The Final Countdown

We have been following the campaign in Lebanon as Hezbollah and its allies try to wrest control of the country. The parliamentary elections were held yesterday and it appears that the pro-West coalition has retained power, but there was no shift in strength among the elected officials. In other words, Lebanon finds itself in the same internal tug-of-war as it was in two days ago.

Even though the current ruling coalition is not radical, Lebanon sadly faces a rough future. It is certain that an anti-West, anti-Israel faction will control the nation soon. Psalm 83:7 tells us that Lebanon will be part of the Russian-led confederation that attacks Israel (Psalm 83:4-5; Ezekiel 38:8, 16). Lebanon will be one of 2o+ nations in the alliance, some of the others being Egypt (Daniel 11:40); Syria (Isaiah 17:1, Psalm 83:8); Iran (and possibly Iraq) (Ezekiel 38:5); Algeria; Morocco; Ethiopia (Ezekiel 38:5); Libya (Ezekiel 38:5); Turkey (Ezekiel 38:6); Tunisia; Jordan (Psalm 83:7); and a newly created Palestinian state (Psalm 83:7).

What an amazing time to be alive! God’s word is unfolding right in front of us, and we desperately need to be ready.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking at a joint news conference with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, announced that “Syria and Iran are united” in support of the Palestinians, and against Israel. In a statement where he called Jews “destructive microbes,” Ahmadinejad promised that the “shared principles and interests” of the Middle East Arab community is about to produce “victory.”

Of course, that shared “principle” is that Israel has no right to exist, and the shared “interest” is the elimination of the Jewish state, as has been stated many times by Ahmadinejad. This is exactly what the Bible predicts. In Psalm 83:4-5, we read,

The have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You.

This confederacy is headed up by Russia (Ezekiel 38:15) and invades Israel during the “latter days” (Ezekiel 38:8, 16, 39:1-2; Jeremiah 1:13, 10:22). Syria (Isaiah 17:1; Psalm 83:8) and Iran (Ezekiel 38:5) are among the nations mentioned as being in this cabal of hatred against the Jews. Syria also has renewed diplomatic ties with Lebanon, another nation that will be part of the Russian-led confederacy (Psalm 83:7).

According to a CIA report released in March, Iran is busy developing nuclear weapons to use in this assault on Israel, and they are further along in this pursuit than many want to admit. At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing yesterday, Robert Morgenthau, who uncovered a Iranian scam to funnel billions of dollars through the US to buy nuclear and missile materials, testified that “we don’t have a lot of time to stop Iran from developing long-range missiles and nuclear weapons.” Morgenthau’s statement came as the Committee released a report warning that the US is grossly underestimating Iran’s progress in developing these weapons. This caused Israeli President Shimon Peres to once again say that he will not rule out an attack on Iran to take out their nuclear facilities.

The race to bring peace to the region is heating up, with virtually every free nation on earth wanting to get involved. A US envoy is in Syria to reiterate the Americans’ commitment to peace, while Vice President Joe Biden was in Washington saying that a two-state solution is a must. Likewise, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that there is “no alternative” to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Everyone is putting their two cents in, but of all the potential peace-makers, the one to watch is the EU envoy. Speaking at a symposium in Jerusalem, Ambassador Michael Zantovsky from the current EU Presidency holding nation of the Czech Republic, said that strengthened diplomatic ties between Israel and the EU was “temporarily stuck.” This was an attempt to tone down the words of EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who said the process is “frozen” until Israel declares its committment to the two-state solution.

Tuesday, Peres said that Israel does indeed support the creation of a Palestinian state, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ready to “start to negotiate right away” on making it happen. This prompted EU Mideast Envoy Tony Blair to say that “a new framework” was in progress and the EU would unveil a peace plan within a few weeks.

When a peace contract is finally forged, it will come at the hands of a world “President” (the Antichrist of Daniel 9:27) and include a newly created Palestinian state with a divided Jerusalem (Joel 3:2; Zechariah 14:2). Interesting fact: Due to military conquests many centuries ago, the monarchy of Spain carries the title, “King of the Jews.” Satan wants to duplicate Christ in every way possible, including being raised from the dead, which he tries to mimic by taking over the body of the slain Antichrist (Revelation 12:12-13; 13:3-5, 12; 17:8, 11). I think that the coming Antichrist, whoever that may be, will somehow assume this title, either by birth (being from Spain) or by usurping it in some way.

Before anything can happen, Christians must be gone via the rapture.  In 2 Thessalonians 2:6, we are told that the Antichrist cannot be revealed until the restraining force is removed. That restraining force is the church, for Christians are the home of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20). We are the “salt of the earth,” (Matthew 5:13) and salt is a preserving agent, keeping the world from going to a literal hell.

There are more passages that indicate a pre-tribulation rapture. Revelation 3:10 says that God will keep us from the hour of trial coming upon the world. In Luke 17:26-30, Jesus was talking about His return and related the stories of Noah and Lot–two men who were removed from the land before judgment fell because of their relationships to God. Note that they did not remove themselves, for the ark door was shut by God (Genesis 7:16) and Lot was forcibly brought outside of Sodom by angels (Genesis 19:16). Everything in the old testament has to do with the Lord Jesus, and these two stories picture of His protecting love for His saints via a rapture.

In Luke 21, Jesus is talking about the end times and the coming Tribulation. In the midst of this, Jesus said we should watch and pray so that we may be worthy to escape “all these things” (Luke 21:36). In context, “these things” are clearly the trials of the Tribulation.

***In the UK, the fight over mandatory biometric ID cards is heating up. Some are now pushing to require only passports to be tagged with personal data, an effort to save money. A similar measure in the United States (Real ID Act) was set to go into effect in May 2008, but has since been given a mandatory comply date of May 11, 2011. Most states will be in compliance well before that date.

These actions are laying the groundwork for the Antichrist to tag all humans (Revelation 13:16-18). The Antichrist will take control after the earth is divided into 10 zones (Daniel 7:20, 24, 9:26), issue the “mark of the beast” (Revelation 13:17), and track people, probably using an already existing supercomputer at European Union headquarters known as the Belgian Electronic Accounting Surveillance Terminal–the BEAST. What at appropriate name as this computer will control economic activity (Revelation 13:16-18) and provide surveillance through GPS location technology.

***In an absolutely sick development, a British couple is suing the National Health Service because the NHS failed to talk them into having an abortion. Yes, we have a “wrongful-birth” lawsuit because the child was born with some defects. Meanwhile, a debate rages in Britian over whether it is sexist to tell women not to consume alcohol while pregnant. Back in the US, Democrat Senator Patty Murry says that laws that allow physicians who oppose abortion to refuse to perform the procedure are “short-sighted” and should be overturned by President Obama. God help us.

Also from the US, New Hampshire is poised to become the fifth state to legalize gay marriage, with more soon to follow. The homosexual movement is having great success this month, with three more states now allowing same-sex marriage. Additionally, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that will give gays protections that heterosexuals do not enjoy.

The United States is sliding backwards (Isaiah 18:2, 7) and has detached from its Godly founding (Jeremiah 50:28), and her mother Britain is becoming an absolute mess (Jeremiah 50:12). It is because of these sins that God sends His judgment upon America (Jeremiah 50:14, 28), likely in the form of a nuclear missile attack (Jeremiah 50:14, 29, 51:3, 11) from Russia (Jeremiah 50:9, 41, 51:48) , fired directly over top the north pole.

***China has reopened its borders with North Korea, allowing citizens to freely travel between the nations. China and North Korea have strong relations, and they will only strengthen over the next few years as these two nations join with others to march on the Middle East (Revelation 16:12).

***A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook southern Iran Thursday. Because of its location on a seismic fault, it isn’t out of the ordinary for Iran to experience significant jolts several times a month. However, the strength of these quakes are intensifying, one of the signs that Jesus is coming soon (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11).  During the Tribulation earthquakes reach an incredible magnitude, especially in the Mid East region (Revelation 6:12, 8:5, 11:13, 19).

Still, the most powerful earthquakes in history are reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ. The two previous greatest quakes occurred at the crucifixion (Matthew 27:51-54) and the resurrection (Matthew 28:2). But the grandest of them all happens when Jesus ascends to earth and places His feet on the Mount of Olives (Revelation 16:18), causing the Mount to split from east to west, creating a large valley (Zechariah 14:4).

***In Lebanon, jailed Brigadier General Jamil al-Sayyed was among those released by a UN-backed tribunal, a move that many feel will enhance chances of Hezbollah gaining power during the June 22 elections (which we touched on briefly yesterday). Whether it happens after the June 22 elections or at a later date, Lebanon will be controlled by anti-Israeli factions and join with Russia (Psalm 83:7) to attack Israel (Psalm 83:4-5).

The Washington Times writes about Hezbollah’s increasing influence in Lebanon, a nation having parliamentary elections on June 7:

With quiet campaigning and moderate talk, Hezbollah is building its
strength for Lebanon’s June 7 parliamentary elections – and the
militant Shi’ite Muslim group and its allies stand a good chance of
winning.

That could mean a stunning shake-up for one of the Middle
East’s most volatile countries if the pro-U.S. government is replaced
with a coalition dominated from behind the scenes by Hezbollah, the
political movement and guerrilla group widely seen as the proxy of Iran
and Syria in Lebanon.

The U.S. and Israel consider Hezbollah a terrorist
organization, and their biggest fear is that a win by the group and its
allies would increase the sway of Iran and Syria. The U.S. ambassador
in Beirut has already expressed concern, and opponents warn that a
Hezbollah win will result in the West isolating Lebanon and Washington
reducing its millions in aid.

It is very likely that Hezbollah will succeed in gaining power in Lebanon, if not on June 7 then shortly after. Psalm 83:7 tells us that Lebanon will be part of the Russian-led confederation that attacks Israel (Psalm 83:4-5; Ezekiel 38:8, 16). Lebanon will be one of 2o+ nations in the alliance, some of the others being Egypt (Daniel 11:40); Syria (Isaiah 17:1, Psalm 83:8); Iran (and possibly Iraq) (Ezekiel 38:5); Algeria; Morocco; Ethiopia (Ezekiel 38:5); Libya (Ezekiel 38:5); Turkey (Ezekiel 38:6); Tunisia; Jordan (Psalm 83:7); and a newly created Palestinian state (Psalm 83:7).

There are a lot of smaller stories in the news today, so instead of making several shorter postings, let’s combine some of the more appropriate stories into one post.

Lebanon wants to keep strong ties with Egypt while Jordan continues to push for Palestinian statehood.  Lebanon (Psalm 83:7), Egypt (Daniel 11:40), Jordan (Psalm 83:7), and a Palestinian state (Psalm 83:7) are all part of the Russian confederation that tries to eliminate Israel (Psalm 83:4-5) halfway through the Tribulation (Daniel 9:26-27; Ezekiel 38:11).

North Korea proclaims it has restarted its nuclear facilities and is said to be harvesting plutonium. North Korea is also reprocessing fuel rods at a time when three of its national companies have been blacklisted by the UN for their role in developing ballistic missile technology. North Korea will be one of the Oriental nations to join with China in a march to the Middle East (Revelation 16:12). This follows the Russian led march against Israel mentioned above. In both instances nuclear weapons will be used (Revelation 8:7, 9:18; Isaiah 13:10-13; Joel 2:3, 30; 2 Peter 3:10-12).

Great Britain has announced a plan to monitor every email and listen to every internet phone call that comes through its borders. The Antichrist, whose headquarters will apparently be in Europe (Daniel 7:20, 24; 9:26), will use similar technology to monitor and track every human on earth, but at an even deeper level (Revelation 13:16-18), enabling him to gain control over the whole earth (Daniel 7:23; Revelation 13:7). The technology exists for this now, and it is already in use in some instances.

Two Christians were executed by the Taliban for protesting Muslim graffiti that demanded they renounce Christ. There have been more Christians murdered for the faith in the last 100 years than in the previous 1900 years combined, and it will continue to get worse. During the Tribulation, millions of souls will be saved (Revelation 7:9-14) thanks to the preaching of the 144,000 converted Jews (Revelation 7:4-8). Most (not all) of these new believers will face death by beheading, just as it is done in Muslim countries today (Revelation 20:4). It is often done at the hand of one’s own parents or children (Mark 13:12-13), because they think that by obeying the Antichrist, they are doing God’s work (John 16:2), because he claims to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Daniel 11:36).

Also of note, the group responsible for the murder of these Christians, the Taliban, is gaining traction in Pakistan, a nuclear power nation. They could get access to nuclear weapons and nuclear technology, helping to fulfill the above prophecies concerning the Arab states.

World leaders are looking to the United States to spark the recovery out of the current global recession. The US will still be the world’s creator of wealth into the Tribulation (Jeremiah 51:3; Revelation 18:11-15), at which time she appears to be laid desolate (Revelation 18:10) by Russia (Jeremiah 50:9).