Friday, 19 May 2023

God's Kingdom

In the days of these kings , shall the God of heaven
set up a KINGDOM which shall NEVER be destroyed
but it shall break in pieces & consume all these kingdoms
& IT SHALL STAND . . . FOR EVER
Daniel 2 v 44

It shall come to pass IN THE LAST DAYS , that the mountain of the LORD'S house
shall be established in the top of the mountains & shall be exalted above the hills
& ALL NATIONS shall flow unto it & MANY PEOPLE shall go & say ,
Come ye & let us go , to the mountain of the LORD , to the house of the God of Jacob
& He will teach us of his ways & we will walk in his paths
for out of ZION shall go forth the law & the word of the LORD from JERUSALEM - Isaiah 2 v 2 - 3

Blessed are the meek : for they shall INHERIT THE EARTH - Matthew 5 v 5

The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord & of his Christ & he shall reign FOR EVER & EVER - Revelation 11 v 15

It shall come to pass , that every one that is left of ALL THE NATIONS which came against Jerusalem
shall even go up from year to year to worship the King , the LORD of hosts - Zechariah 14 v 16

The Gentiles [ nations ] shall come unto thee from the ENDS OF THE EARTH & shall say ,
Surely our fathers have inherited lies , vanity & things wherein there is no profit. - Jeremiah 16 v 19

IN HIS DAYS [ Christ's ] shall the righteous flourish & abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea & from the river unto the ends of the earth
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him & His enemies shall lick the dust
The kings of Tarshish [ Britain ] & of the isles shall bring presents:
The kings of Sheba & Seba [ Saudi Arabia ] shall offer gifts.
Yea , ALL KINGS shall fall down before him : ALL NATIONS shall serve him - Psalm 72 v 7 - 11

And they shall come from the east
& from the west
& from the north
& from the south
& . . . shall sit down in the KINGDOM of God - Matthew 5 v 5

And he that overcometh & keepeth my works unto the end
to him will I give power over the nations - Revelation 2 v 26

Thou [ Christ ] art worthy to take the book & to open the seals thereof:
for thou wast slain & hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred & tongue & people & nation
& hast made us unto our God kings & priests & we shall reign on the earth - Revelation 5 v 9 - 10

But the saints of the most High shall take the KINGDOM
& possess the KINGDOM for ever , even FOR EVER & EVER - Daniel 7 v 18

The KINGDOM & dominion & the greatness of the KINGDOM under the whole heaven ,
shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High ,
whose KINGDOM is an ' everlasting ' KINGDOM & ALL dominions shall serve & obey him - Daniel 7 v 27

Behold , the days come , saith the LORD , that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch [ Christ ]
& A KING [ Christ ] shall reign & prosper & shall execute judgment & justice IN THE EARTH - Jeremiah 23 v 5

He shall judge among THE NATIONS & shall rebuke many people
& they shall beat their swords into plowshares & their spears into pruninghooks
nation shall not lift up sword against nation , neither shall they learn war any more - Isaiah 2 v 4

For I know their works & their thoughts :
IT SHALL COME : that I will gather ALL nations & tongues
& they shall come & see my glory & I will set ' a sign ' among them
& I will send those that escape of them [ Jews ] unto the nations
& they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles
& they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations
to my holy mountain JERUSALEM , saith the LORD - Isaiah 66 v 18 - 20

That ' thy way ' may be known UPON EARTH , thy saving health among ALL NATIONS
Let the people praise thee , O God ; let ALL the people praise thee.
O let the nations be glad & sing for joy :
for thou shalt judge the people righteously & govern the nations UPON EARTH . Selah.
Let the people praise thee, O God ; let ALL the people praise thee.
Then shall THE EARTH yield her increase ; & God , even our own God , shall bless us
God shall bless us & ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH shall fear him - Isaiah 67 v 2 - 7

Surely the isles shall wait for me & the ships of Tarshish [ Britain ] first , to bring thy sons from far,
their silver & their gold with them , unto the name of the LORD thy God , to the Holy One of Israel ,
because He hath glorified thee [ Jerusalem ]
The sons of strangers [ Non-Jews ] shall build up thy walls & their kings shall minister unto thee
for in my wrath I smote thee [ Jerusalem ] , but in my favour have I had mercy on thee
Therefore thy gates shall be open continually ; they shall not be shut day nor night;
that men may bring unto thee [ Jerusalem ] the forces ( wealth ) of the Gentiles & that their kings may be brought.
For the nation & kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish ; yea , those nations shall be utterly wasted - Isaiah 60 v 9 - 12

Behold, I will do ' a new thing ' ; Now it shall spring forth ; shall ye not know it ?
I will even make a way in the wilderness & rivers in the desert.
The beast of the field shall honour me , the dragons & the owls
because I give waters in the wilderness & rivers in the desert
to give drink to my people [ Israel ] , my chosen
This people have I formed for myself ; they shall shew forth my praise - Isaiah 43 v 19 - 21

The wolf & the lamb shall feed together & the lion shall eat straw like the bullock & dust shall be the serpent's meat.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain , saith the LORD - Isaiah 65 v 25

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb & the leopard shall lie down with the kid
& the calf & the young lion & the fatling together & a little child shall lead them
& the cow & the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down together
& the lion shall eat straw like the ox
& the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp
& the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain
for THE EARTH shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
. . . as the waters cover the sea - Isaiah 11 v 6 - 9

Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness
& righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
& the work of righteousness shall be peace
& the effect of righteousness quietness & assurance for ever
& my people shall dwell in ' a peaceable habitation '
& in sure dwellings & in quiet resting places - Isaiah 32 v 16 - 18

There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains
the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon & they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
His name shall endure for ever : his name shall be continued as long as the sun
& men shall be blessed in him : all nations shall call him blessed
Blessed be the LORD God , the God of Israel , who only doeth wondrous things
& blessed be his glorious name for ever & LET THE WHOLE EARTH be filled with his glory - Psalm 72 v 16 - 19

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth
it shall not return unto me void , but it shall accomplish that which I please
& it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it
For ye shall go out with joy & be led forth with peace
the mountains & the hills shall break forth before you into singing
& all the trees of the field shall clap their hands - Isaiah 55 v 11 - 12

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength
they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run
& not be weary & they shall walk & not faint - Isaiah 40 v 31

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened & the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart & the tongue of the dumb sing
for in the wilderness shall waters break out & streams in the desert - Isaiah 35 v 5 - 6

And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim
& the ears of them that hear shall hearken
The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge
& the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly - Isaiah 32 v 3 - 4

IN THAT DAY shall the deaf hear the words of the book [ Bible ]
& the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity & out of darkness
The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD
& the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel - Isaiah 29 v 18 - 19

ALL NATIONS whom thou hast made shall come & worship before thee , O Lord
& shall glorify thy name - Psalm 86 v 9

Thus saith the LORD ; I am returned UNTO ZION & will dwell in the midst of JERUSALEM
& JERUSALEM shall be called ' a city of truth ' & the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain
Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; There shall yet old men & old women dwell in the streets of JERUSALEM
& every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
& the streets of THE CITY shall be full of boys & girls playing in the streets thereof - Zechariah 8 v 3 - 5

Sing & rejoice , O daughter of Zion : for , lo , I come & I will dwell in the midst of thee [ Jerusalem ] , saith the LORD.
& MANY NATIONS shall be joined to the LORD in THAT DAY & shall be my people
& I will dwell in the midst of thee [ Jerusalem ] & thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee
& the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land & shall choose JERUSALEM again - Zechariah 2 v 10 - 12

ALL the ends of THE WORLD shall remember & turn unto the LORD :
& ALL the kindreds of THE NATIONS shall worship before thee.
For the KINGDOM is the LORD'S & he is the governor among the nations - Psalm 22 v 27 - 28

Yea , many people & strong nations shall come
to seek the LORD of hosts IN JERUSALEM & to pray before the LORD - Zechariah 8 v 22

But thou , O LORD , shalt endure for ever & thy remembrance unto all generations
Thou shalt arise & have mercy upon Zion : for the time to favour her , yea , the set time , is come
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones & favour the dust thereof
So the heathen [ nations ] shall fear the name of the LORD & all the kings of the earth thy glory
WHEN the LORD shall build up ZION , He shall appear in his glory
He will regard the prayer of the destitute & not despise their prayer
This shall be written for the generation to come & the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD
For He hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary ; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth
To hear the groaning of the prisoner ; to loose those that are appointed to death
To declare the name of the LORD IN ZION & his praise IN JERUSALEM
When the people are gathered together & the kingdoms , to serve the LORD - Psalm 102 v 12 - 22

Behold , the tabernacle of God IS WITH MEN
& He will dwell WITH THEM & they shall be his people
& God himself shall be with them & be their God
& God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
& there shall be no more death , neither sorrow , nor crying
neither shall there be any more pain
for the ' former things ' are passed away - Revelation 21 v 3 - 4

' God's Kingdom '
coming soon . . . ON EARTH

The Hope of Israel (Elpis Israel)

' The Hope of Israel '
BIBLE TRUTH . . . Churches do NOT teach !!!

God's eternal purpose outlined throughout the Scriptures , is to provide a ' Way of Salvation ' for mankind that He might fulfill His ultimate objective - to fill the earth with His glory. What is God's Glory ?? Quite simply , it is His Character. God's plan is to fill the earth with faithful people , who display a love & a desire to reflect His Ways & His Character

Numbers 14v21 But as truly as I live , ALL THE EARTH shall be filled with the ' glory of the LORD '

Psalm 72v19 Blessed be His glorious name for ever & let THE WHOLE EARTH be filled with ' His glory '

Habakkuk 2v14 For THE EARTH shall be filled with the knowledge of the ' glory of the LORD ' as the waters over the sea
The ' Gospel ' is the " GOOD NEWS " concerning the :
1. Name of Jesus Christ ( " the ONLY Way " unto salvation )
2. Kingdom of God ( " the REWARD " for His faithful followers )

The Hope of Israel is the central message in the Bible of ' Salvation for Mankind '
Numbers 14v21 To them , who by patient continuance in well-doing ,
seek for glory & honour & immortality , eternal life :

Glory , honour & peace to every man that worketh good ,
to THE JEW ' FIRST ' . . . . & also to THE GENTILE

God offers salvation to mankind ' solely ' throught the redemptive life & work of His Son , the Lord Jesus Christ. This ' Way of Salvation ' is extended to ALL mankind - but ' first ' to the Jews ( the nation of Israel ) & then to all other nationalities ( ' Gentiles ' )

The Jews ( Israelites ) are God's ' chosen people '. As a nation , they are set apart in God's eyes because of the faithful obedience of their fore-father Abraham. Due to his remarkable belief & trust in Him , God made a series of amazing & eternal promises to Abraham , to bless his seed ( descendants ) & to make them great among ' ALL ' nations.

Unknown to ' most of ' Christianity - these " eternal promises " God made to Abraham are the VERY CORNERSTONE of ' THE GOSPEL '
Through the promise of ' A SEED ' & the promise of ' THE LAND ' - we are , in the Book of Genesis , given the ' prophetic assurance ' of the Lord Jesus Christ & also , the Kingdom of God on earth

Throughout God's Word , the Bible , there is an unmistakable series of ' PROMISES ' recorded which underpin God's entire plan & purpose with mankind. These ' PROMISES ' were made to a succession of God's faithful servants & they form a wonderful ' golden thread ' of hope & salvation for both the Jews & the Gentiles. These ' PROMISES ' attest to the true ' faithfulness ' of God toward His beloved servants like Abraham & highlight His grace & mercy toward all mankind. Please consider these wonderful promises we have listed below :

These remarkable promises were then ' REPEATED ' to his son Isaac ( Genesis 26 v 3-4 )
& . . . later ' RE-AFFIRMED ' to Abraham's grandson Jacob ( Genesis 28 v 13-14 & 35 v 10-12 )

Finally to ' under-score ' the importance of these eternal promises ,
they were ' RE-STATED ' yet again , to Abraham's descendent King David ( 2 Samuel 7 v 12-16 )
So . . . . How important were ' These Promises ' ???

Consider , the APOSTLE PAUL'S words in the New Testament :

Galatians 3 v 16-17
Now to Abraham & his seed were ' THE PROMISES ' made.
He saith not , And to seeds , as of many ; but as of one ,
And to thy seed , WHICH IS CHRIST

And this I say , that the covenant , that was confirmed before ( of God ) IN CHRIST ,
the Law , which was four hundred & thirty years after , cannot disannul ,
that it should make the promise of none effect.
For if ' THE INHERITANCE ' be of the Law , it is no more of promise :
but God gave it to Abraham . . . BY PROMISE

Romans 15 v 8

Now I [ Apostle Paul ] say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for ' the truth of God '
to ' CONFIRM THE PROMISES ' made unto the fathers [ Abraham , Isaac & Jacob ]

Vision of Four Beasts

Nebuchadnezzar had been shown the kingdoms of men represented by the pleasing symbols of a tall statue and a great tree, in Daniel chapters 2 and 4. Here in chapter 7, Daniel, the servant of God, is shown these kingdoms as they really are: like dangerous wild animals. The same four empires are shown and this vision supplies more details to what had previously been revealed.

The first beast was like a lion, a fitting symbol of Babylon. Many stone lions have been unearthed at Nineveh and Babylon. The outstretched eagle’s wings refer to the territory ruled by Assyria. Wings were plucked when the power of Assyria passed to Babylon, and the addition of a man’s heart means Babylon was more humane than the cruel Assyrians. These powers had ended the kingdoms of Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 50:17). Babylon’s empire covered the Fertile Crescent from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.

Another beast, like a bear raised on one side, symbolised the Medes and Persians, with the latter dominant. This empire devoured much more territory than Babylon.

A leopard, a swiftly moving beast of prey, indicated the rapidity of the Greek conquest of Persia. Four wings indicate the expansion of the empire of Alexander the Great, and four heads show its subsequent four-fold division under four of his generals.

The lion, the bear and the leopard (Daniel 7:4-6) correspond to the gold, silver and bronze parts of the image in the king’s dream (2:32, 38-39). The dreadful and terrible fourth beast had great iron teeth (7:7) and corresponds to the legs of iron (2:40).

Iron teeth refer to Roman power. Bronze claws refer to the persistence of Greek culture and philosophy. [Also the two legs of the image relate to the Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) aspects of the iron Roman empire]. Ten horns refer to the ten barbarian nations that succeeded the Western empire in the 4^th and 5^th centuries. The things attributed to the little 11^th horn, which was in the midst of the ten, are so remarkable and so appropriate to the Papacy that no other application seems possible.

As the little horn uprooted three of the horns, so the emerging Papal power took the lands of three barbarian kingdoms. As overseer and spokesman, its eyes and mouth have gone throughout the earth. It spoke “great words against the Most High” (7:25), accepting such titles as Holy Father and the infallibility that belongs to God alone. It made war on the saints and prevailed over them for a period of three and a half times. This refers to 1260 years from AD 533, when the Eastern emperor Justinian acknowledged the Pope as Universal Bishop, to 1793, the date of the “reign of terror” in the middle of the French Revolution, which curtailed the Papal power to persecute.

Another Eastern emperor, Phocas, confirmed the authority that Justinian had granted to the bishop of Rome. Some 1260 years later the Papal States were lost and the Papacy was confined to the Vatican. It now professes to work for the reunion of all churches, provided it is recognised as the mother church. It wants Europe to unite under its Christian influence. The Catholic Church, patterned upon the operation of the Roman empire, maintains its institutions in the style of autocratic Rome.

Daniel saw that the Son of Man would be given dominion and an everlasting kingdom over all nations, and the saints of the Most High would reign with him (7:13-14, 18, 22, 27). At his trial, Jesus told his accusers that Daniel 7:13 and Psalm 110:1 applied to himself: “Hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64).

It is abundantly clear that God has ruled in the kingdom of men, and is still doing so. As saints, called out from the world, there is a crown of life laid up for us. Not all of the saints will be chosen, but only those who keep the commandments of Christ. We must keep the vision fresh and alive in our hearts.

In the symbol of the dreadful fourth beast, God showed Daniel that the power of Rome would continue in one form or other until its dominion is taken away and replaced by the kingdom of Jesus Christ and the saints. The Apostle John, who lived in the time of the Roman Empire, was given many more details of the development of the Roman Beast.

Tuesday, 25 April 2023

Bible Prophecy Russia Preparing to Attack the West Daniel 11:40,45

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the West has made a coordinated effort to isolate Russia, cutting off financial and computer services dependent on the Internet. These moves could backfire now that Russia has been forced to operate independent of the West. An attack by Russia on offshore infrastructure, such as Internet cables, would cause catastrophic economic damage to the West, but significantly less to an increasingly isolated Russia. Putin seems to be preparing options for retaliation that may have seemed unthinkable during more peaceful times.

On April 20th, the UK’s Daily Telegraph warned that Vladimir Putin is preparing to attack the UK (20-Apr-2023):

“For a long time it was only speculation. Now we know for certain: Russian spy ships are mapping wind farms and key cables off the British coast. There can be only one reason for this—to learn how to sabotage UK and European critical infrastructure in the event of a full-scale war with the West.”

Euronews echoed a similar warning under the headline, Putin's ghost ships spying on critical infrastructure 'in case of war' (20-Apr-2023):

“Russia is running a fleet of 'ghost ships' in the Baltic Sea with their transmitters turned off—as they map offshore wind farms, gas pipelines, power, and internet cables in the waters around the Nordic nations for possible sabotage attacks.”

Defense officials have been warning governments about Russia’s threat on critical infrastructure for some time, but little has changed. In 2017 the BBC ran a headline, Russia a 'risk' to undersea cables, defence chief warns. The article explains this warning while highlighting potential economic disruption should this occur:

“The UK's most senior military officer has warned of a new threat posed by Russia to communications and internet cables that run under the sea.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, the chief of the defence staff, said Britain and NATO needed to prioritise protecting the lines of communication.

He said it would ‘immediately and potentially catastrophically’ hit the economy if they were cut or disrupted.

The cables criss-cross the seabed, connecting up countries and continents.”

The sabotage last year of the Nord Stream pipelines, “which caused natural gas to leak into the sea and atmosphere, highlights the threat posed by undersea attacks on critical infrastructure. In addition to natural gas pipelines, the submerged internet cables that keep the world connected could be an appetizing target for rogue actors” the American Enterprise Institute said (30-Sep-2022). The majority of these cables are owned and operated by private companies answerable to shareholders and not governments.

In March 2022, France 24 reported Threat looms of Russian attack on undersea cables to shut down West’s internet, saying that:

“US President Joe Biden warned this week that Russia is considering attacks on critical infrastructure. One of the scenarios that has been mooted since the start of the war in Ukraine is that Moscow will attack undersea cables to cut off the Western world's internet.”

TeleGeography Submarine Cable Map: https://www.submarinecablemap.com

Breaking Defense provided an analysis of this threat in February 2022, providing three reasons why nations should be increasingly worried about possible sabotage of undersea cable infrastructure:

“‘One, it’s very easy. They span thousands of miles, they’re not guarded,’ Jones explained. ‘You can get down there if you want to create mischief. You can go down in a mini-submarine which you can easily hide in a mothership, and go down there with hydraulic shears and cut the cable, or possibly tap into a relay or repeater station.’

Secondly, ‘the impact is severe: national economies depend upon these undersea cables,’ she said. For example, she cited the paper’s finding that the US Clearing House for Interbank Payment Systems, known as CHIPS and familiar to anyone who has worked overseas for a US company, does some $1.8 trillion in monetary transactions among 22 countries every single day.

And the third thing is that ‘bad actors can enjoy plausible deniability.’”

Not only has Russia been shown to be mapping undersea infrastructure, but also successfully tested disconnecting from the Internet in 2019. China has developed a similar strategy. Meanwhile, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, society has become almost entirely dependent on digital processes which typically run from massive, centralized data centers interconnected around the globe by these very same undersea cables. It would seem that Russia is far more prepared for this scenario than the West and there is no sign that anything has changed in recent years. There are no business continuity plans to deal with such a widespread coordinated attack.

The economic consequences of such a disaster would be global and immediately catastrophic. Imagine getting up one morning to find that international communication has been severed. It is no longer possible to communicate outside of continental borders. Text messages fail to be delivered. Foreign news sites are unavailable or are no longer updated. Emails are returned as undeliverable, many key web applications are failing, international banking is brought to a standstill, and global stock markets go into free fall. At first, there is no explanation for what is happening, and so as time ticks on, people being to panic. Speculation mounts that there has been a highly organized state-sponsored global attack on the Internet. A run on the banks begins, and accounts and withdrawals are limited or frozen. As the outage turns from hours to days, store shelves empty and available supplies are snatched up (when have we seen that before?). In the midst of this chaos, Russian tanks are rumoured to be rolling west into Europe and south through Turkey, but information is slow and inconsistent; details are unclear.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, this hypothetical picture may have seemed farfetched. Today it is chillingly plausible.

The pandemic we have lived through has taught us just how vulnerable society is and that such an event as a global Internet outage can suddenly and dramatically change life as we know it. Those of us who have lived through a days-long outage, such as the massive power outage in eastern Canada and the United States in 2003, understand what this kind of event can be like. What would it be like if such an event was combined with a massive Russian attack? If the experts are right, it could take weeks to repair cables following such an attack, and recovery efforts would be subject to sea weather conditions.

Speaking of Rosh (Rus) or Russia, Bible prophecy leads us to expect just such an event, culminating in the invasion of Israel:

"Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them… In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you” (Ezekiel 38:7-9).

These events come at the time of a clash between the king of the north (Russia) and the king of the south (Britain and her allies) as described by the prophet Daniel:

“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… 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” (Ch. 11:40,45).

This will be a dark day, when once again the lights go out all over Europe. It may also be that the Creator will turn the elements against the wickedness of the earth (including that which is pushed over the Internet) as well as Russia and her great company at that time when “he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”

WIRED, a technology magazine, has described a different threat to the global Internet and its super highways under the headline, A Bad Solar Storm Could Cause an 'Internet Apocalypse', “The undersea cables that connect much of the world would be hit especially hard by a coronal mass ejection” (26-Aug-2021):

“While severe solar storms are extremely rare, the stakes are perilously high. A prolonged global connectivity outage of that scale would impact nearly every industry and person on Earth…

A moderate-severity solar storm in 1989 knocked out Hydro-Québec's grid and caused a nine-hour blackout in northeast Canada, but that too occurred before the rise of modern internet infrastructure.”

Such an event would disrupt civilian and military infrastructure alike. Whatever happens, we see that the world is very vulnerable, like a house of cards ready to fall. When this happens, it will bring down the pride of man and people will have no place to turn but toward God:

“Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help… Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them…” (Psalm 146:3,5-6).

So, trusting in our God we do not fear what the future holds. But, now is the time to ensure that we are on the Lord’s side. This has been Daniel Billington with you this week as we continue to look at the news in the light of Bible truth.

Monday, 24 April 2023

“For Three Transgressions And For Four”

4) “For Three Transgressions And For Four”^[4]

After the briefest of introductions, Amos 1, 2 consists mainly of eight judgements foretold against Syria, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah and Israel. In each the solemn repetition sounds in the ear: “for three transgressions and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof.” This doom, against the people of God and against their ancient enemies round about, was spoken “two years before the earthquake” in king Uzziah’s reign, and presumably was to be fulfilled through that cataclysm. This was the proximate or primary fulfilment of the prophecy. At the beginning of his work as prophet, Amos was presenting his credentials — a prophecy soon to be fulfilled. When events turned out just as he said, the people would be ready to take notice of his ensuing prophecies. All this in accordance with Deuteronomy 18: 22: “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

THE LAST DAYS

This should not be deemed to be the limit of application of Amos’ initial prophecy. There are good Biblical reasons for looking for a further fulfilment in the Last Days:

1: 2: “The Lord shall roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem” is a passage which is repeated verbatim in Joel 3:16, in a context the last-day fulfilment of which none would question. So evidently Joel saw this Amos prophecy as having reference to the time of the end. The similarity of 1 :6, 9 to Joel 3 :4, 6 confirms this conclusion.
The language of the prophecy requires an upheaval, which is a final retribution for the evil wrought by the nations listed on four (not seven) separate occasions, which have involved all of them. This is not traceable in ancient history, but presents no difficulty whatever in the twentieth century.
Uzziah’s earthquake provides a valuable clue. In Zechariah 14: 4,5 that earthquake is presented as a unique prototype of the earthquake which will happen at the coming of the Lord. Isaiah describes the same earthquake beforehand also (2: 10-22). But this description by Isaiah is appropriated in two places in the New Testament as prophetic of the coming of Christ. Isaiah 2:19 = 2 Thessalonians 1: 9 “... punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints ...” Also, Isaiah 2:19 = Revelation 6:12, 16: “and there was a great earthquake and the kings of the earth, and the great men ... hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”

THREE WARS — THEN A FOURTH?

If the conclusion based on these Scriptures be accepted, a further conclusion of exceptional interest follows. The nations enumerated in Amos 1, 2 are Judah and Israel together with all the Arab powers round about. On three separate occasions in recent years all these peoples have been involved in transgression together — in 1948, when the state of Israel was established; in 1956, the time of the Suez crisis; and in 1967, the amazing six-days war.

The prophet says explicitly there is to come a fourth involvement, which will lead on inexorably to divine retribution upon them all. This prophecy reads like specific reinforcement of the inferences possible from such Scriptures as Psalm 83, Obadiah, Ezekiel 35,36, Joel 3, that there must be yet another clash between Jews and Arabs, in which, or after which, all will pay the penalty for their cruelty, selfishness and ungodly materialism.

It may be that Amos 1: 1 justifies a further conclusion. Why was the prophecy made public “two years before the earthquake”? Is the vindication of the prophet’s dependability the only reason for mention of this unusual time element? Or is it there to indicate also that after the third (or maybe the fourth) transgression there is to elapse a period of only two years before the great divine intervention that must inevitably ensue?

It may be appropriate to add a further detail. Amos mentions both Judah (2: 4) and Israel (2: 6). Both were in existence in his day. In a sense both are now in existence today. Up to 1967 there was a small very circumscribed Jewish state, very little larger than the old southern kingdom of Judah. Since the six-days war the territory of the state of Israel approximates much more nearly to the dimensions of the combined kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The stage is set for big new developments.

[4] That is, 3 + 1 = 4; not 3 + 4 = 7. Compare Micah 5:5, where 7 + 1 = 8 (Revelation 5:6), not 7 + 8 = 15

3) “The Time Of Jacob’s Trouble”

Jererniah 30, 31

The phrase (Jeremiah 30: 7) is a familiar one to all students of prophecy. It turns out to be the key to the understanding of a remarkably complete picture of the day of Messiah.

“Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it (a time of trouble such as never was! Daniel 12: 1); for it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” Clearly this is intended to be the last great deliverance. And how? By the coming of Israel’s Messiah. The Hebrew text here almost clamours to be translated: “the time of Jacob’s trouble, but out of it Jesus”!

A further specially significant detail is that this keyword “trouble” is the same Hebrew root which is used to describe how Jacob trembled at his impending encounter with Esau: “Then Jacob was exceedingly afraid and distressed ... Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children” (Genesis 32:7, 11).

JACOB PRE-FIGURES ISRAEL

The phraseology in Jeremiah 30 seems to imply that Jacob’s experience when he returned from his arduous life with Laban only to encounter Esau near the river Jabbok will be re-enacted in the Last Days experience of his nation.

This conclusion is surely put beyond doubt by the remarkable series of allusions in Jeremiah 31 to that period in Jacob’s life:

v. 7: 0 Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

v. 8: Behold, I will bring them from the north country (compare the return from Laban in Syria) ... and with them the blind (Isaac? Leah?) and the lame (Jacob halting upon his thigh), the woman with child (Leah), and her that travaileth with child (Rachel).

v. 9: with weeping, and with supplications (Jacob’s importunity with the angel: Hosea 12:4) ... by the rivers of waters (the Jabbok) in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble (Jacob’s lameness) ... Ephraim is my firstborn (Joseph the favourite).

v. 11: For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him (Laban) that was stronger than he.

v. 15: Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted (Benjamin=Benoni=son of my sorrow).

v. 16: thy work shall be rewarded (contrast Laban’s treatment of Jacob).

v. 19: after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh (again, Jacob’s lameness).

v. 21: Set thee up way marks (the heap of witness — Genesis 31: 45, 53 — to mark the final return to the Land).

Those accustomed to this kind of allusiveness in the writings of the prophets will have no difficulty in recognizing that here the final return of Israel is being described in terms of the return of Jacob from Syria. The entire picture in Genesis is marvellously apposite.

Because he sought the heavenly blessing by his own devices, Jacob was compelled to leave the Land of Promise. He spent many years in a Gentile land enduring hardship and oppression. At last God brought him away from persecution to dwell in the Land, which was his by right. No sooner was he returned than he had to encounter his brother Esau, “which is Edom,” coming against him with a great force of men. In the night, which followed, Jacob wrestled — against Esau, so he thought! — for the safety of his family. If they were to survive, everything depended on his self-reliance, prowess and ultimate victory. Yet all the time he was actually pitting his puny strength against angelic powers who, unseen, controlled and directed his life. All his days this had been Jacob’s fault. Now, wrestling at Jabbok, the lesson was learned. It meant subjection to Esau (see Genesis 33, especially v. 3), and the outcome — all unexpected — was that he was left unmolested in the Land. God appeared to him at Bethel, and the great Promise was ratified.

A TYPE FULFILLED

The teaching of Jeremiah 30, 31 is that all these events, pregnant with meaning, are to be re-enacted in the Last Days. Already Jacob has returned from the land of his oppressor where he has borne long and arduous task work. In the Land of Promise he has encountered Esau soon to prove mightier than he. With little reliance on God but with confidence in his own powers he now wrestles for national survival. All this is according to the unerring counsel of God, but the divine Providence in these momentous developments goes unrecognised. So there must ensue a time when Jacob, lame and disabled, shall acknowledge the superior might of Esau — but, now acknowledging also the over-ruling power and wisdom of God, Jacob becomes Israel, a people of destiny, freed from all adversaries and oppressors and rejoicing in inheritance of the Land and in a glorious vision of God:

And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord (Jeremiah 31: 28).

1) Fishers And Hunters

Jeremiah 16

The greatest day in Israel’s history was their deliverance from Egyptian bondage by the hand of Moses. Of this their Passover is an unfailing reminder, when they say: “The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.”

Jeremiah 16: 14, 15 foretells the coming of another day of deliverance which will utterly dwarf that ancient experience. Instead, they will say: “...The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers” (v. 15).

This promise certainly did not find its fulfilment in the return from Babylon, for in no respect did that restoration compare with the deliverance from Egypt — and here Jeremiah foretells something considerably greater than that. Also, it is to be noted that the same promise is repeated in Jeremiah 23: 7, 8, where it is specified as the work of Messiah, the Lord our Righteousness. So, without any possibility of doubt, here is a prophecy of the Last Days. The rest of the chapter shows how the fulfilment is to come about.

FISHERS —

“Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them” (v. 16). Since the twentieth century came in, these words have found ample fulfilment. In many different ways God has, so to speak, dangled bait before His ancient people to lure them back to Himself and back to the Land. The Balfour Declaration in World War I was almost an incitement to Jews to get busy on re-colonization of Palestine. And circumstances were every way propitious—the Turks had been driven out, the Land was almost empty of population, the few Arabs there were tolerably friendly and willing to sell large areas of land at give-away prices, and the mandate was in the hands of Britain. The barometer was set at “Fair.”

— AND HUNTERS

But at first the Zionist Movement was slow to gather momentum. Nearly everywhere the Jews were tolerably comfortable, and pogroms seemed to be a thing of the past. So God tried a more radical method: “And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” Thus there arose, to the utter astonishment of the entire world, a fanatical German demagogue who attracted power to himself as a magnet. This man was possessed with an insane hatred of Jews and everything Jewish. Before World War II began, and especially during it, Jews were hunted with a calculating resolution and inhumanity without parallel in world history. Both before and after the war, this hunting of God’s people meant a great swelling of the stream of immigrants to Palestine. Increasing Arab hostility cleared out the Jewish communities in all the lands of Islam, and the new State of Israel throve. But it throve in godlessness! An overwhelming proportion of its three million people are without effective religion. Such religious conviction as exists is of negligible power, for it is basically a zeal for arid rabbinic tradition. Repentance and faith towards God are almost unknown. Jewish Christians in Jerusalem are only a tiny handful. The great lesson of self-mistrust and of faith in the God of Abraham has still to be learned.

Accordingly, the Jeremiah prophecy proceeds: “For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land” (vv. 17, 18a).

Israel is God’s firstborn, endowed in time past with double blessing (see Deuteronomy 21: 17), but bearing also double responsibility. The present generation has certainly developed God’s Land with unmatched skill and industry, not to God’s glory however, but out of their own pride and for their own selfish ends. Therefore, first, before the divine blessing can be given them there must come recompense and a consequent change of heart.

When this transpires, the fullness of God’s kingdom will flood in: “The Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit ... I will cause them (Israel, or the Gentiles?) to know mine hand and my might: and they shall know that my name is Jehovah” (vv. 19, 21).

Psalm 119:105 SIGNS OF OUR TIMES

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105 SIGNS OF OUR TIMES Vol. 33 No. 11 Novem 2022 Dear Lovers of Truth, In order that we reach a sensible Biblebased conclusion concerning the major players in world events that herald the glorious return of our Lord, we must trace their appearance in the record in the final words of Jesus Himself. From recent editions of SOT you will know that they are represented in symbol by The Dragon; the Beast; and the False Prophet in the remarkable 16th Chapter of Revelation: 12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. THE DRAGON In Isaiah 27:1 and Isaiah 51:9 the dragon is mentioned as representing the Pagan nations of Assyria and Egypt and connects the Dragon with the Serpent—the originator of all evil and rebellion against God. The most notable rebel and originator of Pagan doctrine was Nimrod (Gen 10:8-9). His influence is found in Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman mythology—evidenced also in the beliefs of the Jews at the time of Christ—beliefs which Jesus used in the parable of “the Rich Man and Lazarus”, etc. But the most outspoken occasion was when He said: Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44). Here Jesus links the Edenic Serpent with those who crucified Him, linking them to the curse on the Serpent: 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. (Genesis 3:15). Those who comprised the “Serpent Seed” are revealed in Acts 4: 27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. What the counsel of God had determined beforehand was “that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles” [Acts 26:23]. It was in His resurrection that Jesus “slew the Dragon/Serpent”—Sin. THE PAGAN DRAGON NATIONS Nimrod was the “mighty hunter who confronted the LORD” (Genesis 10:9). Nimrod was worshipped under many names: (1) Early Sumerian Enmer, later Mesopotamian Ninurta (originally Nimurda), Biblical Nimrod, Greek Ninus; (2) Old Babylonian Marduk, Biblical Merodach, later simply known as Bel or Baal ('Lord'); (3) Late Sumerian Asar-luhi (a principal epithet of Marduk), Assyrian Ashur, Egyptian Asar (Osiris); (4) Sumerian Dumuzi, Biblical Tammuz, Phoenician Adonis, Greek Dionysus, Roman Bacchus.... Paganism influenced every religion—even the Jewish traditions and beliefs to such an extent that the Apostle John wrote: “we know that the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1John 5:19). THE DRAGON IN THE APOCALYPSE We meet this Pagan Dragon in Revelation 12: 1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. In this scene the True Israel (the woman) has reached the time for the Messiah to be born— but the Pagan-dominated Dragon-powers of both Rome (Herod +) and the Jewish hierarchy combine to thwart his ascent to rulership. The Christ-child is taken to heaven—while the Church escapes into the wilderness of the nations—where—in Chapter 17—John sees her return as a Harlot riding a scarlet Beast! THE BEAST There are three (3) significant “Beasts” in Revelation Chapter 13. The First (1st) Beast has seven heads and ten horns, and has body parts like those of a leopard, a bear and a lion—and “the dragon gave it its power, its seat and great authority” (cp. Daniel Ch.7:4-8). This is a description of Europe in WW2 when, under Hitler, it contained the major countries represented by these animals. These pagan (Dragon) attributes gave the Hitler/Beast his power. Germany behaved like the barbarian hordes from whose roots this nation matured. Rev 13: 1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. . The description of Adolf Hitler here is hard to miss. He systematically murdered the Jews (the Saints - Psalm 148:14) in the Holocaust which lasted from the summer of 1941 until the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945—a period of 42 months (3½ years). The nations of the world “worshipped the Beast” by copying Hitler’s mechanised form of warfare and barbarism in every detail. . At the end of WW2 Germany was divided by “The Berlin Wall”—described in verse 3: “one of his heads as it were wounded to death….” THE BEAST OUT OF THE EARTH This Beast had “two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (v. 11). History tells us that this Beast was the USA and the USSR who raged against each other in “Dragon language” but acted “like lambs” because they never fought each other. The “Deadly wound” which divided Europe was known as ‘the Berlin Wall’ which lasted from 1961 to November 1989. Its removal signified that the same Germany that had been wounded to death; had his deadly wound healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. Thus all Europe has gradually revived! This is “THE LATTER DAY BEAST” which appears at the end of Revelation Ch.16—and on which the Harlot Church rides in Ch.17:3! THE FALSE PROPHET We have little to gain by referring to the Old Testament to trace this phrase. It is of New Testament usage BUT describes three Muslim nations that align themselves with Gog. However, before the Gogian invasion, we find “the false prophet” with the Dragon and the Beast “drawing all men to the Great Day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:13-14). The present alliance of China with Russia and Iran appears to some to fulfil this verse— but according the foregoing reasoning, a case is made for Europe as being “the Beast”. CHAPTERS 17-20 OF REVELATION These chapters apply to events after the Kingdom of God is established in Jerusalem. In Ch. 17:3 the Harlot is riding this European Beast as the nations revolt against the rule of Christ (the Lamb) and the redeemed (v.14.) In Chapter 19 there is a more detailed recapitulation of the events in Chapter 17. 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 (Jesus) , and against his army (the Elect). 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 Germanic-European beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. EZEKIEL 39:17-20 By comparing the above with these verses from Ezekiel 39 will convince the reader that “the False Prophet” is Persia (Iran), Cush and North Africa—that is— all remaining Islamic nations. The Dragon’s demise is in Chapter 20. In the Master’s Service, Arthur Wright,