From: TribulationPeriod.com
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PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 160
February 21, 2004
The Son Who Became a Servant to Save Us – Part 9
What Happens to Young Children When They Die?
Isaiah 53:6 – All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
A favorite campus song among college students during the twenties and thirties contained a phrase, “We are poor little lambs, who have lost our way, Baa, Baa, Baa.” We come into this world with an inborn nature to sin against God’s standard of righteousness found in the Scripture. We are not sinners because we sin – we sin because we are incapable of being anything else by physical birth from Adam. Does God hold a baby accountable for its sin? No, he does not! Why not? – Because a baby is incapable of repenting. When does God hold a human accountable for his sins? When the Holy Spirit examines his mind, and deems him capable of repenting from sin. At that point in time the Spirit begins to convict his soul of sin, and from that day forward he is accountable. Children are watched over by guardian angels, which are face to face in daily communication with God concerning the welfare of the children they watch over.
An Exposition of The Parable of the Lost Sheep – MATTHEW 18:10-14.
MATTHEW 18:10 – Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
A Parable usually has a central theme that encompasses the primary teaching of the parable. In Matthew 18 we have three parables back to back that have an identical theme. All three are about things that were in the flock, house, or household of a person, then became separated from the presence of that person for a period of time, but ended up back in the same flock, house, or household from which they had been separated. There are times in which the actions of the personages in the parable may be used to illustrate principles. Since Isaiah 53:6 talks about sheep that have gone astray from a flock, let’s take a look at a principle that can be gleaned from it.
MATTHEW 18:11 – For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Once a baby reaches the age of accountability it leaves the flock protection of God it was born under, and goes its own way into the darkness of the world. The Holy Spirit then begins to lead it to the Son of man, who came to earth for that purpose.
If a flock of unaccountable children numbered 100, and one left the fold, the Spirit of the Son of man is desirous to go after him through conviction of sin, and lead him back into the eternal flock of the saved. The 99 would be of less concern to him because of their safety, but the one would be of great concern because of its accountability.
MATTHEW 18:12 – How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
The Son of man rejoices more over the one accountable because that one made a willful personal choice to trust in him as its savior and shepherd. Most, unfortunately, after leaving the unaccountable fold, successfully hide from God by the exercise of will in resisting the Son of man’s saving power, and are never returned to eternal life in God’s fold. They love what they have found in the world of darkness, loving its ways, and block God out of their minds and life by constantly rejecting the Spirit until he eventually leaves them where they desire to remain. They have no desire to be found – They love it where they are.
MATTHEW 18:13 – And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
There is great rejoicing because the accountable one has chosen to accept the Father’s will for it. It is not God’s will that any should perish.
MATTHEW 18:14 – Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
II Peter 3:9 – 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.
Luke 15:3-7 – And he spake this parable unto them, saying, [4] What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? [5] And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. [6] And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. [7] I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
God considers all children incapable of repentance to be unaccountable for their sins, but those capable of repentance that have not done so, are only considered “just” by God if they exercise repentance toward him, and put their faith for salvation in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Acts 20:21 – Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 15:8-10 – Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? [9] And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. [10] Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
The joy in heaven is always greater for the exercise of willful repentance and faith by a willing choice on an individual basis.
I Timothy 2:3-6 – For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; [4] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. [5] For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6] Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Acts 20:21 – Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:17 – So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Ephesians 2:8,9 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Romans 10:13 – For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 4:12 – Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Acts 2:21 – And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Genesis 4:26 – And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
Mankind has called on the Lord for salvation ever since, and will still call on him in the tribulation period.
Acts 2:19-21 – And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: [21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
I quit trying to cover up what I found myself to be, a sinner who could not cover up what he was by his own efforts. I came out of hiding and put my trust in God’s promise to provide me a covering of his choosing, which was the innocent shed blood of his Son, foretold by the innocent blood of animals he used to provide a picture of the sinless blood of his promised seed, his coming Son, Jesus Christ. Soon he will come for me.
Genesis 3:7,10,15,21 – And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. [10] And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. [15] And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her SEED; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. [21] Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
The SEED came, completely finished his redemptive work for all who would put their faith in him to have done so, because he stepped on the serpent’s power he had over mankind, and made it possible for all that had, were, or would put their faith in him as the Son send by the Father to have him as their eternal Savior.
John 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Romans 10:17 – So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:13 – For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 160B
February 25, 2004
The Rise of Islam Out of A Revived Roman Empire!
I remember when Yigal Allon first proposed building a barrier around the West Bank in 1968, and how it never got past the proposal stage in the Knesset. Well, that was 36 years ago, and now the barrier is about one-quarter finished, and the current estimated time of completion is the end of 2005. I have lived among the followers of Islam, gone to school with them, and taught them, and I have watched the steady growth and formation of a religious revival among them that I am persuaded will be instrumental in the fulfillment of a lot of end-time prophecies.
I retired from the National Security Agency as a synoptic analyst whose primary function had involved Soviet and Chinese missile launches, nuclear development, and oceanography. For years I watched the Arab nations playing off the United States and the Soviet Union against one another by seeking favors from them in military assistance, and they, in return, would tell both super powers they were in their camp. When I first arrived in the Middle East in 1952, most of their military hardware had been given to the them by the U.S. and U.S.S.R on what we called the never-never payment plan, and what they did not get from the big two, they got from France and China. When World War II ended, the Arab nations could not take Barney Fife in a fair fight. But between 1952 and 1971, when I retired from the USAF-NSA, I watched their massive oil revenues being spent on the very latest military hardware available from France, Germany, the Soviet Union, China, and numerous other nations. Hal Linsey had published his first book, “The Late Great Planet Earth,” the year before I retired, and, because of my time in the NSA, there were several things he presented, with which I was totally at odds. I wrote my first book in the middle of the seventies for that specific reason. I was convinced he had overestimated the future rise of the Soviet Union at the expense of a rapid decline of the United States of America. He thought the U.S. power would decline after 1970, and a United States of Europe would arise during the eighties to replace us as the new counterbalancing power against the power of the Soviet Union. And he believed that when the European Common Market increased from six to ten in number, then the antichrist would arise as the eleventh horn in the midst of the ten European nations. Well, here we are, some 34 years later, with 15 horns of the European Union about to become 25 in number in May, and the United States as the one world power. There were several areas of his teachings I simply could not accept. His prophetic teachings have had more effect on preachers and teachers from 1970 to the present that any other writer of this era of time. At the present time our web site averages about 175 hits a day, but after I put up this Update I expect it to fall by 50 percent because of Hal Linsey’s tremendous popularity with the followers and teachers of prophecy. I like Mr. Linsey, and, with true candor, I am very pleased he wrote the many books he has published since his first book, even though I disagree with many of his predictions. I like him because he was the first religious writer with flair, and his style of expressing prophetic events has sold multi-millions of books. His style of presenting prophetic events with catchy titles awakened much of the world population to the prophetic times in which we are living, for which I am thankful. His first book was published in May 1970, and I have long since misplaced my copy, but I still have a copy from December, 1972, by which time more than 1,700,000 copies had been sold. In this book, published by Zondervan, Lindsey stated, on pages 94 & 96, “We believe that the Common Market and the trend toward unification of Europe may well be the beginning of the ten-nation confederation predicted by Daniel and the Book of Revelation.” And, as to the time that that these nations were to become the powerhouse ten in number, Linsey quoted Dr. Charles Hallstein, saying, “At about 1980 we may expect the great fusion of all economic, military, and political communities to gather into the United States of Europe.” And Hal Linsey said, referring to this quote, “Hallstein cited 1980. The timetable may be accelerated.” But my problem with Linsey’s teachings has never involved arguments about timing of events. It has been about what part of the old revived Roman Empire will see the rise of the ten-nations. All prophetic teachers have been wrong about the timing of events in the past, and we will continue to be wrong until the event finally occurs, and then someone will finally be correct. So, as you read this, if you are a fan of Hal Linsey, don’t think I am picking on him. I am sure he has changed his mind about some of his early writings, just as I have changed some of mine. The only person who ever wrote a book and did not have to change his mind about what he wrote as time passed is the Holy Spirit of God, and anyone who never changes his mind about his early prophetic interpretations of Scripture must think he is God. From 1971 to 2004 I have changed my mind about quite a few of my early beliefs in prophetic interpretation. How can you ever learn prophetic truth if you are unwilling to change your mind with the passage of time? On page 112, Linsey clearly identifies antichrist as a Roman Dictator, but are you aware that this teaching has its roots in a single scripture, namely Daniel 9:27, and are you aware that the “he” in Daniel 9:27 was never taught, in any commentary on the Bible, as being the antichrist prior to 1690, but was taught by all before that time, and by most until 1900, to be Christ? (See Whole Numbered Prophecy Updates 55 to 58, 123B, 123D & 147D). In 1972, Mr. Linsey, after having stated previously that the creation of the United States of Europe might actually come into existence prior to Dr. Hallstein’s prediction of 1980, went on to say, on page 184, “The United States will not hold its present position of leadership in the western world; financially the future leader will be Western Europe.” On page 185, he went on to say, “As the United States loses power, Western Europe will be forced to unite and become the standard-bearer of the western world. Look for the emergence of a United States of Europe composed of ten inner member nations. The Common Market is laying the groundwork for the political confederation which will become the mightiest coalition on earth. It will stop the Communist take-over of the world and will for a short while control both Russia and Red China through the personal genius of the European confederacy.” Even if you do not agree with my conclusions, please do at least know why I have drawn them. Most of the prophetically inclined world is still waiting for an antichrist to arise out of Europe as Daniel’s eleventh horn. After which he will dominate the whole earth as we know it today. But, not to worry, all believers will be whisked out some seven years before the final battle of Armageddon, and the Jews and all of the unbelievers will be left. That is the scenario painted by about 85 percent of the TV evangelists and popular prophetic writers of today. I hope you will at least consider what I believe about this teaching. Why? If I am wrong, it will have cost you nothing. But if I am correct, it could be of considerable use if the 85 percent are wrong. I searched England and the United States, trying to find how far back the teaching of the first-of-the-week position extended. I have yet to find a record of anyone who taught it prior to 1742, and I have never found a book that was in print before 1788 that presented it. (See Prophecy Updates 73D, 74A, 76, 144F & 147D). I am merely saying that those called mid-tribbers, seventh trump, or last-of-the-weekers, should not be labeled heretics, which a few first-of-the-weekers are prone to do. Furthermore, I was never able to find a published commentary on the Bible, printed prior to 1690, that indicated antichrist would rule the earth DURING THE LAST SEVEN YEARS of this age. If you do want to know what preachers taught before 1690, concerning the identity of the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27, please take a look at Special Prophecy Update Number 144A and 147D. The majority belief that the three “he’s” were Christ did not begin to change rapidly until 1830, and it did not become the minority belief until the arrival of 1900.
Daniel 9:27 – 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.
If you want to accuse me of having changed my mind during the last 40 years concerning what I once believed about prophetic events, I would have to say your charge is valid. What I discovered, as I studied the Scriptures, comparing them with the teachings on the same subjects by interpreters prior to 1690, 1742, and 1827, shocked me. It simply amazed me to discover they made more sense than what is being taught by the majority of interpreters of today.
What events do the vast majority of today’s Christians believe will be fulfilled between now and the Second Advent of Christ?
(1) The Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem before the rapture.
(2) The antichrist will arise as the eleventh horn among ten European nation horns.
(3) The rapture of the saints will occur seven years before the Second Advent.
(4) The saved will not have to go through any of the tribulation period.
(5) Seven years of tribulation will follow the rapture.
(6) The antichrist will rule over all of the world, as we know it today, for seven years.
(7) The antichrist will sign a peace treaty with the Jews, but will then break it by attacking Israel 1260 days before the Second Advent.
The major areas of disagreement that caused me to have written three books are based on what I believe about the following end time events.
(1) The antichrist will come out the area that includes Lebanon, Syria, extreme southern Turkey, and northern Iraq, most likely out of Syria. (See Whole Numbered Prophecy Updates 62 to 69).
(2) The ten toes and ten horns associated with Daniel and Revelation will be Islamic nations out of the southern half of the old revived Roman Empire. They will be the nations that launch the attack, which starts the last three and one-half years of the tribulation period. (See Prophecy Updates 46, 47, 50 to 53, 92A. and Whole Numbered Prophecy Updates 71 to 75).
(3) I do not believe the rapture will occur seven years before the battle of Armageddon. (See Prophecy Updates 73D, 74A, 76, 78A, 82A, 114A, 115D, 117B, 144A, 144F, & 147D).
(4) I do not believe Russia and China will attack Israel until the battle of Armageddon. (This is sprinkled throughout the Prophecy and Birth Pangs Archives).
(5) I do not believe the Temple will be rebuilt before the return of Jesus Christ. (Prophecy Update Number 79).
(6) I do not believe the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27 refer to antichrist. (See Prophecy Updates 55 to 58, 123B, 123D, 144A, & 147D).
(7) I do not believe the antichrist’s empire will dominate the entire world as we know it today. (See Prophecy Updates 73A, 77, 77A, 77B, 77C, 135A, & Birth Pang Number 33).
You will find a listing of where to find the location of all Prophecy and Birth Pang Updates on Prophecy Update 158C. You will find a list of Prophecy Update Subject Exposition Series on Prophecy Update Number 159B. If you will scan through the Prophecy Archives you will find many other line-by-line expositions that give proof of the validity of statements one through seven above, in addition to those listed above in parenthesis.
Many of those who read my updates have never met me. So, for your sakes, considering all you have read in this update, you could well draw conclusions about me that may not be true. One of those is this, many have said to me, well, then that means you don’t believe in an imminent return of Christ, you don’t believe he could come at any moment. But, in all truth, that is not so. Why? Because I am not so foolish as to believe I could not be wrong. So, believe it or not, I look for him to come at any time. I merely interpret what I believe the Scriptures teach about all the issues involving end time events, of which his coming ranks as the most important of them all. I will tell you what I expect, knowing I could be wrong, and the decision as to whether or not you believe it is up to you. I BELIEVE THE ANTICHRIST WILL ATTACK ISRAEL FROM THE NORTH BEFORE 2008, AND, THAT BETWEEN 3 AND 4 YEARS FOLLOWING THE ATTACK, THE RAPTURE WILL OCCUR ON THE SOUNDING OF THE 7TH TRUMPET.
The same city, that Jesus overlooked when he gave his famous discourse known as the Olivet Discourse, was given some 40 years to repent, but its occupants did not, and Titus destroyed it in 70 A.D. The same city came back into Jewish hands in June of 1967. They have already had 36+ years to repent and accept Christ as their Messiah, and they have not. I BELIEVE THE ATTACK WILL OCCUR BEFORE 2008, AND THAT MESSIAH WILL RETURN PRIOR TO 2012. Could all that I have just stated be wrong – CERTAINLY! But now I have plainly stated what I believe, and time will tell! So, I plan to hope he comes at any minute, while I wait to see if I am right in the timing I have put forward.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 161
February 28, 2004
The Son Who Became a Servant to Save Us – Part 10
Isaiah 53:7 – He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he OPENETH NOT HIS MOUTH.
He knew exactly what he was supposed to do, and he did it, making no effort to say, or to do, anything that could bring about his release by his persecutors. Christ knew he was the Lamb of God, and that only his sacrifice as God’s true Lamb could save us from the condemnation of God, which hung over us because of our inherited sinful natures.
John 1:29 – The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
He could have opened his mouth and proclaimed that he was not the Son of God, the King of Israel, or performed a few miracles before Herod, or called down myriads of angels, but he willfully chose to do his Father’s will.
Luke 22:41-43 – And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, [42] Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: NEVERTHELESS NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE, BE DONE. [43] And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
He could have denied he was the Messiah, the Christ, and this would have delighted the High Priest, and would have ended his earthly mission his Father had assigned him, which had to end with his sacrifice for sin. He confirmed all that had been written of him by Isaiah and all of the other prophets, and even though his disciples forsook him, he did all of his redemptive work alone, as it had to be so.
Matthew 26:56,59-67 – But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. [59] Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; [60] But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, [61] And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. [62] And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? [63] But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. [64] Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. [65] Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. [66] What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. [67] Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
He could have performed a few minor miracles before Herod, and most likely would have been set free, but it would have ended the mission he had been assigned by his Father, which was to pay the redemptive price for the sins of all who would accept it.
Luke 23:8-11,20-22 – And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. [9] Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. [10] And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. [11] And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. [20] Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. [21] But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. [22] And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.
Had there been evil he had done, or any other thing that was worthy of the death sentence all men, other than him, have been born under, then he had sin, and could not take away mine, but he knew no sin. He kept the appointment with death that all others have been born under, if they are willing to put their faith in his having done so, and those are the ones who are waiting for him to come again. They will be the ones who believe he did take away their sins, so they will appear without sin before the one who took them away.
Hebrews 9:26-28 – For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: [28] So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Matthew 27:11-14,23-26 – And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. [12] And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. [13] Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? [14] And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. [23] And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. [24] When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. [25] Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. [26] Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
The Lord’s lot fell on the sacrificial goat, and pictured what Christ was about to do to offer a blood sacrifice for all my sins. The scapegoat is a picture of Christ’s having taken my sins, and removed them from me as far as east is from west in his burial, but he was resurrected alive to live forever as my continual intercessor for the full atonement of my sins.
Leviticus 16:8-10 – And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. [9] And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. [10] But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
Psalm 103:12 – As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Luke 23:36-43 – And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, [37] And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. [38] And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. [39] And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. [40] But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. [42] And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. [43] And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Why did this thief go to paradise? What could he do to save himself? He could not get off the cross to do good works or to be baptized! Let’s take a look at what led up to Jesus making this promise of paradise by taking note of the actions of the thief. We are not saved by baptism or by works, and neither was the thief.
1. He rebuked the other thief for his comment “IF thou be Christ.”
2. He feared God.
3. He knew he was a condemned man who deserved to be condemned.
4. He acknowledged that Jesus had done nothing wrong.
5. He called him Lord, and asked him to remember him when he came into his kingdom.
6. He believed he was the Messiah who would bring in the promised kingdom.
Why do I believe I am going to be in heaven after I leave this life?
1. I believe he is the Christ.
2. I fear God.
3. I was a condemned man who was guilty, and knew it.
4. I believe that Jesus lived a sinless life, doing nothing wrong.
5. I called Jesus Lord, calling upon his name to save me, a sinner, from what I am, and I know Jesus does remember when I did so.
6. I believe Jesus is the Messiah who will bring me into his promised kingdom.
Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Romans 10:17 – So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:13 – For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 161A
March 1, 2004
Earthquakes – Past & Future in Israel
In my first year at Arkansas Tech University I was introduced to all the different types of faults and structural features of the crust of the earth. I was particularly interested in the great rift-valley fault that stretches from southern Africa northward through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Eilat, the Jordan River Valley, the Beka Valley of Lebanon, and finally makes an intersection with the east-west fault across northern Turkey. I have studied this fault structure for some 30 years, and have surveyed it from Kenya in Africa to the Lebanese border in northern Israel. Since I am one who believes God created the heavens and earth, I believe it is his to do with as he chooses, and since I believe his Holy Spirit wrote the Bible through inspiring about 40 different men during a period of 1500 to 1600 years, then I have also concluded that many of the destructive events, which are written in his word concerning the last days, will be fulfilled by God’s power as he uses the fault structures he created and controls. You can get a good overall look at the fault structures by clicking on Birth Pangs on our Menu, then clicking on Birth Pangs Figures, then clicking on Figure 3. The recent killer earthquake in Morocco was produced by the fault line that crosses northern Turkey, the Grecian Islands, near Rome, and between Spain and Morocco into the Atlantic.
I became a member of the American Meteorological Society in 1962 and a member of the Israel Geological Society in 1974. There are many Bible prophecies that involve tremendous geological changes during what is known as the tribulation period, such as the tearing apart of the Mount of Olives, the lifting of the land from Geba to Rimmon, the collapse of a tenth of the city of old Jerusalem, the creation of springs across Israel, the creation of Ezekiel’s spring on the Temple Mount, the division of the Great City into three parts, and many other phenomena. If you will take a look at Birth Pangs 1 to 14 in our Archives you will find an exposition of the Scriptures dealing with worldwide topographical changes, in Birth Pangs 15 to 32 you will find an exposition of land mass changes the Bible says will occur in Israel and the rest of the Holy Land, and if you will click on “To view Birth Pang Figures” on our Menu Page, you may view all the diagrams associated with the vast topographical changes of all the Birth Pang upheavals in these aforementioned Birth Pangs. You may also find when these changes occur in sequence with other events of the tribulation period in the exposition of Zechariah 13:8 to 14:16 in our Prophecy Archive Updates 138A to 138E, 140A to 140D, & 141A to 141B.
In Prophecy Update 130A, I gave the RMS assessment of the probability of a major quake being due in the Jordan Rift Valley, and, in Prophecy Update 155B, I gave the survey of the weakness of the rock strata under the Temple Mount, which makes it very susceptible to more earthquake damage than the rest of Jerusalem. At least six major earthquakes have originated from the Jordan River fault. The closest branch of the fault to Jerusalem, which is capable of producing its own earthquake, is thirteen miles east of the city, and is called the Dead Sea Western Border Sub-Fault. This was the fault that produced the last major earthquake to affect Jerusalem in 1927. The epicenter was about sixteen miles east of Jerusalem, and released some thirty times more energy than the most recent quake in the Jordan Valley. It took the lives of more than 200 people, injured more than a thousand, and left thousands homeless. During the coming tribulation period, these figures shall be miniscule, when compared with the first earthquake fatality figures that herald the beginning of numerous powerful earthquakes, which will be occurring for some three and one-half years.
The new western section of Jerusalem, which was built by the Jews after 1948, and the old city of Jerusalem west of a line between the Damascus Gate in the northern wall and the Dung Gate in the southern wall, rests on hard Cenomanian limestone. But those sections of the old city east of that line, which includes the Wailing Wall and Temple Mount, rest on a mixture of much softer Turonian limestone weakened by a maize of old tunnels and rubble from previous ages. That is why I believe the section east of the line will fall (collapse) during the earthquake of Revelation 11, killing some 7,000 men, and causing the remnant of Jews in the Negev to give glory to God.
Revelation 11:13 – And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
And, at the same time, the area west of the line will be lifted up and safely inhabited for a thousand years. A fault scarp from Geba to Rimmon extends along this line.
Zechariah 14:10,11 – All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. [11] And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
Diagrams of these, and many other tribulation period changes in the land of Israel may be viewed by clicking on our “Birth Pangs Figures” on our Menu. There are 48 diagrams on a single page. Just click on the one you want to view, and it will enlarge to full-page size.
Special Prophecy Update Number 161B
March 3, 2004
Operation Defensive Shield Has Done Its Work!
In Special Prophecy Update Number 65A, issued April 27, 2002, I wrote the following:
BEGIN QUOTE FROM 65A
“It appears that Israel is continuing to put into effect the old Yigal Allon “peace with security” plan he introduced in 1968, but which was never put into effect until March 29, 2002. I am convinced that Benjamin Netanyahu almost put it a modified version of it during the time of his administration, but political pressures at that time kept him from putting it into effect. This current “Operation Defensive Shield” is a modified version of the original Yigal Allon Plan to secure the borders of Israel from terrorists and/or militant attacks and/or exploits from within the West Bank. The modified version is an overlay of the original plan. The outline of it that follows tells what it has already accomplished, and a description of what will happen as the process continues.
Step 1 – Go into the West Bank and destroy all the organized militant anti-Israel groups and elements that are a threat to the existence of the State of Israel. Destroy the infrastructure by killing, arresting, or scattering its leaders and membership.
Step 2 – Do it first in the cities known to have the largest groups of such elements.
Step 3 – Withdraw from the cities, after initial disabling of such elements has been accomplished, and form a ring of security around each one such that all roads and trails into the city can be observed and controlled.
Step 4 – Go into the smaller cities and areas and repeat Steps 2 & 3 for each one of them.
Step 5 – Allow the militant elements to regroup in the cities till internal intelligence can reveal their new locations in the city, then go in again and kill, arrest, or scatter them.
Step 6 – Continue to actively follow Step 5, but begin to seek out the militants in the remote mountain regions of the West Bank, at the same time searching for the numerous weapons stored there for a future Jihad.
Step 7 – Once Steps 5 & 6 have been successfully completed to the degree that a “peace with security” is believed to have been accomplished, then complete what has been envisioned since Step 1. While Steps 1 through 6 are being accomplished, be in the act of building a “zone of security” that encircles the entire West Bank. This “defensive shield” would take in as many fringe settlements in the West Bank as deemed possible to afford “peace and security” according to their location. Many of the Jewish settlements in the interior of the West Bank would have to be abandoned.
My guess is that between 50 and 70 percent can be kept inside the “zone of security.”
All of this is what I referred to as “forced peace” in the first Prophecy Update we issued more than two years ago, which you may read in our Prophecy Archives. It is, simply stated, a plan that Israel warned it would implement if the Palestinians would not negotiate for peace. In other words, if you don’t want to give a “peace with security” through negotiations, then we are going to force you to accept one we place on you so that we can have “peace with security” by isolating you from contact with us.” END QUOTE FROM 65A. Ariel Sharon now calls it “unilateral withdrawal” or, at times, “unilateral disengagement.
What you have just read is precisely what Israel has done during the last two years, and is continuing to do at the present time. It has fractured the terrorist infrastructures of Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades. The leadership of the Palestinians as a people is now up for grabs. The political and financial corruption of Yassar Assar has left the Palestinian-man-in-the-street’s confidence in Fatah in limbo. Fatah is now trying to hold on to the leadership, but Hamas, through its massive welfare handouts, is now in strong position to take over the government. Is there one thing that Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, and the Palestinian-man-in-the-street all agree on? Yes! DON’T BUILD THE WALL! The Palestinians are fighting Israel with one weapon – TERRORIST SUICIDE BOMBERS! Take that away from them, and they can no longer satisfy their hatred for the Jews by slaughtering them to show the rest of the Islamic world their great courage and devotion to Allah. There is one, and only one, way that Islam can drive Israel into the Negev wilderness – By a united Islamic Jihad of at least 10 of the Middle East nations following the leadership of one man. The terrorist attacks are lifting the hearts of the Islamic world toward that goal, and I truly agree with Israel that if the barrier is completed it will reduce terrorist suicide bombing by more than 95 percent in Israel. And, while I do not believe it will stop an eventual Jihad from being launched again Israel, I do believe it will lead Israel to actual say it has “peace and safety.” The wall has been the catalyst that “forced” the Palestinians into their present position. If they should decide to truly negotiate, provided Israel would stop the fence construction until the negotiations were concluded, and if they were then successfully completed, then it would have been the fence that literally “forced” then to do so. And if they do not negotiate, and the fence is completed, they will have peace “forced” on them strictly by Israeli terms. Either way a false “forced” peace is coming in Israel. I indicated this coming “forced” peace scenario in Prophecy Update 1 in January of 2001.
BEGIN QUOTE – “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.” – END QUOTE.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – 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 – 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 161C
March 5, 2004
Syria Makes a Very Bad Choice
I have always believed and taught that the most likely part of the old Roman Empire, which would foster the rise of the Antichrist, would be Syria. Syria has been hanging suspended between two choices: (1) Turn toward the United States in order to avoid sanctions, and to gain support from the western world in a war on terror, or, (2) Turn toward Iran to make an alliance and continue to give support to all the terrorist groups. On February 28 Syria apparently made its choice. The Iranian Defense Minister, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, came to Damascus and signed a new military pact with the Syrian Defense Minister, General Mustufa Tias. I believe this is a clear sign that President Assad has made his choice to put his trust in an Iran-Syria Axis to protect his administration from a coup by terrorist groups in his own country. President Assad has been active recently in communications with Washington to see what they would give him in the way of security if he should choose to give up sponsoring the many terrorist group offices in Syria, and Hizbollah in Lebanon. Really, he did not have much of a choice. Had he turned pro-west and resisted the terrorist groups, his regime would have been overthrown in a matter of weeks. Syria’s new military pact with Iran likely contains an Iranian promise to invest in additional long range Scud-C missiles, now in mass production at Syria’s underground missile facility near Hamah, which is somewhat ironic in that the northern extent of Israel’s territory, after it defeats Syria at the end of the tribulation period, will extend to Hamah. The biblical name for Hamah is Hamath.
Ezekiel 47:17 – And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
Genesis 15:18 – 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:
Ezekiel 47:19 – And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
If you want to envision the size of the Abrahamic Land Grant promised to the descendants of Abraham through Jacob (Israel), then go southwest from the southernmost tip of the Gaza Strip along the coastline of the Mediterranean 35 miles and place a point on the shoreline. Then draw a line directly east from that point until you hit the Euphrates River of Iraq. That is the southern border of the land God promised to the seed of Abraham through his grandson, the man whom God renamed Israel, the man Jacob, the son of Isaac, the promised seed God gave through Sarah. The northern border of the land grant may be visualized by finding Hamah or Hama in north central Syria, and then drawing an east-west line through it, which ends on the Mediterranean to the west, and on the Euphrates River to the east. This is the northern border of Abraham’s God given Land Grant. As you can see, this is a very large tract of land, 95 percent of which is occupied by descendants of Abraham through Ishmael’s twelve sons, the six sons of Abraham by Keturah, and Moab and Ammon, the two sons of Abraham’s nephew Lot by his own daughters. They are identified generally as Arabs, and some 95 percent of them are of the Islamic faith. Since they believe that the promises of God come through Abraham’s son Ishmael through Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaiden, you can see the basic reason for the hatred between Arabs and Jews that has only intensified with the passage of the centuries (See Prophecy Updates 67 and 68 in the Archives).
I am confident that the new military pact will undoubtedly transfer the information necessary for the manufacture of the advanced Shihab-3 missile in Syria, as well as the financing for greater production of long-range artillery and ammunition.
The United States and Europe wanted Syria to follow Libya’s lead, but Bashar Assad was really in no political position to do so without being overthrown by the terrorist elements in his own country. There were four things the United States wanted Syria to give up.
(1) Scrap your long-range missile program.
(2) Scrap your WMD program.
(3) Drive all the terrorist groups out of Syria.
(4) Stop supporting Hizbollah in Lebanon.
I feel confident it was a choice Bashar Assad simply could not make. Iran and Syria are of the same mind on these four issues. Had Syria chosen to do those four things, it would have cut Iran’s flow of weaponry and the movement of terrorists to Hizbollah. Syria was left without any military backup with the fall of Iraq, so Assad has chosen to shore up and expand its existing ties with Iran, and create new military ties with them for a joint defense against the west. The strong showing by the radical Shiite hardliners in Iran’s elections last month was a strong element that Assad considered in making his choice. Iranian Shiites will continue to have a direct pipeline via Damascus airport for massive shipments of military hardware to the large Hizbollah terrorist army, which it has supported in southern Lebanon for years, as have the Syrians.
Rest assured that Israel has three very definite targets on its mind for the possibility of future air strikes, namely, the Syrian underground and surface facilities near Hamah, the Iranian nuclear complex centered ten miles south of Bushehr, and selected weapons supply depots in southern Lebanon (See Prophecy Update 160A). By no stretch of the imagination will Iraq remain a democracy any great length of time after the election of a new government. It will take less than two years after Iraqi elections for most of Iraq to become an Islamic Republic. And, when it does, there will be a military Islamic union stretching from Iran to Lebanon through Iraq and Syria.
Contrary to today’s popular belief, the antichrist will not come out of Europe, but out of the area that includes Syria, Lebanon, and northern Iraq (See Special Prophecy Update 74B and Whole Numbered Prophecy Updates 62 to 69).
And, contrary to today’s popular belief, the 10 toes of Daniel’s statue and the 10 horns on his fourth beast, which are the same 10 nations that will make up the coalition of nations that attack Israel in the last days, will not come out of Europe, but out of the southern half of the old Roman Empire, which included lands from Morocco to Iran, and as far north as Turkey (See Prophecy Updates 54 and 78).
Daniel 2:42 – And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
Daniel 7:24 – 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.
Revelation 17:12,13 – 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.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 162
March 7, 2004
The Son Who Became A Servant To Save Us – Part 11
Isaiah 53:8 – He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Messiah was betrayed, arrested, bound, forsaken by his disciples, and led away to appear before the high priest, where he was illegally judged, found guilty of blasphemy for claiming to be the Messiah, temporarily imprisoned, then led from his from judgment and imprisonment to appear before Pontius Pilate. Isaiah wrote of this more than 700 years before Jesus Christ fulfilled it.
“HE WAS TAKEN FROM PRISON AND FROM JUDGMENT:” Mark 14:53 – And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.
Mark 15:1 – And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
Because they were planning to cut him off from his own generation, and he was the only one who could declare it to be worthy of escaping God’s punishment for their action against its Messiah, that generation would suffer the consequences of its actions.
“AND WHO SHALL DECLARE HIS GENERATION?”
Matthew 23:32-36 – Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. [33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? [34] Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: [35] That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. [36] Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon THIS GENERATION.
And, before that generation ended, the Roman Prince Titus came and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its temple. The word “FOR” in the next phrase means that it was the reason there was no one to intercede for his generation, BECAUSE they cut him off from in death from their presence.
“FOR HE WAS CUT OFF FROM THE LAND OF THE LIVING:” Mark 10:32-34 – And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, [33] Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: [34] And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Messiah told them this as he traveled to Jerusalem for what he knew would be his last trip, but it apparently went in one ear and out the other, without them really understanding what he was saying. They had followed him for more than three years, believing that one day he would openly declare himself the promised Messiah, then raise a great Israeli army, defeat the Romans and cast off their yoke, then establish a great physical kingdom of God on the earth that covered the land grant promised to Abraham through Jacob, then set on the throne of David forever. The Messiah was expected to set in glory in an eternal physical body on the throne of David. So, immediately after he told them what you just read in Mark 10:32-34, James and John came to him with the following request in verses 35 to 37.
Mark 10:35-37 – And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. [36] And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? [37] They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
They had never fully grasped that Messiah had to die for their sins, and really did not fully understand it until after his resurrection, when he explained it to two of the disciples on the Emmaus Road.
Luke 24:25-27,30-32 – Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: [26] Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? [27] And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. [30] And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. [31] And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. [32] And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
The saved hearts of all believers that realize this perfect, sinless, Son of the Living God, willfully humbled himself and became obedient to death, taking the full punishment for our transgressions, have hearts that burn within us when we contemplate his love for us revealed in the Scriptures.
“FOR THE TRANSGRESSION OF MY PEOPLE WAS HE STRICKEN.” I Peter 2:22-25 – Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: [23] Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: [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. [25] For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
All the many high priests of Israel, which presented a picture of Messiah as the High Priest of God, had one thing in common, they died, and could not forever intercede before God because of death, but God resurrected the eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ the Messiah, who had offered one sacrifice for all sins forever, and he has saved all those who put faint in his sacrifice as the eternal atonement for all their sins forever. They have been justified before God to the uttermost by faith in his Son.
Hebrews 7:23-27 – And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: [24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. [25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. [26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
I Corinthians 1:18 – For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Corinthians 2:2,5 – 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.
Acts 4:12 – Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Romans 10:13 – For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 162A
March 9, 2004
Iran May Soon Join the Spy Satellite Club
Spy Satellites are a fantastic tool to discover the military secrets and deployment of enemy forces. There are some eight nations that possess this eye in the sky capability at the present time, and unless some action is taken by Israel, it may see Iran added to the club soon, possibly within as little as a year. This would add considerably to Iran’s military arsenal of flexibility and diversionary capabilities. It would also be a tremendous help to any confederation of Islamic nations that chose to attack Israel.
Our best spy eye in the sky until 1960 consisted of the U-2, but that ended with the downing of Gary Powers by the Russians on May Day, 1960. We accelerated our spy satellite development after losing the U-2, and some three years afterwards launched our first spy satellite. I retired from the USAF-NSA in 1971 and, by that time, our spy satellites showed much more sophistication in their ability to supply high-resolution photos of foreign activities in both friendly and unfriendly countries. This is one of the ways I learned about the development of the war contingency area in the Negev for evacuation if Israel was overrun from the north, as a part of its War Contingency Plan. This is hardly classified information at the present time, because Russian spy satellites, launched out of two areas in northern and southern Russia, were seeing the same things we saw in the Negev, and we knew by electronic intercept they shared what they viewed with Syria. The zones of limestone layers in the mountains of the vast Negev, due to vertical and slant percolation of water through them, have created numerous caves in mountainsides by the formation of carbonic acid. Some of these caves have been extended by the Israelis to distances inside the mountains that will carry enough length of railroad tracks to launch Jericho-II missiles with nuclear warheads from flatbeds equipped with launching pads. The cave provides protection from enemy first strikes, and the railcar is not exposed for launch until after an initial attack.
Spy satellites have been circling over our heads from both friendly and unfriendly countries for more than forty years at an average height of a little more than 500,000 feet. They average a speed 26 times faster than the speed of sound, and photograph every spot on earth. They are much, much, more sophisticated today than when I retired. Each one generally circles the earth twice a day taking digital snapshots of all those places of interest to the NSA, CIA, DIA, FBI, NSC, Pentagon, and other agencies. Even though they are vastly superior to those in existence when I retired, their abilities of being able to tell the date on a dime or to read a license plate number on a vehicle are probably exaggerations. There are some four “keyhole-class” satellites roving across our planet today, which have a resolution able to distinguish a softball or read the largest letter on an optometrist’s eye-testing chart, and a couple of radar-imaging satellites that may be able to read letters a yard in height. We did not have digital copy photography when I retired. The use of digital imagery by the NIMA has been the most important development in spy satellite activities since my retirement, and the additional beauty of it is that it can be transmitted to friendly nations in our stable of military defense. Now, we can get a 3D enhancement of the area we are investigating. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) has excelled beyond belief in the development of 3-D imagery.
Unfortunately, even though our digital imaging techniques are better developed than the Russians, the Russians and Chinese are chasing after our technology. And, rest assured, they will share it with Iran for the right price, which Iran is able to meet with its fantastic oil revenues. I am certain that Israel is currently watching Iran like a chicken hawk will watch a chicken for just the right moment to swoop down on it.
Iran has shown rapid development in its Shihab missile program, and the advanced Shihab-3 is capable of carrying a nuclear payload to Israel. The advanced Shihab-3 is probably capable of launching a spy satellite at the present time, but Iran may wait until its Shihab-5 is fully functional before attempting a satellite launch. If Iran has not attempted a launch by year’s end, I feel confident they will do so before the end of 2005. They must have a spy satellite in place before making a thrust at Israel, and Israel certainly does not want this to be the case.
Israel launched its first spy satellite, the Ofek-3, some nine years ago, during the administration of Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin. The large “Shavit” that launches Israel’s satellites could hit every Arab capital plus some cities in China, Russia, and Europe. Israel has claimed it only flies vertically, which is as big a joke as Iran saying it does not intend to produce a nuclear warhead for its Shihab-5 missile. Israel’s Jericho-II nuclear missile is a Shavit without the upper stage, which is replaced by a nuclear warhead, and the Jericho missiles and the Shavit launcher use the same family of rocket motors.
Rest assured that the U.S. and Israeli spy satellite photographs have been studied, restudied, analyzed, and reanalyzed by countless numbers of different types of military weaponry specialists, photography experts, and their best analysts. They know precisely where every single nuclear component facility and missile complex is located in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and the rest of the Arab nations, and when Israel finally does take precautionary strike action it will be deadly accurate, short in duration, and complete in purpose. They already have more than enough F-15I’s, and will soon have enough F-16I’s for such strike actions.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 162B
March 11, 2004
The Spirit of Antichrist and the Sword of God!
>Since the cross there have been many wars fought on this earth created by God, and a large percentage always use the excuse of differences in religious belief as justification for attempting to destroy their enemies. The conflict in the Middle East has such a justification behind it in Islam believing that Israel has no right to live on part of the land given to them by Abraham, claiming that Abraham gave it to them through Ishmael, Abraham’s first son. It was, of course, Muhammad, claiming to be the prophet of Allah, who took the Old and New Testaments to write what is known as the Koran, a terribly mutilated version of his own making, which shifted the Biblical characters and their sayings to match his own purposes. He has been the major false prophet since the cross and Islam is the real spirit of antichrist. In several places in the Koran there are linked definitive statements implying Jesus Christ was not the flesh and blood Son of the living God, and it identifies God as Allah. It specifically states several times that he could not be, because Allah has no Son. Muhammad did not have the Spirit of God. He was the greatest of the false prophets of the post New Testament period, and the Koran is the document that is leading the world into the final conflict of this age, which will culminate in the battle of Armageddon. There was a heretical group in churches before the time of Muhammad that believed Jesus was a phantom, not a flesh and blood man, but Islam, and its specific denial that Jesus was the flesh and blood Son of God, and the Koran’s violent twisting of both the Old and New Testaments, is the final spirit of antichrist for this present age.
1 John 4:1-3 – Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. [2] Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: [3] And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1 John 2:22-23 – Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. [23] Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
We are headed for the final showdown between Christ and the antichrist personified in a single man, who will lead ten Islamic nations against Israel and, some three and a half years later, will lead the ungodly nations in a final battle called Armageddon. The belief in Christ by the totally Jewish membership of the first church, caused their families to disown them, and they lost their family inheritances. Their foes were those of their own households. But there is coming a final conflict that will end the spirit of antichrist and the antichrist himself at the battle of Armageddon. It will be the Word of God, the Living Word of God, who will end this age with the SWORD of his word from his lips proclaiming it as the returning Lion of Judah.
Matthew 10:32-34 – Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. [33] But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. [34] Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a SWORD.
Revelation 19:11-21 – And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. [12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [14] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. [15] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp SWORD, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. [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. [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which SWORD proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Ezekiel 39:17-22 – 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. [21] And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. [22] So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.
Ezekiel 39:28,29 – 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.
Zechariah 14:9 – And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 163
March 13, 2004
The Son Who Became a Servant to Save Us! – Number 12
Isaiah 53:9 – And he made his grave with the wicked, AND with the rich in his death; BECAUSE he had done NO violence, neither was ANY deceit in his mouth.
“AND HE MADE HIS GRAVE WITH THE WICKED, AND WITH THE RICH IN HIS DEATH:”
He made the choice to be buried among all sinners, from those exceedingly wicked and poor to those exceedingly wicked and rich, for men from the richest to the poorest were sinners and void of the righteousness of God.
Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 3:10 – As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
God is no respecter of persons for, from the most noble to the greatest traitor, all have hearts that do not trust in the Lord, being deceitful above all things, and all must call upon the name of the Lord to save them from what they are by birth from Adam.
Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Romans 10:13 – For whosoever shall CALL UPON the name of the Lord shall be saved.
I Peter 1:18,19 – 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:
“AND WITH THE RICH IN HIS DEATH”
He was buried in the tomb prepared for the body of the rich member of the Council from Arimathara, whose name was Joseph.
Luke 23:33,50-53 – And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. [50] And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: [51] (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. [52] This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. [53] And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
All those who are saved and coming to the knowledge of the truth in his word are, like Joseph, waiting for the Lion of Judah, the King of Israel, to return in his glory with his Kingdom. It is God’s will that they do so.
I Timothy 2:3-6 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; [4] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. [5] For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6] Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
He bruised his heel, his entire body, when he stepped on the serpent’s head and forever crushed its power over all those who will put their faith in what he did for them to pay the price for all their sins. The humiliation and the beating he took that rendered him to no longer have the outward appearance of a men, did not cause him to do violence to his captors, and he would not claim to be anything less than what he was to gain his freedom from the price he knew he had to pay for our sins.
Genesis 3:15 – And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
In all of this he could have called down myriads of the angels to do violence to his captors, but he had to crush Satan’s power by his life as the only man who ever lived a perfect, sinless life of redemption as a man who died to free us from the power gained over man in the Garden of Eden. And he did not deny he was the Son of God to escape the unbelievable beating and spiritual agony he knew he had to pay for our inherited sin condition.
“HE HAD DONE NO VIOLENCE NEITHER WAS ANY DECEIT IN HIS MOUTH.”
I Peter 2:22,23 – Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: [23] Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
Luke 23:4,41 – Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. [41] And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
John 19:4-6 – Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. [5] Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! [6] When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
Matthew 5:17,18 – Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. [18] For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
James 2:10 – For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
He fulfilled all that the prophets had written concerning his first coming as Messiah, and he is the only man who every lived that measured up to the standard of God’s righteousness.
Philippians 2:6-12 – Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: [7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: [8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. [9] Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: [10] That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; [11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
For this reason all power in heaven and in earth has been given to him and he is able to spiritually quicken all who come to him.
I Corinthians 15:45 – And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
John 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
John 5:40 – And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 163A
March 20, 2004
The Spirit of Antichrist and the Sword of God!
Since the cross there have been many wars fought on this earth created by God, and a large percentage have used the excuse of differences in religious beliefs as justification for attempting to destroy their enemies. The conflict in the Middle East has such a justification behind it in Islam believing that Israel has no right to live on part of the land given to them by Abraham, claiming that Abraham gave it to them through Ishmael, Abraham’s first son. It was, of course, Muhammad, claiming to be the prophet of Allah, who took the Old and New Testaments to write what is known as the Koran, a terribly mutilated version of his own making, which shifted the biblical characters and their sayings to suit his own purposes. He has been the major false prophet since the cross and Islam is the spirit of antichrist. In several places in the Koran there are definite statements that Jesus Christ was not the flesh and blood Son of the living God, who they identify as Allah. The Koran specifically states several times that that he was not because Allah has no son. Muhammad did not write led by the Spirit of God. He was the greatest of the false prophets of the New Testament age, and the Koran is the document that is leading the world of today into the final great conflict of this age, the battle of Armageddon. There was a heretical group in the early churches before the time of Muhammad that believed Jesus was a phantom, not a flesh and blood man, but Islam, and its specific denial that Jesus was not the Son of God, and its violent twisting of both the Old and New Testament, is the growing manifestation of the spirit of antichrist for this last age.
I John 4:1-3 – Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of god: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. [2] Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. [3] And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
I John 2:22,23 _ Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. [23] Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
We are headed for the final showdown between Christ and the antichrist personified in a single man, who will lead ten Islamic nations against Israel and, some three and one-half years later, will lead all the ungodly nations against the remnant of Israel in the Negev. The belief in Christ by the members of the first church, which was all Jewish, caused their families to disown them, and they lost their family inheritances. Their foes were composed of their own households. But there is coming a final conflict that will end the spirit of antichrist and the antichrist himself at the battle of Armageddon. It will be the Word of God, the Living Word of God, who will end this age with the SWORD of his Word from his lips proclaiming it.
Mathew 10:32-34 – Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father which is in heaven. [33] But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. [34] Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a SWORD.
Revelation 19:11-21 – And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. [12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [14] and the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. [15] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp SWORD, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. [17] And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves 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. [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the SWORD of him that sat upon the horse, which SWORD proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
The following Scriptures were written by Ezekiel about 700 years before John wrote Revelation. Please compare Revelation 19:17 to 21 with the following from Ezekiel 39:17-22.
Ezekiel 39:17-22 – 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 on 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 that 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. [21] And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. [22] So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.
This marks the end of the battle of Armageddon, which closes what has been called the tribulation period, and describes the beginning of the reign of Messiah.
Ezekiel 39:28,29 – 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 into 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.
Zechariah 14:9 – And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 164
March 22, 2004
THE SON WHO BECAME A SERVANT TO SAVE US – Part 13
Isaiah 53:10 – 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,
“YET IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM”
It was made plain in the Garden of Eden, immediately after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that in order for God to be just in his own character, he had to reconcile man to himself by allowing Satan to bruise the heel of his only begotten Son when his feet walked upon this earth as a man in sinless, perfect flesh. He forever crushed the power that Satan held over man from birth by stepping on the poisonous source of his mind controlling venom, but it cost him his life in the flesh and the temporary agony of being separated from his Father for three days and three nights
Genesis 3:15 – And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her SEED, IT SHALL BRUISE THY HEAD, AND THOU SHALT BRUISE HIS HEEL.
II Corinthians 5:19 – 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.
Romans 4:6-8 – 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.
II Corinthians 5:21 – For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
All men face a judgment for what they are by birth and by nature, sinners under the condemnation of God once they reach the age of mental accountability before God. But for all who will hear his Son’s words, believing that God, his Father, sent him to take their sins in his own body on the cross, there is a spiritual rebirth that passes them from death unto life, and forever removes them from under the condemnation of God for sin.
John 5:24 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, HATH everlasting life, and SHALL NOT come into condemnation; but IS PASSED from death unto life.
“HATH” IS A PRESENT, INDICATIVE, ACTIVE VERB. IF YOU HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE NOW, THEN IN ORDER FOR IT TO HAVE SATISFIED THE TRUTH OF THE WORD EVERLASTING, YOU MUST HAVE IT FOREVER OR IT IS A LIE.
Christ did not put away part of my sins that would have sent me to hell under the condemnation of God. They were still in the future when he took them, and he took all of them. For those who are waiting for him to appear with this belief, he will appear, because they are without sin before God, since they believe Christ took all their sins on his first trip to earth. Their faith is in the grace of God that is in the ability and power of Christ to save and keep them, not in their works.
Hebrews 9:26-28 – For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now ONCE in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: [28] So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of MANY; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
So who are the MANY to whom he will appear without sin the second time he comes.
John 1:11-13 – He came unto his own, and his own received him not. [12] But as MANY as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
We are quickened, made alive, by the Spirit of God, when we believe the words of his Son by putting all our faith on him to save and keep us.
I Corinthians 15:21,22,45 – For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. [45] And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
John 6:62,63 – What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? [63] It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing: the WORDS that I speak unto you, THEY are SPIRIT, and THEY are LIFE.
John 5:40 – And ye will not come to me, that ye might have LIFE.
John 6:68 – Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? THOU HAST the WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.
“HE HATH PUT HIM TO GRIEF”
Perhaps the awareness that he was soon to know sin, our sin, and to be separated as a man from his heavenly Father for the first time in his existence, is portrayed in a Scripture in the Garden as he anticipated it, and on the cross as he began to experience it at the very end. They were the times of perhaps his greatest grief.
Luke 22:41-44 – And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, [42] Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. [43] And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. [44] And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.
Matthew 27:46 – And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying Eli, Eli, la-ma sa-bach-tha-ni? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
No man ever had faith like God’s only begotten Son. After his prayer in the Garden, taking a beating that left him hardly recognizable as a human being, and hanging for six hours on the cross, the last three in darkness, he still called him “MY” God! The life I now live in the flesh is lived by the indwelling faith of the Son of God, who love me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20,21 – 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.
Philippians 3:9 – And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through THE FAITH OF CHRIST, the righteousness which if of God by faith.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 164A
March 24, 2004
Passivism and Capitulation – Remember Munich!
It Led to the Slaughter of Six Million Jews!
It Shall Lead to the Slaughter of Millions More!
Since September of 2000 the Hamas Terrorist Group, organized by Sheik Ahmed Yassen, is responsible for carrying out 425 terrorist attacks, which resulted in the killing of 377 and wounding of 2,076 Israeli citizens and soldiers. Israel’s killing of this man and other leaders in Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade is fully justified. That poor old man, setting in a wheel chair, believed the slaughter of all infidels is justified by the Koran. An infidel is one who does not believe that there is only one God, Allah, and that Mohammad is his Prophet. This is a war of ideologies that can only be satisfied in the eyes of many of the Islamic clerics by the conquest or conversion of all infidels to Islam. And it is not going to go away by ducking our heads under the cover and hoping the monster will go away. Believe it or not, like it or not, Islam is the spirit of antichrist, and it is not going to disappear until Jesus returns to bring in his kingdom on this earth. In fact, this spirit of antichrist is likely to be manifested in a single man in the not too distant future in Islam, and I am of the opinion that 10 Islamic nations will attack Israel before 2008. I confess the timing is opinion, but that they will is something of which I am certain.
The people of Spain are now exhibiting the same type of capitulation that Europe showed in its long chain of caving in to acts of aggression out of a fear of loss of lives in a war with Hitler’s thugs. There will be many words, many statements, from Spain in the future to assure the world they are increasing their war on terrorism, but they will only be words, and the Islamic terrorists will be happy to leave them alone, having accomplished their purpose in separating them from support for the United States. However, they may well find that an internal terrorism increase will occur from their home grown national terrorists, because they see how effective Islam terror activity has been in affecting the elections of new politicians that surrender to fear of reprisal. I fear that Europe has forgotten the lessons it should have retained from its final capitulation to Hitler in Munich to avoid a World War, which actually led to it instead of stopping it, and resulted in the slaughter of some six million Jews.
There will be an ever increasing rhetoric out of Europe by its leaders that they are increasing their war on the Islamic terrorist organizations, but that is all it will be, dynamic rhetoric without teeth. Europe is drifting into a compromise with Islam, which is being manifested by the shocking rise of anti-Jewish hatred across Europe that rivals that before 1936. I am very much afraid that the Vatican and most of Europe will end up more on the side of Islamic nations that the Jewish nation, and when the push turns to shove in a coming showdown between the Arabs and Jews, they will back the Islamic nations.
It might have been different if European and American baby-boomers had gone through the terrors of WW II. Many of us who did learned a valuable lesson from it – NEVER COMPROMISE WITH AN ENEMY THAT WANTS TO TERMINATE YOUR EXISTANCE. We only have two choices: either appease your enemy or go to war with him. The United States is at war with the terrorists – Europe is embarking on an appeasement path that will allow Islam to grow more and more in its own confidence to defeat Israel. There is no doubt on the final goal of Islam. It has been stated and restated over and over again by the Shiite and Sunni clerics – It is to establish a messianic caliphate that will lift Islam to be the world’s only religious belief that dominates all of its inhabitants. You may say, well, that is a fanatical daydream of the clerics that will never occur, however, it is not a question of whether or not it will ever occur, it is the fact that they think the power of Allah can do it, which drives them to fanaticism. Appeasement to them only gives them encouragement to believe that Allah is causing us to cave in. I learned in grade school that the only way to stop a bully from picking on me was to fight him. Even if you don’t win he won’t like the pain you put on him during the fight, and will leave you alone. I won my first fight against a bully, and, as a reward, was made a member of the L. J. Mulligan gang, which was a gang made up of tough guys that terrorized the other kids. I became a bully myself, but one day I knocked a boy down three times, and he just kept getting up, which terrified me. Finally, he knocked me down, and the principal showed up just in time to break up the fight. I stopped being a bully that day, and only fought thereafter to defend myself. I learned something from that fight, if you keep getting up and continuing to fight, it discourages your opponent, and he wants the fight to end. We got knocked down at 9/11, but we got up, and we keep getting knocked down by terrorist attacks, but we keep getting up and fighting back. In the end we will win if we keep getting up – Israel has applied this principle, and we need to practice it. We got knocked down at Pearl Harbor, but we got up. We got knocked down over and over again until Guadalcanal, but we kept getting up, and finally won. You may think that 9/11 is not the same thing, but it is, in fact, I believe it was the announcement that we are heading toward the final war that will end this age. We need men and women of this country to stand up against those who consider us all to be infidels because we do not worship Allah, and we need politicians who will stand and fight against the greatest threat we have ever faced. We need to keep getting up until Jesus comes, then he will stand up for us against the antichrist and give us the victory.
I have read the Koran from cover to cover. Its message is clear. There is only one God, and his Prophet is the man Mohammed. If you do not believe that, you are an infidel, and a candidate for destruction to advance the cause of Islam. NEVER COMPROMISE WITH AN ENEMY THAT WANTS TO TERMINATE YOUR EXISTANCE.
I believe that the forces of Islam will attack Israel at some point in time prior to 2008. I may be wrong about the timing, but am certain it will eventually happen. I believe about four million Jews will perish in the attack, and that some two million will be driven into the Negev wilderness.
Zechariah 13:8 – 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.
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman (Israel) 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.
Zechariah 13:9 – 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 12:9-10 – And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. [10] And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
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.
I was made a citizen of heaven in Christ some 59 years ago, so I will not be mourning when he comes to catch me out at natural death or the rapture. I will not be on this earth when God’s seven vials of wrath are poured out on our planet.
Ephesians 2:5,6 – Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [6] And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places IN Christ Jesus:
The word translated conversation means “citizenship.”
Philippians 3:20,21 – For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: [21] Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 164B
March 26, 2004
Dying for 72 Virgins and 22 Dollars!
Operation Defensive Shield, launched in the Spring of 2001 is now entering its final phases. Its major goal has always been the destruction of the leadership of such internal extreme terrorist groups as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade. Israel has no intention of bringing in a forced disengagement peace, until it has some assurance that these three groups are placed on a level playing field with Arafat’s Palestinian Authority. So I am convinced Israel will continue the action it is currently taking, and at an accelerated rate. If they fail to do this they will be fencing in a super hostile group of fanatical maniacs behind a fence for security, and their chances of having a “peace and safety” security will be greatly reduced. But if there is a level playing field between Arafat’s Palestinians and the other three major terror groups, then the possibility of having a reasonable chance of “peace and safety” is greatly improved. Israel is going on the offensive, even if the terror groups do not attack them.
The Palestinian Authority intellectuals placed a two page add in Palestinian newspapers, pleading with all Palestinians to return to the peaceful seeking of peace with Israel, and asking them to lay down their arms and seek peace through negotiations. However, being small in number, they have only a small influence on most of the population. But the Palestinian “man-in-the street” is sick of the effect the four year uprising has produced on the Palestinian standard of everyday life, and though they all hate the Israelis, they want a return to a decent lifestyle from the terrible one that now exists. The fact that Hamas, through funds supplied by Iran, and at one time by Saddam Hussain, has been able to provide them with a survival lifestyle through welfare and medical assistance during the uprising, has caused them to trust Hamas more than Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, from which he has looted massive foreign funds from his own people though political graft. So, in essence, there is an internal battle going on for control of the Palestinian’s mindset between terrorist groups and the Palestinian Authority. The Israelis do not dare fence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank with the terrorists acting as the Palestinian Government. It is apparent that Israel has been, is, and will actively be continuing to cut off the head of the serpent by killing or jailing their leadership. Israel’s IDF must level the playing field between Fatah and the extreme terrorist groups, such as Hamas, al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade, and Islamic Jihad, and it must complete its action prior to the final implementation of Israel’s forced peace plan of involuntary disengagement from the Palestinians.
The unbelievable fanaticism of the terrorist groups has been manifested by their use of women and children as homicide bombers. Had the IDF not detected a suicide belt provided to a 14 year old boy at a checkpoint near Nablus on Wednesday, he would have lost his own life, and caused others to suffer the same fate. And, as I have indicated for many years, this is a war of ideology between two quite different societies: one that does not force its religious beliefs on others, and one that believes it is justified by teachings in the Koran to kill those who will not believe as they do, and will be greatly rewarded by Allah if they do. When asked by the Israelis why he was performing this act, he replied, “Blowing myself up is the only chance I’ve got to have sex with 72 virgins in the Garden of Eden.” If you will click on the Prophecy Update Archives at the top of this Update, and scroll down to Special Prophecy Update Number 113C, “Why are a few willing to be martyred for Allah?,” you will find seven quotes taken directly from the Koran that tell of the great rewards that will be given to those who are martyred for Allah, particularly in a Jihad. For a rational westerner, it seems fantastic that anyone could possibly believe these promises, whether he be atheistic, agnostic, or Christian, but let me assure you that most of the Islamic believers do, and that is why only the return of Jesus Christ can being an end to this culture of madness. Thirty-one suicide bombers have been less than 18 years old, and more than 40 minors who were actively involved in planning suicide bombings have been arrested. In the last three years, 22 shootings and bombings were perpetrated by minors. The 14 year old, according to Israeli officials, was fully aware of his actions and wanted to blow himself up, because he had been promised 72 virgins in heaven and 100 NIS. One official said he would not be surprised if they started using pregnant women since Israel had become aware of their willingness to use children. The organizer and spiritual leader of Hamas, who was killed by the Israelis last week, is the one who issued an Islamic writ allowing the first use of women in suicide bombings, over some objections of his own followers.
Expect a more concerted effort to destroy the leadership of all the terrorist groups before Israel’s security wall is finally completed in 2005 or early 2006. Israel will not be able to believe it enough to say we have “Peace and safety” unless they believe they have a level playing field within the fence.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4,9 – 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. [9] For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
What a joy it is to be saved by, and to serve, the God who died for me, so that I could have a reward far more than I could ever imagine, and certainly better than 72 virgins and 22 dollars. God gave me one virgin for a wife now, for which I am eternally thankful, and I didn’t have to kill anyone to induce him to do it. And, quite frankly, what he has promised me in heaven, if I love him, is far greater than 72 virgins and 22 dollars. My God’s rewards are based on love, not on suicide and killing others for him. I have the mind of Christ, not the mind of a fanatical religious group who possess the spiritual mind of antichrist.
I Corinthians 2:9-16 – But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. [10] But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. [11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. [12] Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. [13] Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. [14] But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. [15] But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. [16] For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Quite frankly, how can one compare 72 virgins and 22 dollars to what God has promised those that love him, and you don’t have to kill anyone to receive it.
Acts 20:21 – Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 21:1-5 – And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [2] And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. [4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. [5] And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 165
About three weeks ago, while transferring all of my files to a new computer, we lost everything, including some 500 e-mail addresses. If you want to be put on our new Prophecy Update Notification list, please send an e-mail to tmcel@juno.com, and put ONLY your name on it. I can automatically draw out your e-mail address from the message itself. I started back on the road in late February, and things have been rather hectic for me in March. Emogine now has several different kinds of doctors – 1 dermatologist, 1 heart specialist, 2 kidney specialists, a foot specialist, and our regular doctor, and good friend, Dr. Westley Thomas, a man of admirable knowledge in the Scriptures and of like faith and order.
March 28, 2004
The Son Who Became a Servant to Save Us – Part 14
Isaiah 53:10 – 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.
In Prophecy Update Number 164, I exposited fully on the first two phrases in Isaiah 53:10, so I will limit this exposition to the remaining portion.
“WHEN THOU SHALT MAKE HIS SOUL AN OFFERING FOR SIN, HE SHALL SEE HIS SEED,”
I certainly would not argue that this would include the picture of the Father gazing on his only begotten Son, as the Son made his soul an offering for our sin. Christ was the promised seed of Genesis 3:15, which was the same seed promised to come through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, and he was the seed of the living God. However, I also believe God, when he gazed upon his only begotten seed, saw in time the future spiritual seed of Jesus that his act would produce, and thereby bring forth his many new born children to his Father. His risen soul has brought forth many children that God has given him, and has created many disciples that sing praises to God in his local churches from Christ, who lives in them to sing praises to his Father from their hearts. All those believing in the offering of his soul for their sins are his brethren. They are all God’s children that he has given to his risen seed, and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. They represent the family of God on this earth and in heaven, and are all indwelt by his Spirit. Some of them, as his children, choose to unite with one of his local churches and give glory to him through his Son as the head and foundation of it, and some do not. His love saved them by grace and eternally accepted them as his children. Service in one of his local churches manifests the degree of their love for him for having done so, and it determines the degree of joy one will receive in heaven at his judgment seat, which will be the reward received for having done so.
Hebrews 2:9-15 – But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. [10] For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in BRINGING MANY SONS unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. [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, [12] Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the MIDST OF THE CHURCH will I sing praise unto thee. [13] And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and THE CHILDREN WHICH GOD HATH GIVEN ME. [14] Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; [15] And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (The Seed of God crushed the power in the serpent’s head on a cross, bruised beyond recognition)
Genesis 3:15 – And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
When we assemble together in one of his local churches, he not only dwells in the hearts of its assembled members, but he sings praise out of their hearts, and is spiritually in their assembled midst, of which he is the head and the foundation. This gives glory to God through the Son in, and among, them. Each one of his local churches represents his body in that place and, as such, is the pillar and ground of the truth, in which we should learn how we are to behave ourselves as we learn his truths.
Ephesians 1:22,23 – And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, [23] Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Ephesians 2:22 – In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:26,27 – That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
I Timothy 3:14,15 – These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: [15] But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Ephesians 5:30 – For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Ephesians 3:21 – Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
“HE SHALL PROLONG HIS DAYS,”
This is an inspired understatement, because when we think of “prolong,” we think of a long period, like when God prolonged King Hezekiah’s life for fifteen years. But this “PROLONG” IS ETERNAL AND HAS NO END, and the great joy in which we glory is that he has promised to share his days with us for all eternity – OH, WHAT A SAVIOR, AND WHAT A SOUL OFFERING FOR ALL MY SINS.
Hebrews 7:23-27 – And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: [24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. [25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. [26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Philippians 2:8-11 – And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. [9] Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: [10] That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; [11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
“THE PLEASURE OF THE LORD SHALL PROSPER IN HIS HAND”
Ephesians 1:9,10 – Having made known unto us the mystery OF HIS WILL, ACCORDING HIS GOOD PLEASURE which he hath purposed in himself: [10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 165A
March 30, 2004
Beneath Jerusalem & It’s Temple Mount – Part 1
I recently lost all my stored windows files while making an attempt to transfer them to my new computer. I also lost all those on my e-mail Prophecy Update notification list. If you have not already done so, and you want to be notified each time we send out a new update, please send an e-mail to tmcel@juno.com listing only your name, and I will draw the address out of the e-mail with my clever little mouse.
I have been fascinated for more than 50 years with the substrata changes under the Jerusalem of David’s day to the northern expansion of Jerusalem in Christ’s day. You have no idea the joy I would experience if I were allowed to explore under today’s temple mount for as long as I desired. Of course, like many others, I enjoy studying the events that occurred on the surface, but my real pleasure is in studying the events and changes that developed beneath Jerusalem during its history. Just before Jesus was crucified, he spoke of a surface event that would occur after his death because they rejected him as their Messiah.
Luke 21:5,6 – And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, [6] As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
And, sure enough, it happened with Titus, the Roman Prince son of the Emperor Vespasian, overran the city in 70 A.D.
Luke 21:24 – 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.
As each of the three Jewish temples were built, a maze of tunnels, cisterns, drainage pipes, natural karst pocket enlargements, a flowing stream for priest’s immersion, a Roman security route, and an escape route, came into existence under what is now currently identified as the Temple Mount. Lord willing, I will present a series of Updates with this information in the coming weeks. I stopped going to the Holy Land in 2000 when the current Palestinian uprising began.
Between 1952 and 2000, I have lost count of how many trips I actually made to the Holy Land. The Jordanians held it on my first trip, and if you had seen it then you would have been shocked by comparing it to its present condition. The area in front of the Wailing Wall was a shambles of Arab shacks that smelled like manure, and some Arabs pissed on the wall. The Jews were not even allowed to approach the wall. The unexposed section of the temple wall, which extended north under Wilson’s Arch section, could only be partially seen by traveling under it through a very congested maze of litter, and then entering a tunnel behind a huge blocking door that was almost completely blocked by discarded material. However, it was possible to weave and wade north, through and over the material, far enough to finally reach a large hole in the western wall that branched off the main tunnel eastward under the temple mound. This long south to north tunnel, off which the large entrance branched, is now identified as the Rabbi’s tunnel, and from that point northward it was partially caved in, and blocked with a variety of debris. I never went northward beyond that point until the Israelis cleaned out the Rabbi’s tunnel, finally opening it to tours in the late eighties. I have always been far more interested in what lies under Jerusalem, and it’s Temple Mount, than what is on its surface. But after I retired from the NSA, I wanted my wife to see Israel, and I knew that she was not likely to want to see what I was going there to check out. I told the tour guide before we left the U.S. that I did not intend to stay with the group in Jerusalem. He really did not like the idea, but I think he thought he would humor me, believing that I would stay with the group out of fear of being lost from the group. To this day I am still not sure he believed me when I told me I knew Israel like the back of my hand. So after I left the group when we reached Jerusalem, my wife gave me one of her famous lectures, and told me I should stay with the group, but I did not. So, the first day she toured with the group, and I went under Jerusalem, she informed me that if I did not go with the group the next day, she was walking with me wherever I went, and that was that! So, the next day I took her with me under Jesus’ Jerusalem, up shafts, down shafts, through caves, and to a wide variety of fault structures exposed in the topography of Jerusalem. So, by two o’clock, her poor knees were almost locked and she was exhausted. I got a safe cab to take her back to the hotel where the group was staying, and she never asked to go with me again until 1986. The aforementioned great hole, which led eastward off the Rabbi’s tunnel under the Temple Mount, was sealed with cement shortly after Israel took back the old city of Jerusalem from the Jordanians in 1967, but you can clearly see where it was sealed today. The hole led into a maze of tunnels that are woven into a system that extends under about three quarters of the western portion of the temple mount. It was easier to bribe pre-1967 Jordanians than post-1967 Israelis to let you do certain things and to go certain places. I was a young man in my twenties on my first trip to the Holy Land, and had no idea how many tunnels crisscrossed under the Temple Mount. They now estimate the number to be between 35 and 40. I believe to this day that the Ark of the Covenant is hidden in that maze of tunnels, and is probably directly beneath where it once sat in the Holy of Holies in the temple of Solomon. I assure you that no tunnel, in that maze of tunnels under the temple mount, goes under the large rock strata from which the Dome of the Rock extends upward. I have been directly under the rock in a single room, carved out of Turonian limestone by one it’s conquerors after 700 A.D. It is about 22 feet X 22 feet, although I did not measure it, but I can assure you that no tunnels lead into it. The actual temple of Herod sat north of the Dome of the Rock over a large karst cavity containing a sub-surface watering system. The famous Ark of the Covenant rested over the natural foundation of a man-leveled, man-smoothed, Turonian strata, which is now covered by a copula dome. It is identified as the Dome of the Spirits or the Dome of the Tablets, and is very easy to find on the Temple Mount’s northwestern corner. The copula lines up perfectly on an east-west axis with Queen Eudoxia’s Golden Gate, which is built over the ancient Susa Gate that was used by Jesus when he rode into Jerusalem as its king. When the Red Heifer offering was made on the Mount of Olives, it was required that it be offered in a position such that the priest offering it could see directly over the Susa Gate into the door of the Temple’s Holy Place.
I will say, to the credit of the Jordanians, that they did clean up the Temple Mount complex between 1958 and 1964, but before that the Wailing Wall, Wilson’s Arch, and the western portions were in pitiful condition. The Islamic structures on the temple platform were kept in fair condition, but the 1958 to 1964 improvements were most dramatic. The Israeli’s, following their capture of the complex in 1967, have made the Wailing Wall, from where the Fortress of Antonia was located to the end of the Wailing Wall, and the southern wall of the mount, into a wonderful touring zone.
In future Updates I will be advising why I believe it very likely that the Ark of the Covenant may still be under the old Temple Mount, based on Hebrew writings, and why I am convinced that the three temples of Israel all sat well north of where the Arabs built the Dome of the Rock.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 165B
April 1, 2004
The Coming Messiah of Islamic Tradition!
Our computer was down for some time recently, and I have been flooded with requests since we got our new system functioning. I hope to eventually get around to answering all of them, but there were a couple I thought I would answer in the form of Prophecy Updates, since they pertain to the Middle East scenario. One involved a request for information about a person that I have long believed would arise out of Islam. During my 20 plus years in military service, from time to time I went to school with the followers of Islam, and trained one in meteorological severe weather prediction at the Federal Office building in Kansas City, Missouri. The request involved a traditional teaching involving the arrival of an Islamic Imam Mahdi (al-Imam al-Mahdi) at the end of this last age before the resurrection. The word Imam means “to walk before,” and carries the title of Caliph, and the word “Mahdi” means “a leader, and a spiritual guide and director.” The Muslims expect this leader and prophet to appear on the earth before the world ends, and he is expected to be the Moslem Messiah. The belief is based on thousands of traditions that claim to go all the way back to the Koran, but I have never been able to find a legitimate reference in the Koran without twisting its context. Of course, I do not believe Islamic tradition or the Koran, but what I believe is beside the point. The point is that most Muslims do believe it. So when a man does arise among them they can label as an Imam Mahdi, then I believe he will be the antichrist of which the Bible teaches, which I do believe, and it will make it much easier for some 700 million Muslims, most of which live in the Middle East, to follow him in a great and united Jihad against Israel.
Even though it cannot be found in the Koran, there are a large number of learned Muslims who claim the belief in Mahdi was widespread during Muhammad’s lifetime among them. Many say on more than one occasion he had announced the future coming of the Mahdi, and that at times he would inform the people about Mahdi’s wonderful government, plus the signs preceding his rise among the people. Ancient Islamic documents do quote the Prophet as saying: “The world will not come to an end until a man from my family line, who will be called al-Mahdi, emerges to rule my community.” A couple of other quotes from Islamic documents are also valuable in understand Muslim beliefs on this subject; one makes a statement that is quoted as having been uttered by the Prophet three times: “Listen to the good news about the Mahdi! He will rise at the time when the people will be faced with severe conflict and the earth will be hit by a violent quake. He will fill the earth with justice and equality as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. He will fill the hearts of his followers with devotion and will spread justice everywhere (Mihal, Vol. 1, p .256: Firaq, p. 62).” And, in Milal, Vol. 1, pp. 273, 278 and Firaq, pp. 67, 80, 83, the Prophet has declared: “The day of Resurrection will not take place until the True Qa’im rises. This will happen when God permits him to do so. Anyone who follows him will be saved, and anyone who opposes him will perish. O servants of God, keep God in your mind and go towards him even if it happens to be on the ice, for indeed he is the Caliph of God, the Exalted and Glorified, and my successor.”
Shiites revere 12 Imams historically, the last of whom is believed to be currently in hiding, but will make himself known to Islam as the al-Mahdi in the last days of this age. There is also a traditional teaching that he will rise from the dead before the end of time.
The subject of Imams is what led to the great split in the Islamic ranks between the Sunni, the largest party, and the Shiite, the second largest party. But the Kurds and other splinter groups also have their religious Imams, which is one of the major reasons there can never be a democracy in Iraq, because of the bitter enmity between the Islamic divisions. However, if a strong leader, with great religious charisma, should arise out of hiding to unite them all in the belief he was the Imam Mahdi of Islamic tradition with the power of Allah, the fanaticism of the Muslims would create much more than just an occasional suicide bomber – It would generate a massive flood of millions charging across the northern border of Israel unafraid of death. Of course, I do not believe the Koran or the traditional teachings of Islam. I decided long ago, from Micah 5:1-9, that the antichrist would be of Assyrian lineage, and would come out of the area that included Lebanon, extreme southern Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq, or the extreme tip of northwestern Iran (See Prophecy Updates 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, and 69 in our Prophecy Archives). And I am confident he will be of the Islamic faith (See Prophecy Updates 160B and 161C in our Prophecy Archives). If you really want your eyes opened to what was taught prophetically before 1760, then check out the following Prophecy Updates in our archives: 73D, 74A, 78, 82A, 114A, 117B, 56, 57, 58, 123B and 123D. It may be you will discover that what is going on now in the Middle East fits what pre-1760 prophetic teachings indicated would be happening, in the last days, more accurately than the twentieth century popular teachings of end time events. As I stated earlier, I do not believe the Koran or Islamic traditional teaching, but it is ironic that they are primed to receive the one we call the antichrist from their own writings, which identify him as their Messiah. Before too much longer I expect a man from within the area I previously identified, probably Syria, to be manifested as someone behind which all Muslims can unite to meet their goal of driving Israel out of the land from Dan to Beersheba, and with a view toward overcoming all the infidels in the name of Allah. Whoever wins the coming U.S. Presidency may still be in office when the Mahdi of Islam manifests himself in the Middle East.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 166
April 3, 2004
The Son Who Became A Servant To Save Us – Part 15
Isaiah 53:11 – 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.
TRAVAIL – AMAL – To labor in great agony to reach a goal, such as the harvesting of a crop.
SATSIFIED – SABEA – To be saturated to complete satisfaction.
This is when he started the race to reach the goal that would harvest a fantastic crop to the glory of his Father. His Father was fully saturated with satisfaction by his Son’s race, and by the way Jesus finally finished it in agony on the cross.
Matthew 3:16,17 – 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.
This was the way he ran the race, which always brought the words of approval for his actions from his Father.
Matthew 17:1-5 – And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, [2] And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. [3] And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. [4] Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. [5] While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED; hear ye him.
And this is the way he ended the race on the cross to bring glory to his Father.
John 17:3-5 – And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. [4] I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. [5] And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
John 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
This is what his Spirit is still doing to bring in the full harvest of souls to his Father.
John 12:32-34 – And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. [33] This he said, signifying what death he should die.
This is what he does continuously for all of the souls he has drawn to him.
Hebrews 7:25 – Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
I John 1:8-10 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
This is how he makes disciples of them, after he has drawn them to him, and saved them by the power of the Spirit.
Acts 10:47,48 – Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? [48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
Ephesians 5:26,27 – That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
I Timothy 3:14,15 – These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: [15] But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
I Peter 2:1-5 – Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, [2] As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: [3] If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. [4] To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, [5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
This is the pattern that Jesus established for making the spiritual sacrifices acceptable to his Father.
Acts 2:41,42 – Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. [42] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
This is the commission and pattern he gave to the first church to follow in reaping and teaching the harvest to be disciples.
Matthew 28:19,20 – Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
This was the spiritual food that empowered Jesus as he envisioned the harvest, and he is still working in us for the final gathering of it.
John 4:32-38 – But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. [33] Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? [34] Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. [35] Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. [36] And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. [37] And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. [38] I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
This is the final harvest that will be collected from the fields of this age of the Gentiles.
I Thessalonians 4:17 – Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Prophecy Update Number 166A
April 5, 2004
The Great Hoax – Man is Destroying the Ozone Layer!
Revelation 16:2 – And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
Since 1975 I have been convinced that manmade chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) were not responsible for the destruction of the Ozone layer that shields man from ultraviolet radiation. My cries in books and videos fell on deaf hears for the most part, but now a leading French scientist has, with equal vigor, stated the same thing, and identified volcanoes as the culprit, just as I did in the seventies.
You will find it clearly outlined in a book, “Birth Pangs from the Bottomless Pit,” which I wrote in the late seventies, and in the video, “Fearful Sights and Great Signs,” which I made in a studio in Little Rock in the eighties. Dardanelle MBC sells the book and the video together for twenty-five dollars, which you may type in on the Order Form from our Menu. The basic material concerning the phenomena of ozone destruction and the events associated with other skin eruptions, before and during the tribulation period, are outlined in two Birth Pangs, 14 and 14A, which I put in my book in the seventies, and on our Web Site pages when we put up http://www.tribulationperiod.com/ in January 2001.
What follows is an extract from Birth Pang 14A in our Birth Pangs Archives, which you may find on our Menu. BEGIN EXTRACT: “God has created a thick layer of ozone in the earth’s vast stratosphere. If this layer was not there, man would be scorched with ultraviolet radiation, and annihilated from the earth within a few years. Many scientists still cling to the idea that chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) are breaking down the stratospheric ozone layer. However, the real culprits are the increasing frequencies of volcanic eruptions. Ozone is a form of oxygen that protects man from the sin’s deadly ultraviolet radiation. If this radiation could slip through the ozone layer it would lead to rapid worldwide outbreaks of fast growing skin cancer. A U.S. Geological Survey scientist, Dr. David A. Johnston, missing and presumed dead since the first eruption of Mount Saint Helens, was quoted by Warren E. Leary, and Associated Press science writer as follows:
“Analysis of trapped gas pockets in volcanic and other material indicates molten magmas may contain 20 to 40 times more chlorine than earlier estimates upon which volcanic atmospheric impact had been estimated. This means that the amount of chlorine emitted into the atmosphere could equal more than 100% of the 1975 world production in fluorocarbon chemicals. Johnson said in his report that volcanic explosions powerful enough to penetrate the stratosphere have been occurring about once a year in recent times. These eruptions shoot hydrogen chloride high enough to reach the ozone layer.”
As a scientist, certified to teach chemistry and physics, I was so certain the ozone layer was being depleted by gases blown vertically into it by volcanoes, that I began to teach and write about it in books published in the late seventies and early eighties. I was so firmly convinced of it that I predicted the ozone hole would continue to grow, even after worldwide elimination of chlorofluorocarbon production by man had occurred. In the early eighties they predicted the ozone hole would decline in size by 1985. When it did not, they said it was due to residual effects. But we were assured it would decrease by 1990. When it did not, they said the residual effects were greater than they had thought, but we would see a small decline by 1995. When it did not decline they kept on riding the same old dead horse, and predicted a thinning by 2000. It is still continuing to grow, and now they say it may not decline until 2020. The ozone hole growth since 1979 is as follows: from very small in 1977 to 500,000 cubic kilometers in 1980, to 10,500,000 in 1986, to 22,000,000 in 1992, to 23,500,000 in 1994, to 27,0000,000 in 1999, and to 28,300,000 cubic kilometers in 2000. And still there is no ozone hole over the North Pole, yet 74% of all ozone destroying particles are released in the Northern Hemisphere! But isn’t it strange that most of the world’s volcanoes are located in the Southern Hemisphere, with many of them south of 60 degrees latitude, while only a handful of volcanoes exist north of 60 degrees latitude in the Northern Hemisphere.
Please allow me to elaborate why man-made CFC gases are not the culprits responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer over the South Pole:
1. 74% of all man-made CFC’s are released in the Northern hemisphere. The Long-term vertical circulation patterns of the earth in the Northern Hemisphere demand that the first ozone hole should have appeared over the North Pole – it did not!
2. The CFC gases are heavier than the atmosphere into which they are supposed to be rising, hence they cannot rise to the level of the ozone layer of their own volition.
3. CFC’s are washed out of the atmosphere by the precipitation cycle of the troposphere before they could reach the ozone layer.
4. CFC gases, without the direct help of volcanic activity, don’t penetrate the restricting worldwide temperature inversion, which begins well below the ozone layer at the tropopause.
Now, please allow me to exposit why I am confident that volcanic eruptions are responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer over the South Pole:
(1) The rate increase in major eruptions since 1950 is four times greater than at any time in recorded history.
(2) Most vertical eruptions are occurring in the Southern Hemisphere, thereby causing the ozone hole to appear first over the South Pole, rather than the North Pole.
(3) Volcanic eruptions forcefully blow different kinds of ozone depleting gases through the tropopause inversion into the ozone layer, bypassing much of the earth’s circulation and hydrological patterns.
(4) There is an active volcano pouring its depleting gases upward into the center of the ozone hole from time to time – Mount Erebus, which is near the South Pole.
(5) The growth of the ozone hole has been steadily toward the north over the southern tip of South America, where a thick concentration of active volcanoes exists today.
During the latter part of the Tribulation, thousands of volcanic eruptions, like those in Figure 10, will occur along the dashed lines of Figure 3 (See both these Figures in our Birth Pang Archives). These eruptions will send staggering amounts of hydrogen chloride, nitric oxides, and other ozone depleting gases into the ozone layer. The resultant breaking down of the ozone layer will allow ultraviolet radiation to pour through onto the inhabitants of the earth. These occupants of the final days of Satan’s kingdoms on this planet will be scorched with the great heat of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Yet they still will not repent toward the God of these plagues that physically destroy them. They will understand the processes that are causing it, but they will not acknowledge that God is doing it.
Most Christian writers of today spend a lot of effort in trying to work the entire modern day arsenal of man into the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Most make the last day skin plagues attributable to atomic radiation. May I assure you that the ultraviolet and cosmic radiation, which would pour down on the earth’s surface if the ozone layer weakened and the magnetic poles reversed, would be thousands of times deadlier than atomic radiation.” END EXTRACT.
If you are atheistic or agnostic in your beliefs concerning the prophetic predictions in the Bible, then at least consider the scientific argument I have presented since the late seventies, which you read above in the extract from our web site article, which we put up in 2001.
You may find the article concerning the views of the French scientist on ozone depletion by clicking on the following:
http://www.geocities.com/northstarzone/OZONE.html
Volcanic activity from the lone volcano located near the South Pole, and those on the southern top of South America, has declined slightly during the period from 2000 to 2003, and the consequence has been that the ozone hole showed only a slight increase in its 2003 maximum size when compared with its 2000 maximum. The new record size of 28,400,000 cubic kilometers occurred on September 20, 2003. When the volcanic activity begins to increase in frequency and intensity in the future, rest assured the ozone hole will enlarge. The ozone hole has large seasonal variations in its size each year, and there is a tendency, for those who say manmade CFC’s originally created it, to quote the smallest seasonal size. The normal seasonal maximum appears from mid-September to early October. If there was a natural way to transport these manmade CFC’s above the tropopause level into the ozone layer, then they would definitely deplete it, but, as I have shown in my argument since the late seventies, there is no way that it has, can, or will happen. There is only one way that sufficient CFC’s can be inducted into the ozone layer to deplete it – volcanic eruptions, which have sufficient vertical thrust to literally blast the CFC’s, and other ozone depleting gases, through the tropopause temperature inversions into the stratospheric ozone layer. The depletion of ozone, which has created the expanding hole in it over the South Pole, was not generated by manmade CFC’s.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 166B
April 7, 2004
Parts of a Forced Unilateral Peace Coming Together!
More than three years ago, in Special Prophecy Update Number 24A, I was quite definite that if the terrorist groups did not stop their attacks, then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would eventually put a “forced” peace on the Palestinians.
They have not stopped their attacks and, as a result, since Arafat cannot control them, but wants to hold on some degree of power, he is likely to merge his own Fatah terrorist arm and the Palestinian Authority with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the al-Aksa Martyr’s Brigade before the “forced peace” initiative goes into overdrive. I honestly believe that the great security barrier being built to enclose the Palestinians and all the terrorists will find within it a government run by Fatah, Hamas, and the other terrorist leaders, with Arafat, if he survives, as only a very weak figurehead.
The coming meeting between the Israeli Prime Minister and President Bush, the middle of this month, could be the most important meeting of this century. Ever since President Clinton first met with Yassar Arafat at Camp David, I have known, and repeatedly stated, that there was no way that Yassar Arafat could control the major terrorist groups in Israel, even if he had wanted to do so. And, in all honesty, he never had a desire to do it. That is why, in the very first Prophecy Update we ever issued, I began to teach the greater likelihood of what I called a “forced” peace, rather than a “negotiated” one, being put on the P.A. by Israel. I had no idea what the Israelis would call it when they brought it in, but I knew that the launching of Operation Defensive Shield, when the latest uprising began, would eventually lead into it. Now we all know the politically correct name Israeli has chosen for the “forced” peace put on the Palestinians – It is labeled as “unilateral” withdrawal. It is a peace “forced” on the Palestinians whether they like it or not, which is not dependant upon the P.A. controlling the terrorist groups. I am hopeful that President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon can agree on the details of the “unilateral” forced peace, and that, perhaps by a minor miracle, the U.S. might be able to persuade the other drafting countries of the “Road Map to Peace” to endorse it, and perhaps by another minor miracle, even the Palestinians might eventually go along with it, since it is not dependant on their being able to control any of their infamous terrorist groups. I am awaiting the outcome of this income tax time meeting with drawn breath, because it could finally lead to the end time event I have waited to see since 1967 – The time when Israel will believe they have sufficient security to the extent that they will actually began to say, for the first time since 70 A.D., “PEACE AND SAFETY.”
I Thessalonians 5:3,4,9 – 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. [9] For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
When Israel is lulled into a feeling it finally has “peace and safety,” then the following event will occur.
Zechariah 13:8 – 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.
The third, almost two million, will be driven into the Negev Wilderness south of Beersheba, where they will remain for 1260 prophetic days.
Revelation 12:6 – 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.
At the end of that 1260 days Armageddon will occur, and Christ will return with all the saints he previously took up. Then the Scripture following Zechariah 13:8 will be fulfilled, and the reign of Christ will begin.
Zechariah 13:9 –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 14:9 – And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
A complete exposition of these five Scriptures may be found in our Prophecy Archives in Updates 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, and 138A through 138F, as well as in our Birth Pangs Archives in Numbers 36 to 43.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 166C
April 9, 2004
The current Mahdi Army of Shiite cleric Muqtada, that now classifies itself as operating for the glory of the new Iraqi Jihad, will be overcome by the American forces, but the Islamic dream of the Messianic Mahdi coming to deliver them in a massive, consolidated end time Jihad, will not die, and will, in the end of this age, generate an Islamic empire led by the Imam Mahdi himself. (See Special Prophecy Update 165B in our Prophecy Archives). And one of the end time major events associated with the time span of the Islamic Messiah’s rule, is called a mystery by both Paul and John in the New Testament.
Words That Are Laid Out To Describe An End Time Mystery!
I Corinthians 15:51,52 – Behold, I SHEW (LEGO) you a MYSTERY; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST (HESCHATOS) trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
SHEW – LEGO – This is the only place in the Bible that LEGO is translated as SHEW. LEGO means “to lay out before.” In this context it would mean “to lay out before the listener in words.”
LAST – HESCHATOS – In reference to time, it means the last thing that completes an action or event. The use of the word, in this context, means that other trumpets had sounded before it, probably in a lengthy series, for if there had only been say one, two, or three, then saying the second or third would have been the normal pattern exhibited in scripture, such as the second or third woe in Revelation.
Paul was “laying out with words” the events of a MYSTERY that would be FULFILLED when the LAST TRUMP sounded.
More than 20 years after Paul’s death, John described the FINISH of the MYSTERY that Paul had previously LAID OUT WITH WORDS, which described some of the events associated with it.
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days of the VOICE of the SEVENTH angel, when he shall BEGIN to sound, the MYSTERY of God should be FINISHED, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
When the LAST TRUMP, in a series of seven trumpets, BEGINS to sound, the MYSTERY of God will be the action that COMPLETES the gathering of all the saved into a place we call heaven. For the first time all the saved will be in heaven, gathered from the earth, both the dead and the living.
Revelation 11:15 – 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.
Christ will descend with the VOICE of the archangel, which I believe to the highest angel in the seven trumpet series, whose sounding begins the final action Paul LAID OUT IN WORDS, and then John announced its TIME OF COMPLETION when the SEVENTH TRUMPET SOUNDS.
I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the VOICE of the archangel, and with the TRUMP of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
The completion of the MYSTERY will place all of the saved of all the ages before the judgment seat of Christ in heaven, while the ones who morally corrupted the earth feel the wrath of the seven vials poured out on the earth.
Revelation 11:18 – 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.
The very fact that the saved will not suffer the wrath of God’s seven vials is a very comforting thought.
I Thessalonians 4:18 – Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Now consider the last phrase found in Revelation 11:18, “Them with DESTROY (DIAPHTHEIRO) the earth” – The Greek word translated “destroy” is “diaphtheiro,” which literally means “to make rotten to the core.” At one time I thought this meant they had, and were, in the process of physically destroying the earth because that is the common usage of the English word “destroy,” so I did not even bother to examine the Greek meaning for the word “diaphtheiro.” Since doing so I have changed my mind. I now believe it means they have been, and still are, “morally” corrupting the earth as lost men and women, and that God’s wrath will be poured on them as the consequence of rejecting his Son, while all of the saved are being judged in heaven.
DESTROY – DIAPHTHEIRO – to corrupt throughout, to bring to a worst state of depravity, to make rotten to the core.
The word can be used to mean a physical destruction of the earth or a moral destruction of the earth, so one does have a choice, and I have chosen to interpret a double use of the same word in Revelation 11:18 to be the physical destruction of those morally destroying the earth by the one who created the earth. The same word is translated as “corrupt” in other Scriptures in the New Testament, inferring moral or spiritual adultery – One by Paul, inferring spiritual adultery for false teaching concerning the proper way to worship God, is found in I Timothy 6:5 – Perverse disputings of men of CORRUPT minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
The following Scriptures show when the saved are going to be caught out in proximity to Revelation events, but no one at the present time knows when the sounding of the seventh trump will occur. When it does occur, all the saved will be taken up to heaven to be judged for the works done in their bodies for rewards, or the lack of them. For the first time since God created man, all the believers of God’s kingdom will be in heaven in body, soul, and spirit, and all the lost will be in, and on, this present earth.
Revelation 11:15,18 – 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.
“And the nations were angry” – But Armageddon is five chapters away – Revelation 16:16 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
“And thy wrath is come” – God’s wrath does not come until the saved have been caught out – I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
“And the time of the dead” – The saved dead experience resurrection and living saved are instantly changed – I Corinthians 15:51 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
“That they should be judged” – The saved of all the ages are judged by the PROMISED SEED in heaven – Genesis 3:15 – And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her SEED; IT shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise HIS heel.
“And that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great” – The saved are judged by Christ for the works they performed in their bodies, whether they were wrought by and in Christ, or by the old fleshly nature – II Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Galatians 6:7 – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Revelation 22:12,14 – And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. [14] Blessed are they that DO his commandments, that they may HAVE RIGHT to the tree of life, and may ENTER IN through the gates into the city.
Revelation 21:7 – He that overcometh shall inherit ALL things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
The real question that a believer needs to consider, after becoming the child of God through faith in his Son Jesus, is simply this: How much am I going to submit myself to the indwelling Spirit of Christ, to let him continue what he has started, once again overcoming the world, but this time he overcomes it in me. The degree to which you allow him to again overcome in you determines two things: (1) Whether you receive ALL of the reward he has waiting for you at his Son’s judgment seat, and (2) How close a relationship you will have with him in heaven, that is to say, where you abide in heaven in proximity to where he positions himself. All the saved remain forever in heaven, and all will be happy in glorified bodies, but those who served him after salvation will be happier than all the many that did not. Salvation is by grace through faith, and once it is received it is eternal, and does not need works to maintain it, but make no mistake, our salvation is a workmanship of the Spirit of God, and he created us for the purpose of being able to perform his works of his Spirit, and if we do not, we will be judged by Christ for not having done so.
Ephesians 2:8-10 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM.
Ephesians 3:21 to 4:4 – Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. [4] I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that YE WALK WORTHY of the vocation wherewith ye are called, [2] With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; [3] Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Ephesians 2:22 – In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Revelation 3:4 – Thou hast a FEW names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall WALK WITH ME in white: for they ARE WORTHY.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 167
April 11, 2004
THE SON WHO BECAME A SERVANT TO SAVE US!
Isaiah 53:7 – He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
When you put the squeeze on a citrus product, what is inside it pours out for all to see. The more pressure you put on it, the more of what is inside it pours out. If you step on it, all that is inside it comes into the view of all beholding it.
No man was ever put under the pressure that Jesus was put under during the last days of his life. He was beaten beyond recognition, he was stepped on, he was pierced, and he was killed, and we all saw what was inside him come out to be viewed by those who did it.
What would have come out of us if we were dying for all those who were doing to us what they did to Jesus? Can we say that what came out of him was sweetness?
Luke 23:34 – Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
Would bitterness and hatred for them be pouring out of us if we were under such pressure, and being stepped on? Would we explode outwardly in bitterness toward those causing us to be pressured?
A sweet citrus orange brings forth what is inside it when you squeeze it or step on it. It brings forth sweetness.
A bitter citrus lemon brings forth what is inside it when you squeeze it or step on it. It brings forth bitterness.
What did Jesus have inside him that caused sweetness to pour out of him during his last day on this earth in his body of sinless flesh?
Colossians 2:9,10 – For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. [10] And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Do you have the treasure of his presence in your sinful body? What flows out of you when you are pressured and stepped on? What shines out from you – The spirit in the flesh or the Spirit of Christ in you? What do men and women see come out of you when you are squeezed?
What they see can affect what you tell them about Jesus if they are lost, or weak in the faith. How well you hold your temper and tongue during times of pressure, and feeling stepped on, will show them you have Christ in you, and that it has changed the way you act. The light that radiates out of your conduct is meant to reflect the light from the face of Christ that has supposedly shined in your heart.
II Corinthians 4:3-10 – But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: [4] In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. [5] For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. [6] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [7] But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. [8] We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; [9] Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; [10] Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
When you are troubled on every side, what is squeezed out? Is the bitterness of distress poured out before men and women by the flesh.
When you are perplexed, what is squeezed out? Is it the bitterness of despair poured out before men and women by the flesh?
When you are being persecuted for righteousness sake, what is squeezed out? Is it the bitterness that God has forsaken you poured out before men and women by the flesh?
When you get “put down,” what is squeezed out? Is it the feeling your whole life has been destroyed poured out before men and women by the flesh.
When any, or all, of these things happen to you, what does God want to be poured out by that treasure you have in your earthen vessel?
It is the testimony to all men and women, by your every day conduct, that you believe you have the treasure of God living in you in the person of Jesus, who died for you, but has been resurrected from the dead, and now lives in you. It is his faith in his Father that is to be showed daily to the world by your conduct. To put it in the modern day vernacular: “When you get so angry at someone that you want to shout and scream at them because you feel squeezed, misused, and abused, and you want to take your frustrations out on them – JUST DON’T DO IT – JUST COOL IT!”
Galatians 2:20 –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.
Jesus never took out his frustrations on others – He took the frustrations of others upon himself!
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 167A
April 14, 2004
When the Cat’s Engaged, Two Mice Do Play!
Israel, led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, is engaged in the tedious process of trying, in his latest meeting with President Bush this week, to get approval for a “forced peace” plan, which will produce a “Unilateral Disengagement” from the Palestinians. It is certain that Sharon has a variety on his plate at the present time, being under indictment by the Attorney General of Israel, while being engaged with a struggle within his own political party, and, at the same time, trying to complete a 300 plus mile defensive wall barrier around the West Bank. The cat is very engaged at the moment and the two mice, Iran and Hizbullah, are taking full advantage of the situation. But Iran’s day of reckoning will come when the situation is restored to political calm in Israel (See Prophecy Updates 160A and 162A in the Archives), as will Hizbullah’s terrorist army in Lebanon.
The Party of God (Hizbullah or Hisbollah, depending on whose article you read) filled southern Lebanon as soon as Israel pulled out. They are more than what one would just call a terrorist group: they are literally a terrorist army. Their main financial and logistical aid has always come from Iran, with secondary assistance from Syria. Syria has been the supply route of military weaponry pumped into Hizbullah from Iran ever since it came into existence. Ever since Israel launched what was known as Operation Defensive Shield to grind the terrorist groups into hamburger inside Israel, money from Iran via Hizbillah has been funneled into them to keep them afloat (See Special Prophecy Update 65A in our Archives). Israel is still continuing this operation, which, in reality, has ground the terrorist groups into a pound of disarray. Hizbullah has taken advantage of the weakening of Arafat’s terrorist group Fatah, and has strong influence in one of its extremist splinter groups, which is known as the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade. Hizbullah is also providing an ever increasing level of support to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israel has a long memory, and when it finally consumes some of the items currently on its plate, both Iran and Hizbullah are going to suddenly have a gigantic pile of hot horseradish dumped on theirs for immediate consumption. Israel is not going to let Iran develop a fully operational spy satellite capability and a major atomic threat, nor is it prepared to allow the Hizbullah army of terrorists in southern Lebanon to continue to act as a wounding thorn in its side. We would not allow a fully exposed terrorist army to exist in southern Alberta across the border from Montana, and do the things to us that Hizbullah is doing to Israel. Nor would we ever allow Cuba to develop an atomic bomb, spy satellites, and missiles capable of delivering them. So why should we be irritated at Israel if they react against Hizbullah and Iran?
I am very hopeful that the United States will back the forced peace plan Ariel Sharon brings with him. If they do, I believe that Great Britain will do the same, and, as I pointed out in a previous update, perhaps the European Union, China, and Russia, if a minor miracle were to occur, might eventually go along with it. In any case, I believe it likely that it will be put in place, even if no one except Israel is in favor of it. And, since I believe that, what will it be like once the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, the Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade have all been secured inside it, and literally separated from Israel? There will be a titanic struggle between thieves, who have no honor, for who will be the “big cheese.” It will not be Yassar Arafat! He may be kept on as a “figurehead” leader, but the true power leader, of what will amount to a new Palestinian State surrounded by Israel, will be well known by the Palestinians as such, and, it is quite possible, that the leader may have his headquarters among the Hizbullah in Lebanon.
When the current Palestinian Uprising (Intifada) began some three and one-half years ago, Hizbullah began to gain a foothold in the internal Israeli terrorist groups by giving some of their Iranian supplied money to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad. This year Hizbullah has been able to take over some of the cells of the al-Aksa Martyr’s Brigade, the splinter terror group out of the main Fatah terror group of Yassar Arafat, which has further eroded Arafat’s already very limited control, and it is attempting to pattern the Brigade into a small army. In the last 16 months, Israel’s Shin Bet security services have uncovered six Hizbullah cells imbedded among the Israeli Arabs, who are promoting a plan to unite them against the Israelis. The Hizbullah financial and logistical support for the last three and one half years has risen from a little dab to an immense amount. The Hizbullah terrorists are much admired by the Palestinians, who view their 18 year guerrilla war against Israel, which led to Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon four years ago, as an example they want to emulate. Hamas claims it, like Hizbullah drove Israel out of Lebanon, is now driving Israel out of the Gaza Strip, which is ridiculous, but their claim is fully believed by what is known as the Palestinian “man-in-the-street.” In the past, the terrorist groups have operated separately. At one time there was a sort of jealousy as to who killed the most Israelis. But Operation Defensive Shield has forced them to work together due to heavy losses among their leaders. A team of eight terrorists from al-Aksa Martyr’s Brigade, the Islamic Jihad, and the Hamas attempted to penetrate the Gaza Strip barrier to launch an attack against the Netzarim settlement, but were stopped cold by the IDF on Monday – Two were killed and one wounded.
If things take the path I expect them to follow, then the security barrier around the West Bank and the Gaza Strip should be in place by late 2005 or early 2006, with the terrorists enclosed inside it, and with the real power behind the terrorist groups and the Palestinians flowing southward to them from Hizbullah, which will receive their support from Iran via Syria.
I do expect for Iran and Hizbullah to receive retribution for their current activities as soon as Israel clears more off their currently overloaded political plate, but, after that occurs, and Israel settles into a mode of “peace and safety” with the terrorists enclosed, then I still believe that what I outlined in Prophecy Updates 74D, 79D, and 85A will finally cause a Jihad from the north, with the Hizbullah used as the bait by Syria and Iran.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – 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.
Micah 5:5 – And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
Daniel 11:40 – And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Zechariah 13:8 – 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.
Revelation 12:6 – 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 167B
April 15, 2003
Hope Fulfilled in Bush-Sharon Meeting!
In Prophecy Update 167A, I expressed the hope that the President would back the forced peace plan of Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, which was given the politically correct name of “unilateral withdrawal.” I just finished listening to the live news briefing following their conference, and, even though I have not yet listened to the political, physiological, psychological, demographic, analytical, synoptic, hyperbolic, highly opinionated, dissection of it by the liberal media, I have the Palestinian reaction to what President Bush said. They are screaming like wild hogs during a non-religious ceremony we use to hold in the farm woods following the first frost of the year. As to a red-neck analysis of what was said by both leaders, I would say Sharon was well satisfied by the backing he received for his plan from President Bush. He came close to receiving 100 percent of all that he wanted, and he got enough U.S. guarantees to be able to continue to head a majority government in Israel, which is what he really wanted. As I indicated in Prophecy Update 167A, I now expect Great Britain to back Sharon’s forced peace plan, and the European Union and Russia to at least speak out of both sides of their mouths on supporting or not supporting it.
In order to actually be able to say, and truly believe, they have at last attained a condition of security from Palestinian terrorist groups, and then declare to one another, “we now have peace and safety,” one thing is absolutely essential – Israel must be able to control the condition of “peace and safety.” There is only one way that can happen, and for the last three years I have constantly stated that any peace between the Palestinians and Israel MUST be a forced peace that Israel believes it can control. I now believe that peace is just over the horizon. The exact time it will come to pass has always been problematical, and, when this century began, I was hoping it might come in as early as 2003. But Ariel Sharon’s launching of what was known as Operation Defensive Shield, with seven planned steps of destroying the leaders of the internal terrorist groups, and the slow building rate of the 300 plus mile security barrier fence-wall to enclose a Palestinian state, makes it now appear that a condition of “peace and safety” will not occur until late 2005 or early 2006.
Romans 11:25 – 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.
Romans 11:32 – For God hath concluded THEM all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – 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.
I Corinthians 15:51,52 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
I Thessalonians 4:16-18 – For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. [18] Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 168
April 17, 2004
The Son Who Became a Servant to Save Us – Nr. 17
Isaiah 53:11 – 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.
In Prophecy Update Number 166 I covered the first phrase in this passage: “He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied,” with a great deal of heavy emphases on the meaning of the two words, “travail” and “satisfied.” In this Update I will deal with the last part of the verse:
“BY HIS KNOWLEDGE SHALL MY RIGHTEOUS SERVANT JUSTIFY MANY; FOR HE SHALL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES.”
God’s only begotten Son in the flesh, the man Christ Jesus, as he grew to manhood, increased in statue and in wisdom in his Father’s grace.
FROM AGE EIGHT DAYS TO AGE TWELVE – Luke 2:40 – And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
FROM AGE TWELVE TO HIS BAPTISM – Luke 2:52 – And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
When Jesus began his earthly ministry he had the full KNOWLEDGE of how he would justify believers by his death, and KNEW his baptism pictured what he would be doing, a little more than three years later, to set all believers free from the condemnation of God for sin. His full immersion in water by John pictured what he would do to make all those righteous who put their faith in him. His baptism pictured his life, his death, his burial in the earth, and his resurrection from the dead. It is our faith in a resurrected Christ that saves us by grace, and allows God to be just, and the justifier, of all to whom He imputes the righteousness of his Son at the point of repentance toward Him, and the placing of faith for salvation in his living Son’s offering for sins. In his burial by immersion, and his coming up out of the water, Jesus gave a future picture of what he would do in three plus years to fulfill all righteousness by his life, burial, and resurrection for all who would receive it as the finished sacrifice for all their sins.
Matthew 3:13-15 –Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. [14] But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? [15] And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil ALL righteousness. Then he suffered him.
Romans 3:26-28 – To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. [27] Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. [28] Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Galatians 3:24 – Wherefore THE LAW WAS OUR SCHOOLMASTER to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Acts 20:21 – Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
“BY HIS KNOWLEDGE SHALL MY RIGHTEOUS SERVANT MANY”
So how MANY will God’s righteous servant, the man Christ Jesus justify? Do you have to be born again?
John 1:11-13 – He came unto his own, and his own received him not. [12] But as MANY as received him, to THEM gave he power to become the sons of God, even to THEM that BELIEVE on his NAME: [13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 6:63 – It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 3:7 – Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye MUST be born again.
Romans 10:17 – So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:13 – For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 4:12 – Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other NAME under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST be saved.
“FOR HE SHALL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES”
If Christ himself had sinned in even the slightest way, then he would have no righteousness to impute to us.
I Peter 2:22 – Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
If he had not borne all the sins of all believers since the fall of man in the garden, then even believers would still be under the condemnation of God for sins. When he bore Noah’s sins of the past on the cross, all of my sins were still future. He died for the sins of all who put their faith in the promise of a SEED to deliver them, from Genesis 3:15 to the last man on earth to put his faith in THE SEED to save him.
Genesis 3:15 – And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her SEED; IT shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise HIS heel.
Romans 3:24,25 – Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [25] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for THE REMISSION OF SINS THAT ARE PAST, through the FORBEARANCE of God;
Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Adam and Eve thought Cain was the promised SEED, but when he slew Abel, that eliminated them both as being the SEED. So, at the birth of Seth, they thought he was the promised SEED, but when he had a son, it left them with a puzzle: which seed was the promised SEED, Enos or Seth? At that point in time it began to become apparent that the promised SEED might even be further on down the line, and from that time forward those who have been saved, have been saved by calling on the name of the Lord. The promised SEED is truly the Savior yesterday, today, and forever. On the cross he bore the sins of the Old Testament believers, those at the time of the cross who were believers, and those in the future through the Millennium. And it has all been through the “FORBEARANCE of God” and his grace.
Genesis 4:25,26 – And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me ANOTHER SEED instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. [26] And to Seth, to HIM also there was BORN A SON; and he called his name Enos: THEN began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
We are still calling on the name of the Lord, but under a better covenant, because now we know the name of the SEED who is the Lord Jesus Christ, and even when the tribulation begins, man will still be calling on the name of the SEED.
Romans 10:13 – For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 2:19-21 –And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: [21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Salvation has always been by grace through faith in the promise of God that he would send a SEED to save us.
Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
He finished his redemptive work on the cross for all who would put their faith in what God promised them he would do, deliver them from condemnation for sins forever.
John 5:24 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Colossians 3:2,3 – Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. [3] For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Galatians 2:20,21 – 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 Peter 2:24 – 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.
John 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
I Corinthians 1:18 – For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
I Peter 1:5-8 – Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [6] Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: [7] That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: [8] Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 168A
April 19, 2004
Christian Letters – Iraq & Israel + Past & Future of Terrorists!
Joel Dillahunty, a Texan, and Pastor of El Dorado Missionary Baptist Church in Arkansas, recently went with a team of ministers to contact a group of Iraqi Christians in Baghdad that were underground during the terrible reign of the butcher Saddam. His guide in Jordan was an Iraqi Christian, who sent an e-mail letter to him on April 10, 2004. He writes in a broken English vernacular, but I will copy it exactly as he wrote it.
Subject: God Bless America and Iraq!
Dear Sir,
Yes, it’s really depressing to hear about the murder of the four Americans, and thanks a lot for your nice trying to convince everyone that the Iraqis love Americans who liberated them from such people who ruling them by the way you saw all these 35 years long by fire and iron. And I understand why it is much difficult when you hear news like that, even as it is for me in such way I did not sleep the whole night and I was really out of mood. Can you explain to me who the people were that did it, and why? Yes, I can! Surely as you said most Iraqis would not be capable of such barbaric murder, cause it is out of our culture and even humanism. My thoughts about that (as you know well) what was done is condemned completely without hesitation cause this is the same terrorism that burned Iraqis in much more barbaric and wild way than you saw ( I told you about the mass graves and how they tried to cut off the hand of my father for only dealing in United States dollars), therefore we were in need of the U.S. coalition to liberate us from these terrorists who were and are trying to burn up every free Iraqi the same way, therefore you must keep on staying in Iraq till we are free 100%, otherwise it is a great loss for the USA as people and government and also for the Iraqi people who are still victims of these terrorists as they are trying to win the war against the Iraqi people. Again, we are in need of each other massively, you are in need of our good quality oil and free Iraq to be good democratic example for the whole middle east and even the whole world later, and we are in need of good military and intellectual support by the USA for rebuilding what the US war has damaged to refresh both of the Iraqi economy and US economy, which are in real need of this. By the way, those who did the horrible terrorist were not all Iraqis, as you know well, Iraq is just next to Syria and Jordan (both have bunch of terrorists) in addition to some international parties who do never like Iraq to be free, where this means Iraq in peace with Israel and USA, prosperous in such a way that free Iraqis will be salt and light for the whole new middle east. Please try to forward this message of mine to as many Americans available and I consider this message as a grateful step and petition for President Bush to keep on the process of Iraqi freedom and not to give up the Iraqi people in hands of international terrorists. By the way, convince the American public that the Iraqi lobby in the USA will stay faithful in reelecting President Bush to be next American President as reward for what he courageously did and is doing for the great land of the two rivers, first land of faith, law, and civilizations. God bless America for liberating IRAQ.
Together for better future,
Sincerely,
Yad F. Patrus
We only hear of the many terrorist attacks, and the hatred they have for us, but, believe it or not, from what I have gleaned, the attitude, of what represents a majority of the general public, seems to be a thankfulness for deliverance from the tyranny of Saddam, the butcher’s evil Baath Party, and the new freedom they have been given by the coalition forces. So, now they are now looking forward to the time they will break the power of the terror groups currently in Iraq, and, naturally, as soon as this is accomplished, they want us to leave the country. As a Christian, the remarks he makes, saying that Iraqis can be light and salt to the Middle East, are compatible with the following Scriptures.
Matthew 5:13,14 – Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. [14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mark 9:50 – Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
Colossians 4:6 – Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
We also asked Bonnie Hillman to request permission for us to put up a letter she had received from the Middle East on 04/16/04, namely from “Worthy Ministries,” editor@worthynews.com, which makes some very good points from II Corinthians 4:16. The letter began with: “Bonnie, Welcome the Wrecking Ball!”
Some of the wealthiest individuals in the United States are real estate developers. They make their wealth by buying a piece of property that is terribly run down, seemingly useless, without any value to the naked eye, and then reforming it completely, making it look brand new! These business men are not as much interested in what is on the property as they are interested in the land it is on!
II Corinthians 4:16 – For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
So it is with God and us. He’s not at all interested in what WE HAVE built with our lives – He’s not interested in our wealth or the diplomas WE HAVE acquired or the name WE HAVE made for ourselves. He wants to completely renovate us!
*Philippians 2:13 – For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
He has a vision for our lives much greater than we can possibly imagine. *Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ which strengthen-eth me.
All He needs is for us to give up our land so that he can go to work and start rebuilding.
*Romans 12:1-2 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
*Philippians 2:5 – Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Bonnie, we’re an old warehouse, slated for the wrecking ball! And we have the opportunity to be renewed today. Let’s give Him our lives yet again.
Your family in Messiah with much agape love,
George and Rivka Whitten
Jerusalem, Israel
*These four Scriptures were added by the Pastor of Dardanelle MBC.
The 7 Steps of Operation Defensive Shield, associated with the forced peace now being clamped on the Palestinians, which I predicted would eventually bring in the false peace of I Thessalonians 5:3,4, as found in Prophecy Updates 12, 24A, and 62A, is still continuing inside the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The latest two acts of Step 7 include the killing of the last two Hamas leaders, Sheik Ahmed Yassin last month, and his replacement Abdel Aziz Rantisi on Saurday. I assure you that Israel is determined to kill as many of the most extreme terrorist leaders as possible before the barrier wall is completed. They want the heads of the terrorist groups to realize their extremism will cost them their lives. During the rest of this year, and continuing into 2005, Israel will be actively engaged in clearing out the terrorist rat nests, before finally completing the security barrier in 2005 or early 2006. They want a very week terrorist structure enclosed among the Palestinians, hopefully to the point the enclosed general population might be able to exercise a degree of restraint over them.
I first began to seriously monitor the major terrorist groups in Israel and Lebanon when they met in Lebanon in late January of 2000, but my interest really heightened when they eventually assembled in Iran for an important coordination meeting (See Prophecy Updates 13 and 27A in our Prophecy Archives). The latest killings of the two Hamas leaders is no big surprise. Evidence pointed to Rantisi as personally planning the foiled attack at the Netzarim settlement last week, and the Israeli Shin Bet indicated he was making overtures to Hisbullah in Lebanon and the government of Iran for assistance in revenge attacks against Israel. The Hamas was founded in 1987 by four men, and Yassin and Rantisi were the last of them, Ibraham Makadmeh and Salah Shehadeh having been killed by Israel in the last two years. I expect the real leadership of the Hamas now to shift more and more to a situation where the ayatollahs in Iran and Hizbullah’s Nasrallah are the ones who call the shots, rather than the figurehead Hamas leaders among the Palestinians.
I have taught for 30 years at Dardanelle MBC that I believed the attack against Israel, by an Islamic Jihad collection of nations, would occur prior to 2008, and in 2000 I thought it was likely to occur before 2006, but I now believe it could occur as late as 2006 or 2007.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 168B
April 21, 2004
Ariel Sharon’s Unilateral Disengagement Plan in a Nutshell!
The recent approval of Ariel Sharon’s forced peace plan by President Bush has caused many of those in the Likud party, and the others that make up the ruling government majority, to change their opposition to the plan, and they have gotten on the correct political bandwagon. The plan should be approved handily, and this will probably accelerated the building of the security barrier around the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It will probably be operational in 2005. I have been waiting a long time for this forced peace to come in, because I have long believed it would be the false peace that would be broken some three and one half years prior to the final battle of this Gentile age, the battle of Armageddon. The Israelis will have walled in the Palestinians, but they themselves will be living in unwalled cities.
Romans 11:25,32 – 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. [32] For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – 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 – 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. (See Prophecy Update 33 in our Archives)
These are the essential ingredients of the forced peace plan, that will be put in place and rigidly enforced by Israel without Palestinian approval. It is designed to supposedly insure the peaceful existence of two states, the State of Israel and the State of Palestinian, which will exist along borders made secure initially by Israel’s Security Wall barrier.
1. Israel will initially proceed along a path that is not dependant upon the Palestinian Authority, with a true hope the Palestinians themselves will eventually decide to voluntarily control their own internal terrorist groups, and, at such time as this occurred, then Israel would resume negotiations according to the plan known as the “Road Map to Peace.”
2. The long term goal of the plan is to lead to the reality of improved security conditions for Israeli citizens, which would also prevent the loss of Palestinian lives through reprisals for terrorist attacks.
3. There will be no future Israeli settlement activity in the Gaza, but there be inclusion of some Israeli settlements just inside what is known as the “green line” border of the West Bank, and they will be part of the State of Israel.
4. Some Israeli settlements inside the new Palestinian State, security zones, and other places, will continue to be of future interest to the State of Israel, primarily to provide security for them.
5. The “Road Map to Peace” plan will be followed if, and when, the Palestinian Authority does begin to bring the numerous terrorist groups within it under control. Then negotiations can once again be reinitiated when this occurs.
6. Israel will continue to build the Security Fence in accordance with the decisions of the government. The route of the Security Fence will take humanitarian concerns into consideration.
7. Israel will supervise and secure the outer envelope of the entire geographical land mass, and will control the airspace of the Gaza Strip, and also continue to carry out military operations in the territorial waters of the Gaza Strip.
8. The Gaza Strip will be demilitarized of weapons whose possession violates existing agreements between the two sides.
9. Israel retains the basic right to self defense, including preemptive steps and due response, with the use of force, against any threats emanating from the Gaza Strip.
10. With the removal of Jewish settlements Ganim, Kadim, Homesh, and Sanur in the northern Samarian section of the West Bank, there will no longer be a permanent Israeli military presence in that area. However, Israel retains the basic right to self defense, including preemptive steps and response, with the active use of force, against any threats emanating from this area.
11. The existing security activity will continue in the remaining areas of the southern portion of the West Bank, namely Samaria and Judea. However, if circumstances allow, Israel will consider the reduction of military action in Palestinian cities, and will work towards reducing the number of checkpoints in Samaria and Judea as a whole.
12. In the initial stage, Israel will maintain security between Egypt and the Gaza Strip border, along the strip called the Philadelphia Corridor.
13. The process of withdrawal is planned to be finished at the end of 2005. Stages of withdrawal and the detailed timetable will be brought to the auspices of the United States.
14. The international crossings between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and those between Judea, Samaria, and Jordan, will remain in place. The Erez crossing will be moved into the territory of Israel at a timetable agreed upon separately.
This is not the entire “Forced Peace Plan,” but these are the details the casual reader would most likely want to know. I have watched, and waited, since we first established this web site in 2001, for this forced peace to come in, believing it would be the false peace that would precede the eventual attack of Islamic Jihad forces from the north once the Israelis actually began to believe it enough to actually proclaim, finally, we have “peace and safety.” I have believed this attack would occur before 2008 for almost 37 years, and am more convinced of it now that at any other time since 1 first believed it.
Zechariah 13:8 – 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. (See Prophecy Update 100 in our Archives).
Revelation 12:6 – 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. (See Birth Pang 39 and Prophecy Updates 5 through 11 in our Archives).
Daniel 11:45 to 12:1 – 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. [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. (See Prophecy Update 75 in our Archives)
Zechariah 13:9 – 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. (See Prophecy Updates 100 to 102 and 131 to 133 in our Archives).
Zechariah 14:9 – And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
Special Prophecy Update Number 168C
April 23, 2004
Headed for a Time of False Peace and Safety!
The spin from the two sides of the conflict, Palestinian and Israel are, for a change, in agreement. Major General Ahron Zeevi testified to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that “there is a great likelihood that the number of terror attacks would be reduced once Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip.” Zeevi, who is the IDF Intelligence Chief, also said concerning terror attacks from the West Bank, that he estimated the Gaza Strip pullout would increase Palestinian motivation to carry out attacks, but that the terrorist groups would have difficulty doing so because of the security fence, and because the army will focus its efforts on the area. The spin from the Palestinian side echoed the same thing, but in a quite different way. The Palestinian leadership, according to Big News Network, after a meeting chaired by Yassar Arafat, said Monday that Israel’s planned withdrawal will transform the Gaza Strip into a “LARGE PRISON,” which is what Zeevi said in a quite different way. Arafat said: “The planned withdrawal will transform the Gaza Strip into a large prison as Israel will retain control of territorial waters, the air space, and border crossing points.” It is ironic that for one of the few times in history Arafat’s assessment was parallel with the truth. As part of a package of unilateral measures, called a disengagement plan, Prime Minister Sharon is planning to evacuate all the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. But Israel will retain control of the territorial waters, the border with Egypt around the town of Rafah, and the Palestinians will not be permitted to reopen the Gaza International Airport, or any seaports.
The first Intifada lasted from 1989 to 1992, and cost the Palestinians about 1000 lives. The current uprising is known as the al-Aksa Intifada, which began in late 2000 and is still continuing. Thus far, it has cost Palestinians some 2000 lives. In March of 2001, Israel developed a strategy to cut off the head of the beast that was fueling the Intifada, namely, (1) To go all out to arrest or kill the leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and splinter groups out of Fatah, such as the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade, (2) To build a security wall or fence barrier between Israel and the West Bank, and between Israel and the Gaza Strip and, (3) To force the Palestinians to either negotiate, or to expect Israel to force a plan of separation from them, in order for Israel’s citizens to have peace and safety. It was not a complicated strategy, and it has done, and is still doing, what it was designed to accomplish. In all honesty, it has taken longer than I expected to produce the desired results. I really expected what is happening now to have been in place by the dawn of 2003, but it is some 16 months behind what I first anticipated. Prophecy Update 65A, which we issued on April 27, 2002, and may be found in our Archives, is quoted as follows. [BEGIN QUOTE].
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 65A
April 27, 2002
It appears that Israel is continuing to put into effect the ancient Yigal Allon “peace with security” plan he introduced in 1968, but which was not put into effect until March 29, 2002. “Operation Defensive Shield” is a modified version of the original Yigal Allon plan to secure the borders of Israel from terrorists and/or militant attacks and/or exploits within the West Bank. The modified version is an overlay of the original plan.
Step 1 – Go into the West Bank and destroy all the organized militant anti-Israel groups and elements that are a threat to the existence of the State of Israel. Destroy the infrastructure by killing, arresting, or scattering its leaders and membership.
Step 2 – Do it first in the cities known to have the largest groups of such elements.
Step 3 – Withdraw from the cities, after initial disabling of such elements have been completed, and then form a ring of security around each one, such that all roads and trails into the city can be observed.
Step 4 – Go into the smaller cities and areas, and repeat Steps 2 & 3 for each one of them.
Step 5 – Allow the militant elements to regroup in the cities until intelligence can reveal their new locations, then go in again, and kill, arrest, or scatter them.
Step 6 – Continue to actively follow Step 5, but begin to seek out the militants in the remote mountain regions of the West Bank, at the same time searching for the numerous weapons of death stored there for a future Jihad.
Step 7 – Once Steps 5 & 6 have been successfully completed, to the degree that a “peace with security” is believed to be within sight, complete what has been intended from Step 1. While Steps 1 through 6 are being accomplished, be in the act of building a “zone of security” that encircles the entire West Bank. This “defensive shield” would take in as many fringe Jewish settlements in the West Band as deemed possible to afford “peace with security” according to their location. Many of the Jewish settlements in the interior of the West Bank would have to be abandoned. My guess is that between 50 and 70 percent can be kept inside the “zone of security.” The zone would be widest on the eastern side of the West Bank and would extend from the foothills of the Samarian Mountains to the Jordan River. It would be the narrowest on the western side of the West Bank. I suspect it might be as much as 12 miles in width in some places on the eastern side, and less than 2 miles wide in places on the western side of the West Bank.
All of this is what I referred to in the first Prophecy Update we issued more than 2 years ago, which you may read in our Prophecy Archives. It is, simply stated, a plan that Israel warned it would implement if the Palestinians would not negotiate for peace. In other words, if we can’t have “peace with “security” through negotiations, then we are going to force you to accept one we force on you so that we can have “peace with security” by isolating you from contact with us.” [END QUOTE]. You may view the security wall barrier as I envisioned it would be from Allon’s 1968 Plan, after it was modified by Ariel Sharon’s Operation Defensive Shield plan of 2002, by observing the prediction of its appearance on Prophecy Update 65C in our Prophecy Archives. Prime Minister Sharon told the Knesset on Thursday that the government was going to expedite work on the security fence-wall barrier, and then announced it would be built according to the “full” 720 kilometer (440 miles) length approved earlier by the government. He also indicated they planned to have the unilateral withdrawal completed by the end of 2005.
Well, it has taken longer than I expected, but Operation Defense Shield’s 7 Steps have worked, and make no mistake, it has wrecked the ability of the major terrorist groups to effectively carry out large numbers of attacks of impressive nature. The internal terrorist structure, of which Arafat has always been a part, is in disarray, with four of the founders of Hamas in 1987 having been killed by Israel in the last two years. Now, because of the continued action of Steps 5 through 7 in Operation Defensive Shield, the leadership of Israel’s internal terrorist groups is shifting out of country, and will be directed from Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, from the Damascus area in Syria, with big oil daddy Iran pulling the strings from afar financially. The new leader of the Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, has been Head of the Hamas Political Bureau since 1996, and is a widely traveled terrorist, with tremendous relations with the Iranian hardliners, the Baath Party in Syria, and Hizbullah in southern Lebanon. He is an expert at shuttle diplomacy between the munitions and money supply from outside anti-Israel sources, and is the perfect leader to get both into the internal terrorist groups in Israel. He shifted his headquarters from Kuwait to Jordan when the Gulf War began, and then from Jordan to Damascus when Operation Freedom Iraq started. While in Jordan, during Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration, Israeli Intelligence was able to get poison eardrops into his system, but the King of Jordan demanded the antidote, apparently threatening to cancel their peace treaty with Israel, and Jordanian doctors were able to save his life. As to the validity of this poison eardrops story, I would not take an oath. It was something I remember from one of the sources I use, and I would not want to pass a lie on to you unless I advised you of the possibility of it being invalid.
Now, and in the future, most of the advanced planning, and orders of execution for terrorist activity carried out in Israel, will be done by terrorist leaders like Meshaal in Syria and Hizbullah in Lebanon. Just before he was killed, during the very short term of Abdel aziz Rantissi as the leader of the Hamas, he said: “I am the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but Khaled Meshaal is the top leader of Hamas.” Meshaal has been with Hamas since it was organized in 1987. Of all the Terrorist leaders, none have been more vocal, and active, in attempting to get all the Arab countries on the earth to unite with the Middle East Muslims in a great consolidated Jihad against both the United States, the so called big devil, and Israel, the little devil. Meshaal is perhaps the most intelligent and best connected Hamas Leader to date, and is a clever and dangerous man. Hamas will have a paper leader inside Israel, but Meshaal will give the orders. If Israel is not able to take him out, he will be trouble, and if they try and fail, it will give the Arabs a greater worldwide incentive to consolidate for a Jihad.
This cry for a United Empire based on Islamic belief is being heard more and more across all sections of this planet. The continued terror tactics, on relatively soft targets in many areas, are definitely having the effect of causing the Islamic man-in-the street to take a sort of spiritual courage from his belief that, in the end, the faith of Allah will be heard worldwide by the Koran cry: “There is one god, Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet.” I have always believed that the 10 toes in Daniel 2, and the 10 horns in Daniel 7, Revelation 13 & 17 are the same, and would indeed arise out of the revived Roman Empire, but not out of the northern European division, but rather out of it’s southern division, which once included what we now call Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, northern Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, as well as the fringes of several other Islamic believing countries. Antichrist will lead a 10 nation coalition of Arab nations, not European, in an attack against Israel, and, while timing of an event is problematic in all prophetic predictions, I have long believed that this attack is very likely to occur before 2008.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 169
April 25, 2004
The Son Who Became a Savior to Save Us – Nr. 18
Isaiah 53:11,12A – 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. [12] THEREFORE will I divide HIM a portion with THE GREAT (“Therefore” explains why Christ receives full partnership in the Godhead with “the great,” which comes from the primary root RABAH, meaning “to cast together, i.e. to increase in number”).
The Great = One God in 3 persons dwelling in Christ. I do not pretend to understand the Trinity of One God in three persons to the degree that I can truly say, yes, this is the correct explanation. Indeed, I stand in awe of even trying to understand it. I have mused for years in trying to do the impossible, of which I am not capable with a finite mind, so please consider what follows as an attempt to grasp the Trinity to satisfy my own curiosity.
I believe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always existed in three offices that make up the Godhead, but I believe the man Christ Jesus was made by the Father in Mary’s womb, and afterwards came into the world as a perfect, flesh and blood, living Son of the Father. The Son of God office was part of the Godhead from the beginning, but he took on the flesh and blood body of the man Christ Jesus in Mary’s womb, and in the city of David became the Son of God, born of a woman for the suffering that would set believers in him free from the condemnation for sins. The suffering servant was always in the plan of God for man’s redemption long before Adam and Eve committed the first sin of man against God.
Genesis 1:26A – And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness:
One of the seminary teachers, who taught me Hebrew, translated this verse, in its fullest exposition, as: “Let US make man in OUR blood flowing, earth becoming image, in the likeness we will one day take on.” I believe that the office of the Son of God has always existed from before the foundation of the world, but I believe the man Christ Jesus came into physical existence in the womb of Mary by an act of God, who is Spirit, and I believe within that perfect, sinless man there were two wills, the spiritual will of the Godhead, and the will of the perfect man, Christ Jesus. And I believe that the will of the man, in every instant of his life, obeyed the will of the indwelling Godhead, even to the death of the cross and his separation from the Godhead as a man for three days and three nights.
Genesis 1:26 – And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness: and let them HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over ALL the earth,
Hebrews 2:8,9 – Thou hast put ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now WE SEE NOT YET all things put under him. [9] But WE SEE Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Ephesians 1:4 – According as he hath chosen us in him BEFORE the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Luke 1:35 – And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Luke 22:41,42 – And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, [42] Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless NOT MY WILL, but THINE, be done.
Hebrews 10:5-10 – Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but A BODY hast thou prepared me: [6] In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. [7] Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) TO DO THY WILL, O God. [8] Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; [9] Then said he, Lo, I come TO DO THY WILL, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. [10] By the which will we are sanctified through the offering OF THE BODY OF Jesus Christ ONCE for all.
Galatians 4:4-6 – But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, [5] To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. [6] And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Isaiah 53:12 – Therefore will I divide HIM a portion with THE GREAT,
In my opinion, repeat, opinion, the “I” represents the person of God fulfilling the office of Father. The “him” represents the perfect, sinless, flesh and blood, Son of man and of God, Jesus Christ. And “the great” is the trinity of the one God acting in the three offices of the Godhead. I believe the Godhead indwells the glorified man, Christ Jesus, in all its glory as the one God, as the final consolidation of “the great,” the RAHAB, which means “to cast together, i.e., to increase in number.” I believe God shows the Son sitting beside the Father in heaven as a picture man can grasp, but when we finally arrive in heaven I suspect we will only see Jesus, and in him all the fullness of God will be visible to his subjects.
Colossians 2:9 – For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
I believe there is only one God who fulfills three offices, and that each office is fulfilled by the person of God in a continuing aspect of his plan for the redemption of man.
The office of the Son of God in the Godhead has always been eternal, but the human man Christ Jesus was made by God in the Virgin’s womb, and is his only Son that was begotten by woman. It was always God’s plan to redeem mankind to himself by reconciliation in the man Christ Jesus.
II Corinthians 5:18-21 – And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; [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. [20] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. [21] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The offices of the Godhead before the man Christ Jesus were Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and all three of these offices fully indwelt the man Christ Jesus. Before the creation of the man Christ Jesus in Mary, there was only one God in three persons, who fulfilled the offices of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The man Christ Jesus was made by the Father and sent to fulfill the office of the Son of God, and all the fullness of the one God in three persons indwelt him. When Christ fulfilled the office of the work of the Son of God as a man without sin, who was equal to God, he was raised from the dead by the power of the Godhead, and made the glorified man, whose portion of the great three in one is to be THE ONE GOD IN WHOM ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD CONTINUES FOREVER.
Philippians 2:6-11 – Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: [7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: [8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. [9] Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: [10] That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; [11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
John 13:30-32 – He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. [31] Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. [32] If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
John 14:9,10 – Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? [10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
John 14:16-20 – And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. [19] Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. [20] At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
The third person in the trinity, the Holy Spirit, is now in the process of fulfilling his office in convicting us of our sins, leading us to Christ, and comforting us as children of the Godhead through the man Christ Jesus.
John 16:7-11 – Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. [8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
John 14:26,27 – But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. [27] Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 169A
April 27, 2004
The Future Judgments of Humans – Nr. 1
I recently received a query concerning what I believed about the future judgments. Since my time is limited, rather than answer a query individually, if it is a rather general subject, I put my answer to the query in a series of Updates. Lord willing, this will be the first of four Updates on the subject of future judgments.
First Future Judgment- The Judgment Seat of Christ!
Participants – All the saved from the Old and the New Testament Periods.
Judgment – For the things DONE IN their bodies after salvation, whether good or bad.
Character of Judgment – Praise or Rebuke
Kind of Judgment – Degree of Reward – Little to Much
Visibility of Judgment – Glory of the Glorified Body
Location of Judgment – In Heaven
Time of Judgment – After Seventh Trumpet Sounds
All of the souls of the saved in the Old Testament, with the exception of Enoch, Moses, Elijah, and possibly also the ones who came out of their graves immediately after Christ rose from the dead, shall stand before Christ’s Judgment Seat, and all the souls of the New Testament saved will appear with them. All will reap the things done in their bodies of flesh after they were saved.
Galatians 6:7 – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
II Corinthians 5:10,11 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things DONE IN his body, according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad. [11] Knowing therefore THE TERROR of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Many of the Old Testament Elders, who received a good report of the things done in their bodies as the children of God, are listed in chapter 11 of Hebrews, and shall receive great reward, as will those New Testament saints who followed their example called for by God in chapter 12 of Hebrews. The ELDERS of chapter 11 are the “great cloud of witnesses” that “compassed” the New Testament saints in the Hebrew church.
Hebrews 11:2 – For by it the THE ELDERS obtained a GOOD REPORT. (O.T. saved Hebrews 11:1 to 39)
Hebrews 11:39,40 – And THESE all, having obtained a GOOD REPORT through faith, RECEIVED NOT the promise: [40] God having provided some better thing for us, that THEY without US should not be made PERFECT. (THEY = O.T. Saved, US = N.T. Saved, and PERFECT = Receipt of Glorified Bodies)
Hebrews 12:1 –Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
The race we ran, the fight we fought, and the faith we kept, will be manifested in the glory of the new body we receive at Christ’s judgment seat. All of us should want to work toward a judgment where we receive a “better resurrection.”
II Timothy 4:6-8 – For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. [7] I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: [8] Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Hebrews 11:35 – Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a BETTER resurrection:
I Corinthians 15:38,41,42 – But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. [41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. [42] So also is the resurrection of the dead.
Daniel 12:3 – 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.
After the sounding of the last trump, the last of seven in the series, the mystery of God, the first resurrection, will be finished, and, for the first time, all the saved will have left the earth in body, soul, and spirit, such that all of the kingdom of God will be in heaven, and all the kingdoms of the earth will have become his possession.
I Corinthians 15:51 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
I Corinthians 15:52 – In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Revelation 11:15,18 – 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.
Revelation 16:15,16 – Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Revelation 3:3,4 – Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. [4] Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Revelation 22:12-14 – And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according AS HIS WORK shall be. [13] I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. [14] Blessed are they THAT DO his commandments, that they MAY HAVE RIGHT to the tree of life, and MAY ENTER IN through the gates INTO the city.
Matthew 28:20 – Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Acts 2:42 – And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
I Corinthians 15:57,58 – But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 169B
April 29, 2004
The Future Judgments of Humans – Nr. 2
Second Future Judgment – Judgment of the Nations! –
The Judgment of the Living Survivors of Armageddon!
I covered “The Judgment Seat of Christ” in Number 1. Number 2 has always been the most difficult for me to understand. I was initially taught, and for many years believed, that it was a judgment of individual nations for their treatment of Israel. Those nations that had survived the tribulation, and had favorably treated the Jews in the tribulation period, would be allowed to continue in the Millennial reign of Christ, while those who had not would go into eternal fire. However, with the passage of time, I realized this teaching had synoptic problems, in that the carrying out of this judgment, in the manner I was presenting it, was flawed, because it rejected salvation by grace, and inferred salvation by works. Those nations that did good works toward Israel were informed by Jesus as follows: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” but those nations that failed to perform good works toward Israel were addressed by Jesus as follows: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels,” and then later Christ said to them, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment,” but to those nations that had favorably treated Israel, he said quite clearly, “but the righteous into life eternal.” I now interpret Matthew 25:31-46 quite differently from when I first became pastor of Dardanelle MBC in 1974.
Matthew 25:31 – When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
This is when Christ returns as King of Kings to this earth to establish his Millennial Kingdom. It is the time of Luke 21:25-27, Revelation 1:7, and Jude 14.
Luke 21:25-27 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
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.
Jude 1:14 – And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Matthew 25:32 – And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
I was taught there were goat nations and sheep nations. Certainly there are some nations that are more wicked in deeds than others, and I could make of a list of what I considered to be “goat” nations as opposed to “sheep” nations, but this is talking of all the nations left on earth receiving judgment between the end of the tribulation period, and the beginning of Christ’s Millennial reign. All of the nations will be gathered before him, but the judgment will be on individuals in all the nations. This judgment is for individuals that make up the nations, some will be American goats and some will be American sheep, some Russian goats, some Russian sheep, some French goats, some French sheep. It is a judgment that separates saved sheep from lost goats. The saved sheep go into life eternal, and the lost goats go into everlasting punishment.
The ones on the right are those saved during the period from the rapture to the end of the tribulation period. They are sheep that received eternal life and go into the 1000 year reign of Christ in bodies of flesh.
Matthew 25:33-34 – And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. [34] Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
The goats are those who did not believe the gospel from birth to Armageddon. They go into everlasting fire with the false prophet and antichrist.
Matthew 25:41 – Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Revelation 19:20,21 – And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
And about 1000 years later the Devil meets the same fate as the antichrist, false prophet, and the goats.
Revelation 20:10 – And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Now, for better clarity, let me define someone that is judged to be a goat. They may be very religious, and may believe in God, and seen to have a belief in Christ if they can add a little to what he did on the cross. James defines a goat as someone who may claim to know God, and even his Son, but his faith is at least partially in his or her ability to keep the law and add it to Christ’s righteousness, THEREBY DENYING THE SAVING POWER OF THE CROSS
James 2:10,11 – For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. [11] For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
I Cor. 1:17,18 – 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.
II Timothy 3:5 – Having A FORM of godliness, but DENYING THE POWER THEREOF: from such turn away.
I Corinthians 2:2,5 – 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 Timothy 6:5,6 – Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. [6] But godliness with contentment is great gain.
James also describes a goat as someone who many claim to have his or faith in Christ Jesus alone for salvation, but their faith is a dead faith because it never produces works. A saving faith is a living faith that does produce some degree of works because it is alive.
James 2:14-20 – What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? [15] If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, [16] And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? [17] Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. [18] Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. [19] Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. [20] But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
The understanding of a saving faith being a living faith in Christ, which produces a concern, particularly for other believers, is essential to understanding Matthew 25:31-46. There will be people saved after the rapture, and their conduct toward one another in survival will manifest an active faith that marks a saved soul.
Galatians 6:10 – As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
The goats will be trying to imprison and kill the sheep that are saved after the rapture, but the sheep will be involved in helping the other sheep until the Second Advent of Christ.
Matthew 25:33-40 – And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. [34] Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: [35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: [36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. [37] Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? [38] When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? [39] Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? [40] And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
But the goats did not have a living faith, as manifested by their selfish concern for their own survival, and not for the survival of others.
Matthew 25:41-46 – Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: [42] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: [43] I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. [44] Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? [45] Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. [46] And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.