Pestilences and other signs: in the news

One of the most widely misinterpreted passages relating to end times prophecy comes from Jesus' description of the birth pains, or "signs" that we would see in the season leading into the Tribulation and then followed by His return. First, however, lets review what Jesus said referring to the signs around us.

"Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will also be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven." (Luke 21:10)

And in Matthew's account:

"Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."

We summarized these signs, with a focus on "fearful events" here before.

Jesus was giving us critical information, not only on the signs, but he stated that these would mark the BEGINNING of birth pains. He also told us later (Matthew 24:34) that one generation would witness all of these signs and His second coming.

As detailed in his book "Footsteps of the Messiah", prophecy scholar Arnold Fruchtenbaum makes the case that "Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom" is an idiom for world war, given the context of Matthew 24. Indeed - if you look at all of the signs that Jesus gave, pestilence, world war, famine, and earthquakes - ALL of these signs peaked in a dramatic way in the era of WWI, in numbers never seen before, and then again for the second time during WWII. Jesus also said these signs would occur in a cyclic pattern, or as birth pains/contractions. They come in waves. Thus, we have the beginning of "birth pains", and we are now approximately 90 years into that generation.

A common mistake that I hear almost every day is this: "The world has always had earthquakes...We've always had wars...We've always had famine" etc..." Lets note what Jesus did NOT say...Jesus did NOT say "The first occurrences of earthquakes will occur in this generation...The first occurrence of pestilences will occur in this generation." Jesus never said that. Nor did Jesus say the following: "This generation will see these signs, which need to be statistically analyzed and if deemed "statistically significantly" higher than past generations, then that's a sign"....No, Jesus never said that either.

Some folks will even go so far as to say "well, we have more earthquake monitoring stations now, so the increase in earthquakes doesn't count". HUH? Actually, Jesus said that the earthquakes sign WOULD be seen in "diverse places". Without such monitoring stations, we wouldn't even know about such quakes. The monitoring stations in diverse places is actually a necessity for fulfillment of that prophecy.

Jesus simply stated that we would see these signs in a manner analogous to birth pains. In other words, these signs would be NEWSWORTHY - something in the public's consciousness. Something that we would be aware of. This fact is obvious. If the sign wasn't newsworthy, and didn't make the news, then there would be no awareness, and thus not a "sign".

In fact, to make a quick tangent - I now realize that we are also living in the first generation that COULD witness all of the signs. For instance, 100 years ago, I wouldn't be reading about earthquakes around the world, or fighting around the world etc. But today, I get these kind of news within minutes. Prophecy watching (as directed by Jesus) would have been impossible for any other generation. But I digress.

Now back to pestilences.

The recent swine flu "story", as I have stated on many occasions, is bizarre and unlike anything I have ever seen in medicine. Clearly the Swine Flu is highly contagious, as spread is incredibly rapid, but the fact remains, it is a relatively mild flu. This "disconnect" has led to multiple conspiracy theories, theories I'd rather avoid (not dismissing them by any means, but I'll let others deal with potential conspiracy theories), plus that isn't the point of this post. For a relatively reasonable view (and no, I do not "endorse" this site) of potential conspiracies and very pertinent information regarding the Swine Flu, see:
this web site: the flu case.

Given that, however, the Swine Flu IS very newsworthy. I assume close to 100% of the U.S. population is aware of the Swine Flu. For this reason, it is most definitely a "sign" of pestilences for our day. One cannot watch the news for more than 10 minutes without seeing an ominous story on the threat that Swine Flu poses.

Now there is a new pestilence (virus) emerging and this one might be real. It is just starting to hit the news:

"40,000 contract serious virus in Ukraine, kills 30".

"Number of victims to unknown virus growing. State of emergency to be imposed in Ukraine?".

Apparently, this new virus was just recognized clinically in late October - and it begins as a "normal" flu for about a week, then significantly worsens. Testing to identify the exact virus will be completed in two weeks, according to the second article linked above:

"According to the doctors, now in Chernivtsi, unidentified viral infection is being observed. The first results of virological studies that will identify the virus will be ready only in two weeks."

This new virus hits the respiratory system hard. There have already been 30-40 deaths from this "new" virus, and it was only recognized a couple of weeks ago. Approximately 40,000 Ukrainians have already experienced this new virus:

"Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports 40,000 Ukrainians have contracted the disease and at least 100 are in the hospital. Tests are currently being conducted and all is known is that it is not the H1N1 Swine Flu."

This new virus seems quite ominous. Only time will tell. But for watching prophetic fulfillments - the very fact that this new virus is emerging as a news story, and coupled with the fact that the Swine Flu has absolutely dominated the news cycle (not even mentioning the other "pestilence" stories for our generation - HIV/AIDS, ebola, the bird flu, drug-resistant TB, etc etc.), we can easily see how "pestilences" are most certainly a sign of our times.

A simple question for prophecy watchers here will suffice.

Are pestilences in the news? Are pestilences in the news now more than ever?

Extend that thought:

Are earthquakes in the news?
Is the revived Roman Empire in the news?
Is Israel and Jerusalem in the news?
Is Jerusalem the focus of the various peace plans?
Is Jerusalem being fought over?
Are "the nations" aligned against Israel?
Is "War and rumor of war" in the news?
Is Russia and Iran, and their alliance in the news?
Are threats against Israel in the news?
Is world famine in the news?
Is a world economy - world finance in the news?
Is Middle-East conflict in the news?
Is a "peace plan" for the Middle-East (specifically Israel et al) in the news?


Yes? Of course they are. One cannot open a daily newspaper without seeing at least one story on each of the above questions. Each of these signs is very much a part of television news shows, internet sites, daily newspapers, magazines. These stories fill the news. And all of them are part of the "signs" that were seen by God's prophets and Jesus - signs that we have all been warned about through the prophetic scriptures.

To deny these signs, and to deny that we are in the season that Jesus informed us about, represents an extreme form of intentional denial or complete ignorance of the news.

The simple fact is - Jesus will return in this generation. Twice technically. Once to gather (rapture) His bride (aka "The Church") and again at the very end of the Tribulation - a little over seven years following the rapture - He will come to earth, for judgment of those still on earth at that time, and to begin His rule on earth for 1,000 years.

Its coming, and its coming soon. The signs are all around us - abundantly. It is time to be prepared and ready. We've been warned.

The European Union: A single empire

The EU Observer link here is reporting that the Lisbon Treaty "will enter into force as early as December 1", according to French President Nicolas Sarcozy. This breakthrough came after member states agreed to some last-minute demands by Czech President Vaclav Klaus.

We also see the following:

"This deal...paves the way for Mr Klaus to sign the pact, a move that will allow it to go into force across the 27 member states of the European Union."

"The Czech president can only sign after 3 November, the day when the Czech constitutional court is due to give its verdict on whether Lisbon is compatible with national law. The ruling is widely expected to come out in favor of the treaty, with a similar - though narrower - case also going the treaty's way last year."

Perhaps even more interesting:

"Once the treaty-opposing Czech president puts pen to paper - and EU leaders remain wary of his unpredictability - the race to fill the posts created by the treaty will begin in earnest. The president of the European Council and the foreign minister - two new jobs - as well as the line up of the next European Commission are set to be decided at an extraordinary summit in November."

"The new posts have been the subject of frenzied speculation in the media in the run-up to the October summit and in the corridors during the summit itself."

Indeed. Prophecy watchers have been wondering about all of these issues for years; issues including the expansion of the EU and any powerful positions of authority which may emerge. Until now, with a rotating presidency and a very ill-defined foreign policy, there weren't any specific positions of power and authority.

I can recall when authors such as Hal Lindsey and Dwight Pentecost, over 25 years ago called for a "United States of Europe" to be formed, based upon a literal view of Daniel 2 and 7. People scoffed at the idea, as WWII wasn't that distant at the time, and the thought of a united europe, including old rivals such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom seemed implausible. But here it is, today, alive and well.

In fact, I found one quote particularly revealing, when the EU expanded via the formation of the Mediterranean Union. When asked why he wasn't interested in joining this union, Libya's leader Moammar Kadafi was quoted as saying that he wouldn't join because the Mediterranean Union was clearly a "revival of the Roman Empire". This interesting coming from a nation's leader, particularly one who isn't known for his knowledge of bible prophecy.

Based on this report, we will have a "permanent" EU president (there are terms of office, but it is unclear how many times the term can "roll over"), and a head of foreign policy within weeks. These are positions that for years have received much speculation in prophecy circles, and within a matter of weeks we will see two individuals actually selected for the most powerful positions in this new roman empire.

Once these leaders emerge it will be fascinating to see who will focus on the Middle-East situation and the peace process pertaining to Israel. The "covenant" of Daniel 9:27 seems to be approaching. We will now have two positions of leadership/authority in this revived Roman Empire - two positions which will have the necessary power to "confirm a covenant" between Israel and her enemies - creating temporary peace in the region. In other words, two positions from which a leader could emerge and ultimately fulfill the prophecy given in Daniel 9:27: a figure who will later become known as the antichrist.

Biblical prophecy is marching right along, just as predicted.

In the news...

There are several interesting stories in the news recently:

First, we see yet another earthquake flurry.

Link here to weekly update. Just today, there was a 6.0 in Afghanistan, and six more earthquakes > 5.0, including locations such as China, Bhutan, Mexico and Indonesia. Earthquake Map. UPDATE: 6.9 quake in Japan, Friday, Oct. 30.

The second story involves an article quoting the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon: "Jerusalem must be the capital of two states - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security". He added, "Only with the achievement of a two-State solution and a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, will Jerusalem be fully restored to its rightful place as a symbol of sanctity, brotherhood, and peace for the entire world."

In other words, unless Israel returns to the "pre-1967 borders", by giving up the Golan Heights and giving up the West Bank - and lets not forget that necessary "connecting section" of land that would be added to "Palestine" - that strip of land that would need to connect the West Bank with Gaza - which would effectively divide Jerusalem into a southern half and a northern half; then there won't be peace in the Middle-East. Of course, as we have pointed out before, Israel was invaded prior to 1967 when these coveted borders already existed. Go figure.

Lets not forget what God had to say about Jerusalem in these days: "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding people reeling...I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves." (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Then, for a third story, we see more and more reports of missiles being launched from Lebanon's southern border, as controlled by Hezbollah. This has now reached a level of concern prompting calls of "restraint" from the UN: Ban urges restraint after latest rocket firing from Lebanon into Israel".

Lastly, we see the following story from the EU Reporter: Czech decision on Lisbon treaty only after EU summit". Now it appears that the Czech Republic's constitutional court won't give its verdict until November 3. This delay put a major roadblock to the UN's plans, as they were hoping for finalization of Lisbon before their big summit meeting which begins October 29. However, it is generally assumed that the Czech Republic's constitutional court will approve the ratification process in favor of the Lisbon Treaty.

The general assumption is that the EU President and the Foreign Policy head will be named before the end of the year.

Very interesting times for a prophecy watcher.

The coming world government

We know from many scriptures, that during the Tribulation, the antichrist will have "authority" over "every tribe, people, language and nation" (Revelation 13:7). We also know that there will be fighting within his "authority" later in the tribulation as the kings of the north and the south threaten the antichrist.

At least for some period of time however, the antichrist will have his world government to rule. Before experiencing the last several years, and particularly the last several months, it seemed that the antichrist would achieve this world government in a dramatic way after the rapture of the church had occurred and during the carnage of the Tribulation. However, we can see the genesis of a world government already forming - and it is forming in a gradual process.

We have witnessed part of this process through the G20 and the UN, both of whom are calling for governance over the world financial system, and through world taxation. There is already an International Criminal Court; a court that determines cases based on a nebulous "International Law" - something the U.S. previously refused to participate in, but that is changing in the new administration. We have also seen the calls for an international monetary system, backed by a central currency. It won't be long before this is instituted.

Even more recently and perhaps more ominously, we have seen much written about the upcoming Copenhagen meeting. There have been a lot of commentaries and speculation regarding this upcoming meeting (December 6-18) and I have resisted (until now) the getting caught up in the drama that has been precipitated by the details of this meeting. At this point, however, it seems undeniable that we should have serious concerns about this meeting.

Lord Monckton, a former science advisor to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is a well-known critic of the theory of man-made global warming. He believes (as do many people who have taken the time to read details about the Copenhagen meeting) that a world government will be created at this meeting, under the premise of dealing with mythical global warming. A video segment of a speech given by Lord Monckton has been widely circulating in which he describes this entire scenario in great detail: LINK TO SPEECH HERE. I highly recommend viewing this video of his speech describing the threat that the Copenhagen meeting poses.

Review article on this topic from CanadaFreePress here

Terry James from the Rapture Ready site has provided a nice summary of this situation (see below), so I'll let him take it from here. My last point is this: the coming world government is already forming. It is definitely in the early stages, but the initial steps towards having a world "governance" over finances, "criminal court", taxation, and now a transference of wealth between countries is already well underway. The road is being paved quite nicely for the antichrist once he makes his appearance.

Below is his excellent commentary on this topic (link here):







America and Mother Earth Worship
by Terry James



Globalism's call is out to require all nations to bow before the altar of sacrifice to Mother Earth. The United States of America is expected to lead the way by giving up its sovereignty to the priests of new world order, those who will be in charge of the Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December of this year.
All nations will be expected to sign a treaty that the globalists elite proclaim will save the world from what formerly was termed "global warming," but now has been changed to "climate change." The sleight-of-hand switch in terminology is due to the fact that: 1) there is, and has never been, true scientific evidence that global warming is occurring; and, in fact, 2) all indicators point to the reality that the planet is actually in a period of global cooling, much to the chagrin of Al Gore and his brethren in the perpetration of ecological chicanery. The new term, "climate change," is designed to take into account both global warming and global cooling, of course.

The treaty is intended to establish an organization called "Conference of Parties" (COP). This entity would define and implement taxing policies for all nations who are members of COP. The concept of the COP is to tax the wealthy nations in order to pay for poor nations who, when it is so determined, can't act properly as good stewards of their own environment. Redistribution of wealth has long been the fervent desire of the present-day Marxist ideologues. Now there is impetus--led by the president of the United States--to take from the productive and give to the masses in a blatant attempt to garner an overwhelming power base of political support from those beneficiaries of the forced "largesse."

COP, in other words, is a ruse that for public consumption is said to be designed to save the world from humanity-caused ecological destruction. In reality, it is a move that would do the Bolshevik Revolution of Lenin's day proud. America's citizenry is intended to be the future proletariat, should the would-be globalist masters have their way. People would, if this attempted travesty is ratified by the U.S. Senate, ultimately suffer even more than did the worker bees of Lenin's, Stalin's, and Mao's brutal dictatorships.

I say this with the beast regime of Revelation chapter 13 in mind, toward which all of this is leading, in my view. Ratification of the treaty will require two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. This will be a very difficult thing to accomplish for those who want it done in this way. The president can, however, go to the meetings and sign the treaty--and it is, in effect, a done deal, apart from Senate ratification or other congressional action. The new world order builders prefer the Senate ratification route, because once ratified and implemented, it would require quite strong legislative action to undo the treaty obligation. The president's fiat signing could be simply negated by a future administration, with a different president taking America out of the treaty obligation by his signature only.

It is strongly suspected that President Obama will go to the December 6-18 Copenhagen conference and obligate the U.S. to abide by whatever liberty-destroying globalist edicts come forth. One well-qualified observer of things involved in the effort to, in effect, enslave America and the world under the auspices of the elitists who want absolute power, thus control, weighed in on what the results of U.S. ratification or presidential signature would almost certainly mean to this nation.

Lord Monckton, former science advisor to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is a well-known critic of the theory of anthropogenic causes of global warming. He says the following about what he thinks would be the results of America's obligations under the treaty, and an ultimate changed world order planned to come out of the Copenhagen Conference.
I read that treaty and what it says is this: that a world government is going to be created. The word "government" actually appears as the first of three purposes of the new entity.

The second purpose is the transfer of wealth from the countries of the West to Third World countries, in satisfaction of what is called, coyly, "climate debt"--because we've been burning CO2 and they haven't. We've been screwing up the climate and they haven't. And the third purpose of this new entity, this government, is enforcement...

So thank you, America. You were the beacon of freedom to the world. It is a privilege to stand on this soil of freedom while it is still free...But...unless you stop it, your president will sign your freedom, your democracy, and your humanity away forever. (Bill Wilson, "Copenhagen Climate Conference Ruse to Establish Global Government Even to Rule Over American Youth," LINK HERE)

When considering this seemingly mindless rush to throw America's blood-bought freedoms upon the base of the reemerging Tower of Babel in the form of worship of Mother Earth, under the guise of saving the planet from humankind, God's Word focuses the spotlight of truth on these dark days:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man... Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen... And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind." (Romans 1: 21-23, 25, 28a)

Rational-thinking people today ponder and wonder out loud about what has happened to America and the world in only a short number of months. Why is everything held sacred being turned upside down? Why the perplexity within this nation and in nations around the globe? Why are we now worshiping the environment, and willing to give up sovereignty, and considering giving away liberty for the sake of elitist demands that we follow their insane dictates?

The road to global governance has been paved with callous disregard. For example, when the president of the United States declared that America is not a Christian nation, most people of God were, and remain, silent. It is true that this nation's people in general long ago turned from principles within God's Word--who is Jesus Christ--and worshipped instead many gods--materialism being chief among them. But, to remain silent for the most part when our top leader declares, in effect, war on all that is Christian, is symptomatic of spiritual sin-sickness that must be what is meant by God having turned the apathetic over to a "reprobate mind."

Why should we be surprised at the swiftness with which the reprobate thinking that is systemic within our government is moving America away from God's prescription toward a religion of satanically inspired worship of the creation rather than the Creator? One thing sure: It is a signal that global gulag and Tribulation loom for earth's rebels, perhaps in the very near future

Random updates

Thus far, this week has been a little slow as far as groundbreaking prophecy news. This is somewhat welcome right now, as the news has been fast and furious over the past week or two and its been hard to keep up. Just like birth pains, its often nice to have a little break between contractions. However, there are a few interesting commentaries that I have stumbled upon this week:



"Standing Firm". In this commentary, as found on the Rapture Ready site, Todd Strandberg has written about prophecy watching, and how endurance is a key factor. We would all like to see the rapture occur immediately, and when it seems to lag forever, prophecy watching can become tedious. Todd calls us to be persistent and to keep watching. I believe these difficulties in "watching" are one of the many reasons that we are offered a special "crown" or reward, once in heaven, for our waiting and longing for Christ's return (2 Timothy 4:8).


"Hamas calls for renewing bombing attacks on Israel". Here we see Hamas threatening to renew the bombings directed towards Israel. Israel isn't in the mood to tolerate additional bombings. We are always looking for the "triggering" incident to ignite things (once again) in the Middle-East.


In a very unrelated commentary, I stumbled on a review of the Swine Flu situation, as written by another physician. This drew my interest, because his thoughts are almost exactly in line with mine. This whole Swine Flu "crisis" continues to mystify me, and this physician captured my recent thoughts:
"The threat of mandatory vaccinations".


Maranatha!

The big picture

There are so many end times signs around us, that it is easy to get caught up in the details and neglect the big picture. By taking a step back, and viewing the overall picture, one can easily see how close we are - close to seeing "this generation" concluding - and close to seeing the final seven years (aka the Tribulation) beginning. Lets not forget, that the signs given by Jesus are events that the world could witness and things that would be newsworthy (if these "signs" weren't newsworthy, they wouldn't even be in the public's eye, and would be irrelevant).

- Earthquake signs are all around us. Jesus informed us that there would be earthquakes in diverse places.

- The EU, known biblically as the Roman Empire of end times - is growing and becoming more powerful by the day. Now we see them under one "treaty" (aka constitution), with two incredibly powerful positions created. The book of Daniel devotes two entire chapters to this evolution, and we are witnessing it right before our very eyes. Now, the EURO is more stable than the dollar. Who would have ever thought...

- Pestilence is in the news daily. From the swine flu to AIDS, to the resurgence of ebola, tuberculosis, bird flu, etc., we read about ominous threats to society from pestilences almost every day. Certainly a "sign".

- Wars and rumors of war. This too is part of daily news. Pick a world region: Middle East, China's arsenal growing, China threatening Taiwan, Russia involvement in Ukraine, Russia involvement in Georgia, the "Gog-MaGog" alliances consolidating, Afghanistan, Pakistan, nuclear weapons proliferation in terrorists states, fighting throughout northern africa, constant threats of terrorism, etc... Potential war is a daily part of our news cycle.

- Persecution stories are seen throughout the world - 'Voice of the Martyrs" carries stories on a weekly basis of Christian persecution world-wide in numbers never seen before in history.

- Famine is occurring throughout the world, as food supplies dwindle, resulting from severe droughts in some areas of the world, while flooding contributes elsewhere.

- Discussions for a single, world currency fills the news now - barely raising eyebrows as it has become a commonly discussed item at the UN, and the powerful G20 meetings.

- Discussions of a world governance of money, or a global financial system, all due to the current "financial crisis".

- Israel regathered in the land of Israel.

- Israel's land restored.

- Israel surrounded by, and threatened by her enemies.

And this is just a small sample of the signs given.



Then there are the rumors. Rumors everywhere. Rumors that the US will impose martial law on its citizens, resulting from the swine flu (or pick any potential crisis), rumors that there will be a North American Union, rumors that terrorists will hit the US with a nuclear weapon, or dirty bombs, rumors that Israel will strike Iran, leading to epic warfare in the Middle-East with resulting gas shortages, rumors that the dollar will collapse leading to a 1930's type of depression, rumors that the US will lose its sovereignty at the upcoming Copenhagen meeting if our president signs off on the treaty for mythical global warming, and even recent rumors that world leaders will make an announcement of UFOs and "extraterrestrials" (the great deception?).

The signs are all around us - and these signs are constantly in the news. Jesus painted a portrait of what this last generation would look like - and His accuracy in these signs is beyond amazing. The same can be said for God's prophets, namely Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and the apostles John, Peter and Paul.

Many of these signs can evoke fear, for obvious reasons. During this season, more than ever - we have to cling to our faith, and to the holy scriptures: the only truth that we have in this generation. There is so much deception and lies - coming from various governments, from the news, from world leaders, from reporters with an agenda - almost everywhere - we see nothing but lies and distortions. In my opinion, the ONLY truth that we have right now - is the TRUTH offered by the bible. It needs to be our compass and our map. Its the only thing we can fully trust if one is seeking truth.

Jesus knew this. Jesus informed us of this.


"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect - if that were possible. SO BE ON YOUR GUARD; I have told you everything ahead of time." (Mark 13:22-23).

"Watch out that you are not deceived...do not be frightened. These things must happen first..." (Luke 21:8)


We may see these false "miracles" before the rapture of the church. I used to believe that this particular warning was only intended for the tribulation period, but these days I'm not so sure. We actually may witness some of these false miracles. That is why it is SO important to ONLY trust the holy scriptures. If we witness things that are inconsistent with the scriptures, even if something seemingly "miraculous" - we should be able to discern truth from deception - because, as Jesus said, we have been told of "everything ahead of time".

Our bible provides the only truth for our age; an age filled with deception, distortion and lies.


"...but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." (Matthew 24:6)

Jesus provides the truth - the only truth for this generation. A truth that is filled with hope and great anticipation - because we know that His coming is near:

"Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door." (Matthew 24:33)

"Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near." (Luke 21:31)

And as Paul stated - we wait for Jesus' return:

"and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, WHO RESCUES US FROM THE COMING WRATH." (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

This wrath, also known as the Tribulation isn't here quite yet, but we see it approaching rapidly. But we have a promise to look for - a promise that Jesus will come for His bride before that period begins.

Its the truth.

"EU states envisage new foreign policy giant"

That title doesn't come from me, but from the EU Observer: article here.

Revealing quotes from this article say it all:

"The EU's new foreign minister will have sweeping powers to conduct foreign policy, propose his own budget and name his own staff independently of other EU institutions, according to the latest EU presidency blueprint."

Perhaps a more interesting and germane quote is also found in this article:

"The new institution is to manage general foreign relations as well as EU security and defense projects, such as the police missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia and Afghanistan or ANY FUTURE PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS in, for example, Africa." (could Israel have been inserted here?)


Many of us have speculated for years who will emerge from the "revived Roman Empire" to become the person responsible for "confirming the covenant" between Israel and her surrounding enemies, as described in Daniel 9. According to Daniel 9:27, it is this person who will later become known as the biblical antichrist.

I have speculated that the person actually responsible for sending peace-keeping forces into Israel - in order to maintain or "confirm" the "covenant" - may indeed be that individual identified in Daniel 9:27. Because of the overlap between the EU President and the foreign policy head (now known as foreign policy "giant"), it may be hard to know who could be ultimately responsible. Either way, it is fascinating to see this process evolve.

Either way, we'll be watching.

They're back...again

After a small lull, it appeared that the earthquake story was finally beginning to fade, but beginning again a few days ago and into today we are seeing major earthquakes popping up again, and in "diverse places" as Jesus has informed us:

- Santa Cruz (5.0, 5.0, 5.1, etc)
- Japan (5.0)
- Panama (5.9)
- Samoa (5.9)
- Chile (5.1)
- Indonesia (5.8, 6.0)
- Afghanistan (6.2)
- New Guinea (5.1)
- Columbia (4.5)


Earthquake Map


Weekly Earthquake Listing

In the news...

There are several stories circulating this morning that represent follow-up news to things we have been covering:


Israel-Turkey relations: "Turkey ties could head for breakup". This article quotes former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk who stated, "the crisis in Israeli-Turkey relationship could deteriorate to the point of a breakup..."


"Weak dollar raises talk of alternative world currency". In this article we see yet another reference to the potential use of the IMF (International Monetary Fund): "Foreign bankers talk of promoting an alternative global currency, such as the euro, yuan or a new synthetic medium of exchange cooked up by the International Monetary Fund."

In addition we read the following quote from this article: "In March, Chinese Central Bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan proposed shifting global finance to a reliance on a new international reserve currency rather than the dollar of any other national unit. The aim would be to avoid the periodic crises..."


"Star fades for Blair in EU role". Other than repeating the mantra for this week - that Blair's support for EU president is fading we see a new timeline for selection of a president: "Formal negotiations on who should fill the top spot job are unlikely to begin until at least next month, European officials say, because the treaty has been held up awaiting ratification by the Czech Republic."

And of course, the ever present earthquake story:

"Strong earthquake strikes Afghanistan and Pakistan"


Just another day in prophecy watching!

The EU planning for Lisbon Treaty ratification

The EU Observer has an interesting article today which details their progress towards Lisbon ratification, with a focus on the very powerful foreign policy position which will be created, a position which will rival the EU President in terms of international clout. Interestingly, this foreign policy head will also serve as vice-president of the EU commission:

"Future EU foreign policy dependent on personal chemistry"

On October 27 the Czech Republic's courts will determine their status regarding the Lisbon Treaty. If they agree to this, as expected, then these positions within the EU will be selected quickly. It will be fascinating to see who gains these two powerful positions, not only within the EU, but for the world.

The EU is on the move - just as we would have predicted.

Turkey and prophetic fulfillment

The story on Turkey continues to fascinate. It seems relatively clear from Ezekiel 38-39 (aka "Gog-MaGog" invasion of Israel) that the two main countries involved are Iran and Russia, as stated so many times on this blog. Russia is seen multiple times, in multiple ways, and Iran is easy because it was called "Persia" until the 1930's. The next country (or region, more appropriately) is the region of Turkey, identified in the scriptures as "Beth-Togarmah" and "Gomer".

This seemed unlikely for years, as Turkey seemed a key candidate to enter the EU, and they had reasonably good relations with the U.S. and Israel. Prophecy watchers have been watching Turkey very closely for years, for this very fact.

Over the past several years we have seen Turkey, upon the news that EU acceptance was remote (mainly because of its vast radical muslim ties), we have witnessed Turkey and Russia making an array of treaties and economic/trade alliances. It seemed clear that Turkey determined to make alliances with Russia as the EU became more and more remote.

Over the past several months, the anti-Israeli rhetoric has become more and more frequent and intense.

Joel Rosenberg has an excellent summary of this situation (below) link here:



TURKEY TURNS ON ISRAEL


Are the intensifying Turkish-Israeli tensions prophetic?

Turkey is a beautiful, wonderful and fascinating country.

The Apostle Paul wrote much of the New Testament either in Turkey (then “Asia Minor”), or to the churches located throughout that remarkable land. The Apostle John saw in Turkey the startling vision of the End Times that became the Book of Revelation. The country later became the seat of the Ottoman Islamic empire. Later it became a modern democracy, a NATO ally, a friend of Israel, and the original “Reformer” country. I have been there numerous times and shot part of the Inside The Revolution documentary film there last year.

But something is amiss. Just back from a family vacation abroad, I have come home to find the international news media filled with stories about escalating tensions between Turkey and Israel. Over the past 10 days or so:

Turkey has canceled a NATO military exercise because Israel was invited to participate
Turkey has aired a drama on state-run TV portraying an Israeli soldier walking up to a Palestinian child and barbarically shooting her point-blank
Turkey has made moves to draw closer to Iran and Syria, including choosing to engage in military exercises with Syria instead of Israel
Turkey has made moves to draw closer to Russia
These are troublesome developments on two levels.

First, they indicate that Turkey is not simply turning against Israel but doing so, in part, to curry favor with an emerging Russia-Iranian-Syrian alliance.

Second, these developments are consistent with Bible prophecies found in Ezekiel 38-39 which indicate that in the “last days” Turkey (identified in the prophecies as “Gomer” and part of “Beth Togarmah”) will join a Russian-Iranian alliance against Israel. While it remains too early to draw any conclusions on whether the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecies will come to pass in our lifetime, much less soon, it is not to early to be concerned about the pivot Turkey is making away from Israel and toward her enemies, and ours.

Please pray for the leaders of Turkey to resist the temptation so many other world leaders are having to turn against Israel. Please pray, too, for the gospel to spread throughout all of Turkey and that many in that country find the amazing love and grace and forgiveness found in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Finally, please pray for the leaders of Israel to have the wisdom to know how best to handle the current tensions with Turkey

Wedding preparations

Ephesians 5:22-32

"Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain of wrinkle or any blemish, but holy and blameless...For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and become united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church."

2 Corinthians 11:2

"I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin."

Biblical scriptures make it clear that the church is viewed as the bride of Christ. In fact, one of the most compelling arguments for the rapture of the church, is taken from John 14:1-3, where Jesus gave numerous parallels to the ancient Jewish wedding customs, and His returning to "catch up" or "gather up" His bride, to take her to the place (living quarters, "mansions", "rooms") that He has prepared.

In the scriptures above, we see the biblical view of the church - seen as the bride of Christ. When we are gathered up, by Christ and taken to that place which has been prepared for us - by Christ Himself - we will experience a heavenly, spiritual communion with Christ, paralleling the Jewish customs of that day, as the bridegroom unexpectedly returned for the bride, in order to take her to her new home:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled, Trust in God; trust also in me. In my father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go there to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3).

The book of Revelation continues with this parallel, down to the last detail, where we see the conclusion of this "wedding process", and our purification through Christ. In chapter 19 of the book of Revelation, John allows us to see a glimpse of Heaven just before the second coming of Christ - there we see a massive celebration taking place:

"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen bright and clear was given her to wear.'

Then the angel said to me 'Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' And he added, 'These are the true words of God.'"

Obviously, during the seven year tribulation period, the "wedding' took place, and according to Revelation 19, the wedding feast is about to take place. Jesus referenced this wedding feast at the last supper with his apostles:

"Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until THAT DAY WHEN I DRINK IT ANEW WITH YOU IN MY FATHER'S KINGDOM." (Matthew 26:27-29). Emphasis mine.

Jesus referenced that day - the day that John saw, in the future, when we will sit at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

So there you have it. We are the bride of Christ. We will be "taken" to the place that Jesus prepared - we will then complete the wedding process and just as the ancient customs dictated, we will have a wedding feast, where Jesus will again "drink it anew with you in my Father's Kingdom." This is a reality. It will happen.

So what are we to do with this information?

I recently heard a sermon addressing this very point. On the day of her wedding, a bride attempts to be in perfect condition. Every part of her has been done perfectly - every detail has been covered. Her gown is spotless. She has prepared for that day for weeks, maybe months. In some cases, for years.

Are we preparing to meet Christ in this same way? With this same level of vigor? Because we know that one of the "orders of business" will be to meet with Christ, where we will give an account of our lives (Romans 14:12).

The apostle John referenced this as well:

"I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray...And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming." (1 John 2: 26-28)

"But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." (1 John 3:2-3)

We all have a wedding date coming up - and we believe that day is approaching very rapidly. We are called to prepare for that day - as a bride prepares for her wedding day. We are called to be spiritually pure, and to "continue in him" so that we can be "confident and unashamed before him."

The main question then becomes: Will we be prepared at His coming? How will Jesus find us? Living in Him? Trying to live a holy life? Seeking Him, through constant prayer, scripture reading, and fellowship with other Christians? Or will he find us deep in sin, ignoring Him, and ignoring His word? That is the essence of the apostle John's warnings seen in 1 John.

We have an advantage - one that was offered by God through His prophetic scriptures. We know that the time is near - we know that the day of being in the presence of Christ Jesus will occur very soon. We all need to be preparing spiritually for "that day" - now more than ever - because we realize that it is approaching so rapidly.

We have a wedding date approaching. Jesus, our bridegroom, expects us to be prepared for this date - just as any bride prepares for that special day. Knowledge of this fact helps us to prepare - knowing that His return will be soon.

Headline news and prophecy

Occasionally, I look at the headlines and it seems that the current news literally jumped off the pages of biblical prophecy.

Just today we see the following stories in the news:


"Jordan's king warns Israel on Jerusalem 'red line'". In this story we see the following:

"Jordan's King Abdullah II warned Israel of 'disastrous repercussions' if it crosses a 'red line' on Jerusalem, in talks on Friday with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero."

"Abdullah urged the international community, especially the European Union, 'to act firmly against any Israeli measures aimed at changing the identity of the Holy City of Jerusalem and threaten the places of worship."

"The fate of the Holy City, with sites sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims, is one of the most sensitive issues in the decades-old Middle East conflict."

Once again we see the same thing - Jerusalem is the ultimate "sticking point" in all Middle-East negotiations, and Jerusalem is the most coveted spot in the Middle-East today. This is exactly what the bible predicted:

"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves." (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Also in the news:

Tony Blair seems to be losing some momentum as far as his efforts to become the EU President (as we still await the Czech Republic's final decision, expected in 10 days). In today's news we see:

"Blair's star fades in EU leadership race".

And:


"Sarkozy suggests Blair EU presidency problematic"

From these articles it does indeed appear that Blair has lost critical support for this bid. It is now being openly discussed, that because the UK never adopted the euro as its currency - this fact poses a problem for Mr Blair:

"But the 56-year-old Blair's chances plummeted this week when the three Benelux countries and Austria raised objections and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, his initial sponsor, said he would have a hard time getting the job because Britain had not joined the euro single currency."


A hidden "nugget" that I found extremely interesting from this article are found in the following words:

"EU leaders must balance the north and the south of Europe, the left and the right of the political spectrum, large and small member states..." in reference to the vast political and religious differences which exist in the EU/Med Union. One might say the following scripture applies to the EU today, as the prophet Daniel (referencing the vision of the "statue") described the revived Roman Empire of end times:

"Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom...And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so this kingdom will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay." (Daniel 2:41-43)

The revived Roman Empire, the EU/Med Union fits that description in todays world. The EU will continue to grow and these differences will become a problem. In fact, much of the warfare occurring during the Tribulation, will consist of infighting as this revived Roman Empire will be unable to remain "united".

Again, these headlines appear to be taken directly from biblical prophecy.

And to close, we see the continuing earthquake story around the world. Every time there appears to be a brief period of quiet, we see another flair:

"Quake shakes Indonesian capital. A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck the Indonesian island of Java...". This is just one of many quakes over the last couple of days, which represents an ongoing period of high earthquake activity - approximately three weeks now.

Another day in the news - more signs all around us.

Damascus and Isaiah 17

Michael Mickey, on his website, has written a very interesting commentary on the situation between Syria, Hezbollah, and Israel, in the context of Isaiah 17: read here. Syria has been providing Hezbollah with arms for years, and it looks like they may be completing threats that began a couple of years ago when it became clear that Israel would not give up the Golan Heights. These threats continue, and Syria also continues to use Hezbollah for their purposes, always under the general direction of Iran:





Doomsday for Damascus?

by Michael G. Mickey
(10-16-09)

Examining current events through the lens of bible prophecy continues to paint a more accurate picture of the end times as detailed in Scripture, seemingly by the hour.

In this commentary I want to illustrate how events presently taking place in Lebanon may be setting the stage for Damascus, Syria - the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world - to cease to exist.

Isaiah 17:1:
The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
Damascus is today a city of well over 1.5 million inhabitants. Thus, the magnitude of an event occurring that would lead to it being so utterly destroyed it would no longer remain a city brings frightening, even apocalyptic, imagery to mind. But could it happen, potentially very soon? As I'm about to detail, there is little doubt.

Syrian nuclear weapons goals

As many recall, I'm sure, Israel bombed what was believed to be a covert nuclear weapons facility in Syria in September of 2007 which is believed to have been provided nuclear weapons grade plutonium by North Korea.

In the aftermath of the Israeli bombing, which neither Israel nor Syria seemed eager to discuss, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the IAEA or International Atomic Energy Agency, asked and was eventually permitted to inspect the site of the bombing. The inspection wasn't permitted to occur before Syria had completely razed what was left of the bombed facility, of course, but the IAEA was eventually allowed to inspect the general area around which the facility had stood. The results of that investigative inquiry? Despite an exhaustive Syrian effort to prevent the IAEA from gaining any insight into what had been on the site, potential evidence was recovered indicating the site may well have been precisely what Israel suspected it was, despite Syria's insistence that radioactive materials recovered from the area were deposited there by Israeli bombs.

Adding fuel to tensions between Israel and Syria from the 2007 bombing forward, rumors have persisted that Damascus is continuing its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon, potentially having multiple sites where research and development is underway.

The following is an excerpt from a Jerusalem Post article on that topic dated 9-11-09:
Syria may be operating more nuclear sites, apart from the reactor at Deir Azour which was bombed by Israel on September 6, 2007 in what came to be known as Operation Orchard, former US envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Gregory Schulte told Channel 10 Thursday evening.

"I think there were other activities that gave us concern, that gave the IAEA concern… IAEA inspectors actually asked to go to a number of other sites, and the Syrians wouldn't let them go there; they claimed they were military sites. They claimed the uranium particles that the inspectors found at the destroyed reactor came from Israeli bombs," Schulte said.
Adding to the threat posed to both Israel and Damascus' safety by the Syrian government's nuclear ambitions is the very real prospect that Syria has passed the point of no return in its hatred of Israel, having foolishly supplied a terrorist organization (Hizbullah in Lebanon) with weapons of mass destruction (chemical weapons and missile delivery systems).

The evidence a WMD attack against Israel may be in the works

Israel National News, in a report dated 9-3-09, indicated a mysterious explosion that occurred recently in a Hizbullah weapons storehouse involved chemical weaponry. And where did the chemical munitions of that incident come from? According to the report, which quoted the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siyasi, they were from Iran but had been smuggled into Lebanon, not surprisingly, by Syria.

Not only did Syria aid Hizbullah in procuring weapons of mass destruction from Iran by smuggling chemical weapons into Lebanon, if the Kuwaiti al Jarida can be trusted as a news source, Syria has generously supplied Hizbullah with almost twenty-five percent of its missile arsenal and is presently, alongside Iranian military advisors, teaching Hizbullah how to fire the missiles which are capable of hitting "every part of Israel" according to the Jerusalem Post.

The Deadly Consequences of WMD Warfare By Proxy

From my perspective, it seems that both Iran and Syria, already walking a tightrope of sorts with the international community, have decided to permit Hizbullah to wage war on Israel on their behalf, placing the Lebanese people and Lebanon itself in grave danger, particularly if Hizbullah is planning a WMD attack on the Jewish state as seems to be the case.

Should Hizbullah proceed with a WMD attack on Israel, it would pose an existential threat, particularly at this time when Israel is piecing together the reality that it can't count on anything tantamount to genuine support from the United States under the leadership of Barack Obama. In my humble opinion, one of Israel's first moves, in response to an existential threat to its survival posed by weapons of mass destruction, will, by necessity, be to demonstrate its absolute willingness to do whatever it must to ensure the survival of its nation and people. And that, believers in bible prophecy, could spell doomsday for Damascus.

As the old saying goes, if you play with fire long enough you're going to get burned. And why is that true? Because the more confident one becomes that tinkering with danger never results in any serious harm, despite the potential it could at any moment, the more likely it is one is going to get reckless and subsequently, make a costly error in judgment. As I look at this situation, it seems clear to me that Syria, Hizbullah and Iran have become so bloodthirsty in their zeal to destroy Israel they've placed thousands of their own people, if not millions literally, in grave danger of destruction.

Bible prophecy makes it clear that Iran is going to remain militarily viable until the prophesied battle of Gog-Magog foretold in Ezekiel 38-39 occurs, but Syria? It doesn't appear the Syria we're presently familiar with is going to be a participant. In due season we'll understand why that seems to be the case, but from where we are right now? It isn't hard for me to imagine Syria's role as a troublemaker in the Middle East being greatly diminished, potentially very soon.

Keep looking up, Church! Jesus Christ is Lord and He is coming soon!

Rumors of war...again

In today's news we see more rumors of war:


"Israel may attack Iran after December". According to a report in a French magazine, Le Canard Enchaine, Israel is making preparations to "carry out military attacks in Iran after December". Apparently, Israel has already ordered "high-quality combat rations" from a French food manufacturer for soldiers serving in elite units and has also asked "reservists of these units staying abroad to return to Israel."

Also, we see the following interesting quote:

"The magazine further reported that in a recent visit to France, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told his French counterpart Jean-Louis Georgelin that Israel is not planning to bomb Iran, but may send elite troops to conduct activities on the ground there. These, according to the magazine, could involve sabotage of nuclear facilities as well as assassinations of top Iranian nuclear scientists."

This is interesting, because rumors (theres that word again "rumors") have circulated for months that Israel would covertly send in elite troops to conduct this military effort.

Then, we see two articles relating to possible war on the northern border, the area which is controlled by Hezbollah, who is under the direction of Iran:

"Another Lebanese War on the Horizon?".

In this article we see the following:

"The IDF intelligence video released this week showing Hizbullah terrorists stockpiling long-range missiles is the proof that Israel needs to 'take off its gloves' in the next round of warfare. So says long-time military analyst Yisrael Katzover..."

"The video footage, released on Tuesday of this week, shows the terrorists taking missiles and other weaponry out of a southern Lebanon warehouse, where an explosion had occurred the day before, and loading them onto trucks."

"The video shows clearly the terrorists closing off the area so that the UNIFIL forces can't get there. It also shows that the missiles are long-range ones that can apparently reach deep into Israel - important testimony regarding the type of threats we will face in the next round."

"Katzover predicts that in the next battle with Hizbullah, Israel will be more aggressive: 'We are currently busy proving to the world that Hizbullah is a major threat to Lebanese stability, because in the next round, Israel will take off its gloves; we have learned the lessons of the last war, and this time there will be a massive entry of Israeli ground forces into Lebanon."

If that isn't enough, then we see this:

"Syrian long-range missiles in Lebanon". Quotes:

"Syria has transferred nearly a quarter of its long- and medium-range missile arsenal to Hizbollah, the Kuwaito al Jarida reported on Thursday. According to the report, security sources in Jerusalem told the paper that the missiles, now held by Hizbullah, could hit every part of Israel."


More rumors of war. Just as Jesus stated in the Olivet discourse, an important sign during the season of His return would be rumors of war - items that we see daily in the news. Not only that, but it has been rumored for years that Syria possesses "gas-tipped" missiles, something Israel has stated that they would consider and respond to, exactly the same as nuclear weapons. Such a reaction by Israel, to "gas" weapons is not surprising.

We must also recall that according to Isaiah 17, Damascus will be destroyed - completely - and cease to exist as a city.

More signs - this time involving "rumors of war". All while we see this surge in earthquakes (another 6.0 yesterday in Samoa), while we see the last stages of formal European consolidation, a world economy forming with the constant discussions of a world-currency, as we watch America's dominance in the world declining, the so-called "economic crisis", the continuing rise of China as a world-power and the alliances of Gog-MaGog strengthening by the day.

Birthpains. The contractions are more frequent and more intense as we watch the signs progressing.

Just as Bible prophecy informed us.

Klaus keeps EU guessing on future of Lisbon Treaty

In an interesting article from the EU Observer "Klaus keeps EU guessing", we see a new date that the Czech Constitutional Court will make a ruling on the Lisbon Treaty. According to this report, the court will meet at the end of October (27 October), rather than late November, which was in the news last week. So in about two weeks we should know whether the Lisbon Treaty is finally ratified or not.

However, apparently Czech President Vaclav Klaus still must sign the treaty, even after the court makes its ruling. It is assumed that he will sign the document if directed to do so by their constitutional court, but some are worried about this:

"Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer, in an embarassing political situation, on Tuesday flew to Brussels to reassure European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso of the Czech government's good intentions."

"But it was evident in the press conference afterwards that Mr Fischer was as unsure as everybody else on what Mr Klaus next move will be. He said he had asked Mr Klaus to 'provide a clear and explicit guarantee' that the president will complete ratification in 'due course.'"

"The Czech ratification process is being viewed with some disbelief among EU officials, who point to the fact that both houses of the Czech parliament have already passed the treaty."


So it looks like we should have our answer within a few days of the constitutional court meeting to be held on October 27. It should be very interesting to see what Mr Klaus does after the ruling and the enormous pressure that he will face from the EU.

The next 2-3 weeks should be very interesting as we watch the final stages of the Lisbon Treaty and the formal consolidation of Europe.

The story that won't go away

This is beginning to become very interesting for a lot of reasons. The earthquakes seem to keep coming, almost in waves. I have been keeping an eye on earthquakes for a long time and I'm slow to make it a story, despite the usual active periods. But we are now going on three weeks of a lot of earthquake activity and its not just confined to one or two areas.

Just over the last week there have been over 80 earthquakes measuring magnitude > 5.0, and 13 earthquakes measuring > 6.0. Three quakes measured a magnitude of > 7.0. All of these in the last week:

"Latest Earthquakes M5.0 in the World - Past 7 days"

If you haven't linked it from previous posts the world earthquake map can be found HERE.

We had been following the quakes in Indonesia, Santa Cruz Islands, and Vanuatu, but recently, large earthquakes are also appearing in Iran, Japan, Ecuador and Alaska.




On an unrelated note, someone posted a comment in the previous post questioning a web-link to some of the pictures relating to the "Woman on the Beast" and the Tower of Babel building. They appropriately pointed out that the site had some non-biblical information (that I was unaware of..I was only interested in the pictures). Regardless, I don't ever endorse any of the sites that I link, particularly the news articles. I am strictly linking information/sites based on the single items of interest, in this case, the pictures of these buildings and statues, etc. Just wanted to clarify that. If I ever, for any reason "endorse" a site, I will state this explicitly. Otherwise I don't specifically endorse any of the links provided.

EU "signs"

Although this has been discussed before, it is always good to take a step back and look at the big picture. It is also good to go back and review basic information.

Because the EU (aka revived Roman Empire) has been receiving a lot of attention, its worthwhile to look at their two main symbols. Under the category of "Is this a coincidence?" we see their two main symbols - symbols which are actively in use today.

We have been discussing the EU's most powerful body, the EU Council - that group which is run by the 10 member WEU, also the military wing of the EU - and potentially a candidate to become the 10 kings of bible prophecy. Before further discussion of the EU Council, lets look at the prophetic scriptures describing the Tribulation government and its religious system:

In Revelation 17, we receive a full description of this last "human government" and its "state-sponsored" religious system. It is described symbolically as a "woman sitting on a beast". This "woman", representing the state-sponsored, false religion is described as follows:

"There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns...She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries...I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus."

In other words, we receive a description of how this state-based, world-wide "religion" will persecute Christians ("drunk with the blood of the saints") and the "filth of her adulteries", referencing spiritual adultery or false worship.

The beast, a representation of the government system which will be "ridden by" this false religion ("the woman") is also revealed:

"The ten horns you saw are the ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They will have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast."

This is where it gets interesting:

The EU Council building is located in Brussels. We can see from the links below some amazing pictures of their main symbol - a huge metallic structure of a woman sitting on a beast - which sits directly in front of the EU Council building in Brussels:

A WOMAN ON THE BEAST

Additionally as seen, this main symbol is also used on EU coins, stamps, magazine covers, etc. It is extremely interesting (coincidental?) that this EU Council - the same council that is run by the 10-member WEU, would choose a "Woman on the Beast" as their main symbol. As the apostle John was writing the book of Revelation, he gave us this symbol as a sign to watch for in end times - this same "sign" that is now used by the EU Council.

If that weren't enough, we have the second main symbol currently in use by the EU.

The European Parliament building in Strasbourg France was designed to look like the Tower of Babel, which is found in Genesis 11. To recall this passage - man, in his arrogance had attempted to build a "tower" in order to reach to the heavens, so that man could "make a name for ourselves". God expressed His displeasure with this notion or man's attempts to achieve "god-like" status, and in turn "confused their language", so they would not understand each other and the Lord "scattered them from there over all the earth."

In other words, God expressed his displeasure at this extreme arrogance displayed by men, and subsequently they stopped building this "Tower of Babel", and as the scripture states (Genesis 11:9): "That is why it is called Babel - because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth."

Obviously having not learned from biblical history, the EU in their arrogance, has determined to reverse God's word.

As shown in this link "A Modern Tower of Babel", we can see how the EU is going right back to the days of Babel. As they built their Parliament building in Strasbourg, they circulated a poster with the words "EUROPE: MANY TONGUES, ONE VOICE" - an obvious reversal of God's words in Genesis 11. If that weren't enough, the posters actually showed an artist rendition of the Tower of Babel, placed next to the graphic image of the EU Parliament building, revealing their efforts to duplicate the original Tower of Babel. Wow.

A more thorough review of these images, including several large, dramatic photographs is

Linked Here.

So there you have it. We already consider the EU/Med Union as a perfect geographical fit as compared with the "original" Roman Empire. Now we get a window into their symbolic use of imagery - imagery which is perfectly described in the prophetic scriptures.

This final "human government", which, in the coming days will grow and become led by a figure known as the antichrist, will engage in the most massive persecution of "the saints" ever seen on this earth. This same government, which the book of Daniel tells us will begin as another "Roman Empire" in its early days, is already revealing its true colors:

A Woman on the Beast and the Tower of Babel.

We've been warned - via biblical prophecy - that the Tribulation system of government and dictated "religion" will be represented symbolically by a Woman on a Beast. We can also see what is seemingly an act of defiance against God Himself - a return to the days when man's arrogance dictated building the Tower of Babel: We now have "Tower of Babel II" representing the EU.

Again - we've been warned.

Pretending to negotiate

Iran has made it abundantly clear on many occasions that they have no intentions to stop their uranium enrichment program, a program which has one single endpoint, and that is nuclear weapons. I can relate to Iran's frustration that no one seems to be listening (other than prophecy watchers, who get the message loud and clear). We see today (again):



"Iran dismissed U.S. warning ahead of nuclear talks". In this article we see the following quotes:

"Iran dismissed Monday a U.S. warning that major powers would not wait forever for Tehran to prove it was not developing nuclear bombs, saying that threats deadlines would have no impact on the Islamic Republic."

"Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi, speaking a week before a meeting in Vienna on a proposal to send Iranian uranium abroad for further processing, also reiterated Iran's refusal to discuss its 'nuclear rights' with the six world powers."

"'We have announced several times that we have nothing to discuss about that', he told a news conference in comments translated by Iran's state Press TV."

"Such comments by Qashqavi are likely to fuel Western suspicions that Iran is seeking to win time by engaging for the sake of engaging while further mastering enrichment technologies."


Wow, now THATS a grasp of the obvious. Iran keeps repeating over and over that they will not stop their progress towards uranium enrichment (lets not forget that they already have enough material for two nuclear bombs, which is more than enough to destroy Israel - the end game here anyway). In some ways this is all moot. But what is the game by the West?

It seems clear. If you don't want to make a difficult decision, such as to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities, pretending to engage in "talks" is a very convenient way to avoid a tough decision. Additionally, after reaching the "point of no return", then the U.S. can simply say "Iran already has nukes, its too late now", and magically, you avoided making ANY decision.

Of course this is easy for the U.S. - We aren't in Iran's backyard, and Iran poses no immediate threat to the U.S.
However Israel has no such luxury. Their very existence depends on this decision regarding Iran's nuclear facilities.

This situation will come to a head sometime in the near future. When it does, I believe we will see prophetic events rapidly leading into the Gog-MaGog war of Ezekiel 38-39. I am also of the belief that the Rapture of the Church will occur prior to this epic event (my speculation only - I always want to be very clear about that -- its a non-scriptural view, but based upon the fact that God will reveal Himself in a huge, dramatic way as He ends the invasion, and that, to me, seems highly inconsistent with the "Church Age").

Its just a matter of time now. Meanwhile we all play "The Pretend Game", and pretend that negotiations will work - with a country that has declared publicly - on multiple occasions - that they have no intentions of negotiating. Fortunately, Israel has a leader who recognizes this fact, and a leader who recognizes the peril that Israel lives with daily.

The clock on this situation is ticking. Israel cannot wait much longer. God is also patiently waiting for His moment - the moment in which He makes His dramatic intervention into the Middle-East situation - an intervention which will be seen by the entire world. Its all described in plain language in Ezekiel 38-39, and like all prophecy it will happen. God even stated this fact:

"It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of." (Ezekiel 39:8)

"And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 38:23)

"I will display my glory among the nations..." (Ezekiel 39:21)

Its just a matter of time now.

The "last obstacle"

There is a nice review article on the current status of the Lisbon Treaty, issued from AP:
"Czech president last obstacle for EU reform treaty".

There isn't much new information here, but all eyes are squarely on the Czech Republic as, according to this article:

"...the EU reform treaty still has a huge hurdle to clear. A 'no' from the lone holdout - Czech President Vaclav Klaus - could cripple plans to transform Europe into a global player."

Overall it appears that the Czech Republic will ultimately approve:

"Klaus is largely ceremonial head of state - like the Queen of England - and since both houses of Parliament have ratified the treaty, he is all but legally bound to sign the document."

However, this potential obstacle could trigger another scenario:

"However, speculation runs high he may try to hold off on his blessing until British elections next year - which the famously Euro-skeptic Conservatives are expected to win easily. That could prove fatal for the treaty: The Tories have pledged a referendum on the charter if it has not been ratified by the time they are elected. With the British traditionally aloof - if not downright hostile - toward continental Europe, they would be expected to vote no."

"Failure of the Lisbon treaty would send the EU into an unprecedented crisis."

Hmm....A "crisis". So, in other words, if the Czech President can successfully delay things until the conservatives are voted in next year (UK) - then the UK may also "reverse" their stance on Lisbon - sending the entire process into a "crisis".

WIll this happen?

No one knows. But we do know this: the antichrist will have three obstacles to deal with as he rises to power:

Daniel 7:24 (my words)

" The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom (the revived Roman Empire). After them another king (antichrist) will arise, different from the earlier ones. HE WILL SUBDUE THREE KINGS."

In other words, the antichrist will have to deal with three of the ten kings during his rise to power. It is hard to know how this will play out - but we do know that there will be three "problems" for the antichrist to deal with as he ascends to his ultimate power position - problems that he will effectively deal with on his way to the top.

This may or may not have anything to do with the "three kings" which must be "subdued" by the antichrist. Plus, the Czech Republic is not one of the 10 member states of the WEU (and we must remind ourselves that the speculation over the meaning of the "ten kings" is unknown - speculation concerning the WEU's role is just that - speculation).

We do know that the antichrist will, for some reason, have to deal with three of the ten kings. How this plays out - at this point - in anyone's guess. But anytime I see dissenting countries within the revived Roman Empire, its raises my eyebrows.

Meanwhile, we'll keep watching this fascinating evolution and growth of the European Union as they attempt to complete their process, and as the article states, be "more accountable and be better prepared to take on big issues on the world stage" and "shift from an Europe of states to an Europe of one single European state."

Indeed. Just as biblical prophecy would predict.

More quakes...again

Earthquake map here

As mentioned before, the earthquake story continues.
Just over the past two days there have been a number of big (>5.0) quakes, making this at least two weeks of significantly increased activity:

- 5.3 Chile
- 5.9 Tonga Islands
- 5.3 Santa Cruz Islands
- 6.9 Santa Cruz Islands
- 5.3 Celebes Sea
- 5.2 Japan
- 5.8 Kuril Islands

Just as predicted - we are seeing a surge (aka "birthpains") in all major signs. The "rumors of war" are continuing in the Middle-East, Israel, Iran, Southern Lebanon and Syria just to name a few. Stories of persecution, famine, the financial crisis and of course, pestilences (the never ending story of the swine flu, whether real or not) are all in the news recently. Not to mention the developments within the EU which are under the spotlight.

The prophetic signs are all progressing exactly as expected. We've received warning signs for an entire generation - now more than ever before.

EU's Barroso "fears powerful European President"

The EU Observer has a very interesting and revealing article today - one that may open the doors to prophetic fulfillment.

This post contains some level detail which I usually try to avoid, but today it is necessary. I will try to simplify - please, I urge you, read the details below, as they could be HIGHLY significant.


First, to the the article: "Barroso fears powerful European President". In this article we see very revealing quotes:

"European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has sided with smaller member states in trying to restrict the role of proposed president of the European Council, a new post created by the Lisbon Treaty. Addressing the European Parliament on Wednesday (7 October), Mr Barroso chastised MEPs for referring to the post as 'president of Europe'".

"I am sorry, there will not be a president of Europe. There will be, if we have Lisbon, the president of the European Council. It is important to understand that point because sometimes I think there are some ideas about certain [institutional drifts], he said."

"According to the treaty, which is still awaiting full ratification by all 27 member states, the president is supposed to chair the regular meetings of EU leaders - know as the European Council - and to drive forward their work."


So, whats going on here?


This requires a brief primer on the EU political structure - bear with me because this could have huge prophetic significance:

What is revealed here, is the REAL seat of power within the EU.

The EU has three main bodies:

1. The EU Council, 2. The EU Commission, and 3. The EU Parliament.

One can find these bodies defined with roles and responsibilities within the main EU website EU: Institutions and bodies. Here we see the following:

EU Parliament: Members of the European Parliament are directly elected by EU voters every five years. In my opinion, based on following the EU for years, the parliament has little to no power.

EU Commission: Appointed Commission and the EU's civil service. The Commission proposes EU legislation and checks it is properly applied across the EU. In other words, internal policy and legislation.

Now we approach the REAL seat of power within the EU:

Council of the European Union:
National ministers who adopt EU laws. Additionally, the Council contains the EU military and the decree can be found in EU recommendation 666. Personally, I don't take a lot of stock in the fact that it is recommendation 666, but it is what it is. Recommendation 666 not the point of this post (much has been written about this fact alone). You can google "EU Recommendation 666" and find several items specific to the military capabilities of the WEU. Link here:
Recommendation 666. See items #1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 15 and 19.

Back to the main story. The "EU President", which has received so much discussion lately is actually, technically, the president of the EU Council. Referring to this position as the "EU President" is accurate, as it is generally acknowledged that the EU Council is indeed where all of the power resides within the EU.

So....Why is this important? Go with me a little longer and this will be more than fascinating.

By review of Western European Union (WEU) this link (click on "WEU Today" and turn to page 28 of that link), the WEU functions are detailed.

As quoted "The Council is the WEU's main body".

IT ADDRESSES ALL SECURITY AND DEFENSE MATTERS WITHIN WEU'S AMBIT AND IS ORGANIZED SO AS TO BE ABLE TO EXERCISE ITS FUNCTIONS ON A PERMANENT BASIS. IT CAN BE CONVENED AT ANY TIME AT THE REQUEST OF A MEMBER STATE." (this is a reference to the powers granted in "recommendation 666").

In a nutshell:

- The powerful, "military wing" of the EU is known as the WEU. This powerful group resides within the EU Council, in fact, in reality the "EU Council" is run by the WEU.

- The "EU President" (granted by the Lisbon Treaty") is technically the president of the EU Council, which is the power base of the EU. This is why it is generally agreed (as shown in the original article above), that this position is effectively the "President of the EU", since the council contains all of the real power within the EU; particularly military power.

- The "EU President" (aka the President of the EU Council, and thus, over the WEU) will have all of the military power within the EU.

Here is the kicker. The WEU has 10 MEMBER STATES....Yes, 10.

Belgium
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
United Kingdom


Are you getting the point yet?


The "EU President" will come from and rule over the most powerful group in the EU, the 10-member WEU, which is the military wing of the EU and all military decisions, such as going to war or sending "peace-keeping troops" into a conflict will come from this group.

This is potentially significant because biblical prophecy tells us that the antichrist will come from the "10 KIngs" and the whole purpose of the "10 Kings" is to support and serve the antichrist. Lets look at the scripture:


Daniel 7:24 describes the "10 horns" of the beast (my clarifications in parentheses):

"The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom (the revived roman empire). After them another king will arise (the antichrist), different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings."

In other words, the antichrist will arise from the 10 kings, or whatever is represented by the 10 kings (most "watchers" assume this means the antichrist will come from one of the 10 countries or regions represented by these 10 kings).

Also we see Revelation 17:12 revealing similar information on this power alignment:

"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who are for one hour (a brief period) will receive authority as kings along with the beast (antichrist). They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast."

So there we have it. The antichrist will arise from the 10 kings, and then rule with these 10 kings. The 10 kings will serve the antichrist, and will give their "power and authority" to the antichrist.

I hope the pieces of this puzzle have come together:


We have the imminent approval of the Lisbon treaty which will dictate a very powerful "EU President" which is actually president of the most powerful group within the EU, the WEU who rules the EU Council; the group who determines military policy and decisions for the entire EU. This group consists of TEN COUNTRIES (aka the "Ten Member States").

Is the EU's WEU the same as the biblical "Ten Kings"? There is no way to know for sure, but it certainly is compelling.

We have the most powerful figure in the EU, the "EU President" ultimately residing over these 10 member states of the WEU - that group who makes the major decisions in the EU and more importantly makes ALL military decisions for the EU, and determines when to send "security forces" into various regions (Israel?).

We also know that the antichrist will arise from the "Ten Kings"; he will rule over these "10 Kings" and these 10 kings will willingly give their power and authority to the antichrist.

Items #1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 15 and 19 of "recommendation 666" grant this power to the WEU and the EU's president. The 10 member group collected in the most powerful alliance of Europe.

Have we missed anything? Sometimes you just have to close your computer, and after a couple of "wow" moments, just get on your knees and pray.

For a more detailed read on this whole topic, I recommend "Recommendation 666: The Rise of the Beast from the Sea"

While I don't endorse every statement in this book, it does give a fascinating look into the genesis of the WEU and the intriguing development of the power-base within the EU.

We may be seeing the final consolidation of power within the EU, the revived "Roman Empire" of biblical prophecy. We also may be seeing the pathway of the rise of the antichrist. I say "may" because its still speculation at this point. But to ignore these developments would be inconsistent with Jesus' command to "watch" these signs.

We should see the Lisbon Treaty fully ratified in November as the Czech Republic's Constitutional Court makes its final decision.

Wow.

More quakes

Again this week we are seeing huge earthquakes:


"8.1 magnitude earthquake strikes northwest of Vanuatu"

"Earthquakes rock South Pacific", Three major earthquakes struck within an hour

6.1-6.9 earthquake in Philippines

Major earthquakes in last 7 days

Seismic Monitor: Worldwide Earthquakes

This earthquake story doesn't seem to be going away. Occasionally we may see several days of big earthquakes, but with this current "cycle" we are well into the second week and going strong. Maybe there is something to that story last week, where scientists speculated that any huge quake (>8.0) could trigger additional earthquakes in other parts of the world.

EU draws up plans to establish itself as "world power"

An article has just come out in the Telegraph with this title:
"Europe draws up plans to establish itself as 'world power'". For someone who is familiar with the prophecies of Daniel 2 and 7, and the prophecies about the revived Roman Empire that is expected during the season of Christ's return, this is chilling. We know from these significant prophetic scriptures that at the time of Christ's return, we'd have another Roman Empire in existence, an empire that would grow into a "10 King" empire which would rule over the earth and serve to support the antichrist.

We've already seen the rapid growth of the core EU into 27 nations, and then the unexpected development of the Mediterranean Union that practically doubled the size of the EU, as the Mediterranean Union is essentially an outgrowth of the EU. Now we see some quotes - from a secular point of view - which could have been taken directly from the prophetic scriptures:

"The European Union has drawn up secret plans to establish itself as a global power in its own right with the authority to sign international agreements on behalf of member states."

"As we have long warned, the Lisbon Treaty increases the EU's power at the expense of the countries of Europe."

"The decision, taken shortly before Ireland's referendum last week, will mean a new European diplomatic service with over 160 'EU representatives' and ambassadors around the world."

"Giving the EU legal personality means that the EU, rather than member states, will be able to sign all kinds of international agreements - on foreign policy, defense, crime and judicial issues - for the first time."

Watching the growth of the EU, and now its seemingly imminent Lisbon Treaty finalization, along with the political posturing behind the scenes is fascinating. We know from prophecy that the EU will ultimately give birth to the 10 Kings and then the antichrist will gain power; he will arise from these 10 Kings. This system will finally encompass the entire world, for a brief period during the Tribulation. We are now witnessing the beginning of this process - or perhaps better stated - the beginning of the last phases of this process.

Just the headline alone, as written in the Telegraph has a striking similarity to the scriptures:
"EU draws up plans to establish itself as 'world power'"

And the scriptures inform us that indeed this "regenerated" Roman Empire of the last days will indeed grow into a world power (Daniel 7:23):
"The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it."

Its just a matter of time. During the Tribulation a leader will emerge from this kingdom and lead the world during its darkest days. Those days are rapidly approaching now. Just like birth pains - the imagery that Jesus provided in his end times discourse - the signs that surround us are all occurring more frequently and more dramatically with each passing week.

Riots in Jerusalem

This is a story that has been percolating for a few days and doesn't seen to be simmering down. In a nutshell, there has been intermittent fighting in and around the Temple Mount, extending into greater Jerusalem and felt to be instigated by Hezbollah and Hamas. The AP has a nice review of this situation in this article:

"Israeli police bring reinforcements to Jerusalem". This article could be reduced to the following statements:

"Israel and the Palestinians both lay claim to Jerusalem, with Israel insisting it will retain control of all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured and annexed in 1967."

"The Palestinians want east Jerusalem, with its major Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, for their future capital. Like the rest of the international community, they do not recognize the Israeli annexation and regard the Jewish neighborhoods that ring east Jerusalem as settlements, which Israel does not."

"Raed Salah, head of a militant branch of Israel's Islamic Movement, told the Haaretz newspaper on Monday that the clashes would last as long as Israel's 'occupation' of the city and al-Aqsa continued."

In a related story, Joel Rosenberg has an ominous story:
"WARNING: ISRAEL IN DANGER OF BEING BLINDSIDED BY TWO NEW GRAVE THREATS"

According to Mr Rosenberg, the two threats are:

"The first threat is the real and growing possibility that the United Nations will shift the nuclear spotlight away from Iran and on to Israel in an effort to force Jerusalem to disclose and dismantle its alleged nuclear weapons and join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)...The U.N. Security Council could pass a resolution forcing Israel to allow international inspectors in. If Israel refused to comply, she could be subject to diplomatic isolation, crippling economic sanctions, and even international enforcement."

Rosenberg continues with this: "...such a resolution could be introduced by Russia. The coalition against Israel could be led by Russia and Iran. Should this happen, we could begin to see the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 come to pass in fairly short order."


"The second threat is the real and growing possibility that the world will unilaterally create and recognize a Palestinian State, not through negotiations with Israel but by fiat. World leaders have been trying to engineer a "comprehensive" final peace agreement for decades."

"With his Cairo and U.N. General Assembly speeches, President Obama has taken the lead on this effort. He is demanding Israel return to its pre-1967 borders, divide Jerusalem and allow the Palestinians to have a state with contiguous borders (thus cutting Israel proper in two)."

"During July, the EU's Javier Solana lectured in London and said that if the peace process was going nowhere, the international community should consider recognizing a Palestinian state under a UN resolution EVEN WITHOUT ISRAEL'S CONSENT." (emphasis mine).

"In short, the Solana plan is an imposed solution, using the UN Security Council as its main instrument, which will decide the issue of Israel's future borders and those of the Palestinian state."


The world is continuing to turn against Israel, just as Zechariah 12 informed us:

"On that day, when all the nations are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves."

Israel will ultimately be placed in a situation where only God can protect them - and God most certainly will protect them. This is not because the people of Israel "deserve" God's protection - but because God intends to preserve His holy name:

"I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel. It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day that I have spoken of." (Ezekiel 39:7-8).

"This day" is a reference to the day that God personally intervenes on Israel's behalf, upon the massive invasion as led by Russia and Iran. As the world lines up against tiny Israel, they are oblivious to God's promise to intervene. Thats too bad.

What we're ultimately seeing is simply put:

"The Nations" (as they collectively act against Israel, with attempts to "move" Jerusalem from Israel) versus God.

I'm betting on God.