the full significance of the holocaust.  It is, however, as Daniel indicated, possible in these last days to better understand certain prophetic utterances that will affect only the final generation.  In our next update, Lord willing, we will look at the ramifications of Daniel’s 12th chapter statement.

Daniel 12:4 — [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.

1. Israel had to return to become a real, physically alive, nation  (Ezekiel 37).  That has happened!

[44] Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew 24:44

At the risk of repeating the same thing I have taught for some 30 years, please allow me to reiterate an important factor of end time prophecy.  I keep discussing it because so many of this planet’s inhabitants are seemingly void of understanding it, let alone applying it.

Each time a conflict arises, among the nations existing at the time it occurs, there is a phenomenon that spreads across the earth.  Many of earth’s inhabitants, both those who believe, and those who do not, are suddenly filled by a fear that this particular conflict will end with the battle of Armageddon.  All unbelievers are afraid that, even though they don’t believe that Jesus is alive and coming again, it might be true, and, based on the possibility it may be true, their hearts are TROUBLED.  Since Christ will catch out all true believers before the final great battle of Armageddon, unbelievers associate the coming of Christ with the battle, and fear both events.  However, I have found, in the last twenty-two years of presenting end time prophecy in more than 700 churches, colleges, seminaries, and universities, that a fear also exists in the hearts of believers about the possibility of each new conflict leading to the final great battle of Armageddon.  And, though it may surprise you, I have also discovered, for a variety of reasons, that many believers also fear the coming of Christ.  They want to live in their flesh for 100 years, and then, just as their bodies become a burden to them, it will be alright for Jesus to come and give them a new body.  Others believers, who don’t want to see Jesus come immediately, want to see their children grow up, and have children, so they can enjoy being grandparents. Then they can live happily thereafter in the flesh until Jesus comes.  Some believers, with children in their teens and below, don’t want their children to be frightened by  unpleasant prophecies.   There are a multiplicity of many different reasons why many believers and unbelievers do not want to see Jesus return to rule and reign.

So, with all this in mind, since the vast majority of this world’s population fears both Armageddon and Christ’s second coming, please allow me to show you that using each new conflict to worry about either event, according to what Jesus said, is a waste of time.  If you really want to worry about either event, please allow me to show you, from the lips of Christ, what NOT to use as an indicator his second coming is near.

[6] And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be NOT troubled: for all these things must come to pass, BUT THE END IS NOT YET. Matthew 24:6

[7] And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye NOT troubled: for such things must needs be; BUT THE END SHALL NOT BE YET. Mark 13:7

[9] But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be NOT terrified: for these things must first come to pass; BUT THE END IS NOT BY AND BY. Luke 21:9

When war swept across Europe in the days of Napoleon, many believed it would end in Armageddon.  It did not!  Napoleon was supposed to be the antichrist.  When the great war, World War I, broke out, many were certain that it would end in Armageddon, and the second coming of Christ.  It did not!  When World War II began, many believed it would end in Armageddon and the coming of the Lord.  Arguments arose among Bible teachers as to whether Hitler, Mussolini, or some Japanese leader was going to be the Antichrist.  Then came the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam.  Operation Desert Storm came on the scene, and many suddenly appeared in churches that ministers did not even know were on the church rolls.  A significant number of TV evangelists thought the leader of Iraq could be the antichrist.  Still, NO antichrist, and NO final battle of Armageddon, and NO catching out of the saints, and so, after many years of this sequence of events repeating over and over again, many are now convinced Armageddon will never occur, and that the world will never see Christ return.  I believe the world is now ready to have the following scripture fulfilled:

[44] Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew 24:44

Lord willing, in Prophecy Update 45, I will exposit on the thing that Jesus said would happen to allow all believers TO KNOW that His coming, and Armageddon, were in the immediate future.  We cannot tell the day, week, month, or year of his coming.  But there is a way we can KNOW WHICH conflict will end in Armageddon.

Please click on the Archives arrow above, and review Prophecy Update Number 44, before reading this update.  This Update is a continuation of WHY the final war will not break out until a certain event occurs in the Middle East.

Now, let’s continue from the end of Prophecy Update Number 44 by looking at what MUST HAPPEN BEFORE the final war of this age begins, the war that ends some three and one-half years later, culminating with the battle of Armageddon.  Israel HAD TO BE REGATHERED BEFORE this great final battle could occur.  Israel has “officially” been in place in her native homeland for some fifty-three years.  But one other thing HAD to happen BEFORE the war began that ended in Armageddon.  Here it is:

[3] For when THEY shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon THEM, as travail upon a woman with child; and THEY shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

This was written by the Apostle Paul, who described himself as follows in Philippians 3:5 – “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee.”  Paul looked upon Israel, as a nation, as being in unbelief before their God, for he wrote in Romans 11:32 – “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.”  Paul dearly loved his people, and carried a great burden for their salvation in his spiritual heart.  He loved them so much he expressed a desire that he was willing to be separated from Christ if they would turn to their Messiah, as he states in Romans 9:1-3 – “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, [2] That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. [3] For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:” Therefore, I believe the “THEM” and “THEY,” in I Thessalonians 5:3, refers PRIMARILY to the Jews, but am also certain it applies to all unbelievers in general.  So, there MUST BE what APPEARS TO BE a genuine period of “Peace and safety” in the Middle East in the minds of unbelievers, especially in the minds of Jews in Israel.  Within the next two years we will finally see what appears to be a genuine peace, but it will be a false peace.  It will be a peace engineered by Islamic nations, and their terrorist groups, behind top secret closed door meetings of some ten nations.  Countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia will not be invited or even aware these meetings are being conducted.  And it will all be for the purpose of leading Israel, the U.S., and the western world into a false sense of “Peace and safety.”

Once this false peace has “settled in,” then the antichrist, and the ten Islamic nations, will launch an attack that matches the Japanese cunning of Pearl Harbor with the efficiency of the German blitzkriegs launched into Poland and France during World War II.  It will be led by Syria, and will come from the north into Israel.  If you will peruse previous Prophecy Updates issued this year (1 to 44) by clicking on the arrow at the top of this Update (Archives) to expose their menu, you will see why I am so confident of what I am now issuing.

The initial attack will be launched DURING this connived time of false peace.  I believe the following Scriptures from Ezekiel validate this belief.  The antichrist will KNOW that Israel is dwelling with a false of security, BECAUSE he is the one who has led them to believe they finally have a genuine peace after some fifty three years of terrorism, three wars, and constant fear of the unknown.

[14] Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; IN THAT DAY when my people of Israel DWELLETH SAFELY, shalt thou not know it? [15] And thou shalt come from thy place out of THE NORTH parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: [16] And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be IN THE LATTER DAYS, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. [17] Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken IN OLD TIME by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

These forces will drive Israel into the Negev Wilderness.  Only one-third of the Jewish population will made it into the Negev, and Jerusalem will fall.

[8] And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. [9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. [1] Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

The current Jewish population in Israel is just over five million.  So, using the Jewish population increase rate over the past few years and, believing the attack will occur before 2006, this would mean that less then two million Jews would make it into the Negev, where they would remain for some three and one-half prophetic years (1260 days).   

[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

I realize that saying this attack will occur before 2006, and that the false peace will come to the Middle East in two years, in a broad sense, is a type of “time setting,” and that I may well be embarrassed if it does not happen in these time periods.  I am CERTAIN that the peace must come, and I KNOW the attack must come during it.  I am PERSUADED, but NOT CERTAIN, that the peace will occur within two years, probably next year, and am CONFIDENT, but NOT POSITIVE, that the attack will occur before 2006.  It is the SEQUENCE of events, NOT the timing, of which I am CERTAIN.

Please click on the Archives arrow above, and review Prophecy Updates 44 and 45 before reading this update.  This update is a continuation of WHY the final all out war will not break out until a false peace occurs in the Middle East.

You may review all our prophecy updates by clicking on the arrow to the right of “Prophecy Update Reviews” at the top of this page.

In Prophecy Update Number 1 of this year (2001), we discussed the beginnings of a pattern of military unity activities between Syria, Iran, and Iraq that was emerging in the Middle East, and how it would eventually result in a “forced peace” in Israel before 2003.

In Prophecy Update Number 13 we discussed meetings that had already been occurring between the Arab nations that control the terrorist groups, and the terrorist groups themselves.

In Prophecy Update Number 27A we continued to outline these meetings that would eventually lead to a false peace in Israel.

In Prophecy Update Number 42 we summarized the continued meetings between Arab nations that were heading them toward luring the Israelis into a false peace settlement.  And we have continued this theme through Prophecy Update Number 47.

So, with all this in mind, let’s take a look at this week’s beehive of diplomatic activity that has passed through Syria involving foreign affairs.  All of these meetings mask an ulterior motive to reach the final goal: elimination of Israel from what they say is Arab land.  The meetings are to attain a unified Middle East pact agreement by Foreign Affairs Ministers from those Arab countries that sponsor terrorism, and from Foreign Ministers from China and Russia that will eventually join the Arabs at the final Battle of Armageddon.  Out of these meetings, and many more that will follow, will come a secret pact beyond what is publicly announced as their purpose.  Russia, China, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia will not be privy to this secret pact.  The secret pact will be between 10 Arab nations and terrorist groups sponsored by Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, and Sudan.

The following meetings were a part of meetings that are shifting from Arab capital to Arab capitol, and will continue to do so for some time.  Do not expect the announced conclusions of these meetings to proclaim what decisions were really reached, but rather what they want the free world and Israel to hear.  All of these meetings were conducted this week.

Syrian Vice President Abed al-Halim Khaddam met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister in Arab-Affairs Mohammed Sadr this week in Syria.  Khaddam said that the countdown for Israel started with the glorious victory of the brave Lebanese in the southern part of that country.  And he added: “The blessed countdown that started in south Lebanon is still going on.” And Mohammed reiterated, “The U.S. is trying to take advantage of the current global political developments and intimidate the Palestinians as well as the whole Arab world.”  Syria and Iran agreed to keep consultations among the high ranking political authorities under the tough political atmosphere of the Middle East.  Kaddam asked for a state visit by Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref to Syria as a first step in that direction.

Sadr’s trip to Syria was the first leg of his regional tour of the Middle East at the top of an Iranian political delegation, having met earlier with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in midweek.

Sadr arrived yesterday in Beirut, Lebanon on his tour of Arab nations.  Lebanon, awaiting his arrival, was in the midst of a panel discussion by Iranian and Syrian scholars.  This was a conference sponsored jointly by the Center for Political and International Studies of the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Syrian Arab Center for Strategic Studies.  A continuation of this conference will be held in Iran at a date to be set in the near future.

Just before Iran’s Sadr passed through Syria on his tour of the Arab nations, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Juaxuan arrived in Syria last Saturday on the second-leg of a one-week tour of the Middle East.  During his meeting with President Bashar al-Assad, he backed Syria in opposing the extension of the “war on terrorism” beyond the borders of Afghanistan.

Last Monday the Syrian President also met with the Russian Duma Delegation.  The Duma Delegation was led by Demitri Ragozin,  the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.  The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Arab and Foreign Affairs Committee Shaker As’eed, along with  Russia’s ambassador in Damascus.

A continued flurry of diplomatic activity, in conferences across the Islamic world during the months to come, will eventually lead to peace in the Middle East, probably in 2002, but it will be a false peace, contrived by many meetings in closed door sessions at their many conferences.  It will be an evil plan contrived in the thoughts of an evil mindset.  The terrorist groups will go along with the evil plan, and will stop their activities until Israel has been lulled into a false sense of security, and then the evil thought will be put into action.  This attack has been graphically outlined in many previous prophecy updates.  I believe it will occur before 2006.

I Thessalonians 5:3,4

[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Ezekiel 38:8-11

[8] After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. [9] Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. [10] Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: [11] And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

This initial attack will lead to a conflict of some three years.  It will finally culminate with the Battle of Armageddon.  I believe the attack will occur prior to 2006.

Revelation 16:16

You may review all our Prophecy Updates from last year, Numbers 1 through 48, by clicking on the arrow to the right of “Prophecy Archive Reviews” at the top of this page.

Revelation 16:16

Throughout all of last year’s Prophecy Updates, and for the last 30 years, I have consistently taught that the final war, which is to culminate with the battle of Armageddon, would not begin until a false peace came to the Middle East.  I have never taught any other position.  For some 54 years Israel has existed as a nation, and has been involved in three major conflicts with its Islamic neighbors in 1948, 1967, and 1973.  But in all that time she has never been at peace with the Palestinians within or the Syrians to the north.  Until this happens there can be no final battle of Armageddon.  However, each time there is a conflict of any sort in the Middle East, a fear of it turning into the battle of Armageddon fills the hearts of many men and women, both believers and unbelievers.  I repeat, until a false peace comes to the middle East between the Israelis, Palestinians, and Syria, there can be no final battle of Armageddon.

For the past 22 years I have traveled across the U.S. land mass from one end to the other, to Hawaii, to Alaska, and to Africa, and former Soviet satellite countries, attempting to prove from the Scriptures that, for the first time in history, it was possible for one to legitimately say: The coming of Christ is “nigh” and “your redemption draweth nigh.”  You may review my reasons for saying “this is the first time in history” by reviewing Prophecy Updates 18 through 20 in our Archives.

Luke 21:28,31

[28] And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. [31] So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

In Prophecy Update Number 33, issued immediately following the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we closed it by stating: “There can never be a true and lasting peace in the Land of the Bible until Jesus returns to reign on this planet.  However, out of this ungodly act of infamy against an America at peace, there will eventually come a brief period of peace, and many will believe it to be genuine and lasting.  But the terrorist groups will only hold off their activities for a short period of time, and they will do this only as a ruse to lead Israel, and the rest of the free world, into a false sense of security.  But this brief period of false peace will be broken by a blitzkrieg attack from the north of Israel”.

I was convinced the American and free world reaction to the September 11^th attacks would lead to the false peace within two years, and in Prophecy Update 36 stated: “The U.S. will be eminently successful in breaking the back of the worldwide terrorist network made up of fundamental Islamic extremists.  It will lead some 10 Islamic nations to realize that terrorism will not cause Israel to give back ALL of the land from Dan to the city of Beersheva in the Negev, which has always been their objective.  They want the Jews OUT OF ISRAEL, which, in the Scriptures is identified as the land from Dan to Beersheva.  So they will wield a new plan to meet their objective.  They will meet, behind closed doors over the coming months, among themselves, and with the leaders of their terrorist cells.  It will be decided to cease all terrorist activities for a period of time sufficient to lull Israel, and the free world, into a false sense of security.  The terrorist cells will be told of a future Jihad that will be conducted as soon as Israel begins to feel secure.  One might say: Israel will never be led into feeling secure.  But, if we had been oppressed, afflicted, hated, persecuted, prosecuted, and killed by the millions, as they have been for some 2000 years, as well as having been under constant fear, for the last 53 years, of being blown up or shot by terrorists, and then if suddenly it all ended, believe me, after a short period of time, we would believe it was all over.  I look for a peace to suddenly come to Israel.  The current off again, on again, gone again character of negotiation will continue for a short time, but I believe that suddenly, probably next year, the terrorist activity will cease, and a short period of peace will come to the Middle East.”

So, as you can see from the quotes of these previous Prophecy Updates, I have consistently held the view that false peace would come to the Middle East in 2002 since last September, and have repeatedly written about it through Prophecy Update Number 48.  I  believe the ingredients for this false peace are now moving into place in the Middle East.  In Prophecy Update Number 1, our first of last year, titled “Significant World and Middle East Events,” I stated: “Eventually there will be some form of peace between the Palestinians and Israel.  It may be a ‘forced’ peace, but the end result will be an enclosed Palestinian State within the borders of Israel.  This will create an impossible situation for Israel.  There is no worse military position than to have an enemy within while being attacked from without.  I believe it is quite likely that, by the time the year 2003 rolls around, there will have been numerous meetings behind closed doors between the leaders of Iran, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Libya, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Afghanistan, and Lebanon.  I believe that these meeting will eventually result in a consolidated plan to lure Israel into a sense of false security, after which a vicious surprise attack will be launched against Israel from the borders of Syria and Lebanon.  It will be the best coordinated attack ever launched against Israel.  The attack from the north, combined with the internal attack of the Palestinians, will force Israel into the Negev.  I suspect this attack may occur at some point in time between 2003 and 2005.”

Well, so much for tooting my own horn by quoting from the predictions we made last year, as if to say: “I told you so.”  And, indeed, we seen to be right on target with our timing if you look at what is happening between Israel, the Palestinians, and the Syrians at the present time, but there is “many a slip between the cup and the lip.”  There is absolutely no question in my mind that a false peace will come to the Middle East, nor does doubt exist in my mind that it will be broken by an attack from the north, and I know that this particular train of events will be followed some three years later by the battle of Armageddon.  Why am I so certain of these three statements?  Because the Scriptures teach it!  What is NOT certain is precisely WHEN the false peace will arrive to begin the inevitable chain of events that end with the battle of Armageddon.  I expect the terrorist activity to be erratic for awhile, and then suddenly to end in all of Israel.  When the peace agreements are finalized, and a new Palestinian State exists, then the countdown to Armageddon will begin.

In the lyrics of a popular American song from last year:  “That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”  Back in Prophecy Update Number 45 we began to describe the vicious surprise attack that will be launched out of Syria, and continued to describe it through Prophecy Update Number 46, which ended with the antichrist poised, in Daniel 11:42, to head southwest from Beersheva to conquer the Suez Canal.  Lord willing, in our next update, we will continue through Daniel 11:45.

#49A…  You may review all our Prophecy Updates from last year, and Prophecy Update Number 49 from last week, by clicking on the arrow to the right of “Prophecy Archive Reviews” at the top of this page.

The recent confiscation of a 50-ton Iranian arsenal of deadly military weaponry, intercepted by Israeli commandos in the Red Sea, is of great importance in evaluating the position I have maintained in all previous updates.  The weapons were valued at an estimated 10 million dollars.  This is all part of a plan for a future Islamic Jihad against Israel in which these weapons will be used.  This weaponry, along with all the other previously smuggled armaments hidden in the West Bank, is not to be used in the present, or in a future, internal conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis. The Palestinians will use the weapons during a confederated Islamic Jihad against Israel, some two to four years in the future.  And this Arab conspiracy will include the nations involved in the making, handling, procuring, and shipping of these captured armaments.

[42] He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

Lord willing, in Prophecy Update Number 51, we will discuss what causes him to head for Jerusalem.

You may review all our Prophecy Updates from last year, and Prophecy Updates 49 through 50 this year, by clicking on the arrow to the right of “Prophecy Archive Reviews” at the top of this page.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) encircled five cities yesterday in autonomous zones of the Palestinians in Samaria.  These cities were not selected at random.  The recent vast shipment of weaponry taken off the seagoing vessel Karine A, on which I reported fully in Prophecy Update 49A last week, has finally stirred Israel into action on uncovering the hundreds of caches of weaponry planned to be used by the Palestinians in a future Jihad involving Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran.  The five cities encircled by the IDF were Tulkarm, Kalkilya, Jenin, Nablus, and Ramallah.  The limestone hills of this area contain caves whose mouths have been covered, and inside these are found the types of weaponry stored for future use after Israel has been lured into a false sense of security.  The Israelis gave the excuse of warnings of additional attacks by terrorist groups as the reason for blockading these cities, which is partially true, but they also want to trap terrorists to flush them out in place, and to scour the surrounding area in hopes of finding local caches of smuggled weapons.

Please mark the names of the five cities I mentioned early last year in Prophecy Update Number 2 as the zones around which smuggled weaponry was concealed in limestone caves.

In Prophecy Update Number 2, issued early last year, I advised: “The Palestinians have also been sneaking in thousands of katyusha rockets through tunnels under the Egyptian border.  These rockets pass through the Palestinian controlled Gaza Strip, and eventually end up in the areas around Tulkarm and Kalkilya (Qalqilya).” I then explained the reason for their being placed in this strategic position overlooking 70% of the Israeli population along the coastal plain from Tel Aviv to Haifa.  I then went on to state: “I expect the IDF to eventually raid these areas, but with only limited success.”  I then went on to explain  how other sections of the West Bank (Samaria) were receiving and storing their weapons in limestone caves that dot the interior.  I concluded: “But the main weaponry smuggled into these areas consists of anti-tank launchers, which have been concealed in this zone in countless numbers from south of Jenin to Nablus to north of Ramalla.”

The current wave of terror, followed by Israeli reaction, will continue as an off-again, on-again, gone-again, cycle of events.  This is now pushing the Israelis into imposing a “forced peace” action on the Palestinians.  I described this “force peace” mode, which I first made mention of in Prophecy Update Number 1 last year, in Prophecy Update Number 26A, where I detailed how it would be implemented if the terrorists continued their activities in Israel.  However, I still believe the countries sponsoring the terrorists with money and weapons, during this year, will finally wise up, and call off their activities until a false peace can be established with Israel.  But one way or the other, a form of peace will probably come to the Middle East this year.

Prophecy Update Number 50 closed with the antichrist located in Cairo, Egypt, which has been his capital for more than three years.  He will supposedly have fulfilled the desire of what most nations say they want, that is, he will have brought stability to the Middle East. However, between the third and fourth year of his rule, something will cause him to quickly head for Jerusalem.  We closed Update 50 by saying, “Lord willing, In Prophecy Update Number 51, we will discuss what causes him to head for Jerusalem.”

Daniel 11:44,45

[44] But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. [45] And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Please bear in mind that Daniel does not bring him out of the Egypt he has conquered until verse 44, and that he heads back for the glorious holy mountain, which is the middle hill of the three hills upon which the eastern part of the city of Jerusalem rests.  It is better known as the Mount of Moriah, where the first three temples sat, and is located between two seas, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Dead Sea.  Before the mighty former Soviet Union of Joseph Stalin arose, some identified this troubling news out of the north as being about Attila the Hun, after him it was about the German Kaiser of WW1, then about Hitler of WW2, and so forth and so on.  Before the great communist revolution of Mao brought forth the present huge sleeping giant of Red China, some identified the troubling news out of the east as being about Genghis Khan, the great Mongol conqueror from the east.  But modern day expositors generally now tend to make it news concerning Russia in the north and China in the east.  I do not believe it is either.  When Daniel wrote his book, it was written to the people of his day. So it is important to consider what they knew to be immediately to the north and to the east of Egypt.  But before we discuss what was, and still is, immediately north of Egypt, and what was, and still is, immediately east of Egypt, let me advise you why I do not believe it involves Russia or China.  Get out a world map and measure how far it is from Cairo to the borders of China and Russia.  The population of Russia today is more than 150 million, and the population of China is more than 1 billion, 300 million.  Do you really think he is going to take them on?  And are they not supposed to join forces with him at the final battle of Armageddon?  If he were, it would be rank insanity to return to Jerusalem to take them on!  And, besides all that, the land we know as China and Russia, for all practical purposes, was perhaps mentioned only in fables in Daniel’s day.  Do you really think he will “go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly make away many” from two distant, vast, countries with a combined population of almost one and one-half billion?

So what is immediately north of Egypt?  What touches its northern border? The Mediterranean Sea!  And what land is immediately east of Egypt?  What touches its eastern border?  The Negev!  And what could possibly be in the Mediterranean Sea that would trouble him?  The U.S. Fleet!  And what could possibly be in the Negev that would trouble him? Between 1.7 and 1.9 million Israelis!  The U.S. Navy & Marine Corps publish periodical “TRANSITIONS” of “All the Ships at Sea.”  You will find it amazing how many vessels we routinely have on scheduled patrols in the Mediterranean Sea.  We keep a carrier constantly on station patrolling that section of the Mediterranean immediately south of Turkey and north of Egypt.  The carriers USS Enterprise and the USS Theodore Roosevelt have often relieved each other on this permanent patrol station, along with other carriers.  There is also a report issued periodically on marine units deployed on the many ships that patrol the seas of the Middle East from the Mediterranean through the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean and up into the Persian Gulf.  It is simply called “All the Marines Deployed.” The U.S. Marines and IDF have been conducting joint operations in the Negev off and on for some 25 years.

So the antichrist has had Israel bottled up in the Negev for more than three years at this future point in time.  I believe the news he hears is simply this: the U.S. Marines and IDF are planning to close his rear flank back to the country from which he originally came, Syria.  He will have left a strip heavily fortified across Gaza and the northern Sinai, but he will begin to have reservations about the ability of his troops to hold it.  He will then head back for Jerusalem to finally do what he wishes he had previously done, that is, to end the Jewish problem.  He will “go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” He will super fortify the northeast Sinai and Gaza Strip, and head northeast to Jerusalem to prepare for the destruction of Israel in the Negev.  In Prophecy Update Number 52, Lord willing, I will define his palace, the tabernacles, and the nations involved.

Daniel 11:45

[45] And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

[44] But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. [45] And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Prophecy Update Number 51 ended with the antichrist, in verse 44, back in Jerusalem from Egypt. He has returned to do what he was unable to more than three years before, that is, to end forever “the Jewish problem.”  From his capital in Egypt, based on his former success against Israel, he has become the dimpled darling of ALL the Islamic world, and MOST of the Old World countries.  So he plants himself as Allah’s Prophet on the sacred ground where Solomon’s Temple once stood, and sends out a call to all nations to come and help him forever eliminate the descendants of Jacob, the nation of Israel.  These invitations are extended to those nations who were once part of the old Roman Empire, which reached its maximum expansion under Trajan.  The nations will come from the known world at the time the Book of Revelation was written, which was “the whole world” of the prophetic writings.  They will come from Europe, Eurasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.  The antichrist will direct them from the Temple mount in Jerusalem, and they will “go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.”  The reason that “none can help him” does not mean no one will make the attempt, it means that 10,000 nations could not help him when God decides to destroy him and his army with the greatest display of geological and meteorological hell ever unleashed on this earth.

In verse 45 the word translated as “tabernacles” is OHEL.  It always means “tents,” never a temple made of stone.  The word translated as “palace” is APPEDEN, meaning a pavilion or palace tent, and it is never translated as “temple.”  APPEDEN refers not to a rebuilt temple on Jerusalem’s temple mount, but to a command post pavilion on the Temple mount from which the antichrist issues his commands.  At the time of Daniel’s writings, it was the custom for all kings to have a portable type of command post that could be quickly set up in a position from which the king could issue his orders to the men in the field.  The picture painted in Daniel’s account is of the antichrist in his command post on the Temple Mount with the tents of his men stretching from Haifa, past the Tel of Armageddon, through the Plain of Jezreel, down the Jordan Valley, and up to Jerusalem.  He will, by this time, consider himself a God, and his followers will follow him as the God of their final Jihad.  He will sit in his pavilion command post on the Temple mount claiming to be like Allah.

There are many who insist, because of what is written in Daniel 11:45 and II Thessalonians 2:4, that a temple must be rebuilt on the existing temple mount before Jesus returns.  I rather doubt that this will happen.  I KNOW that one will be built AFTER  He returns, but I do not believe one will be built BEFORE He comes to rule and reign from Jerusalem.   

[4]  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

When Paul wrote this verse he used the Greek word NAOS for “temple.”  There are two Greek words in the New Testament that are translated as “temple,” NAOS and HIERON.  HIERON is always used to refer to a temple made of stone, like the three that once historically stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  However, NAOS can refer to any type of container that houses something, such as a local one made up of human bodies as an assembly (ekklesia) among which the Spirit dwells, or an individual human body where the Spirit of Christ dwells, or as a collected family of people in which the Spirit dwells individually.  Paul used NAOS a total of eight times in all his epistles.  But he always used HIERON to refer to a temple of stone, that is, unless he used NAOS in II Thessalonians 2:4 for such a structure.  My point is this: if Paul wanted to leave no doubt he was referring to the antichrist perched in a rebuilt temple of stone on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, he would have used HIERON, rather than NAOS in II Thessalonians 2:4.

The word NAOS means “an inner sanctuary, a dwelling place.” The suffix on it varies as to the part of speech it represents. The total number of times Paul used NAOS in his epistles, where it is translated as “temple,” are found in the following Scriptures.

[19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

[16] Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.   (The “you” and the two “ye’s” are plural)

[16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (The two “in’s” may be translated as “among” or “in” – either is correct.  The “ye” is plural).

[21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

[4]  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.  

I believe this pictures him as claiming to be the God of all men, and he is proving it to himself, and the whole world, by setting on God’s Temple Mount in his Command Pavilion to establish himself as the sanctuary of God.

Paul only used the word HIERON twice where it is translated as “temple,” once by writing it himself, and again in dictating a previous episode in his life to Luke in the Book of Acts.

[21] For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.

[13] Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?

In both these cases there is no doubt he meant the Jerusalem Temple of stone.  For better, or for worst, I am convinced he would have used HIERON, rather than NAOS, if he meant a temple of stone in Jerusalem.

Hopefully, in Prophecy Update 53, we may finally get to the surprise he receives when he starts to launch his final attack. 

I Thessalonians 5:3,4

Daniel 11:45

Daniel 12:1

Ezekiel 38:19-23

Revelation 16:16-21

Revelation 19:19-21

[23] Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. [24] And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. [25] And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

When a best selling book was written in the fifties about six emerging European Common Market nations, it began to cause many theologians to rapidly change their minds as to where the antichrist would eventually arise.  Prior to that time most had believed he would arise out of the old Seleucid dynasty, which was formed by one of the generals who divided Alexander’s Grecian Empire into four sections.  Many believed the Assyrian, in the fifth chapter of Micah, would be the antichrist, and that he would arise in, and come out of, modern day Syria.

Before the European Common Market theory arose, a majority believed antichrist would come out of the southern half of the old Roman Empire, rather than out of the European northern half.  But the great popularity of the aforementioned book ascended to the highest levels of acceptability, and previous beliefs were dwarfed to obscurity.  The book indicated that the six original members of the Common Market would soon be joined by four other nations to reach ten, and then be joined by the eleventh horn, who would be the antichrist of Daniel’s fourth beast in chapter seven.  However, soon there were ten horns, then there were eleven, then more, then fifteen, and soon more will come to be added.  But the astounding popularity of this book, and the thousands of preachers and other teachers who have taught it, have left a legacy that is difficult to convince they might not be correct in what they have taught, and are still teaching.

I have been concerned, since the book was first published, about the possibility it might cause many to be deceived when he does not arise in Europe, but in Syria.  Quite frankly, I watch both Europe and Syria just like a hawk, and, if I do see him rising in Europe, I most assuredly will accept it.  I am prepared for both.  But many are so convinced he must come out of Europe, I doubt if anything would change their minds.  In any case, in future updates I will show my reasons for believing he will come out of the Syria area.

The beast of Daniel 7:23 does indeed represent the old Roman Empire, and it certainly did tread down “the whole world,” that is, the “known” world of Daniel’s day.  Have you ever thought that perhaps we were meant to take the expressions of Daniel’s day concerning the world, and believe that is the only part of the present world the antichrist will dominate completely?  The ten horns will arise out of “the whole world” of Daniel’s day.  But why do they have to be European nations?  Were not Syria,  Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, northern Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and northern Sudan part of the old Roman Empire under the Emperor Trajan?  And are not these countries the descendants of Ishmael, the first son of Abraham, and Keturah’s six sons by Abraham, and the two sons of Abraham’s nephew Lot, Moab and Ammon by his two daughters?  Are not these descendants of Abraham the ones who have hated and battled the sons of Abraham through Israel for many centuries?  In any case, since I believe the attack is likely to occur before 2006, I expect to know where he will arise one way or the other in the next few years, that is, if I survive the grave before Jesus returns.

I do not question that Europe will come down as part of the mass of many nations that join antichrist in Jerusalem for the final battle of Armageddon, but I am confident that the initial attack of the tribulation period will be by the antichrist leading Islamic nations against Israel.

   II Peter 3:3,4,8,9

[3] Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, [4] And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. [8] But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

I would be the first to admit that the astronomical jump in the number of earthquakes that began to be reported in the last half of the twentieth century is due primarily to fantastic increases in all phases of technological advances in seismic technology, more international cooperation in reporting earthquakes and consolidation of a world data base, plus an unbelievably more efficient network system of reporting.  However, while I know this has been responsible for the vast percentage of the increase in the number of earthquakes, they also must admit there is no way of being certain whether or not it was totally responsible for ALL earthquakes reported.  However, it really doesn’t matter WHY so many are being reported.  It only matters that they ARE being reported in ever increasing numbers.  It is really a mute point, as I have pointed out to many scientists and audiences during the last twenty-two years.  Why?  The following discourse concerning who Jesus is, and what he really said about earthquakes, will answer that question.

[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.

This fantastic rapid increase in knowledge in the time of the end has allowed us to understand the principles that underlie the causes of many phenomena, and among the many are famines, pestilences, and earthquakes.  Jesus, as God among us, already had all knowledge of man, the earth, and the universe.  How and Why?  Because “all things were created by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3).”

So Jesus was the only man walking on the planet in the first century who knew that the earth was an oblate spheroid.  He was the only man who understood it was not flat, and that most of it was undiscovered.  He was the only man who knew that man would spread across it, and his knowledge of it would explode in the end times.  He was the only man who knew the crust of the earth floated on underground liquid lakes of rock we identify as magma.  He was the only man who understood how earthquakes were produced along the edges of massive tectonic plates as they crunched against one another in the process of floating on the magma.  He was the only man who understood the formula of exponential growth in population toward the end of a doubling cycle curve.  He was the only man who knew what would happen when the population exploded in the last days and, due to crowding and the natural immorality of man in his fallen condition, that many pestilences would become active among a rapidly increasing population.  He knew that, when the twenty-first century dawned, the world’s population would exceed six billion, and that, for the first time in man’s history, two curves would cross – a  line curve that showed the rapidly increasing population, and another showing the ability of man to produce enough food to feed the increase.  Jesus knew that many more earthquakes would be reported in many more places because he knew the reporting net would expand as man moved into the yet undiscovered portions of the earth.  He knew they would increase because of man’s increase in knowledge producing seismological detection technology in earthquake reporting.  Only a man who walked as God on the earth could have predicted that famines would accelerate at the time of the end, that new pestilences would surface and spread rapidly in the last days, and that more and more earthquakes would be reported in many new places in a period of time known as the beginning of sorrows.

Jesus delivered his Olivet Discourse just before his arrest and eventual crucifixion.  He stated in it that toward the end of this present age, and before his second coming, more earthquakes would be reported in different areas, more famines would be occurring, and more outbreaks of pestilences would be developing.  He identified this time as “the beginning of sorrows.” He indicated it would end with “fearful sights and great signs from heaven.”

[11] And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Matthew and Mark, in the same discourse, identified this time of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes as “the beginning of sorrows.”

[7] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. [8] All these are the beginning of sorrows.

God revealed to Daniel that Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years of captivity, which would accomplish the desolation of Jerusalem, had a secondary interpretation involving a much longer period of time.

[1]  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; [2] In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Then, from 9:24 through 9:27, Daniel unveils the events of a lengthy time period that would affect Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem for 490 years (7 X 70 years).  He understands each year of Jeremiah’s prophecy to be equal to seven years, and identifies each period of seven years as one week.

Daniel 9:24

[24] Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Daniel indicates that during the period of 490 years the following would occur:

Condemning transgression against God would be finished.

Condemning sins against God would be ended.

Reconciliation to God for iniquity would be completed.

>Everlasting righteousness would be brought in.

Daniel’s vision of 9:22-24, and its prophecies, would be completed as the 490 years ended.

The most Holy One’s anointing would end the period of 490 years.

John 19:30 + Isaiah 53:12

[30]  When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. [12] Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

CONDEMNING SINS AGAINST GOD WOULD BE ENDED.

I Peter 2:24 + Isaiah 53:10

[24] Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. [10] Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

II Corinthians 5:19 + Isaiah 53:11

[19] To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. [11] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

[3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. [5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. [6] Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. [8] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. [3] Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. [4] Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. [5] Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

[1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. [2] And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. [3] And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. [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. [8] And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? [9] And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. [10] Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. [15] And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

Ezekiel 39:7,8

[7] So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. [8] Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. [28] Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. [29] Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

Ezekiel 43:1-7

[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Please forgive me for constantly referring back to previous prophecy updates, but I do this to assure you that, in spite of the every increasing conflict, the Middle East is actually heading toward a false peace.  In Prophecy Update Number 1, our first of 2001, I stated:

“Eventually there will be some form of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.  It may be a ‘forced peace,’ but the end result will be an enclosed Palestinian State within the borders of the nation of Israel.  This will create an impossible situation for Israel.  There is no worse military position than to have an enemy within while being attacked from without.  I believe that, by the time the year 2003 rolls around, there will have been numerous meetings behind closed doors between the leaders of Iran, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Libya, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Afghanistan, and Lebanon.  I believe these meetings will eventually result in a consolidated plan to lure Israel into a false sense of security.”

Since this was issued, more than a year ago, an ever increasing number of these meetings have been occurring between these nations, particularly between Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Iraq.  These four are growing closer together in commerce, finance, military purpose, forgetting old grievances and recent wars, and in the common objective of driving Israel out of the land from Dan to Beersheva, which is the Biblical definition of Israel.

As the terrorist attacks and the Israeli responses have increased during the last seventeen months, it has caused many to believe that there can ever be peace in the Middle East.  However, the very fact that the conflict is increasing is the reason I believe a false peace will soon come to the area.  The Bible indicates that a false peace MUST come before the Tribulation Period begins, a period which will culminate in the final battle of Armageddon.

[10] Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: [11] And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, [14] Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

Something must give in the present increase of fighting.  Either a “forced peace” will be implemented involuntarily upon the Palestinians, or the countries employing the terrorists will call them off so that Israel can be lulled into a false sense of security.  In this case there would be a negotiated false peace.  The more intense the present fighting becomes, the quicker the false peace will arrive.  Neither the Palestinians nor the Islamic countries want to see a forced peace.  Nor do they want to see the Israelis push the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank.  They have no desire to have them in their home countries.  And, in the event of an all out Jihad, they want to have the Palestinians as Israel’s enemy within, cooperating with Islam as they attack from without.

During the past two months especially, the political and military contacts between Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon have increased significantly at all levels.  I believe these meetings are the prelude to the planning of a future all out Jihad, which I believe will occur before 2008.  WATCH the terrorist groups!  When they cease their activities, then a negotiated peace will occur.

The present threat of U.S. attacks against the Islamic nations sponsoring terrorist groups, the possibility of a forced peace upon the Palestinians or their being driven back into Islamic countries, and the international seeking out of the terrorist groups Islam sponsors, is leading the Islamic nations to realize they must do something to eliminate these problems.  The answer is to temporarily call off all their terrorist cells until Israel can be led into a false peace mind set.  The Israelis, on the other hand, are weary and sick of the whole mess, and are likely to give back most of the Gaza and West Bank if the Islamic nations will recognize her right to the pre-1967 borders as her own.  I do not believe Israel will completely surrender her control over the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, but I do believe she will have some sort of joint control with the Palestinians, and will allow the Palestinians to have the area east and southeast of the Temple Mount and the Old City of David to plant her capitol building.

There are four factions that determine when the prophesied false peace will come to the Middle East, but God is the one who will put into their minds the thoughts that will bring it to pass.  The four factions are:

Israel

The Palestinians

The terrorist groups

The Islamic countries that support them financially, and with their weapons of war.

Israel must come to the point of frustration with the status quo that she will give back most of Gaza and the West Bank.

The Palestinian leaders are like pawns in the hands of their Islamic nation counterparts.  They will agree to what Syria, Iraq, and Iran dictate.

The terrorist groups must accept the proposal of a temporary ceasing of activities until Israel can be set up for a surprise Jihad, which is what their sponsoring nations will assure is in the making.

The sponsoring terrorist countries must convince the terrorist groups that Israel can only be driven out of the land from Dan to Beersheva by a surprise lightning Jihad after a brief period of peace.

We exposited on Daniel 9:24 in Prophecy Update Number 55, establishing how Daniel had learned, from Jeremiah’s writings, that seventy weeks of years were determined upon the people of Israel and their holy city Jerusalem.  Under Daniel’s formula for the period, each one of Jeremiah’s seventy years was equal to seven years, and he identified each seven year period as one week of years.  So 7 X 70 = 490 years or 70 weeks of years.  In verse 25 he gives us a starting point for his prophetic clock to begin ticking toward a countdown of 490 years or 70 weeks of years.

[25] Know therefore and understand, that FROM the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem UNTO the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

The time clock would start ticking when “the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” was issued.  However, there were four different proclamations issued by three Persian kings:

The Decree of Cyrus in 536 B.C.

The Decree of Darius Hystaspes in 519 B.C.

The first Decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 B.C.

The second Decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus in 445 B.C.

The Scripture indicated that FROM the time the commandment (decree) was issued UNTIL the Messiah the Prince arrived, would be 69 weeks of years or 483 years (7 weeks + 62 weeks = 69 weeks of years)  ( 7 X 69 = 483 years)

Now, some problems arise in historical dates, prophetic years or calendar years, corrections to the Gentile calendars by Rome, and deciding which is the correct decree of the four issued!

Was Daniel indicating solar years of 365.25 or prophetic lunar years of 360 days?  Most likely he meant years of 360 days.

Which one of the four decrees was the one that Daniel indicated in his prophecy?  The decree of Cyrus in 536 B.C. was limited to the building of the Temple.  The decree of Darius Hystaspes was also limited to the building of the Temple.  The first decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 B.C. demonstrated a larger range of granting authority to carry out all that needed to be done, much more than the two decrees before it.  His second decree in 445 B.C. is also very specific in its instruction and authority to rebuild Jerusalem.  So, we are able, because of the lack of reference “to restore and to build Jerusalem” in the first two decrees, to say that it must be one of the two issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 B. C. and 445 B.C.

If Daniel’s prophecy is based on our present calendar year, which I doubt, then FROM the time Artaxerxes first decree was issued in 457 B.C. until the baptism of Jesus the Messiah in 27 A.D., would be 483 years or 69 weeks.  This was the viewpoint held by the great Baptist Bible expositor B.H. Carroll in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds.  But Dr. Carroll makes this statement in his writings on Daniel, when dealing with prophetic years of 360 days: “”Hengstenberg, on the other hand, while agreeing with the second decree of 445 B.C., controverts the theory of a year of 360 days, and contests the date usually accepted (445 B.C.).  By an elaborate historical argument of great plausibility he seeks to prove that the 20^th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus falls upon the date 455 B.C., and then by adding 483 years he reaches His acknowledgment by the Father at his baptism as the true coming of Messiah the Prince.”  Sir Robert Anderson has two books on Daniel, “The Coming Prince” and “Daniel in the Critic’s Den.”  He uses the usually accepted debt of 445 B.C. and articulates a strong time sequence to prove his conclusions.

My main reason for writing such a lengthy discourse was to show how difficult it is to absolutely fix the precise date the proclamation was issued to which Daniel referred.  BUT I AM DELIGHTED TO TELL YOU THAT WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT CAN BE PROVEN BY A SINGLE WORD, THE WORD “AFTER” IN DANIEL 9:26A.

[25]Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. [26] And AFTER threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:  (The 7 weeks is understood in Hebrew literary style to also be added to the 62 in verse 26 so as to avoid redundancy in a flowing chronological sequence of events, i.e. AFTER 69 weeks.  Otherwise, Messiah would have been cut off before he was born.)

The Hebrew word used for AFTER is ACHAR, which means, in context, AFTERWARD.  This same word ACHAR is used in the following Scriptures.

[33] But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; AFTER those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

[28] And it shall come to pass AFTERWARD, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

[5] AFTERWARD shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.

Hosea 6:2

[2] AFTER two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

Daniel 9:24-27

[24] Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. [25] Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. [26] And AFTER Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. [27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. threescore and two weeks shall

The SUBJECT of this entire discourse in Daniel is not “the people of the prince that shall come,” nor is it “the prince that shall come.”  They are both subordinate to the subject.  The contextual subject of these four verses can only be the messiah the prince, who is jesus, the anointed holy one, the Christ of the living god.

Prior to the Evangelical Movement of the mid 19th century, the most widely held belief among the Baptists was that the three personal pronouns signified by he in Daniel 9:27 referred not to the sub-topical prince in 9:26, but rather to the main topical subject of each verse, that is, the Jewish Messiah who was to come.  We were advised in verses 25 & 26 that, AFTER 69 weeks of years (483 years), that is, DURING the final 70th week of seven years, the messiah would be cut off (crucified).

Please allow me to exposit these verses as they were exposited by most mainstream Baptist teachers up to the mid-19th century.

Daniel 9:25,26

[25] Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. [26] And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

It was generally accepted that Jesus began the confirmation of the Abrahamic covenant by offering the Davidic Kingdom promise to the nation of Israel.  He began to offer it to them after his baptism by John.  His baptism marked the beginning of the 70th week.  We know that his offering of the Kingdom lasted more than three years, but less than three and one-half.  So he was cut off (crucified) in the MIDST of the final 70th week.  In reality, we are not waiting for the 70th week to begin, we are actually waiting for the later part of it to be fulfilled.  Let’s take it verse by verse, phrase by phrase.

Daniel 9:25,26

[26] Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. [26] And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Jesus arrives as Messiah the Prince, and is baptized by John  483 prophetic years after one of the decrees of Artaxerxes Longimanus. His Father’s approval at his baptism marks the beginning of his ministry of three plus years.

Matthew 3:16,17

[16] And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: [17] And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

John was preaching that the Messiah was coming to bring in the Kingdom of David, which would confirm the Abrahamic seed covenant. Then Jesus came to him, and John identified him as the Messiah. Then, when John was imprisoned by Herod, Jesus began to preach the same message of the Davidic Kingdom.

John 1:32,35,36

[32] And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. [35] Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; [36] And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

Matthew 3:1,2

[1] In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, [2] And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mark 1:14,15

[14] Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, [15] And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Christ came to fulfill the Davidic Covenant as the Son of David and the seed of Abraham through the virgin Mary, the daughter of Heli.  Mary had a double lineage from David through the man Zerubbabel, whose lineage on both sides was from David.

Genesis 15:18 + 22:17,18 + Galatians 3:16

[15] In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: [17] That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; [18] And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. [16] Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Then the covenant was expanded through God’s mercies to David to all the nations.  The covenant of Daniel 9:27 was first confirmed, and then fulfilled by Jesus Christ, the Messiah.  It is the kingdom covenant found two chapters before 9:27.

Daniel 7:13,14

[13] I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. [14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The Davidic Covenant of the Kingdom!

II Samuel 23:1-5 + Psalm 89:2-5,27-29 + Romans 4:6-8

[1] Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, [2] The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. [3] The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. [4] And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. [5] Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an EVERLASTING COVENANT, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. [2] For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. [3] I have made A COVENANT with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, [4] Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. [5] And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. [27] Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. [28] My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and MY COVENANT shall stand fast with him. [29] His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. [6] Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. [8] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Malachi 3:1,2

[1] Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of THE COVENANT, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. [2] But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ sope:

John was the messenger of the Messiah, and Jesus was the Messiah, the messenger of  THE COVENANT.

And this is THE COVENANT Jesus confirmed for seven years, but was cut off in the MIDST of the seven years, between the third and fourth year.

Daniel 9:27

[27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Jesus completed more than three years into the fourth week, and was crucified to complete the sacrifice of sinless blood and flesh for the sins of all who will receive him.  His final cleansing of the temple in righteous indignation against a nation that had turned His Father’s house into a house of merchandise, rather than a holy house of prayer, was the final overspreading of abominations that made it spiritually desolate toward God.  He then abruptly ceased to honor their sacrifices and oblations until the consummation of this age, at which time those desolate of God’s Spirit, because of unbelief, will experience a time of trouble like man has never known.

Matthew 23:37-39

[37] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Matthew 24:21,22

[21] For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Daniel 9:26

[26] And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Jesus was cut off (crucified) for the sins of others because he possessed none of his own.   As predicted in Luke 21:24, Titus, a Roman Prince, showed up 40 years later with his army and destroyed the city and the sanctuary.  In the final attack his troops came in like a raging flood, overrunning and setting fire to the Temple Mount.  The war raged on for almost three years after that, and many desolations were carried out by the army of Titus. They are recorded in the writings of Josephus, the Jewish historian.  It may well make you sick at your stomach to hear the grisly desolation details. The final battle was for Masada, where the encircled Jews committed suicide rather than be carried into slavery.

Luke 21:24

[24] And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Daniel 9:27

[27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

The early church fathers, followed later by noted theologians such as Theodotion, Havernick, Hengstenberg, Barnes, and B.H. Carroll, held that the three personal pronouns (he) in Daniel 9:27 referred not to the prince of verse 26, but to the subject of all the verses, that is, “the most Holy” (v.24), “Messiah the Prince” (v.25), and “Messiah” (v.26), who is Jesus Christ, the Messiah the Prince.

Daniel 9:24-27

[24] Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. [25] Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. [26] And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. [27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

In Prophecy Update Numbers 55, 56, and 57 I made a case to prove we do not have a full week of seven prophetic years (360 days per year) left to be fulfilled in Daniel’s 70 weeks of years.  The personal pronoun “he,” which appears three times in 9:27, does not refer to the topic subordinate “prince that shall come” in verse 26, but to topic dominate “Messiah” in the same verse.  The topic dominate of the entire discourse is the Christ, the One Anointed of God to be King of Israel.  Christ is “the most Holy” in verse 24, “the Messiah the Prince” in verse 25, “the Messiah” in verse 26, and the triple “he” in verse 27.  Messiah is the topical, contextual, figure of this entire discourse, not a coming antichrist from Rome or Europe.  In fact, some forty years after Messiah was cut off, this scripture was fulfilled when Titus, the Roman prince, came down and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple with a flood of troops, and desolations continued until the final battle of that war was fought at Masada.

The early church fathers, followed later by noted theologians such as Theodotion, Havernick, Hengstenberg, Barnes, and the revered Baptist theologian B. H. Carroll, held that the three personal pronouns (he) in Daniel 9:27 referred not to the prince of verse 26, but to the subject of all four verses, that being:  “the most Holy” (v.24), “Messiah the Prince” (v.25), and “Messiah” (v.26), who is Jesus Christ, the Messiah the Prince.

The various figures shown at the end of this prophecy update will help you to better understand the narrative discourse that is to follow.

We know that Jesus, from his baptism, had a ministry of more than three prophetic years (1080 days), but that it fell short of three and one-half prophetic years (1260 days).  He was “cut off” at some point in the midst of the seven prophetic years, that is, in the “midst of the fourth year.  We know that Christ’s first Passover after his baptism is found in John 2:13, his second in John 5:1, his third in John 6:4, and his fourth in John 13:1.  So that accounts for three prophetic years totaling 1080 days.  Now, let’s look back at the time that expired from his baptism to his first Passover.  First, he was tempted for forty days.  After that he called his first disciples ((John 1:35-51), performed his first miracle in Cana (John 2:1-12), had his first stay in Capernaum (John 2:12), and then traveled to his first Passover in Jerusalem (John 2:13).  I contend this probably took 65 days.  And this, when added to the 40 days of temptation, totals 105 days.  And this, added to the 1080 days between the Passovers, gives us 1185 days, which linguistically qualifies as being in the “midst” of Daniel’s 70th week in the fourth year.  So I contend that Jesus Christ, the Messiah the Prince, has already fulfilled the first 1185 days of the last week of Daniel 9:27, and that instead of 2520 days remaining, we only have 1335 days left to be fulfilled.  When Daniel’s clock begins to tick again to finally complete the Age of the Gentiles and Daniel’s 70th week, it will only have to tick for 1335 days.

Daniel’s clock stopped ticking when Christ was crucified.  Christ confirmed the covenant at his baptism, then he set out to fulfill its promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David in the final 70th week.  But he was cut off (crucified) after finishing 1185 of the final 2520 prophetic days.  At this point the clock stopped when he made the temple spiritually desolate, thereby causing the acceptance of the sacrifice and the oblation to cease being acceptable to God.  And it will continue to be so until the consummation of this age when he returns and, at that time, the spiritually desolate will have his wrath poured upon them.

Daniel 9:27

[27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Matthew 23:37-39

[37] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

It will be helpful to look at the figures on the end of this prophecy update to understand the following narrative.

Once Daniel’s clock begins to tick again it will be as if it never stopped.  It will start to tick when the Israelis believe they have peace and safety.  From the time it begins to tick, until it closes Daniel’s 70th week, with its final tick at the end of the battle of Armageddon, will be 1335 prophetic days.  It will be 1290 days after it starts to tick that the Abomination of Desolation appears on the Temple Mount.  It will be about 75 days after it begins to tick that Israel will be attacked by a confederation of Islamic nations that were once a part of the old Roman Empire.  I believe the seven vials of God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth during the 45 day period that occurs between the 1290th day, when the Abomination of Desolation is set up, and the coming of Christ with the saints on the 1335th day.  The initial attack of the antichrist, 75 days after peace comes, will drive Israel into the wilderness for the remaining 1260 days left in the 1335 days.

I Thessalonians 5:3,4

[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

If these numbers 1260, 1290, and 1335 seem strange, please consider the last three verses in the book of Daniel, where he is told he will be standing in his inheritance when the 70th week closes.

Daniel 12:11-13

[11] And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. [12] Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. [13] But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Romans 11:25-27

[25] For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: [27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Daniel, along with all the other Old Testament saints of Israel, will return to rule and reign with Christ at the end of the battle of Armageddon, which closes “the end of the days” of the Age of the Gentiles.

Soon you will see Israel flee into the Negev for 1260 days after some 75 days of false peace.  The 1260 prophetic days are found expressed several different ways in the Scripture.  At times it is identified as 42 prophetic months (30 days per month).  It is also referred to as time, times, and half a time, where a time is equal to one prophetic year, times to two prophetic years, and half a time to one-half a prophetic year, making a total of three and one-half prophetic years (360 days per year).

Revelation 12:6

[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Daniel 7:25

I Thessalonians 5:3,4

[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

When one looks at the current geographical structure of what we call Israel today, he or she cannot fail to notice the military significance of the great Palestinian bulge, the West Bank, in Israel’s center, and the importance of the only PA access to a seaport, the narrow strip in the southwest linking the PA to Egypt, called Gaza.  Any graduate of a military academy will tell you that if a nation is attacked from outside her borders, and simultaneously within her borders, it is an impossible situation.  Once the false peace comes to Israel, it will finally be broken by just such a situation, which will cause Israel to be driven southward into the Negev wilderness.

In all of Israel’s endeavors to procure military rest with the Arab nations she has repeatedly, for the last 54 years, made this statement with each new administration: “We must have Peace with Security.”  The basic New Testament word for “Security” is “Safety.”  There is no danger of the battle of Armageddon beginning in the Middle East until this false peace comes to exist between Israel and her bordering nations.

When Ehud Barak played the role of Santa Claus, and offered the unbelievable concessions to Yasar Arafat at Camp David, why did Arafat not accept them?  There is one major overriding reason: Arafat knew he could not control Hamas, Hizbullah. and the Islamic Jihad terrorist groups.  In fact, he probably knew he could not control some factions with his own terrorist group Fatah.  Had he accepted Ehud Barak’s most generous land concessions, he knew that immediately after he signed the agreement, the terrorist groups would wreck havoc in Israel, and he would look like a helpless fool.

The long and short of peace in the Middle East is totally dependant upon Libya, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran calling off the terrorist groups they sponsor long enough for Israel to think true peace is a reality.  The terrorist groups, their sponsoring nations, and the Palestinian leaders MUST work together to bring this false “Peace and Safety” to the Middle East.  I suspect this will be one of the main topics discussed secretly, behind closed doors, at the Arab Conference to be held the latter part of this month.

Why has there been intrusion after intrusion into autonomous PA cities and camps by the IDF during the last few months?  It has, of course, been in retribution for the numerous human bomb episodes within Israel that have taken many Israeli lives.  However, it has also given Ariel Sharon the justification to accomplish an important military objective before he begins to negotiate a final peace arrangement with the Palestinians.  He knew full well that the existence of a West Bank “bulge” PA nation in the midst of Israel, filled with terrorist groups, was a completely untenable situation.  So, before he holds any peace negotiations with the Palestinians, or anyone else, he is working diligently to destroy the terrorist infrastructure within PA autonomous territory, and its capacity to produce weapons internally.  Even if Israel is able to completely surround a newly created Palestinians nation by maintaining the western shore of the Jordan River, the existence of active terrorist groups within the new nation is completely unacceptable.  The only way any Palestinian leader could control the terrorist groups, according to Israel’s mode of thinking, is for Israel to purposely eliminate, or greatly weaken them, before the false peace.  However, in all reality, the only ones who can control them are the countries that supply them with money, weapons, and martyrs.

The only good thing about the current events in the Middle East is this:  It clearly advises us that the coming of the Lord is at our doors.  Once the peace comes, then we can rest assured that our redemption is drawing nigh.  Once the false peace is in place, a       brief period of time will pass.  Then, to the surprise of Israel, and most of the world, she will be attacked internally from within by the Palestinians, and externally from the north by Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, with several other Islamic nations directly assisting in the operation.  I do not believe Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia will be among the nations that initially attack Israel.

Besieged by their Enemies

SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 62D

April 10, 2002

Three years before I retired at the National Security Agency, in 1968, there was an Israeli security plan put forward by their Foreign Minister Yigal Allon.  It was drawn up by him, but never put into effect and, for that matter, I do not remember it being put forward as an official proposal.  As I recall, the plan was to completely surround the West Bank with a security buffer zone.  I retired in 1971 and, quite frankly, my memory may not recall the details specifically, but it seems to me that the security buffer zone was to be about three miles deep, except on the side facing the Jordan River, where I think it was to be seven to 10 miles in width.  The Israelis seem to think this would provide them with security from the actions of the Palestinians enclosed within it.  The more I think about it, the more it seems to me this was what was presented as a proposal under the Benjamin Netanyahu administration in a modified version.  And what is now happening in Israel may also be a modified version of the old Allon Security Buffer Zone Plan.  They would first eliminate or cripple the terrorist infrastructure in the cities and refugee camps, then pull back a few miles and establish a security ring around the individual areas, and then finally seal in most of the West Bank with a security buffer zone to give them a feeling of peace and safety from the terrorists within the West Bank.

That may, or may not, be Israel’s final objective, but I will guarantee you this, the Palestinians and all Islamic nations will hate it.  And if anything will cause a false peace to come in, this action will insure it.  A false peace is coming to the Middle East.  It may be a “forced peace” or a negotiated peace, or a combination of both, but it will be a false peace that gives Israel a sense of “Peace and safety,” and it will be broken with the agony and pain that suddenly comes upon a woman before giving birth to a child, and that pain and agony will last for some 1260 days.

I Thessalonians 5:3,4

[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Revelation 12:6

[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 63A

April 13, 2002

Three very interesting things have happened in the last 24 hours that are first time, or at least rare, events in the Middle East.

For the first time Arafat has denounced terrorist acts against the civilian population of Israel in his own Arabic language.  This is the first time he has issued a statement to the public, and to his own people, in Arabic.  In his statement he said: “We are condemning strongly all attacks which are targeting civilians from both sides and especially the attack that took place against Israeli citizens yesterday in Jerusalem.”

The second event was the public Iranian call to the Hizbollah in Lebanon, a terrorist group that they support, to rein in their cross border attacks in northern Israel to prevent inflammation of the Middle EastIsrael could extend the perimeter of war in the region,” which was the region of Syria and Lebanon. conflict into a wider horizon.  The Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharazi, said:  “We should exert self- restraint in the face of Israeli provocations.”  His reason for making this statement was based in context on what he had just stated previously: “There is concern that

The third event involved United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.  He has, many times in the past, called for UN observers or peacekeepers to go into Israel to keep the peace, but now, I believe for the first time, according to the Israel Daily News, he has actually called “for sending an armed international force to Palestinian areas to stop the spiraling violence.”  The Syrian ambassador, Mikhail Wehbe, whose country is on the fifteen member Security Council, said “the force would be armed and would be sent to the Palestinian areas to stop the fighting.”

I do not believe the third event will be implemented, but it will put a little more pressure on Israel to speed up its program of a “forced peace” being imposed on the Palestinians, and Israel will withdraw from the West Bank Palestinian towns, but only after it believes the military and terrorist infrastructures have been depleted to the degree they will no longer be a great threat to them in a possible future war with the Arab nations.

The first two events are evidence of what I have advocated since last year in numerous Prophecy Updates.  Both the Palestinians and the Arab nations are beginning to see that their objective of driving IsraelIsrael.  They have set Israel up for the shock of seeing them cease.  They will be called off long enough to being in a false peace, and when it appears Israel is convinced they have a peace with security, then a vicious Jihad will be launched from the north by 10 Islamic nations.  The violence will continue, but I believe before this year ends, you will see a false peace come to Israel one way or another. When it comes in, and whether is a forced peace or a negotiated peace, does not matter nearly so much as what it will be when it does come in.  What does matter is that it will be a false peace! out of all the land can never be reached by the terrorist activities they have been conducting for years.  The terrorist activities have had their desired effect on

I Thessalonians 5:3,4

[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Revelation 12:6

[6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 64

April 19, 2002

What is the Nationality of the Antichrist?

Part 3

Please Read Updates 62 and 63 Before Reading This Update!

Micah 5:3 – Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

“Therefore” is a conclusion to Micah 5:1,2 that explains why the Messiah of  Israel gave “them up.”  Because they beat him and rejected him as their judge, they came under judgment because they would not let him judge them.  God’s judgment has been on them for some two thousand years.  Without their God to deliver them, they have become the most persecuted, prosecuted, and rejected people on this earth.  The Nazi burning, torturing, and butchering of some six million Jews was beyond belief.  And yet I love them tenaciously.  Why?  Because their Messiah, who forgave them on the cross, is alive in me, and in the near future he will return to be their Messiah, their God with them.  The word “until,” in the second phrase of this verse, makes the point that he has not forsaken them forever, but only “until” they have passed through the final judgment for having judged him, which consists of the of the last 1260 days of travail in the tribulation period.  Christ will come forth at his Second Advent as the Lion of Judah to rule over the remnant of Israel that survives the tribulation period, and will bring a remnant of his brethren with him.  In verse three he rejected them with “therefore,” then told them they would suffer travail “until” he came back to the earth and “then,” that is, at his Second Advent, all of the remnant of his “brethren” would return to live on the same planet with him.

Matthew 23:38,39 – Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Revelation 1:7 – Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Zechariah 13:8,9 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. [9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

Zechariah 14:5 – And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Hebrews 2:11 – For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Romans 11:5 – Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.