The Final Countdown

In the latter days you will understand it perfectly (Jeremiah 23:20)

There has been a lull in posts while we work on the website, some booklets, a podcast, and a host of other projects. That does not mean the news is being ignored! Going forward this blog will focus a little more on topics and teaching and less on general news (though many stories will still be posted and discussed). We live in the Information Age and finding prophecy-related news is easy if you know the Scriptures and what to look for. It will be simpler and much less repetitive if we zero-in on what the Bible teaches concerning the return of our King and help you to see the news through the filter of prophecy.

Look for a new podcast series early next week.

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• A little blog housekeeping
• Biggest Black Hole Ever Found in Nearby Galaxy
• Division of Jerusalem update
• The Time is at Hand
• Christian persecution roundup

Cold War II is springing to life as Russia and the United States have spent the better part of a month trading barbs and quasi-threats. Russia even has a pair of top-of-the-line nuclear subs patrolling the east coast of the US for what is believed to be the first time in 15 years. This comes less than two weeks after VP Joe Biden assured the former Soviet republic of Georgia that the US would stand behind the nation in any further conflicts with Russia, who briefly invaded Georgia last year.

Tensions are further raised over missile defense plans. The US wants to put missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, a move that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promises will result in Russian missiles being pointed at Europe. Further, Russia has vowed to counteract any US moves by placing weapons in space, a move long predicted by some prophecy scholars. (Note that these predictions are generally based on Revelation 12. While it is possible this could be a “double prophecy” and reference two events, I am of the opinion that one must take these verses out of context to conclude it is talking about “war in space” between human nations.)

Vladimir Putin, the insanely popular once and future President of Russia, is regarded by many to be a strong candidate to be Gog of Magog, or the prince of Rosh who launches World War III in Ezekiel 38-39. We know that these chapters are specific to Russia because actually cities in the country are named. For instance, Rosh is Hebrew for Russia, Meshech for Moscow, and Tubal of Tubalsk.

Russia will lead a Middle East confederation of nations against Israel (Ezekiel 38:15; Psalm 83:4-5), with Iran being its key sidekick (Ezekiel 38:5). The partnership between Russia and Iran is growing stronger, and the two nations are even holding joint military exercises, and Russia is refusing to back any sanctions against Iran for attempting to acquire nuclear technology.

As part of the opening salvo that begins World War III, this Russian led group will attack the United States (Jeremiah 50-51) using missiles (Jeremiah 50:14, 29; 51:3, 11) launched during a sneak attack (Jeremiah 50:24; 51:12).

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Russia, North Korea to test fire new missiles
• Iran tests missile that could hit Israel, US forces
• Russia launches ICBM in test
• China, North Korea, Russia, Iran working together
• Peres says Israel can’t strike Iran without US help

Just yesterday we wrote of the flurry of earthquake and storm activity around the eastern Pacific Rim. This afternoon, two more powerful quakes–a 7.6 magnitude earthquake followed by one of 6.6 magnitude–struck within 15 minutes of each other. At the time of this posting a tsunami alert is in effect.

To repeat, among other signs Jesus gave so that we would know when His return is near, He mentioned earthquakes (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11) and violent storms coming from the seas (Luke 21:25).

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Busy week of storms, powerful earthquakes in Far East
• One in three children fear “environmental apacolypse”
• 7.1 mag quake hits Central America
• Scientists warn USA vulnerable to incredible tsunami
• Massive 7.8 mag quake jolts New Zealand, creates Tsunami

It is time once again to play, Does this mixture of headlines make any sense? As you read the following news items, remember that the embracing of sin (Jeremiah 50:14) coupled with the systematic removal of God (Jeremiah 50:29) will lead to catastrophic judgment upon the Western world (Jeremiah 50:28), particularly the United States (read Isaiah 18, Jeremiah 50-51, & Revelation 18 for an in-depth picture).

Group one–pro sin:

• Obama plans to fund D.C. abortions
• (UK) Parents will have “no say” over sex education in schools
• Surgeon General nominee wants to train new doctors on abortions
• Obama wants to rescind regulations enforcing “conscience-clause laws”
• National Health Service tells pupils they have a “right to good sex”
• Schoolchildren given sex lessons on what is available at local brothel
• ObamaCare to provide taxpayer funded abortion on demand
• Police officers who practice witchcraft get Pagan Police Association, own holidays
• 25% of abortions are done by pill (abortions increase because of ease)
• Abortion funds, marijuana in house health bill
• ‘Sex play’ for teens promoted in cartoon
• Gov’t drive fails to cut teen pregnancies
• Obama science czar called for forced abortions
• Obama science czar says, “years after birth, (a fetus) will ultimately develop into a human being”
• Gov’t insurance would allow coverage for abortion
• Stimulus Bill funds go to art houses showing “pervert” revues, pornography
• Same-sex couples granted legal status in Wisconsin
• US House funds needle exchange programs

Group two–anti-God:

• IRS tells pro-lifers to give up 1st Amendment
• Jail removes Bible verses from letters to inmate
• Catholic nurse ‘forced’ to help in late-term abortion
• City rejects ‘In God We Trust’ logo
• Sotomayor supported censoring Biblical verse
• National Institutes of Health head opposed as “nutty” after Christian conversion
• Church faces fine after town bans Sunday afternoon services
• Christian doctor axed for failing to back gay adoption
• Program to curb AIDS questioned after Bible verses used to promote abstinence
• Gov’t funded art exhibit encourages people to deface the Bible
• Prayers at Chesapeake council meetings stir debate
• Public library bans Sunday School posters because they promote religion
• UN shuts out Christian NGO after China objects
• Hall-of-Fame coach canned after student accepts Christ
• American arrested for talking about Jesus in Norway

Group three–just to think about:

• Fetuses found to have memories
• Parents cradle “dead” baby, who comes back to life
• Baby born at 23 weeks survives
• Grieving father finds ‘dead’ baby alive in coffin

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Majority of teen pregnancies end in abortion
• Christian persecution roundup
• “Alternative lifestyle” vs Christianity update
• Christian persecution in the news
• Poll: A Pro-life majority in America

Two strong earthquakes belted Japan this week, the first being a magnitude 6.5 quake that was followed up 5 days later by an even stronger 7.1 magnitude jolt. By comparison, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in 1995 killed 6,400 people, so these are powerful movements of the earth.

Bad weather is hitting the Asian world as well, where over a million people in China have been forced to evacuate as typhoon Morakot is leveling houses, hotels, and other inhabitable buildings. In India, monsoon rains caused a landslide that has buried at least 43 people alive.  Following a landslide in Taiwan, 600 people are missing. In Indonesia, the powerful Krakatoa volcano, which once killed 36,500 people during an eruption, has show signs of springing back to life.

Even the east coast of the United States was hit with an earthquake this week when a relatively minor 3.2 magnitude shaker was felt in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Among other signs Jesus gave so that we would know when His return is near, He mentioned earthquakes (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11) and violent storms coming from the seas (Luke 21:25). There are also passages of Scripture that could indicate the effects of massive volcanic eruptions (Joel 2; Revelation 6 & 8, among others).

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Two more mighty earthquakes strike Asia
• 7.1 mag quake hits Central America
• Quake levels at least 10k homes in China; “mystery tremors” in CA
• New Zealand quake shifts country by a foot!
• 6.7 quake hits near Crete

At the midpoint of the Tribulation the Antichrist will claim to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Daniel 11:36; Revelation 13:5-6), and with the help of the False Prophet unsaved people will believe him (Revelation 13:12-17). The Antichrist will then make it his mission to kill the Jews and Christians who are on earth during that time (Daniel 7:21, 25; Revelation 13:7, 12;13, 20:4; Matthew 24:9; Mark 13:9, 12-13; Luke 21:12-17; John 16:2).

Amazingly, people will turn in their own family members for being Christians and hand them over to be killed (Mark 13:9-13). With that in mind I am going to occasionally post some headlines showing that the natural love between family members is eroding quickly in our culture. It will be no surprise that millions of believers are given over to the executioner by “loved” ones.

• Woman left newborn in portable toilet
• Woman charged with poisoning daughter with methadone
• Parents selling children to Taliban to become suicide bombers
• Stillborn baby flushed down toilet
• Mother slits throats of her three children
• Three accused of letting rats chew toes off Ohio infant
• Louisiana baby with rodent bites bleeds to death
• Father confesses to strangling 3-year-old daughter to death
• Two children shot by siblings in separate attacks
• Woman beheads, dismembers her newborn
• Dad kills daughter, self
• Toddler found alive in trash can
• Dad threw girl off cliff to avoid child support
• School children wearing diapers after parents “too busy to potty train”
• Mom in Minnesota starves disabled daughter to death
• Jerusalem mother starves, deliberately injures son
• Father stabs teenage daughter to death
• Dad beats, strangles 7 year-old son to death while fiancee watches
• Oklahoma kids found locked in bedroom, covered in feces and blood

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Christian persecution roundup
• Making pregnancy and abortion ’sexy’
• News digest for April 27, 2009
• Gay curriculum proposed for 5 year-olds
• Cleopatra and the book of Daniel

A new form of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has been confirmed in a woman Cameroon. French scientist have discovered that the strain originated in gorillas. Previous HIV infections have been traced back to monkeys. Also, a recent study shows a virus in chimps has been associated with an AIDS-like disease.

In Revelation 6 we see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride. The Pale horse kills a fourth of the earth with disease attributed to war, hunger and the beasts of the earth (Revelation 6:8). The deadliest fast-spreading diseases of our time come from animals, including Ebola (monkeys), AIDS (green monkey virus), avian flu (birds), and the above diseases, among many others.

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Dog flu, equine virus making the rounds
• Swine flu cases skyrocket; UK preps for 65,000 deaths
• Swine flu declared ‘unstoppable’ by WHO
• Swine flu deemed pandemic by WHO
• Fears of swine flu increase amidst vaccine troubles

At least four earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or greater struck the west coast today, with the largest being a 6.9 rattler off the Baja Peninsula. It was strong enough to sway buildings in San Diego and was felt all the way to Phoenix.

The frequency and severity of earthquakes has increased exponentially during recent years. There were six-times more super quakes (magnitude 7.0 and above) from 1997-2007 then in any other time period since modern quake calculations began in 1863.  This trend will continue as we head into the Tribulation (Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:11). During the Tribulation the number and severity of earthquakes will be off the chart (Revelation 6:12, 8:5, 11:13, 19), leading up to the greatest earthquake in the history of man (Revelation 16:18), which occurs when Christ returns to set His feet on the Mount of Olives, causing a quake so powerful that the mountain will split in half (Zechariah 14:4).

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Mag 6.0 quake jolts Mexico City
• 6.7 quake hits near Crete
• New Zealand quake shifts country by a foot!
• 6.0 quake strikes off western Mexico
• 5.7 magnitude quake hits Alaska

One of the signs Jesus said to watch for to know His return was near was an increase in pestilences (Matthew 24:7). What was Christ speaking of? In Revelation 6 we see the rider on four horses, and in verse 8 we read of him bringing death and famine through the “beasts of the earth.” This could include diseases such as AIDS (green monkey virus), Avian flu (birds), ebola (monkeys), ‘mad cow’ (cows), lyme disease (ticks), the equine virus (horses), and of course,  swine flu (pigs). We can now add malaria to the list, as researchers have discovered it comes from chimps.

Another animal-related pestilence is the plague, a disease that has broken out in China, causing entire villages to be quarantined. At least 3 people have died with dozens more being infected. This is a more powerful strain than the one known as Black Death which wiped out a third of Europe in the 1300’s.

Here are some swine flu headlines from the past week:

• 60 crew have swine flu on cruise ship
• Swine flu becoming resistant to Tamiflu–could leave population defenseless
• Committee says UK not prepared for second wave of swine flu in autumn
• US swine flu deaths surpass 350; 44,000 confirmed infected
• Israel fears 700 could die of swine flu this winter

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Swine flu outbreak kills scores of people
• Fears of swine flu increase amidst vaccine troubles
• Swine flu cases skyrocket; UK preps for 65,000 deaths
• Swine flu declared ‘unstoppable’ by WHO
• New HIV strain jumps from gorillas to humans

I reiterate that we do not believe Barack Obama fulfills the profile for the coming Antichrist, even though we chronicled many ways that the President meets the Biblical description of the coming world dictator. Given that, a headline from World Net Daily jumps off the page; it reads, Obama ‘like Romans who destroyed Jewish Temples.’ The article recounted Lamentations that were being read in front of the US consulate in Jerusalem.

Daniel 9:26 says, “The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” This was done by Roman generals Vespasian and Titus in 70 AD, and is one of the reasons we know the Antichrist will come from the Revived Roman Empire.

Related posts from prophecyproject.org:

• Similarities between President Obama and the coming Antichrist
• More steps taken toward globalization
• Obama demanding two-state solution in Middle East
• ALERT: Netanyahu set to allow Palestinian sovereignty
• World economy continues slide, prompts call for “global order”