Airline pilots seeing UFOs?

Posted on January 29, 2014 by dknezacek

According to a recent article in the Telegraph a Thomas Cook Airlines pilot narrowly missed a collision with a UFO while flying from Ibiza to Manchester.

The Telegraph has established the aircraft was an A320, with the registration G-KKAZ, which was made in 2003 Photo: Alamy

“The captain said he spotted the object travelling towards the jet out of a left hand side, cockpit window, apparently heading directly for it. He said there was no time to for the aircrew to take evasive action.

He told investigators he was certain the object was going to crash into his aircraft and ducked as it headed towards him.” Telegraph article

While many laugh at the frequent reports of UFO encounters, there are many credible witnesses, such as this airline pilot, who can’t be dismissed so easily.  Don’t forget that this is a highly trained person, handling sophisticated equipment, who regularly has many lives in his hands.

According to the article, the staff of the National Air Traffic Control Services in the UK detects around one unexplained flying object every month.

These are not kooks, something is going on here!

To most people these encounters are either “unexplained”, military hardware, or are evidence of alien beings from another planet.  Given the fact that many of these reports include accounts of these objects changing direction, very suddenly and at such a very high rate of speed, it is not possible that they are physical craft.

There is another explanation; It is entirely possible that these are manifestations  produced by spiritual beings who are intent on deceiving the inhabitants of this planet.

This is the conclusion of authors such as Gary Bates, author of Alien Intrusion.   Other sources of information on UFOs can be found at MUFON (The Mutual UFO Network), The J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies, Alien Resistance Ministries,Come Sail Away, UFO Phenomenon and the Bible, by Guy Malone,  The Present Day, UFO-Alien Abduction Phenomenon as interpreted from a Biblical Precedent

At a time when the world is abandoning traditional Christian doctrine, it should be no surprise that many are latching on to an idea that, combined with the evolutionary hypothesis, lifts man up as the chief of all creation.  “We are getting better, and smarter, and soon we will go to the stars”, is the idea behind this delusion.

Interestingly, however, is the fact that these UFO encounters always occur within the atmosphere of the earth.  They are already here!

I find it interesting that the bible actually speaks of the idea that man might go to the stars.  The little book of Obadiah is actually an End Times prophecy about the people of the Antichrist;

Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. Obadiah 1:4

He is not saying that man actually could go to the stars, but that even if they could, He could still find them.  He owns the universe you know.

I think this is an indication of one of the lies that the “aliens” will be telling the Antichrist and his followers;   “Put your lot in with us, and if things go wrong we can take you to the stars!”  Well, don’t bet on it!

Mankind does not like the idea that we are created beings, who will have to give an account of ourselves to our Creator.  This is the whole idea behind the evolutionary hypothesis, but no matter how hard you wish it, you will still give an account of yourself to God.

God, on the other hand, is quite willing to allow self-deluded people to remain in their delusions;

I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted Isaiah 66:4

What do you think will happen when the “sign of the Son of Man appears in the Heavens” (Matt 24:30)?  The bible says that the tribes of earth will mourn.  Why would they mourn?  For many it will be because they believe they are about to come under an alien attack!  They will get all their weapons ready to fight this “alien” who is coming to take over the earth!  They will know it is Jesus Christ, but they have been brainwashed to believe He is an alien, who is going to return in a spaceship!

Modern armed forces are now using lasers that are powerful enough to shoot down aircraft.  Surely such weaponry is able to protect us from a space invasion?  Again, don’t bet on it!  Those who do will be destroyed!

Here is the amazing thing; Jesus will act according to their expectations of an alien being!

For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Isaiah 28:21

I had always been taught, in Church, that the idea of a sharp two edged sword coming from the mouth of Jesus, is just allegory, “it’s a reference to him giving commands to kill His enemies”.

Isaiah 49:2 
And he hath made my mouth like a sharpsword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

Revelation 1:16 
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Revelation 2:16 
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Notice that this warning is given to a Church!  The false Church will suffer the judgment of God, in fact judgment begins at the house of the Lord!

Revelation 19:15 
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Revelation 19:21 
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Yes indeed some of the imagery is symbolic, such as the rod of iron, or the winepress of God’s wrath, but don’t expect it to be all symbolic.  There will be a literal fulfilment to Isaiah’s 28:21 prophecy, and a literal sword coming out of His mouth would be strange indeed, so strange that I wonder if it actually might be a literal fulfilment!  The repetition of this statement, for emphasis, also speaks of a literal fulfilment!

Don’t forget that it is Isaiah who first recorded the idea in 49:2.

If people saw, and the TV cameras recorded, a being with a sword coming from his mouth, wouldn’t people believe this is an alien that they must unite to fight?  Wouldn’t the deluded masses join together to fight this invader, using every means at their disposal?  Ronald Reagan thought they would

Dan Knezacek

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Peace? Or a Sword?

Posted on January 26, 2014 by dknezacek

I couldn’t resist the pictures of the Pope’s releasing doves, which were immediately set-upon by a sea-gull and a crow;

Pope releases white doves as symbols of peace

Do you see some symbolism here?

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34

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Slavery and the End Times

Posted on January 22, 2014 by dknezacek

Growing up in “Liberal” Canada, and being exposed to the state-run TV and radio stations (CBC radio and TV), I really had no idea that I was listening to propaganda most of the time.

One of the myths that our state-run propaganda machine promulgated on us was the idea that slavery in the USA was racially based. Whites owned slaves, and most blacks were slaves, unless they could escape to Canada. (Canada is always the hero)

This mentality was enforced by our educational system, which is heavily into left-wing propaganda as well, and even TV and movies which made their way up here from the states.

The truth is that I just accepted it as fact, and never really thought a whole lot about it, until yesterday.

Yesterday I came across an article, and I can’t remember where I saw it, about slavery in the USA. I was not surprised at the statement that white Christians had a lot to do with opposition to slavery. William Wilberforce, and John Newton, both Christians, were instrumental in the end of slavery in England. Newton himself, had been a slave trader, and then a slave himself, but when he came to Christ he realized how evil slavery is.

What surprised me, and still amazes me is that there were black slave OWNERS in the USA! By 1860 there were about 3,000 black slave owners, who owned some 20,000 black slaves!

This is something you would never hear on Canadian media, and probably not on major American media outlets, either. Evidently there is a vested interest, in the mainline media outlets, in the myth of the evil white-man! In fact only about 4.6% of southern whites owned slaves, and only about 1.4% of the entire white US population owned slaves. https://suite101.com/a/the-1860-census-and-slavery-in-the-united-states-a83730

Many historians believe that the blacks who owned slaves did so as a means to free family members. You will find this analysis in the above link.

There are other analysts, who have shown that many black slave owners viewed their slaves as property;

“When Carter G. Woodson declared that “the majority of Negro owners of slaves were such from the point of view of philanthropy,” he failed to consider that there were so-called benevolent masters who freed one slave and sold another slave for profit. Woodson‘s perceptions of free black slaveholding were partially correct; however, when the totality of the institution is examined, his assumptions are revealed to be erroneous. . . .

Many black masters were firmly committed to chattel slavery and saw no reasons for manumitting their slaves. To those colored masters, slaves were merely property to be purchased, sold or exchanged. Their economic self-interest overrode whatever moral concerns or guilt they may have harbored about slavery.” http://minglecity.com/group/conspiracycontroversyhiddenknowledge/forum/topics/free-blacks-who-owned (Interestingly the author of the above is black herself. Thank God for honest people, of any background!)

I am not writing this to promote slavery, nor am I writing to condemn black people. People of all backgrounds have done unspeakable evils to other people, even their own families. Indeed, since we are all descendants of Adam, the whole human race is a family. Considering that the first child born into this family murdered his brother (Genesis 4:8), we should not be surprised at evil in our midst. As descendants of Adam, we have all inherited his sin-nature.

All men are born depraved, and without Christ, man can descend to the depths of evil.

Really, we should be more surprised when people do good things for each other. Acting out of love, and contrary to self interest, is contrary to human nature.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

It’s funny how these little “coincidences” keep popping up in my life. The other day someone reminded me about a prophecy of the Antichrist’s hometown in Revelation, and slavery rears its ugly head here again;

“And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.” Revelation of John 18:13

In the midst of a list of commodities sold by the city of Revelation 18, the city of the Antichrist, we have “slaves, and souls of men”.

As I was growing up, we were taught that slavery was a thing of the past. In the eighties, however, we began to hear rumours of slaves in Muslim countries. Today the evidence is overwhelming, and the UN’s reluctance to do something about it is damning!  The nations that encourage, and practise, slavery have a lot of oil money.

I don’t believe it is a coincidence that there is a connection between the Antichrist and slavery, or Islam and slavery. As I have shown in several of my articles, the evidence is that the Antichrist will come from a Muslim family, though he will not be a Muslim himself. He will use his familiarity with Islam to gain the support of Muslims.  What better way than allowing them to own slaves? His favourite method of execution will be beheading, also a method favoured in Islam.

The Qur’an allows Muslims to own slaves, and encourages them to live as Muhammad lived, which was as a slave owner and trader. He also captured women in battle and made them into sex slaves. See the following:

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/015-slavery.htm

http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/slavery.htm

For a long time I have wondered how it is possible for believers to survive the Tribulation period. The bible speaks of many of them being beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus, yet also speaks of the earth being repopulated during the millennial reign of Christ. Since Church-Age believers will be in their glorified bodies, and will not be the ones raising families at that time, and all of the Beast’s supporters will be dead, so who is left?

In the past I have speculated that some believers will be hidden by family members who do take the mark of the Beast, and I still believe this is plausible for some, but I don’t think it is the only, or best, explanation. Those being hidden by relatives will be a burden to them, at a time when food is hard to come by. There will be a strong incentive for people to turn-in relatives who are taking shelter with them, and not able to contribute to the household in a financial way.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Matthew 24:10

I think slavery will account for the bulk of Tribulation survivors.

The bible says “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:17

Now, think about slavery; If you are a slave you are property. You are not considered human. You have no rights, and you do not receive a pay-cheque. Your food, clothing, and shelter is provided by your master, and you have no need to handle money. If you have no need to handle money, you will have no need to take the mark of the Beast!

As property, a slave has value to his master. Your work makes your master rich, therefore he has an incentive to keep you alive. As reprehensible as it sounds, this is probably the way that most believers will survive the Tribulation.

Even those who are hidden by relatives will likely have to work for their board, essentially then, they too will be slaves.  Even the bible tells us to work for our living, in many places.

Modern technology makes it very unlikely that people will be able to survive in the wilderness. Satellites have infra-red cameras, which could easily pin-point camp fires, and bring down the authorities. Even human bodies can be seen from space! If you have seen “Behind Enemy Lines” you will know what I mean. In the past there was always some place to hide, but the opportunity to do so is rapidly disappearing!

If you are alive and on the earth, the day after the rapture, your best chance for survival just might be as a slave!

Far better to receive Jesus today, and avoid the Tribulation altogether!

(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) II Corinthians 6:2

Dan Knezacek

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The City of the Antichrist

Posted on January 12, 2014 by dknezacek
Disclaimer: The author intends these articles to assist the reader in understanding the End Times prophecies of the Holy Bible. There is no intention to provoke hatred towards any group, tribe, or nation. Even the family of the Antichrist deserves to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The book of Revelation states that there will be members of every tribe, nation, kingdom, and tongue, in Heaven! It is the hope of the author to provoke Christians to witness of the love and forgiveness of God toward all who will listen! It is his hope that we will share in the joy of seeing even family members of the Antichrist himself, in Heaven with Jesus!

A corollary to my questions from last week would be “Is there biblical evidence against the nation of the Antichrist?”

Well, yes, and no!

If you believe the Antichrist will come from Rome, there is only a couple of cryptic passages that could indicate Rome, or they might indicate someplace else! We have the Daniel 9:26 reference to the destruction of Jerusalem;

“the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”

Now, everyone knows that the armies of Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, don’t they? That was the fact I accepted most of my adult life, but some time in 2009 I decided to take a look at an eye-witness account of the events in question. I remembered the meeting between the apostle Paul and the centurion who had bought his Roman citizenship (Acts 22:26-28), and I realized that this was probably a common occurrence. Rome itself was too small to run the whole empire without assistance from conquered peoples.

Were there Arabs in Rome’s armies which ransacked Jerusalem? Who was there, and who started the destruction?

As I looked for an eye-witness account, I found the best, and most reliable account was the one by the Jewish historian, Josephus.

In book 4 of “the Jewish Wars” I found what I had been looking for, and which I had come to suspect; When general Vespasian was marching toward Jerusalem he stopped in Damascus and gathered large numbers of auxiliaries from kings in the neighbourhood;

“So Vespasian sent his son Titus from Achaia, where he had been with Nero, to Alexandria, to bring back with him from thence the fifth and. the tenth legions, while he himself, when he had passed over the Hellespont, came by land into Syria, where he gathered together the Roman forces, with a considerable number of auxiliaries from the kings in that neighborhood.”

Hmmm! So we know that there were Syrians there at the destruction of Jerusalem. So much for it being entirely Rome’s responsibility. In fact Vespasian had to return to Rome to become Caesar, and he left his son Titus in charge. Titus, it turns out, made an order that the Temple was to be saved intact.

Some of the soldiers began looting, and when it appeared that he might lose control over his armies, Titus reversed his order. It appears that it was only then that the Roman armies joined the looting. So, were the Syrians responsible for the destruction?

No!

Someone else got there first, and began the destruction while the Roman armies were still enroute. The destruction begun by this group of people served to ensure that Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple!

Who were these people? They were actually practising Jews at the time, and the closest relatives the people of Israel have on the planet, the nation founded by Jacob’s brother Esau, Edom!

These people, being brought in by the Zealots, by stealth, first went to the Temple where they slaughtered some 8,500 men, and then went throughout the city killing another 12,000 people! At the end of their slaughter, they held a trial, by jury, of the high priest Annanus, and his deputy, one Jesus. When they failed to get a conviction, they threw both men off the Temple wall.

These men knew they could not defeat Rome, and were prepared to negotiate a surrender, but with them gone, the Idumeans left the Zealots in charge. The Zealots had such a hatred of Rome that they refused to surrender, and in the end some 1.3 million people were killed and the rest taken captive. Here is what Josephus says about the Idumean slaughter of these two men;

“I should not mistake if I said that the death of Ananus was the beginning of the destruction of the city, and that from this very day may be dated the overthrow of her wall, and the ruin of her affairs, whereon they saw their high priest, and the procurer of their preservation, slain in the midst of their city. He was on other accounts also a venerable, and a very just man; and besides the grandeur of that nobility, and dignity, and honor of which he was possessed, he had been a lover of a kind of parity, even with regard to the meanest of the people; he was a prodigious lover of liberty, and an admirer of a democracy in government; and did ever prefer the public welfare before his own advantage, and preferred peace above all things; for he was thoroughly sensible that the Romans were not to be conquered.

He also foresaw that of necessity a war would follow, and that unless the Jews made up matters with them very dexterously, they would be destroyed; to say all in a word, if Ananus had survived, they had certainly compounded matters; for he was a shrewd man in speaking and persuading the people, and had already gotten the mastery of those that opposed his designs, or were for the war. And the Jews had then put abundance of delays in the way of the Romans, if they had had such a general as he was.

Jesus was also joined with him; and although he was inferior to him upon the comparison, he was superior to the rest; and I cannot but think that it was because God had doomed this city to destruction, as a polluted city, and was resolved to purge his sanctuary by fire, that he cut off these their great defenders and well-wishers, while those that a little before had worn the sacred garments, and had presided over the public worship; and had been esteemed venerable by those that dwelt on the whole habitable earth when they came into our city, were cast out naked, and seen to be the food of dogs and wild beasts. And I cannot but imagine that virtue itself groaned at these men’s case, and lamented that she was here so terribly conquered by wickedness. And this at last was the end of Ananus and Jesus.” (Josephus, The Jewish War, Book 4, Chapter 5, Section 2)

So who was Daniel speaking about when he wrote “ the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”? Did he mean Rome, who was carried along by the actions of others, or was he referring to those others who‘s actions actually resulted in the destructon of Jerusalem? I say it was the others, and not even the Syrians, who began the destruction, but the Idumeans, who made it inevitable. The Idumeans, Edomites, the descendants of Esau, are the people of the Antichrist, according to Daniel 9:26!

But what about the prophecy in Revelation 17:9 that says the Antichrist will rule an empire from a city of seven mountains? Surely this must indicate Rome, which was historically known as “The city of seven hills”?

“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”

To you and me the distinction between “hills” and “mountains” might seem small and insignificant, but the Lord is specific in His choice of words. He chose the word “mountain” because he had another city in mind, one that prides itself as being a city of seven mountains, or as they say it in Arabic, seven “jabals”! This city was a Rome wannabe, and some day soon will actually surpass Rome, its model.

The city of seven mountains that Revelation 17:9 refers to just happens to be the capital city of Esau’s descendants; Amman.

Interestingly, as you study the history of Amman, you will discover that it was known as Philadelphia from some hundred years before the time of Christ, and for some three hundred years after. This is not some insignificant fact, but a key to the whole mystery. You can bet that the Antichrist will exploit the confusion between the Philadelphia of Asia minor, in Revelation 3, and the Philadelphia which was Amman at the time. Will he call his church the “Church of Philadelphia”? This is a distinct possibility.

As you go through Revelation 17 and 18, you will see that there are actually two entities in view here. The one is Babylon the Harlot, who sits on many waters, and the other Babylon is a city of seven mountains. The first is a religious entity, and her headquarters is not identified in the passage, except by the name Babylon. The phrase “many waters” is a reference to many people groups, and refers to a world-wide base. She will have a headquarters, however, and I believe this will not be Rome, nor the city of seven mountains, but to Ancient Babylon itself.

Rome will be destroyed before these events take place, and her destruction will lead many to believe that the Tribulation is over. This is a deception of the devil. In the aftermath of the destruction of Rome, the remaining Catholic churches will be forced to select a new headquarters. I believe this location will be Babylon, Iraq.

I am quite sure that many protestant churches will view the destruction of Rome as having been the judgment of Revelation 17 and 18, and will now feel safe in uniting with the remaining Catholic churches. In doing so they will actually be forming the Harlot Church. Their unity will be to promote peace on earth, and to form the “kingdom of God on earth”, and by doing so they will ride the Beast, until he and the ten kings of the earth destroy them.

When the Harlot church is destroyed, another entity, a city of seven mountains will be ready to take on the mantle of world power, and to set up another world religion. That will be the city of the Antichrist; Philadelphia; Amman!

One would think that the “Roman Antichrist” is a footnote to history, the way that there are no specific condemnations against Rome in the bible. You can search high and low, and you simply won’t find any. This man is Christ’s arch enemy, one of only two people in the history of the world who are thrown into the lake of fire without attending the Great White Throne judgment, but there are no statements of condemnation, no prophecies about a man from Rome, or even condemnation of Rome itself by name.

Obviously the man of sin can’t be that important to God, if he is from Rome.

This is an example of studying Scripture the backwards way. Rather than looking for condemnation of Rome, one should look for who it is that God condemns, in His End Times prophecies, and then determine where the Antichrist is from.

Here is a part of a verse about a nation who suffers the Lord’s anger. Look at not only the Lord’s anger, but the reputation of this nation for ever. Could this be Rome?;

“and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation forever.”

If the Antichrist came from Rome this is the kind of statement one would expect about that city. It isn’t Rome. Read the rest of the story;

“Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.” Malachi 1:4

Edom, the nation founded by Jacob’s brother Esau is THE nation against whom the Lord will be indignant with for ever! There is no other nation that suffers this fate!  This is the same nation responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem. This is the same nation that is today governed by the ancient city of Philadelphia, a city of seven mountains, and a Rome wannabe!

Is this everything against these people? No! There is a mountain of biblical evidence that this nation, and the people of Edom, Ammon, and Moab, will have a special relationship with the Antichrist. He is their favourite son, and the one they pin their hopes and dreams on!

Daniel 11:41 is often used to say that the little nation across the river from Israel will not be defeated by the Antichrist, as if this tiny nation, even smaller than Israel, will be so strong that the Antichrist can’t defeat them;

“He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.”

Well, that is one interpretation, but it really doesn’t make any sense in the light of the whole bible. Why on earth would the Antichrist not take-over this little nation when it is so close to his real quarry, Israel? How is it that the man who is able to take over the whole earth, is not able to take over a little nation of some 5 million souls?

You see, it doesn’t say that he will not rule this nation, only that they will escape his hand. They will escape his hand because he has no need to attack them; they are his power base! The people of Edom, Moab and Ammon are his people, and will support him from the beginning!  If he has a close relative on the throne of this nation, such as a brother, cousin, or uncle, why would he attack his own family?

I could go on and talk about the other prophecies against Edom and the people of this nation. There are even prophecies about the destruction of Amman, which is very similar to the destruction of Babylon, and there are other prophecies against the descendants of Esau, but I will leave it at that for now. 

I want to end with a note; Why have so many missed these prophecies?  Well, if you have already decided that the Antichrist is from Rome, then you will NOT be looking for verses that indicate the Antichrist will come from somewhere else, and if you do see them you will interpret them incorrectly!

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The Last Days Deception

Posted on January 2, 2014 by dknezacek

As I was thinking about my conversation with Charlie, I realized that I need to start with the Prophet of prophets.  Just studying the prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39, though it is clear to me, doesn’t seem to be clear to my friend.

Jesus, in his most important address on the subject of the End Times, had this to say about the early stages of these times;

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?  4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.   5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.   6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.   7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.   8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.”  Matthew 24:3-8

Notice, first of all, that their question is about the end of the world.  I don’t think he is actually telling them about the end of the world, but the end of the age.  He had His own agenda, and was not about to be distracted by their question.  Why?  The Church needs to be more concerned about the end of this age, than the end of the world.

He proceeds to tell them about signs of the end of the age.  Not the end of the age they were in at the time, the age of Israel, but the end of the Church age.

The first warning He gives is that many who say that Jesus is the Christ will deceive many.  This should be a warning to us that there are many who correctly teach that Jesus is the Messiah, and yet teach error when it comes to prophecy, this is not minor error, but very serious deception with serious consequences.

Immediately, he begins to warn about the End Times wars.  I believe He is actually warning us that the deceivers in question will be telling lies about these wars, and those lies will be told by professing Christians.

Since the time Jesus said these words, there has always been wars and rumours of wars.  In fact there has only been a handful of years, since the first century, when there was no official war somewhere on earth.  In the context of two thousand years of continuous war, “wars and rumours of wars” would not be a sign of anything.

Dispensationalists teach that the rapture of the Church is a sudden event, without signs of any kind.  I guess they are thinking that Jesus was referring to the continuous history of war literally as being a non-sign.

They are wrong, and I think Jesus was speaking of something else.

Notice, in verse 6, He says about these wars; “see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet”.  Why would His followers be troubled about wars when there has been a continuous history of two thousand years of war?  This is because He is not referring to just any war.  Jesus, in this passage, is referring to biblically prophesied wars that look like Tribulation wars.

Jesus was always referring back to the Old Testament!  Christians who are here during Tribulation-like wars, would be very concerned that they had missed the rapture, or that they were not saved.  This was the concern of Christians in Thessalonika, which Paul was addressing in the book of 2 Thessalonians 2.  Notice that he told them that the Antichrist would be revealed first, which is another sign, but now I want to focus on these wars.

Does the bible speak of wars that just might look like Tribulation wars, but which might actually occur at some other time?

Yes, it does.

At present I am aware of two wars that really look like they could be a part of the Tribulation period, but the timing of which actually appear to occur shortly BEFORE the Tribulation begins.  These wars are the Psalm 83 war, and the Gog and Magog war, of Ezekiel 38-39.  Amazingly these wars are mutually exclusive; The nations that attack Israel in the Psalm 83 attack, are not involved in the Gog/Magog war, and actually are listed as nations who protest that invasion. (Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish)

Neither of these wars are a part of Armageddon, since Armageddon involves the whole world, and these are limited local wars.  No, there is a relationship between them, which is consecutive; the Psalm 83 conflict comes first, and then several years later, after a time of peace and prosperity, the Ezekiel 38-39 war occurs.

These wars centre on the nation of Israel, and will be used to set-up the Tribulation period, but are not a part of it themselves.  They look like the Tribulation, and will be viewed as being the Tribulation by many professing Christians.  These are the deceivers Jesus was referring to in Matthew 24:5.

There will actually be world leaders involved who could be said to be fulfilling the roles of major players in the biblical account, such as an antichrist and a false prophet.  I wrote about this in my article about the Denver International airport.  These are decoys, meant to distract from the coming Antichrist.

You may be thinking “this is a reach”, and “are there any other places in Scripture where such a decoy-Tribulation is alluded to?”  I’m glad you asked.  Yes, there is.

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”  1 Thes. 5:3

In the midst of this passage of the End-Times, the people of the world are thinking that they are about to enter a time of world peace.  Remember how we started, with the words of the Lord, that “there will be wars and rumours of wars”?  In this case, why would they be expecting a time of peace?  The best answer is that they have been through the wars Jesus was speaking about, which looked like the Tribulation to them, and now they think that they are at the end of the Tribulation.  They believe that the Messiah, the Christ, has come, and he will lead them into the millennial reign.

This is why Jesus said “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” Luke 12:40

Most people take this to mean that Jesus will return at a time when people have forgotten Him.  Notice the “ye” in this passage.  “Ye” is a plural form of “you” and here refers to the people who are reading the bible at that time.  He is not saying that the world will not be thinking about Him, rather He is saying that professing Christians will expect that He will not return!  This is because they have a faulty eschatology!

Yes, your eschatology does matter!

But, why would professing Christians not expect the return of the Lord Jesus?  This is because they think He is already here, in the person of the Antichrist!

In other words, they know the Beast is not Jesus Christ, but they think the Beast is here in the “spirit of Jesus Christ”, so Jesus Himself has no reason to return!

This is what happens when you allegorize Scripture, you can take it so far that you will end up supporting Christ’s greatest enemy!  This is why it is wrong to spiritualize Scripture; how far do you go before you stop?  The eschatologies that rely on allegory, like A-millennialism, Preterism, and Post-millennialism, are set-up to fall into the trap of the Antichrist.

In order for Satan to make the world think the Antichrist is here in the “spirit of Christ”, he will have to take them through a period of time that appears to have been the biblical Tribulation period.

Years ago Grant Jeffrey spoke about the dams on the Euphrates river, and how it is now possible for the nations on the Euphrates to shut off its flow by the use of these dams.  As I remember, he was pointing to this development in relation to Revelation 16:12, to say that this might be how the Euphrates will dry up to allow the kings of the east to invade Israel at Armageddon.

I think this is a deception of Satan, which will be used during the Gog and Magog war, to shut off the Euphrates to allow the invading nations to invade Israel.  This event will be one of the reasons people will point to the Gog/Magog war to say that it has been Armageddon.

The problem with this idea is that the event in Revelation is a result of a devastating drought, and not the result of some dam workers, or soldiers, shutting the flow of water off.

I remember Jeffrey, and other teachers talking about how, maybe helicopters might be the creatures referred to in Revelation 9:10, with a sting in their tail.  This will also fall into Satan’s trap, for the beings in question are demonic entities, and not some man-made machine, but the use of helicopters in the Gog and Magog war could lead some to identify them as being fulfilment of this prophecy.

The kings of the east?  Don’t forget that there are millions of Muslims in Indonesia, and other Asian nations.  These are descendants of Gomer, and variations of that name appear throughout parts of Asia, such as Khmer of Cambodia, and they will join in the Gog/Magog war.  Their presence in those armies will be interpreted as being the kings of the east, of Revelation 16:12.  They are not, but they are a deception of Satan, to confuse the Gog/Magog war with Armageddon.

The “kings of the east” is actually the kings “from the rising of the sun” (Greek, apo anatolés héliou) While the author of the cited article thinks that this means the kings of the whole earth, I think that God was looking forward in time, to a time when Japan joins China to engage in a “police action” in Israel.  He is correct that the whole world will be involved, but there certainly will be a contingent from China and Japan.  Thus, a war involving other Asian nations, but not Japan and China, could not be Armageddon.

These are examples of how many will interpret the events of the Psalm 83 war, and the Gog/Magog war, as actually being events of the Tribulation period itself.  They will be wrong to do so.  Amillennialists are certainly in this camp, since they believe we are in the millennial kingdom now, and thus the next prophetic event will be the Gog and Magog war of Revelelation 20:8.  The confusion between this and the Ezekiel account will lead to their downfall.

As Jesus said about these wars, “see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Isn’t he saying that the Church will still be here for these events, but the “end”, the Tribulation itself, is not here quite yet, thus Christians should not be surprised that they are still here?

Dan Knezacek

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2013 in review

Posted on December 31, 2013 by dknezacek

I was amazed and humbled by the statistics about who has viewed this blog over the last year.  For those interested to see who’s watching, you can click on the link below.

Thanks to all who have visited, and may God bless you in the coming year,

Dan

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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The context of Ezekiel 38-39

Posted on December 27, 2013 by dknezacek

From time to time I receive questions or comments that I think deserve more than just a response on the page in question, or the answers would be interesting to more than just the correspondent.

I received such a question the other day regarding my article “Gog and Magog war a Church-age event“

Brother Dan, you have apparently bought into the prevailing view of 
the vast majority of dispensationalists that Ezekiel's Gog-Magog 
invasion is a premillennial event and entirely separate from the 
Gog-Magog invasion described in Revelation 20, which couldn't be 
further from the truth.  Frankly, I stand amazed that this great 
prophecy is almost universally misunderstood despite a mountain of 
Biblical evidence to contradict the premillennial majority view.  
Since you apparently count yourself as one who has connected the 
Biblical Gog-Magog dots correctly, tell me, if you can, the context 
in which the Prophet Ezekiel received this great revelation.  
Frankly, I don't think that you can.  So prove me wrong.
Charlie

Not having access to the majority of Premillennial Dispensationalists, I am not aware that the majority view is that the Gog and Magog war is a pretribulation event. I have read several articles that still say that it is a tribulation event. I remember being at a prophecy conference led by Grant Jeffrey, back in the early 90s and he said that he was beginning to think the Gog and Magog war could be a pre-tribulational event.

After doing my own study I came to agree with him, and have found further evidence than what he presented, at that time, to support that contention. In fact when I read the Ezekiel 38-39 account now the whole thing screams “Pre-Tribulation” to me!

In any event, the majority of professing Christians hold to the Amillennial interpretation of eschatology, not Dispenastionalism at all. While I would agree with Dispenastionalists on the pre-Tribulation rapture of the Church, and a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, many Dispensationalists hold to the idea that pre-Christian saints were saved by keeping the law, which is a direct contradiction of Scripture and really pure heresy.

All the Old Testament saints were saved by grace through faith, and not by works of any kind, so I am not certain that I qualify as a Dispensationalist, although I would consider myself a co-traveler with them on many points of doctrine.

The question of whether the Gog and Magog invasion of Ezekiel 38-39 is the same event as the Gog and Magog attempt at an invasion, in Revelation 20, hinges on some basic principles of bible interpretation.

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Proverbs 30:5

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:4

While there are some superficial similarities between the two passages there are many more differences, which I will get to shortly.

In the mean time, what about Charlie’s question about the context of Ezekiel’s war? Are Ezekiel’s personal circumstances relevant to the interpretation of this passage? Does it matter if Ezekiel wrote this as a captive in Babylon, or as a prophet in Israel?

The relevant context is actually found within the passage itself, and is separate from, and independent of, Ezekiel’s circumstances.

The passage starts thusly; 1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

So the passage itself says nothing about where Ezekiel was when the Word of the Lord came to him, because it is not relevant to the subject matter. It is addressed to Gog, the chief prince of Magog, Meshech, and Tubal, but the time and place is not addressed. A few verses later the time is addressed;

8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that isbrought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

So the person identified as “Gog” was not yet born when the prophet wrote this passage, but it is addressed to him. In fact the timing is identified as “after many days” and “in the latter years”, indicating that the events addressed in the passage would not occur for many years.

He then states that this will not occur until Israel returns from the nations of their diaspora, and is dwelling safely in their own land. Such a situation has not occurred yet in history. Israel has lived under constant threat from the late 1800s, when the modern zionist movement began, up until the present day. Israel’s time of peace is still yet future.

This is thus an End Times prophecy. Up to this point I think Charlie would agree with me.

Unlike most dispensationalists, it is my contention that Israel’s time of peace will occur during the Church-age, in the aftermath of the Psalm 83 war. Evidently Charlie believes that Israel’s time of peace will not occur until the millennial reign, thus he believes that the Ezekiel Gog/Magog account is at the end of the millennial reign, and synonymous with the Revelation 20 Gog/Magog account.

If “Gog” is a name, then Charlie would pretty much have to be correct, however, if Gog is a position, then the two Gog accounts could be separated by a large period of time, like a thousand years. It is my contention, and the contention of most dispensationalists that “Gog” refers to a position, thus, different persons can occupy the same position in different times. Gog appears to be equivalent to “president”, “king”, or “leader”.

Let’s look at the passages and you will see that the two wars of Gog and Magog have a different immediate context;

“And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.” Ezekiel 38:16

So there will be heathen people on the earth when Gog goes after Israel. This would hardly describe the world of the millennial reign of Christ. There will be unsaved people at that time, for sure, but they could hardly be called “heathen”. The armies of Gog and Magog, who come against Israel at the end of the millennium, will know exactly who they are coming against; the Lord Jesus Christ! After a thousand years of benevolent rule, they will misjudge Him, but they will know that it is Jesus who they are rebelling against.

God’s purpose in bringing Gog and his armies, against Israel is to be “sanctified in Gog”. This does not mean that the world, or even Israel, will be saved at this time, but they will know for sure that there is a God in Heaven and that He is interested in what goes on, on the earth.

“Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” (verse 23)

This brings us to another point; It is God who brings the Gog of Ezekiel’s account against Israel. It is someone else who brings the Gog of Revelation 20 against the Holy city; Satan.

Isaiah speaks about the millennial reign, and states; “Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.” Isaiah 54:15

Note that the Lord clearly states that this group of nations will come against Israel, during the millennial reign, but it is not Him who will lead them to do so. Revelation 20:7-9 clearly shows that it is Satan himself, released from the bottomless pit, who leads this rebellion as his final act of rebellion.

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom isas the sand of the sea. 9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”

This is clearly contrasted with Ezekiel 38:4 where God declares that He is the one who will bring this Gog against Israel; “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:”

If God brings one group of armies against Israel, and another group comes against Israel, but it is not God who brings them, then it is clear that these are two different events.

Notice Gog’s motivation in Ezekiel And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

Notice that Gog is not thinking about the leader of Israel. If Jesus was personally ruling Israel at the time, Gog would certainly consider who it was who he was coming against. This is more evidence that Jesus Christ will not be ruling Israel at the time the first Gog makes his appearance.

Revelation 20 does not say why that particular Gog comes against Israel, only that he is led to do so by Satan. The answer is obvious; here, at the end of the millennial reign, the world will be coming to the end of the most prosperous and peaceful age in its seven thousand year history. Gog the second, will be coming to protest the upcoming destruction of the earth! He will have a bible, and he will know that time is almost up.

Satan will blind him to the consequences of his actions, but these people will have such a love for the magnificent cities and civilizations they have built, that they will be coming to demand that the Lord allow the present earth to continue. They may threaten violence if He doesn’t, but they won’t get the chance, for this will be the end of this earth!

God is not a democrat, and He does not give-in to threats!

“10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.”

The first verse of the next chapter explains what this means; The earth and the heavens will disappear at this time.

Which brings me to the next point; There will be survivors of the Ezekiel account;

“And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:” Eze. 39:2

One sixth of the armies that come against Israel at this time, will survive to return to their nations. There could hardly be survivors when the earth is destroyed. The fire that destroys the armies in Revelation 20 will destroy 100%, even the earth will not survive! What about the saints? It is a side issue, but they will probably get their eternal bodies at this time. The dead armies will be dead only for a short time as they are about to be resurrected for the Great White Throne Judgment.

In the same vein, the people of Israel will burn Gog’s weapons, and perhaps the fuel of his weapons for seven years. There would be no place for them to burn those weapons, and no weapons or fuel, if the earth was destroyed at that time;

“And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:” Eze. 39:9

There will be nothing of this world left to go into the eternal state, and if there was it would have to be set aside as the Great White Throne Judgment went on, as people were thrown into the lake of fire! Such a thought is ludicrous!

“11 And it shall come to pass in that day,that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the nosesof the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon–gog. 12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.” Eze. 39:11-12

Once again, someone will take the time to bury Gog and his armies. It will take seven months to accomplish the task, and they will also change the name of the valley to “the valley of Hamon-Gog”; hardly necessary if the earth was destroyed at the end of this Gog/Magog war. The second Gog will be destroyed by fire from heaven, as the earth itself is being destroyed.

What else will happen as a result of the first Gog’s defeat?

“And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.” Eze. 39:21

The first Gog/Magog war will occur during the Church age, shortly before the beginning ot the Tribulation, and God is stating here that those who perish during the Tribulation will have no excuse, because they have seen God’s handiwork at this time!

Another thing that my friend has missed is the fact that it is at this time that God calls the last remnants of Israel back to the land;

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;” Eze. 39:25

In the early verses we see that those living at peace and security in Israel, have returned from the nations, but now we see that not all have come back just yet. It is the victory of this war that gives them the confidence to return. They will convince themselves that this has been the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, and now it is safe to return. This is actually a delusion. This is the “hiss” that God says he will use to call them back.

“I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.” Zechariah 10:8

In our modern lexicon the word “redeemed” has come to mean “saved”, but this is not the original meaning, nor the context of this passage. Redeemed really means “purchased”. Christ purchased them on the cross, but it will still take some time before they realize this. In the mean time they will take the victory over Gog as a sign that God is pleased with them.

Notice also that God says that Israel will come together BEFORE the time of Jacob’s trouble, the Great Tribulation.

1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;  2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Zephaniah 2:1-2

So, when we compare Zephaniah 1:1-2, with Ezekiel 39:25, we see that the Gog and Magog war must occur before the Great Tribulation period begins, because Israel is not completely gathered until after that war.

But God says He will have mercy on the whole house of Israel at this time. Well, that is because this time will coincide with the fullness of the Gentiles. Now is the time of the rapture of the Church (at the end of the Gog and Magog war), and now He will revert to dealing with the world through Israel. Now he will lift off the veil that covers their hearts, and there will be a revival the likes of which the world has never seen!

Yes, the bible does indicate that 2/3 of Israel will die at this time, (Zechariah 13:8) but it is entirely possible that some, if not many, of the dead, will die at the hands of the Antichrist, because of their stand for Jesus.  Those who do will be with Him forever, and will return and reign with Him for the millennium.  Look at it from God’s eternal perspective.

No, the only way that the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39 could be the same war as the one found in Revelation 20 is if words have no meaning.

Dan Knezacek

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Turkey’s New Ottoman Empire

Posted on December 19, 2013 by dknezacek
Disclaimer: The author intends these articles to assist the reader in understanding the End Times prophecies of the Holy Bible. There is no intention to provoke hatred towards any group, tribe, or nation. Even the family of the Antichrist deserves to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The book of Revelation states that there will be members of every tribe, nation, kingdom, and tongue, in Heaven! It is the hope of the author to provoke Christians to witness of the love and forgiveness of God toward all who will listen! It is his hope that we will share in the joy of seeing even family members of the Antichrist himself, in Heaven with Jesus!

Sometimes it is so amazing how articles, and subjects, just seem to fall into my lap!  I was wondering how to follow up my last article and then I read some of the provocative statements by Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish prime minister Erdogan

In an election speech, Erdogan stated that parts of Thrace, the Balkans, and Bulgaria belong to Turkey.  Evidently, Erdogan has dreams of reviving the Turkish Ottoman Empire!  While he didn’t say so at this time, the Ottoman Empire used to control Syria, Lebanon and Israel, indeed It was a huge empire that controlled most of the Mediterranean sea!

Ottoman Empire 16-17th centuries

Well, if this is the platform upon which Erdogan hopes to be re-elected upon, what does this development bode for the future?  What if he pursues his promises?

For several years I had puzzled over the fact that Turkey is not listed in the nations of the Psalm 83 confederacy, but is there in the Ezekiel account (Togarmah, the Turkmen tribes).  In recent years, Turkey ended their military cooperation with Israel, and then became hostile and openly supported the Palestinian terrorists.  Then they drew closer to Iran.  It was looking like Turkey would want to join the Arabs in the Psalm 83 war.

Of course that can’t happen, but how would they be kept out of it?

Well, it seems that they may be embroiled in another conflict, and too busy to assist the Arabs at that time!

Clearly this would be classed as a “rumour of war” (Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7), and it definitely has the potential to develop into a full-blown war.

Don’t forget that Turkey did have the nerve to invade the island of Cyprus in 1974, and still occupies 40% of it today, in spite of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which ended Turkish claims on the island.  Today it appears that Britain and the US have less resolve than they had at that time.  The US president, Barrack Obama is a good friend of Erdogan, and is not likely to intervene, as the US did in the Balkans in the early 1990s.  I wonder if this is the message Obama has been communicating to the Turkish prime minister?

No, the US has been the world’s policeman, and now that they are showing a lack of resolve, and even friendship to despots, it will encourage aggressive action on the part of nations who would otherwise restrain themselves.

Just before I close, I am reminded of the ten kings of Revelation 17.  Clearly these ten “kings” each have a kingdom.  As I have demonstrated in The Spirit of Prophecy, these ten kingdoms will actually encompass the whole world.  They are not local, Middle-Eastern, or European nations, but each region will be represented by at least one of the ten.  Could it be that Turkey is attempting to assemble one of these super nations?  If they are, they might find more success by talking to people first, instead of demanding, bullying, and threatening!

 

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I Predict…(part 2)

Posted on December 15, 2013 by dknezacek

As I noted last week, there are more predictions one could make, based on the biblical End Times prophecies. Preterists and Amillennialists really don’t make a whole lot of predictions, although some Amillennialists do believe that there will be a seven year Tribulation period before Jesus returns, but they say that the Church will have to go through it!

If you have read that article or any of my numerous articles on the Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39 wars, you will know that those who follow the Amillennialist, and Preterist, interpretations are being set-up to fall into Satan’s delusional trap as the End Times approach.

Let me start off by saying that no, I have not seen a vision. I believe that we can predict certain events by interpolating between biblical prophecies, and comparing them to what is going on in the world. Knowing where we are going makes it easier to see how we will get there.  And so, I will stick my neck out!

One caveat; Don’t attempt to make the bible fit current events, rather, we have to see how current events fit in the bible’s timeline. For instance, many are trying to interpret the current hostility between Iran and Israel to indicate that the Gog and Magog war is imminent. On the contrary, the Psalm 83 war is closer than Ezekieo 38-39, and something must happen first to prevent Iran from attacking Israel in the immediate future.

What could that event be? I am not certain, but it could be a devastating Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, aided by the Saudis. The Saudis are Ishmaelites, and under this name are listed in the attacking nations in Psalm 83, so we can see that any alliance between Israel and the Saudis will only be temporary.

What would be the response of the Iranians to an Israeli attack, aided by the Saudis? There is no love lost between these two nations, but they have the common goal of destroying Israel. Would the Iranians immediately retaliate against Israel? I doubt it; their aircraft are old, obsolete American airplanes, which wouldn’t stand a chance against Israel’s modern air force. Would the Iranians join with the Arabs in attacking Israel, shortly after their pride and joy, their nuclear program, was destroyed by a Saudi/Israeli attack?

Would Shiite Iran even be invited to participate in an attack on Israel, by the Sunni nations? The possibility is remote.

Whether or not the Iranians intend to use their nuclear technology for beligerent purposes, the program itself gives them a tremendous amount of pride. Should the Saudis assist Israel in destroying that program, I am sure Iran will not respond in too friendly a manner towards Arabia.

This is not the only wound to Iran’s pride on the horizon.

Iran is the proud sponsor of the Alawite government of Bashar Al Assad, in Syria, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both of these Shiite groups are under pressure from Saudi supported Sunni rebels, and I am sure you are aware of the two year long civil war in Syria.

The Shiite aligned groups, in both Syria and Lebanon, will fall to the Sunnis in the not-too-distant future.

I can also see the Saudi government falling to the Muslim Brotherhood, shortly after they assist Israel in attacking Iran. There is already pressure from the Brotherhood in Saudi Arabia, and such a cooperation between Israel and the Saudis would surely be used as a pretext for revolution. Any cooperation with Israel would rouse a great deal of Muslim indignation. Furthermore,such a revolution would, no doubt, be supported by the Obama administration, as it was in Egypt. Israel is already talking to the Saudis even as we speak!

Which brings me to Egypt. The military leadership of Mubarak, and the current administration, has cooperated with Israel in securing the border and curbing terrorism. This is a serious sin in Islam. So serious, in fact, that the US has cancelled its military aid to Egypt, forcing the leadership to seek aid from Russia. The Military government of Egypt is on borrowed time. The day will come when Egypt will once again come under the thumb of the Muslim Brotherhood. This would also explain why Russia will not be a part of the Psalm 83 war. Russia has been supporting Assad, and the Military government in Syria.

Before the Psalm 83 war, the Russian interests in the Arab world will suffer many major setbacks, to the point that Russia will not support the Arabs in their attack on Israel. We can already see this situation developing with the Russian support of Assad, and Egypt’s military.

The Muslim Brotherhood may be down, but they’re not out… not by a long shot!

Those who have been following this blog for some time will know that I believe the Antichrist will come from the royal family of the nation to the east of Israel. With the Muslim Brotherhood also aiming at this nation, one might ask “If the Muslim Brotherhood takes over this nation, and deposes the king, how could the Antichrist come from their royal family?”

I’m glad you asked.

The descendants of Edom, Moab and Ammon are a big part of the Psalm 83 confederacy, being represented by all three founding tribes; Edom, Moab and Ammon, leaving no doubt that the nation to the east of Israel will participate in that attack on Israel. If their royal family is on the throne at that time, there is no way any of them would be chosen to run that nation under Israeli, or even UN, oversight. If, however, the Antichrist and his family are removed from the throne before that war, and perhaps even voicing public opposition to that war, from afar, then they will be looked on favorably by the Israeli leadership, and indeed, by the world, once the war is over.

It is likely that the Antichrist himself will be one of the voices protesting the Gog and Magog war, found in Ezekiel 38:13, represented as one of Sheba, Dedan, or Tarshish, most likely from Dedan. (Tarshish is likely a reference to Tartus, the Syrian port on the Mediterranean, which will become the capital of Syria after Damascus is destroyed during the Psalm 83 war.)

I can therefore predict that the Muslim Brotherhood will also be successful in this nation, before the Psalm 83 war.

There are a number of princes in the royal family of the nation of Esau’s descendants, so it is impossible to say which one might become the Beast, but it is likely that he would not be the first choice, which would indicate that he will not be the first son of the king. Daniel 11:21 seems to indicate that the Beast will sneak in, under the radar, as it were;

“And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries”

Some of their princes are quite young, as of this writing, so if it is one of them in view, it still might take several years before all of these events play-out.  I am not happy about this!

Hosea, however, indicates that the time of the End Times might just be a few years away yet;

5:15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

This is the Lord speaking in verse 15. Notice when he says the timing for His return begins; the countdown begins when he goes back to His place. When did Jesus go back to His place? It was not at His birth, and not even the cross, but 40 days after His resurrection, at the ascension. When did the ascension take place? No one really knows, but we can narrow it down to some time between 28AD to 33AD.

What about the “two days”? Do you think He meant two literal days? Peter told us what He meant by “days”, in the exact context of the return of Christ;

4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. … 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:4 & 8

Hosea’s days are not 24 hour days, but thousand-year-long days, and thus we can be assured that the End Times are associated with a two-thousand year timeline, which began at the Lord’s ascension and will end in the next decade or two. But what if He returns in 2036? Does that mean my interpretation is wrong? No, only out by a couple years or so. I have not given you a day nor an hour, only a window of opportunity. Don’t forget that Hosea indicates that He will not return until after the two (thousand year) days are over, not at some time close to the end of the two days.

That being said, however, this does not mean that the End Times events could not start before the two days are over. It is likely that the End Times events will start several years before the Rapture of the Church. There is nothing in the bible that says that either the Psalm 83 war, or the Gog/Magog war must occur during the Tribulation period itself. Both fit better during the closing years of the Church Age.

Now, what about Obama? What will his reaction be if Israel goes after Iran’s nuclear program?

Obama, and his administration, consistently act in the best interests of the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama supported Egyptian president Morsi, in spite of the MB abuses; never said a word while Egyptian churches burned, yet cut-off aid when Morsi was arrested. The Muslim Brotherhood has gone underground in Egypt, but will Obama support them when they show up again? You can bet that he will.

IMG_9865.jpg

So what will be the American response when the IAF goes after the Iranian nuclear program? Remember that the P5 +1, led by the Americans, in early December 2013, have come up with an interim deal with Iran. This deal is officially intended to curb Iran’s nuclear program, though in reality it does nothing of the sort.

An Israeli attack would be looked on as an insult by the west, especially Obama. So can we expect these same western nations to come to Israel’s aid when the Arabs attack? I don’t think so.  Israel’s attack on Iran will be used as a pretext to isolate and abandon her.

I really think that the US has led this agreement with Iran expressly for the purpose of goading Israel into action. All the words about “Israel, we have your back” are meaningless fluff, meant to lull Israel into complacency, except that the fact that they don’t have Israel’s back, is too obvious for the statement to be taken at face value. I think they are manipulating Israel into doing something they don’t have the stomach to do themselves.

The truth is, the American administration’s Middle East policy is completely devoid of logic and reason, unless their purpose is to destroy Israel. They say “Israel, we have your back”,  but then turn around and push Israel to divide their ancestral land, and retreat to indefensible borders. Don’t forget, once you retreat to indefensible borders, it is rather difficult to get them back if things don’t work out.

Ultimately their deal with Iran is a stab-in-the-back to Israel. While the sanctions were working in bringing Iran to the table, now Iran is emboldened to continue their push toward a nuclear weapon, leaving Israel no choice but to act.

Key nuclear sites map

Iran’s Key Nuclear Sites

No, as I have said before, Iran will not attack Israel with a nuclear bomb. It is God’s purpose to bring the family of Israel back to the land, and they certainly won’t come back if there is the spectre of a nuclear holocaust hanging over that land. No, God will move in someone’s heart to remove the Iranian nuclear threat. Of this we can be certain. Who, and how, are the only real questions left to be answered.

Dan Knezacek

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I predict…

Posted on December 5, 2013 by dknezacek
Disclaimer: The author intends these articles to assist the reader in understanding the End Times prophecies of the Holy Bible. There is no intention to provoke hatred towards any group, tribe, or nation. Even the family of the Antichrist deserves to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The book of Revelation states that there will be members of every tribe, nation, kingdom, and tongue, in Heaven! It is the hope of the author to provoke Christians to witness of the love and forgiveness of God toward all who will listen! It is his hope that we will share in the joy of seeing even family members of the Antichrist himself, in Heaven with Jesus!

Over the last few days, as details of the P5 +1 deal with Iran have been coming out, more and more thinking people are becoming outraged at this betrayal of western society, by our leaders.  It is clear that western leaders do have the intelligence that says the Iranians intend to build a nuclear bomb.  Iran’s continued cooperation with North Korea in the testing of an ICBM is proof that their nuclear program is not peaceful in nature.
Thinking people, of whom there are few left, are anticipationg, with dread, what comes next.

Iran has explicitly stated that they intend to destroy Israel, even as recently as the week before the deal.  It appears that Obama agrees with the Iranians, that Israel is the problem in the Middle East, and he is giving them the time they need to build their bomb.  John Kerry’s recent statements about the Israeli Palestinian peace process indicate that he too agrees that Israel is the problem.

As Caroline Glick points out in her article, Blind Watchmen,  shows that there are numerous people in the upper levels of Israel’s military, and government, who still want to give Obama, and Iran, the benefit of the doubt!

There is no shortage of opinions on the subject, but what most of the commentators ignore, is the Word of God.  Most people, even Christians, seem to think that we have to figure it out by ourselves.  The truth is that everything we really need, about the End Times, is actually there in the bible, but most of us dismiss it when we read it, because we are not listening to the Holy Spirit when He speaks to us.

As in the time of Moses, He still speaks in a still small voice, as you read His Word, and it is so easy to let the world drown Him out.

Take Psalm 83, for instance.  How many millions of people had read that psalm before one man realized that it has end-times implications?  Well, Bill Sallus found it, but because of his prior beliefs, he still tried to fit it into the Dispensational End Times scenario.  Specifically, he tried to place it within the Tribulation period, after the rapture of the Church, but it just won’t fit there.  There simply is not enough time in a seven year Tribulation period, for the Psalm 83 war, the Gog and Magog war, the rebuilding of the Temple, the abomination of desolation, and Armageddon.  And, this is not to mention all the other End Times events of both the Old Testament as well as Revelation.

Both the Psalm 83 war, and the Gog and Magog war, of Ezekiel 38-39, fit better as Church-age events.  In fact I believe Jesus was referring to these wars when He said “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6

You see, Jesus was always referring to the Old Testament Scriptures.  He never left us alone to guess what He meant!  As He said on another subject  “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” Matthew 22:29  The truth is, this statement applies to every subject touched by the Scriptures.

I have recently noticed that numerous prophecy scholars are pointing to the current Russian alliance with Iran, and Turkey’s friendliness with Iran, as a sign that the Gog and Magog war, of Ezekiel 38-39, is imminent.

Compared to the last 2,000 years, it is becoming imminent, but I still think there will be several years before that war commences.  The truth is that not all of the conditions of that war have been met.

For one thing, Israel is not a land living at peace, and cannot be said to be a “land brought back from the sword” (Eze. 38:8).  With the Security Barrier currently under construction, to keep out Palestinian terrorists, it cannot be said that Israel is “at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,” (Verse 11).

Before the Ezekiel 38-39 war ensues, Israel’s Security Barrier must come down.  This means that the Gog and Magog war is NOT IMMINENT.

As you read through the Ezekiel account, it becomes apparent that the Gog/Magog war is a surprise attack.  In other words, Israel will not have reason to suspect that an attack is imminent.  Given the current state of Iran’s nuclear program, and the recent statements by leading Iranian Mullahs that they intend to destroy Israel, and Iran is the worlds largest state sponsor of terrorism,) mostly aimed at Israel and Jews!

Last year Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Kamenei was reported to say “The great powers have dominated the destiny of the Islamic countries for years and… installed the Zionist cancerous tumour in the heart of the Islamic world,”

While I believe that Iran really does want to destroy Israel, I am certain the Israelis believe so also.  In order for Israel to let down their guard, Iran must embark on a long-lasting charm offensive.  It will take years before Israel would stand down and let down their guard.

Ezekiel indicates that Israel will let down their guard, and so we must conclude, once again, that the Gog/Magog war is still years away.

Again, considering that Israel has nuclear weapons, yet the Ezekiel account does not speak of such warfare, it is likely that Israel will disarm their nuclear arsenal before the Gog/Magog attack.  But, why would Israel disarm their nuclear program?  The best answer is that they will disarm their nuclear program after having already used some of them during the Psalm 83 war!

The bible speaks of the destruction by fire of Damascus, Lebanon and parts of Egypt. (Isaiah 17:1, 19:17, and Zechariah 11:1).  I believe the evidence is that these prophecies are the result of the attack in   Psalm 83.  Israel will wait until they are almost being pushed into the sea, and then they will unleash their nuclear arsenal against their attackers, and I support them in this.  The land belongs to the Jewish people, and any Arab who lives there needs to acknowledge this, and all others who live there are guests.

Because of the horrors of the Psalm 83 war, the Arabs will sue for peace.  They will relinquish all claims against Jerusalem, and Israel will finally control most of the land God has promissed them… all the way from the Euphrates to the Nile!  As a result of this peace, both Israel and the Arabs will become prosperous!

Because of the horrors of the Psalm 83 war, someone from Europe will broker a peace treaty between Israel and the Arabs, and a part of that treaty will be that Israel must relinquish her nuclear weapons, and the Arabs also, will disarm.  They will be able to do this, for another reason also;  Europe will guarantee their security.  This is why I say that the European leader at this time, will be a decoy-Antichrist, and the pope will likely be a stand-in for the false prophet.

As the Arabs suffer such a massive loss of face, with such a serious military disaster, many of them will abandon Islam.  The Muslims with a Jewish background, (their ancestors were forced to convert to Islam or die), will return to the God of their fathers.  Others will turn to Christianity, or the New Age.  Those who remain Muslim will be nominal Muslims only.  The result in Iran will be different.  Iran will blame the Arabs, because Islam fosters racism, even against other Muslims.

Still, Iran and Russia will not attack right away.  First, they will need to ascertain that the Israeli nukes are gone, and then they really won’t want to attack a land infected with nuclear fallout and devastated cities.  No, they will not attack until they see the prosperity of Israel in the wake of the Psalm 83 war, several years later.

Europe will be another problem for the Gog/Magog coalition.

In light of Europe’s deal to provide security for the region, the Russian/Iranian coalition will have another problem to deal with.

As I said before, when Europe has guaranteed to provide security for Israel, then the Russo/Iranian coalition will have to neutralize Europe as they advance on the Middle East.  This is where I see the destruction of Rome.  Rome will be neutralized by another nuclear holocaust, and the pope and European leader with her.  Being leaderless, and having their own tragedy to deal with, they will not impede the attack on Israel.

I believe many Christians will look at this attack as being the destruction of the Harlot of Revelation 18.  It isn’t.  It is one of Satan’s meticulously created decoys.

Before this occurs, look for the European Union to shrink in size down to about ten nations.  I expect the productive nations of Eastern Europe will likely form another union, which may not be a part of this war.  If it is, it might surprise many which side it is on.

The ten nation European confederacy will NOT be the ten nations of Revelation 17, but Satan will do his best to make it look like it is.  He knows a thing or two about prophecy.  After all, he has had more time to study it than any of us!

So, does what I am describing look like the biblical Tribulation period?  It should.  Satan will work very hard to create the illusion of the Tribulation.  Once again this is why Jesus said;

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. Mat. 24:6-8

Why would Jesus’ followers be troubled at just any war?  Christians have been through hundreds of wars throughout history, but this time it is different.  This time it looks like it is the Tribulation.  Something like the Tribulation will occur while the Church is still on the earth, but it isn’t the Tribulation because we are not objects of wrath!  He won’t forget about His own!

This is one of the major errors of Dispensationalism; the idea that there can be no fulfilments of prophecy while the Church is still on the earth.  There can be, have been, and there will be more, and yet the Rapture of the Church is still a Pre-Tribulation event!  Having said this, I must say that Dispensationalism, on the subject of the pre-trib rapture and the seven year Tribulation period, is still closer to the truth than Amillennialism, Post-millennialism and Preterism.  These latter three are actually attacks on the character of God!  Dispensationalists, in spite of their errors were at least sincerely searching Scripture, and they did indeed find valuable teachings (treasures) that most had missed.

There are actually several other predictions I would make, regarding current events in the Middle East, based on my understanding of the bible’s End Times prophecies, but I will save them for my next post.

In the mean time,

Shalom, and God Bless,

Dan

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