Thursday, December 6, 2012

News Headlines and Bible Prophecy

It has been a long time since I've posted anything here.  I've been so busy with other things, but so many things have been going on in the Middle East that have potential to fulfill prophecies that were written down thousands of years ago.
I'm not talking about Myans or Nostradamus type things.  I'm talking about specific Bible prophecies about specific places and events.

First of all, the news from Syria.  There has been so much fighting between Assad and the rebels, millions of people, many Christians have been caught in the middle between two radical Islamic powers.  It seems as if the country is about to fall, either way will only benefit Islamists who are wanting to destroy Israel.

Isaiah 17:1-3 tells us of a time that Damascus will be nothing but ruins and no longer inhabited.  How do we know this prophecy was never fulfilled yet?  Because Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.  It has always survived through empires throughout history, unlike other cities and regions such as Ninevah, Sodom and Gamorrah, which none of has ever come back to being after they were destroyed. 

The Bible makes clear that Damascus will no longer be a city, but a ruinous heap.  If anyone has seen photos recently, it is fast coming to be a war torn waste.

What about Egypt, Libya and Turkey?  For the past 30 years, while not stable, these nations all had a tolerable sort of "peace" with Israel.  The leaders were busy being dictators as in the case of Gaddafi and Mubarak were focused more on their own nations and for the most part ignored Israel.  Now that muslim brotherhood forces under Morsi in Egypt after violent civil wars, and the trouble which still effects Libya, we have these two nations in place who now hate and have spoken agains Israel.  Turkey was for a long period a more secularized muslim nation, but now, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken against Israel and is bringing Turkey more in line with an islamic regime.

Soon there will be a war agains Israel.  Some folks believe it will be between Israel and Iran since threats have been building and Iran has continued with it's nuclear programs and potential to manufacture weapons.  But prophecies show that the first war will come at first from all of those nations who border directly with Israel.

Psalm 83:5-8 says, 

For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

Edom descended from Esau and lived Southeast of Israel. The Edomites became the Idumeans during the first century. From Jacob's days through the time of Christ the Edomites were Israel's enemies. During King Herod's rule the Idumeans became cooperative with the Romans and intermarried with Roman royalty.
The Ishmaelites were descendants from Abraham and Hagar, Sarah's slave. They became the Bedouin tribes and the peoples of Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Saudis.
The Moabites descended from Lot and were a tribal people living east of the Jordan. Lot was Abraham's nephew who lived in Sodom, a green, fertile area that was completely destroyed due to its wickedness. Today, the Moabites form southern Jordan.

The Hagrites, Gebal and Ammon comprise northern Jordan. Gebal was most likely a community south of the Dead Sea, near Petra in Edom. The peoples of Ammon also descended from Lot, Abraham's nephew. They were located east of the Jordan River.
The Amalekites were mostly nomads living southeast of the Jordan River and were descendants of Esau. Amalek forms the northern tribes of the Arabs. They became the ruling classes of the Persian Empire which encompasses Iran today.

Philistia was located southwest of Israel, and Tyre was northwest of Israel. The inhabitants of Tyre compose today's inhabitants of Syria and Lebanon. The inhabitants of Tyre had evolved into the Phoenicians who later became Lebanon.

The descendants of Assur are from ancient Assyria. This includes the northern tip of Babylon in Iraq and moves up into the ancient land of Nineveh. This encompasses northern Iraq and eastern Iran.

So in essence, it will be the Arab muslim nations coming aginst Israel.  We've seen attacks from Gaza for a long time, and even some rockets "straying" in from Syria this past fall.  Soon these nations, which have drastically changed through the so called arab spring will gather together against Israel.

The Bible tells us that Israel, through God, will win.  Verses 17 and 18 tell us,
Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.

There will be another war, directed by Russia and Iran coalisions which will come against Israel as described in Ezekiel 39.    The Lord will save Israel from her enemies when this war comes.  Verses 9 and 10 describe what things will be like after this war,  

And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God
But how do I know that the war of Psalm 83 comes first?  Because verse 11 describes Israel,

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.

Israel will be living in peace at that time, without walls (the border along Gaza and the West Bank) and will have been living in safety, which is not the case for that nation these days.  Israel will survive both the war described in Psalm 83 and that of Ezekiel 39.


The war to follow, which will include the rest of the world's forces will come as described in Ezekiel 38 This will be, I believe the war of all wars, that one at Armageddon.
Verses 19-23 describe the Lord's wrath in those days.
For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.


We can almost compare the news headlines with what was written thousands of years ago in the Bible prophecies.  The times are getting short, and the time now is to look to the One who saves.  I'd suggest if you don't know Who Jesus is, start here with John Chapter 1.  Please don't wait. The time is now.