VERY GOOD & BLESSED MORN’ EVERYONE. MAY THE LORD BE WITH YOU.
Soon after awakening and mulling over how relevant the Bible is today, I recollected my personal motivation and what Jesus says about our reward for using ‘talents’ He gives each of us for being about Kingdom ‘business’, as taught in His ‘End-times’ discourse on the Mount of Olives in Matthew 25:14-30 (NKJV)
Later, upon booting up my phone I find those thoughts CONFIRMED …👇
SELAH.
In view of a recent debate about End-times prophecy I’m reiterating this blog’s stance, as published more fully in Precedence of Prophecy and Theology of Politics (21.12.22). This matter is not covered in Introduction To Prophecy located in the About Prophecy hub. Continue reading
In his third annexure to Simplicity, Neil Mackereth asks and points out:
WHY IS THE BOOK OF REVELATION SO IMPORTANT?
10 KEY POINTS
1. It is the Culmination of The Bible Story. The denouement.
Could you imagine the Bible ending with the one-chapter book of Jude?
2. It Shows Jesus in His glory – As King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So awesome that even His close friend John fell on his face as if dead when he saw Jesus. We know Jesus as prophet, teacher, priest, healer and so on – but here we see Him in all His glory.
3. It Provides Knowledge: to Defeat Misinformation. A challenge to false prophets and false doctrine.
4. It Provides Knowledge: to Help us Understand World Events. Revelation shows that God foreknew, He is in control, and His plan will not be thwarted.
Current events: Israel, 1948 and following; moves towards a new world order – a world economic system and a world governmental system.
5. It Provides Knowledge: to help us be pathfinder guides and watchmen for Israel.
6. It is a Basis for Evangelism.
It is my contention that the incredible significance and glorious wonder of so much fulfilled prophecy in the Bible, is so “undersold” that it indicates the church has been duped into veiling parts of the Word of God Any other prophetic book that was so absolutely accurate over so many events over such a long period of time, would be hailed and revered in awe and wonder by the secular world.
7. An antidote to complacency.
We now know enough to not be caught unawares.
8. Future Focus: it prepares us for what lies ahead.
Revelation tells us more about our eternal home and condition, rather than our current temporary state – more about the significance and urgency of the choice we, and all people, need to make.
9. Worship.
A book full of worship, and how to worship – 11 major songs that have inspired a multitude of hymns and choral works, songs etc.
10. Because God tells us it is Special!
It is the only book in the Bible that blesses the reader and the hearer (Rev 1:3) John wrote it as he saw it and heard it, which may account for its unusual style – he was continually being reminded to write down what he saw and heard, and then told not to change it! – Reveleation 22:18-19.
Neil Mackereth 21 May 2020
Continue End-Times Briefings.
Briefing 11’s Introduction to the Book of Revelation draws to a close by its author, Neil Mackereth, stating “Apocalyptic works seek to inform the reader about aspects of an End-Times drama. The grand climax of the Bible is imminent — that is to say, it could happen at any moment…” He reminds us, “The Bible explains that two absolute powers or principles operate in the universe…In the book of Revelation (and the whole Bible), God himself is the ultimate source of all that is good; Satan and his followers refuse to submit to God and are the ultimate source of evil. This ethical dichotomy underlies the conflict within the book of Revelation”.:
OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION
The Prologue provides essential information for understanding the meaning and structure of the Book of Revelation. “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.” (Rev. 1:1–2).
Apostle John conveys to his first-century readers the unveiling of Jesus. It’s something like the showing of a video of a Monarch and his court. The Book of Revelation is written for Christians who understand the language of a faith unique to Christian experience. But given the complexity of the metaphors and images, even “insiders” have difficulty understanding Revelation. However, anyone can grasp the basic message: Jesus is going to return to earth, overthrow Satan’s evil empire, reward his faithful followers, punish those who reject his Lordship, and create a new heaven and a new earth.
From the very start, it is abundantly clear that God holds the Book of Revelation to be of paramount importance.
Revelation continues with 7 letters dictated by Jesus to John for distribution to the churches at: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. The letters, which summarise positive and negative aspects of these representative churches, have stood the test of time. They were written over 1,900 years ago but signpost conditions and circumstances that continue to exist in churches today.
The pattern of the letters is fairly consistent. Each is addressed to a specific church, followed by a particular characteristic of Jesus. Then comes positive comments (none for Sardis or Laodicea) and negative comments (none for Smyrna or Philadelphia), and advice to each. The letters close with an entreaty that the readers will open their ears and hear, and with a promise to ‘overcomers’, which is different for each church.
These letters are relatively straightforward and understandable (which is not to say that we shouldn’t look for help to “unpack” their full meaning!).
From chapter 4 onwards we move into an altogether more challenging series of visions that are filled with symbolism, allegories, metaphors, imagery and other such figures of speech and apocryphal language: to try to interpret the Book literally would be to miss its meaning. Some scholars argue that there are seven visions each of which is linked to a matching day in the seven days of creation in Genesis (ie. that the order of events links the beginning with the end).
The timing and sequence of events can be difficult to follow. This is in part because the very act of writing things down gives them an order that may not be intended. Some of the actions recorded are clearly happening simultaneously.
I have the impression that John (Jesus’ scribe) is seeing visions on a huge scale (like vast paintings) and trying to scribble down what catches his eye, without necessarily having time to arrange and classify the information. It is clear that there are two or three sections that are digressions or parentheses from the central narrative.
Furthermore, the unusual style, which is not in character with John’s other writings, may have remained ‘unedited’ because of the very strong warning against alteration given in Rev. 22: 18-19. These verses show us again that Revelation is both unique and of huge significance: no other book of the Bible has such a ‘health warning’!
In simple terms, Revelation shows that:
JESUS WINS!
Neil Mackereth 21 May 2020
Continue End-Times Briefings.
Following the previous post on what’s claimed to be contemporary observations by Pontius Pilate of Jesus Christ, I must ask – do you know Him yet? IF you don’t, and want to discover who Jesus really is then run this 3 minute clip.:
But before that, you may be asking, Is there a God?
Click on that question-link to a site helping us think about whether or not God exists, and wherein Eric Hatfield challenges with questions and information upon which firm answers can be based. For example, his blog’s post of 19 Aug ’12 introduces an in-depth consideration of claims for miraculous healings, as on this search.
To find out how to become a Christian click that link and browse the site, or even take 4 Simple Steps on getting to know God personally (study app also available).
This brief book review of Heaven Is For Real tells of a child’s encounter with Jesus and a follow-up confirms Colton’s memory and shows what Jesus really looks like.
Finally, or firstly(!), listen once again to Dr Shadrach Meshach’s Lockridge’s wonderful way with words as he describes where God came from and asks “Do you know Him?” – then he tells us about Him.:
PERSONAL (from this blog’s page Do You Know Jesus?) Continue reading
First published in the early years of this blog and annually thereafter for blessing new readers:
In preparation for the Holy-days’ weekend Nina creates a tableau for contemplating Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. She’s inspired about what items to collect and arrange, usually including a rock with a central hole eroded by the sea and which we found on a beach. It serves as both the ‘skull’ and garden tomb of Golgotha. For example, the above display has a scarf as a ‘river of life’ flowing out of the empty cave/tomb below the cross. In 2012 it gave an insight that I’ll share below.
Maundy Thursday is celebrated as the night when Jesus and the lead-disciples ate an early Passover Seder, or meal (video explanation). Following the meal, one disciple betrayed Him by leading Temple guards to capture Him at night for trial by a ‘kangaroo’ court of Jewish leaders. It was a foregone conclusion that they’d demand authorisation of His death from Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect, or governor, of Judea.
If you’re unfamiliar with this true story and how it led to Jesus’ gruesome torture, death and burial followed by his amazing bodily resurrection and appearance to His disciples, read doctor Luke’s investigative account and the personal account of Jesus’ closest disciple John. (Later, a Jewish leader violently opposed to them but who encountered Jesus en-route to Damascus would write He was seen simultaneously by over 500 – read 1 Corinthians 15:6)
HEAVEN & HUMAN HISTORIES’ PIVOTAL TIME
Jesus Christ died so that each of us may be forgiven for our sins. As a result of this new status, we can have direct personal access to Almighty God when we believe in Jesus Christ. As the Son of God, Jesus suffered on our behalf as our ‘scapegoat’. That is, Jesus took the place of death that we deserved because of our sinfulness, for the shedding of a sinless one’s blood was the only way our status could be changed for us to gain personal salvation. Apostle Paul put it thus to the Romans:
8But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:8-11, NIV, see whole chapter.)
Now, when I was a new Christian I found that rather hard to understand – but it works! The theological term is ‘atonement’, or ‘substitutionary atonement’. In bringing forgive-ness to the guilty, however, this can cause deep problems for those who’ve been the victim of crimes. After all, why should a killer find forgiveness by God? And what about the victim’s families, or the victim of abuse? They find it very hard if well-nigh impossible to forgive.
In 2012 I heard a Portsmouth prison chaplain address this issue with a concept taken from the criminal justice system: restorative justice. This involves an active dialogue between victim and offender, plus reparation. And it has a sound basis in theology. How?
Jesus was a guiltless victim, directly of those who wanted Him killed, and indirectly of everyone’s ‘fallen state’ of sinfulness, which could only be rectified by His death.
And Almighty God, the Father, is a victim too. How? He’s victim of humanity’s rebellion against Him. For example and especially over the way religious leaders murdered His son – how they seethed with rage when Jesus denounced them! (read Luke 20:9-19). So, every victim can find an identity and affinity in both God and Jesus Christ in their situation. Hence, they can receive God’s own ability to forgive because He will help them choose to forgive those who’ve harmed them. [Lack of forgiveness may be the only thing that hampers God – see Matt 6:14-15]
A TABLEAU IN TIME
During contemplation upon the tableau illustrated above, an insight dropped into mind that the Resurrection created a distinct point in the flow of, or perhaps even a change in, Time itself. That is, the now termed ‘common era’ calendar is the medieval Christian one that counts years from the approximate birth of Christ as ‘anno Domini’. But in fact, a more powerful one would be the point at which things in heaven changed and thus affected our lives on earth and its ultimate role in God’s scheme of creation. This took place at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, His revival to life from death itself.
That such a concept may be valid can be found in the discoveries about the material of ‘The Shroud of Turin’, the shroud in which Jesus was thought to have been carried and covered during His interment. It is of most astounding significance when examined from the view-point of modern physics.
Apart from the supra-natural or spiritual aspect, that unique, singular event could have naturally happened by means of a ‘singularity’ (a theoretical gravitational effect associated with ‘black holes’, eg. as may have been the starting point of the creation of the universe, or ‘Big Bang’).
Don’t take my word for this but consider that of Dame Isabel Piczek (deceased 2016), famous as a monumental artist and award-winning figurative draughtswoman. Her highly detailed analysis of theories about how the image on the shroud was formed is authoritative, as in the first of several detailed articles here.
Also, as a physicist who may have considered implications from a quantum mechanics standpoint, her conclusions about how the image was formed are most intriguing: it seems that the image of Jesus can only have been created by its hovering equidistantly above and below his reclining bent corpse. Furthermore, this necessitated the body’s levitation – perhaps not an impossible feat during the moment of the Resurrection power-blast? After all, the disciples had witnessed Jesus walking on water and were yet to see His levitating into the clouds!
Dame Isabel succinctly summarises:
“We have a piece of cloth and it leads us to a mysterious gate which opens for us, and it lets us see a completely different world, an extraordinary world with extraordinary laws.”
Consider these claims by reading those articles and watching this 19 minute of extracts from the DVD The Fabric of Time (with its own lead-in trailer). There’s also a discussion of her scientific opinion at In Case You Missed Isabel Piczek’s Wonderful Paper.
‘Coincidentally”, just after having read the last link and revised the preceding references to science (post published 5 years ago), I’m alerted to theoretical physicist Mehki’s new post on ‘black holes’ and ‘event horizons’ (see Looking to the Horizon). The discussion thread has a valuable contribution from ‘physicalrealityblog’ that’s pertinent to the Shroud site’s discussion of Dame Isabel’s analysis and indirectly reconnects it back into quantum physics!
2017: ‘Coincidentally’ amusing that bloggers ‘hidden’ on opposite sides of the world (Britain and New Zealand) were preparing items on the fabrics that Jesus Christ was buried with – the full-body shroud and the head linen – in Joseph of Arimathea’s private tomb. My post updated on Wed 12 April 2017 was scheduled on Thurs 13th for auto-publication Sun 16 April. On Good Friday 14 April Joanne Rolston published news of the ‘Sudarium’ in AB-solute Proof – The Blood That Speaks.
Moreover, bizarre anomalies in scientific instruments placed on the slab of stone in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, purportedly where Jesus’ body lay, have been reported.
2019: Am grateful to unknown source of this image:
Link: The Shroud of Turin website
PS: 9 April 2024 – an in-depth consideration broadcast Dec 2023:
Watch and absord Dr Shadrach Meshach’s Lockridge’s deeply stirring exhortation…
In the next post we’ll further consider the true identity of Jesus The Messiah …
[First published Good Friday 2017]
According to Steve Maltz, author of God’s Signature, the only time the sacred, personal Name of God was spoken by the ancient Israelites was during worship in the Temple in Jerusalem, and especially on the Day of Atonement when the High Priest pronounced it ten times.
The Talmud has many warnings about using the most holy Name – it is also regarded as having special powers of healing. Apparently knowledge of its pronunciation was lost after the fall of the Temple in AD70 prophesied by Jesus Christ.
The knock-on effect of that event, together with the Roman Church’s withdrawal in the third Century of financial support for churches in the Holy Land founded by Jesus’ own ‘kith and kin’ (‘desponyni’), was the great loss of a full understanding of the Church’s Hebraic roots. Hence the confusion and doctrinal disagreements over Jesus’ claim, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:10).
Digging deeper we encounter an astonishing revelation of that double-identity!
From translations of Hebrew, the post-Shakespeare English-speaking world referred to God’s Name as ‘Jehovah’ or ‘LORD’ (letter ‘J’ was then starting to replace ‘i’). However, Jews preferred well-known descriptive titles such as ‘Elohim’ – God, in all the fullness of His attributes; ‘El Shaddai’ – Almighty; ‘El Sabaoth’ – Lord of heavenly hosts; or Adonai’ – Lord, and more often than not the reverent term ‘Ha Shem’ (The Name) sufficed.
Scribes, or sopher, needed to take special care in praying before writing the holy name, which must be done without interruption. Were a mistake made, it must not be corrected but the whole page discarded and the page restarted. Numbering had to be carefully handled too because Hebrew characters represented both letters and numbers. So the logical way of writing 15 is to add a yod (ie 10) to a hey (ie 5) and likewise for 16 (a yod to a vav). But this never happened because, as part of the sacred name, they could accidentally be read as this name. The Holy Name is shown below, but read from right to left:
“Yod-Hey-Vav-Hay” first appears in Genesis 2:4 statement ‘The Book of Beginnings’ is the account of, “When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens”.
This Name was first revealed when Moses encountered God in the burning bush after he’d asked Him whom should he tell the Israelites had sent him to get them out of their slavery in Egypt.
“This takes the meaning of “I will be”…(which) shares a similar three-consonant root with YHVY in Hey-Vav-Hey and Hey-Yod-Hey…and as they’re related are both ways of describing God”.
Hence, my liking to describe God as “Always” and “Now”, the latter being used by Charlie Shamp too.
HOLY FATHER-SON UNION REVEALED & THE CRUCIFIXION FORETOLD
As in those preceding links, literary Hebrew developed out of pictographic forms that represent gestures and their meanings. We logically surmise both original visual and later written forms were known to and, therefore, used by the Lord in communicating with Abraham and his descendants through Issac and Jacob, and used by Moses and his scribes in compiling the first five books of the Bible.
Comparing the literary and pictorial forms of the name Moses heard and recorded as being from the Lord, we have this graphic (credit Heart To Heart):
Hebrew is read right to left, ie ‘hand-look-nail-look’, but if we read as normal left to right we find not only the Name of God describing who He is, the fullness of His character and abilities, but also its exceptional prophetic nature in it foretelling the pivotal point of His action plan for humanity: the crucifixion of His Son Jesus Christ!
BEHOLD – A NAIL – BEHOLD – A HAND
AND THIS ‘WORD’ SHOWS TWO PERSONS!
Could this indicate that Christ was hidden in the Father when Moses encountered them at the burning bush but manifested as ‘The Angel of the Lord’ or pre-incarnate Christ ? It’s worth reading Exodus 3 carefully again and note Who is speaking to Moses…
Moreover, the pictographs graphically portray God as ‘hands up’ in connection with a nail. Putting all this together into one picture we get a typical image of Jesus on the Cross at Calvary, where long nails or spikes driven through Jesus’ wrists damage the median nerves thus making His hands bend into the ‘claw position’ – just like letter Yod!!
[First posted 23.02.2022]
NB.Bible Update: Luke 21:25 – and there will be signs in-the sun posted 11 days ago.]
Those following these Briefings will appreciate the direct relevance of Sign #27 to this video and transcript, for which I’m grateful for Carolyn Stewart’s very helpful expertise.
On 27th May 2020 Revd Christopher Wickland posted this alarm or warning on what’s soon to hit the world. (To date, his November 2019 prophecy of a great humbling then spiritual revival of Britain is accurate.) As with all prophecies, please seek the Lord in weighing this vision.
In NKJV, Christopher’s Luke reference is headed ‘The Coming of the Son of Man’:
“Welcome to another thought for the day. Today I have quite a serious message and one which probably many Christians will find a little bit hard to stomach. I will start with this piece of scripture, then I will get straight into it.
“It says in Luke 21 from verse 25: “There will be signs in the sun, in the moon and in the stars and on the earth, distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. Men’s hearts failing them from fear and expectation of things coming upon the earth because the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
“The other night I was out for a walk with my wife, and the Holy Spirit really came upon me suddenly. Something happened there and one of these things that happened was that really strongly the Holy Spirit said to me,“There will be signs in the sun very soon.”
“Then he reminded me of something that happened to me, probably about 12 years ago. I was on the train going to Portsmouth Grammar School, where I taught at the time in those days, and as I was on the train I fell into like a trance. I know it sounds really weird, but it was a state between sleep and being awake. I remember looking up at the sun, and suddenly the sun changed colour from yellow to green, and there was an ear‑shattering crack of thunder across the whole sky, and then the whole of the city that I was stood in, I was looking around, with people running and screaming because of this cosmic sign in the sky, and people were terrified and in fear. And then BOOM, I suddenly came to with a start.
“I believe the time is coming now, I believe the Holy Spirit was saying to me, even this morning while I was in the shower, “Tell the people that the Sign in the Sun is about to start.” And I don’t know whether that will be soon, as in like weeks, months, or even years….I don’t know. But I believe the Holy Spirit said to me that the signs in the sun will start to commence.
“This will be something, I believe, on a world‑wide level – everybody will see it – and it will defy the laws of physics!
“The sun will do stuff that the sun just shouldn’t do!!
“And this is a sign, both to the nations and a sign to the Church. And it’s a sign to the nations that they have to repent. And it’s a sign to the Church that we too need to repent and actually get on our knees, and really take seriously the times in which we are living in, because the times that we’re living in are more wicked and more dangerous than we actually can even conceive.
“We are like frogs…We are being put in a little bowl of water, and the water has got hotter and hotter, and we as Christians are being boiled alive right now, but we don’t even know it. This is a reality of where are at.
“During this time of lockdown I have really been seeking God’s face a lot more. And the thing that I’m becoming more and more impressed with by the Spirit is that we are in trouble; in that our nation has turned to such liberalism, where we justify the murder of innocents, where we justify taking away the virginity of our children in their minds, where we justify so many wicked things, where the laws of the land have become an abomination to the things of God and His Word. Where now even churches are turning in droves away from the things of the Gospel and moving into the things of liberalism and of the world. We are in great trouble!
“Now I know a lot of you watching this are thinking, “Woah! This guy, he’s lost the plot.” Maybe I have, I don’t know. But I have to be faithful to what I believe God is showing me, and I remember so vividly that vision of the sun changing colour, and the crack of thunder that ricocheted across the sky, and the terror that fell upon everybody.
“Because God is a good God, why would He do such a cataclysmic sign? Well for the Church it’s to “Wake Up!”. And for the world it’s “You need to repent. Time is running short. You cannot carry on living in wickedness and depravity much longer before the Great Tribulation comes to you!. You have to repent. Now is the time!”
“The Bible says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ Now is the time. And when those signs, as prophesied, as I read in the opening scripture, in the sun will start to appear ‑‑ and I believe they are coming soon ‑‑ then it is a time of warning for the Church, because the Church ‑‑ we’ve become indifferent to the things. We look around our world and go, “Yeah, that’s okay. We know it’s going on.”
“But we need to be on our knees. We need to be praying more fervently, more harder, more gut‑wrenching, heart‑felt prayers at this time in history, now more than any other time in history to date, because we are at the epoch of the most horrendous of things, and we look around and we’re not even aware of how horrendous it is because we’re acclimatised to the wickedness of the world in which we live in. But the Sign in the Sun will be God’s mercy to His Church to wake us up. Now, I don’t know if this is months, weeks or even years way. But this is what I believe God showed me, this is what I believe the Holy Spirit told me to say and to warn us: time is running out, and it is a time to take our faith seriously. God bless you.”
a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature – of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen – of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’.
Readers will recall pastor Wickland’s miraculous recovery from a fatal heart attack last November free from consequential brain or heart damage after being effectively dead – see Was Pastor’s fatal heart attack to prevent God’s warning to Britain and apostate church?. Only days before he’d recorded an accurate prophecy on a great humbling of Britain and then a spiritual revival, but which got overlooked in the upheaval of events.
Continue End-Times Briefings
This post, one of my first blogs in November 2011, later featured on the Home page to inform visitors of the acceleration of prophetic fulfillment, as may be inferred from the links to confirmatory events two years later:
As you may have gathered from my Welcome, I’m into eschatology – the theological study of the destiny and judgement of nations and all people, even angels! It’s about ‘The Last Days’, as in the ancient Torah’s description: Acharit Hayamin, ie. ‘Last of the Years’, and were regarded as the years immediately following Jesus’ ministry. They’re more popularly known in Christian circles as the ‘End-times’.
Come with me to one of my favourite video classes where (the late) Dr Chuck Missler is asking his students, “Why Eschatology?”
“It is very practical”, he answers himself and explains:
“Apparently, we’re being plunged into a period of time about which the Holy Bible says more than any other period – including the time when Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee!
“Now that’s a preposterous statement – and I challenge you to challenge my statement! To do so you need to do two things:
1 Find out what the Bible itself says about this and – this is a bit harder,
2 Find out what’s really going on – but you won’t get that on the ten o’clock news!
“Fortunately, thanks to the internet, the alternative press and to talk-radio you can do some homework and find out what really is going on. The more you do those two things the more you’ll understand why many scholars are extremely excited about the horizon we’re moving into – because it all deals with the return of Christ to rule earth.
“It really is remarkable how controversial this topic is, but there are:
“You may not believe what the Bible says, but what’s utterly astonishing is that so very many claim to believe in Jesus yet have no grasp of the idea Christ is to literally return and rule!”
I respect Chuck for frequently stressing that we shouldn’t take what he says as ‘Gospel’ but always do a ‘Berean check’ per Acts 17:11; that is, to search the scriptures to find out whether or not his ideas line up with them. Also, I admire his public apology for admitting that, having long taught about an anticipated Middle Eastern war from a certain scriptural stance, he’s gained a better understanding from other passages. So Chuck explained why he’d changed his mind. For more information visit his website at Koinonia House.
What are we to do when mainstream news doesn’t help? To find out click Not on The 10 o’clock News. [Since blogging this in 2011, heavily biased news has proliferated as a psychological warfare dictating news and denouncing non-MSM as disinformation with intention of governments curtailing independent journalism.]
PS: (20.3.24) From Behold Israel re post-October 7th 2023 Atrocity:
The following posts are just a few examples among many of subsequent eschatalogical developments since Chuck’s video:
Continue reading End-Times Briefings
So far we’ve considered the Who, Why and When we’re to watch. Now to the rationale of this blog, as stated in its title’s strap-line, ‘Looking for the signs of Jesus’ return‘ and we examine what Jesus told us to look out for:
WHAT?
Omitting Jesus’ prediction of the destruction forty years later of the Temple in AD70, here’s a selection of signs stated in the first Gospel (Mark 13), and as augmented by Matthew (chapter 24) and Luke (chapters 17 & 21) plus insertion of Paul’s first and follow-up letters to believers in Salonika, to whom he stressed the origin of his teaching; ‘For this we say to you by the word of the Lord…‘
Jesus said, “Take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.“
Details from The Apocalypse, the book recording ‘the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants’ penned by His apostle John, will follow later.
IS THE END NIGH?
Not necessarily! I’m not of the alarmist brigade because, in my humble opinion, Jesus is coming back for a bride who’s ‘made herself ready’, which I understand to be a church that has been restored to move fully in the ‘greater works’ – one that has arisen with the glory of the Lord appearing over her and piercing the ‘thick darkness covering the peoples’ (see Revelation 19.7, Acts 3.21, John 14.12 and Isaiah 60.1-2). YET, it may be just over the horizon!
There’s clear indications this preparation is already happening through many ministries. Jesus did say, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16.18).
On praying to our Heavenly Father, He instructed us to petition, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” (Matt 6:10).
The Lord’s Kingdom rule has yet to come in its fullness so, in my opinion, a reworking – even a significant sifting or pruning – may be necessary as the Lord finishes building his Church and believers make themselves ready for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Next, in End-Times Briefings read an expert’s extremely excited opinion in Briefing 4…
The above listing covers prophecies from the New Testament only, but not completely. For my blogs on prophecies from the Old Testament visit Bible Updates, Daniel, Ezekiel and Gog-Magog links.
Knowing the ‘who’ and ‘why’ for watching for the End-times, we must consider timing:
WHEN?
Jesus’ major End-time teaching was given immediately after leaving the Temple with some of His disciples and He foretold its complete destruction, which was fulfilled about 40 years later with the infamous Roman siege of Jerusalem.
Jesus on the Mount of Olives:
As He sat on the nearby Mount of Olives, two sets of brothers (Peter & Andrew, James & John) asked Jesus to expand upon that prophecy, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” (see Mark 13, Luke 21, Matthew 24).
He answered in some depth, and by examination of the details we can conclude that not only does Jesus describe later events in that First Century but also those of a much later time, one yet to come but which is now at the door!
So Jesus did – but didn’t – tell them precisely “when”.
In talking of that future time however, He tells them a parable about the appearing of leaves on a fig tree – which many believe refers to the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel.:
“So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it (or ‘He’) is near – at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place..But of that day and hour no-one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
“Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is…Watch therefore…I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:28-37 NKJV emphasis mine)
Other passages of the New Testament imply that He, or Holy Spirit, subsequently gave those leading disciples, and Saul of Tarsus who became Apostle Paul, further insights on the approximate timing of those signs, as below:
Peter Preaching in the Temple:
Soon after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven and the Holy Spirit falling in flames of fire upon the prayer group of about 120 believers (Acts 1:!5), Peter and John went to the Temple at the hour of prayer. You may recall the account of their stopping to heal a lame beggar “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” – it led to everyone heading for the Solomon Portico to become ‘filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him’!!
Peter was then inspired to preaching about it not being either him or John who’d done the healing, but faith in Jesus’ powerful name and he reminded them about how badly the leaders had dealt with Him. So Peter called all the people to:
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since time began…” (Acts 3:19-21 – my emphasis.)
So there’s a huge contribution followers of Christ have yet to make across all spheres of society towards such restoration – we’ve hardly started; not to mention both human and demonic opposition – but however do we restore ‘all things’? We must conclude that only The Almighty is able to bring about the ‘restoration of ‘all things’ – and doubtless in the manner Zecharia prophesied to governor Zerubbabel:
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit”, says the Lord of hosts. (Zech 4:6 NKJV)
Although we need to beware of false prophets, Acts 3:21 implies that the Lord will keep His prophets informed of His intentions in bringing this about (Amos 3:7). Hence the important relevance of contemporary prophecy.
Paul Writing to the Thessalonians:
We know from Acts and accounts in Paul’s Epistles that this Apostle to the Gentiles was blessed with visions of and revelations from Jesus Himself as, for example, in the main scripture quoted by ‘pre-Tribbers’:
‘For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
‘For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.’ (1 Thess 4:15-17 NKJV)‘But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.’ (1 Thess 5:1-5 NKJV – emphases added)
As modern history attests, Palestinian/Gazan leaders have been defiantly intransigent over any so-called ‘peace plan’ with Israel and, like Iran and Hezbollah, want to wipe Israel off the face of the map! Even so, let’s keep watching!
Note: UN’s theme for 2017-18 was ‘Together for Peace, Dignity, Safety & Respect For All’, as outlined in Three Prophetic Jigsaw Pieces.
20th CENTURY ‘KICK-START’
Although our focus is upon New Testament prophecy, we must not overlook not only that Jesus taught the parable of the ‘Fig Tree’ but also within our lifetime Old Testament prophecies of the future of the Jewish people were fulfilled by the stunningly rapid establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 – as recounted below:
Ten Scriptures Prophesying Israel’s Rebirth – Neil Mackereth
With Jerusalem no longer being “trampled down by Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) after the 1967 Arab-Israel war, that earlier date of 1948 could be regarded as ‘kick-starting’ the fuller aspect of the End-times.
Next, in Briefing 3 we consider what we are to watch out for that’s yet to come…
[Click for listed links to End-Times Briefings]
[Image by courtesy of Elaine Tavolacci https://awordinseason.info/]
In view of current events it’s time to reconsider the End-times foretold in the Holy Bible.
The mini-series published in February 2018 and filed in the main menu for reference purposes was preceded by a couple of re-blogs referring to one of eight eschatological scenarios – that is, on the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Along with a theology blog’s debate, I was prompted to expand upon one of this blog’s earliest entries – ‘Why Watch?’
So now, lets’ reconsider the ‘Who, Why, When and What’ of our watching:
WHO?
Messiah Jesus Himself is the WHO and is thus the basic reason we should be watching for. because He instructed His followers to do so.
YET the ‘Who’ includes you, me and everybody alive – including unbelievers! SO, If you’re not familiar with who Jesus really is and the fact we can be in a close, loving relationship with Him, then dip into my question: “Do You Know Jesus?”
WHY?
For me, a totally unexpected and very spectacular, life-changing event in 1989 made watching very personal and connected into relevant, directive scripture. (Years later I realised that it was truly a blessed foretaste in every way of His ‘Second Advent’.)
Then in 2008, wanting to check Jesus’ parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew 13, I opened my Bible and IT EXPLODED! as I heard:
“This is ALL about to be fulfilled!”
Thus impelled, in February 2009 I began emailing friends and church leaders on current events and prophecy in The Endgame Is Now In Play, wherein I write:
‘Jesus urged His disciples to look out for and observe signs of the times. Regarding their questions about His return at the end of this Age, the earliest Gospel account has Jesus stressing 7 times, “Watch…be alert…on your guard“ (Mark 13). Matthew 24 reports Jesus saying 4 times, “Watch…and when you see…” followed by the parables of the burglar (Jesus coming “like a thief in the night”) and of the virgins > “Don’t be caught napping!” (is the Church still asleep?).
Luke’s account has, “Be always on the watch…” at Luke 21:36 and chapter 12 (NIV) has sections on watchfulness and interpreting the times. In each Gospel Jesus commands, “Learn the lesson of the fig tree…”. Also, the Apostles went on to give more indicators (Acts 3:20-1, Hebrews 12:26-7, 2 Peter 3, 2 Timothy 3 and the first and second letters to the Thessalonians).’
It’s claimed that for every OT prophecy about Jesus Christ’s birth and life there’s seven to eight times as many about His eventual return or ‘Parousia’, also called ‘The Second Advent’ or ‘Second Coming’. I’m of the opinion the likelihood of that event in our lifetime is rapidly increasing !
Jesus stressed the great importance of His return. Eg, His instruction to the four who’d been with Him from the outset of His mission is given at Mark 13:33-37 (NKJV):
“Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.
“Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming – in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning – lest, coming suddenly, he finds you sleeping! And what I say to you, I say to all, ‘Watch!’.”
That’s why I’m watching and, believer or not, you too are included, as is implicit in Jesus’ admonition: “I say to ALL…“
So, watching for Him is and always has been THE ‘inclusive’ activity – and one with divine warrant!
How Can We Be Sure?
You may object and say, “But even if that’s an accurate quotation it’s only guesswork”. That is, prophecies don’t always come to pass. First, in synopsis only, I offer this key to foretelling the future.:
We’re privileged to learn what Almighty God has decided is to happen. He shared his plans with a select number of ancient sages, or prophets, over a long period that started 29 centuries ago, and several centuries before Christ. Amidst extensive instructions He told the prophet Isaiah:
“For I am God and there is no other, I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand and I shall do all My pleasure’…” (Isaiah 46:9-10 NKJV)
In fact, some years before Isaiah the first of the ‘writing prophets’ had received a distinct word about God’s intention to divulge His plans. This is recorded in Amos’ scroll at the seventh verse of the third chapter (in modern notation):
“Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”
MOREOVER, 10 OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES WERE FULFILLED OVER TWO MILLENIA LATER WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN 1948, as Neil Mackereth writes in his two-part article’s Annex published on 4 April 2025.
Next, in Briefing 2 we learn about when we’re to be watching for whatever’s coming >>
[Click for listed links to End-Times Briefings]
We trust these words on Veronika’s Ignite Ireland Ministry Facebook will bless and encourage you mightily:
First, yesterday’s:
”Rising, Shining Remnant: A Divine Recovery and Rescue Mission Is Underway”…
I heard the Spirit say this; “Watch!…As I make My Church,..Relevant again through My Rising, Shining Remnant in this hour,…Watch!…How My Whirlwind moves to dismantle and to completely demolish the Old Wineskin of Religious Tradition and Man made Institutions that have only brought disdain and discredit to My Holy Name,..
Watch!…As My Rising, Shining Remnant goes forth into the places of Increasing Darkness to bring Divine Illumination,…Supernatural Revelation and a Great Revealing of Who I AM…and Who I have created them to BE…for Such a Time as This”…!!!
Get Ready,…For We are the Rising,..Shining Remnant that God is training and raising up by His Spirit in these Days,..A Mighty Remnant Army Called,…Anointed and Appointed to Pursue,..to Overtake and to Recover ALL…; For We are Sons and Daughters Mantled for a Divine Recovery and Rescue Mission in the Nations of the Earth..!!!”
Now, this morning’s:
”New Sounds of Glory are Rising and the Unlocking of Ancient Mantles for a New Kingdom Movement”…
..”Beloved,..I have New and Living Sounds that you must receive in this hour,…Sounds that will bring you into the place of deeper Encounter with My Glory,…but I say,..you must first hear the New Sound frequencies of My Spirit,…then I can release it to you,…
I say Come up here,..Come Up higher,..I say Come Deeper,…for New sounds of My Glory will go before you in this next season to break open and to forge New Pathways of Provision and Divine Purpose…
Listen,..for New Sounds will come forth from the New Mantles that I am placing upon My People,…for these are Ancient Mantles for Such a Time as this,…
Listen!…For there are Virgin Dimensions of My Glory that are now opening up to those that have Clean hands and a Pure heart,…Yes!..These are the Deeper Realms and Dimensions of My Glory where the Mantles of the Ancients reside,…
Again I say Listen!…For the tuning fork of Heaven is descending into the midst of the chaos and confusion that has tried to oppress My People,…For Now there is a Sound of distinction that is being released in the midst of Warfare and Birthing,…a Sound that will break open the Womb of the Wells of Revival within the Nations…
A Sound that will unlock the Doors that lead to the corridors of My Glory where the Secrets and hidden mysteries of My Kingdom are revealed and received by My Sons…
I say to you,…Get Ready,…For I am giving you New Sounds and New Mantles for Greater Assignments for the coming days,..Watch!…Be Still!!!…And you will hear the Sounds that are being released from the deeper realms…Do you hear it?…Do you see it,…For you must hear the Sound First,…and then you will See it,…If you See it,..you can Catch it!…
Listen!…New Sounds…and New Songs are now Rising,..Sounds and Songs that will Mantle My Remnant with Garments of Pure and Radiant Light that shall bring a glorious Illumination in the darkness,…and Kings and all Nations shall be drawn to the brightness of the Light of My Glory that is now Rising…
I say,..the Sounds that I am releasing to you in this hour will bring divine Re-alignment that will Set in place New structures and systems of Supernatural operation that will bring forth the strategies for Greater Kingdom Mobilisation, ..Victory and Freedom…
Watch!..For I am re-igniting,..re-setting and re-synchronising your spiritual senses in this hour,…for you will See,..Hear and Move in a new way;…Your Eyes will be opened to see with greater Clarity, insight, Supernatural understanding,…and your feet shall move and dance to the Sound of a New drum-beat,…
Watch!…For the New and Living Sounds that I am putting within you will bring forth a New Movement in the earth that will cause the Kingdoms of this World to be shaken loose and overthrown…
Watch!…For I will call you out and into the place of deeper encounter with My Presence,…that I may develop within you a New Rhythm and a New Frequency for a New movement in the days ahead….
I say,..Let the New and Living sounds within you collide with the Ancient Mantles that are coming upon you,..Watch as I send you forth Mantled for War to bring a death blow to the destructive plans and purposes of the devil that are assigned to the Nations of the Earth” !
AMEN, SELAH
Continued from previous – which please read first…and now play this 1:34 minute video as you read this post… Continue reading
On the third day, the Verse of the Day explains a blogging delay…
OH such serendipity, or ‘God-incidence’, relating to the second and first days (Thursday and Wednesday) along with its preceding three verses (NKJV):
Spiritual Wisdom
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory…
On the second day, my at-the-desk brain-drain day got diverted when the Lord turned on His GPS to direct me away from my blogging goal to go along and far beyond the ‘Bridge Over The Pond’!
On the first day, moreover, He’d stunned me as my spirit was in worship whilst my mind in prophecy!
So come with me back to Wednesday evening and join me as we relax in our lounge with our Lord in mind.
As it’s Nina’s choir practice day with Encore Choirs I decide to play a 2008 dvd of 3-hours powerful worship (two sessions) on TV whilst commenting on our house group’s WApp. It makes for elevating background as I add to our discussion on the teaching at 3Counties Vineyard service on Mark 1:14-20.
Also, as my plan for the ‘morrow’s blog-day is to update the vision Veronika West had of Barack Obama playing a game of Jenga Tower with Donald Trump, I want to play a new video by Tomi Arayomi sharing what he saw about the Obamas. So I pause the worship dvd whilst fast-playing his broadcast on my laptop.
Now that’s over I put the worship dvd back into play…but spot a notification from a prophecy group on my device… AWESOME, simultaneous God-incident….as recounted in the next post….
[Endless Bridge by Evgeni Denev, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]
Whilst musing over our heavenly Father’s majesty I was reminded of this verse, and on booting up my PC I found Chris G Bennett had only just posted on Facebook…
SEEK FIRST
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 KJV
You know, some lessons are simple and easy to learn. Others are more complex and therefore harder to learn. Not many are as easy and simple as this, yet virtually never learned!
You hear the mantra at nearly every prayer meeting – “We want revival.” “Lord send revival.” “Give us revival, God.”
This is actually in direct disobedience to Matthew 6:33 – “Seek FIRST . . . “ The main problem is we either seek second, or third, or not at all but we almost ‘demand’ revival! Many don’t bother with this first step at all, they just boldly announce “We’re having revival – here – Sunday and Wednesday!”
Goodness gracious – the sheer arrogance of that, presuming upon God almost like He is there to do their bidding, in their time, and to their agenda – ‘here first and nowhere else!’
Wake up Church! Yes, the Lord wants to revive us. Yes, He wants us to receive the great blessings of an outpouring of Holy Spirit, but on His terms – not ours! Revival is a sovereign move of the sovereign God by His Spirit, in His timing, where He wants it – and no other way!
Yes, I and many others believe He will send revival this year, is already doing so, and we also believe it will last for some considerable time. Yes, there will be wave after wave after wave of revival but – successive waves may stay in the same place, or they may move to another place. The Lord alone will decide the what, where, when, who, and why – not us! And that will be decided by who stewards revival the way the Lord wants it!
This is why Jesus told us to “Seek first the kingdom of God, and HIS righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Emphasis mine)
To me, it really is as simple as that! Seek His face, not His hand. Seek Him while He may be found! Seek His righteousness, His holiness, Him personally, His Kingdom – and the rest will follow. That’s His promise to all of us.
The Lord has just told me where and how I must be seeking Him this year, starting in His Word. I believe He’s going to be a bit more selective about who He asks to steward or carry revival this time around. So, If we’re truly serious about wanting revival, then we’ll start by seeking Him and His kingdom, His presence in our lives – first.
Then we might just see revival!
CGB
Then the angel said to the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night,
“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the City of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord…” (Luke 2:8-14)
+ + +
My dear readers, have a ‘Mega-merry’ and blessed Christmas, as may be inferred from the OT Hebrew word ashar (Strong’s #833, as in Proverbs 31:28 on the virtuous wife), meaning:
‘happy, blessed, prosperous, successful, from original root ‘be straight, upright’.’
Better still is New Testament Greek’s makarios (Strong’s #3107), which means:
‘from root mak, indicating large, or of long duration…happy, supremely blessed, a condition in which congratulations are in order. It is a grace word that expresses the special joys and satisfaction granted the person who experiences salvation.’
This ‘Blessed’ is used in The Beatitudes, or the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5. (Details New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Executive editor. Dr Jack Hayford.)
May it be an especially blessed night of spiritual silence and insight for everyone.
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht is an old favourite, always sending shivvers down my spine!
The above Graz choir’s version is ‘dedicated to all those who are not able to spend Christmas with their loved ones‘.
It was first sung in 1818 in Oberndorf bie Salzburg chapel. My father must have heard it during his residence in Stalag IIIA, near Dresden. Austria looked very attractive, even as seen en-route as a captive transported from the Battle for Crete (1941). So mid-1950s, we took many holidays ‘im Tyrol’ west of Salzburg, often motoring through there later.
This version by ‘Celtic Woman’ is also sublime…
Read/watch this song’s story in “Silent Night! Holy Night!” A Song for the World.
2022-23 PROPHECIES IN PROGRESS > https://t.me/PropheciesFulfilled/11876
THE TECH GIANTS ARE ABOUT TO FALL – Julie Green
Word Received: January 8, 2023′
Something is about to take place in New York City that will get the world’s attention, and great exposures will continue to pour out of that area.’
MY GLORY WILL DESTROY IT ALL – Julie Green
Word Received: June 16, 2022
“For I, the Lord, this day encourage My children to get into My presence, where there is rest. Get into My presence, where I will give you peace, joy, and recovery from the effects of all the tests, trials, discouragement, frustration, lies, and torment from your adversary. My children, sit with Me, and I will lead you, guide you, protect you, and restore you from all the damage satan has done to you. Stop being distracted with the things of this Earth and set aside time to be with Me in your prayer closets. My Children, this is the key in this hour to rise above and not be shaken by what will be seen and heard.”
GREAT DARKNESS IS COMING AGAINST YOUR ENEMIES – Julie Green
Word Received: October 5, 2022
Watch Times Square. Things are not how they appear to be.
November 27, 2023:
To play video of Silent Night in Times Square visit > https://t.me/Jack_Posobiec/36440
ON TARGET: this latest of my friend Neil Mackereth drew enemy flak whilst he was writing. In its Introduction he refers to his paper of 2021 published God-incidentally as Wow-Wotta-Wednesday: Know Our Enemy’s Strategy along with my 3,000th post – Satan Has Limited Power, by Veronika West together with a related vision.
THEREFORE, I urge my readers to weigh and pray carefully:
THE ADVERSARY
Introduction
A couple of years ago I wrote an article entitled “Know Your Enemy” in which I considered some of Satan’s tactics in striving to fulfil his grand strategy of thwarting God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. At that time my focus was on Satan’s endeavours to destroy Israel and to introduce a new world order.
Since then, things have taken a turn for the worse. A great darkness has come upon the Earth and Satan is intensifying his efforts to destroy Israel and the Jewish people.
In this article I ask: Who is Satan and why is he opposed to mankind in general, and Israel in particular?
Answering these questions requires some speculation. The comments that follow do not have full scriptural authority and should be treated with caution!
Satan
In Hebrew the word “satan” means adversary. Satan has come to be used as the name for a fallen angel who rebelled against God and sought to take God’s throne for himself. The Bible gives little information about Satan’s origins and downfall. In Isaiah and Ezekiel there are references to the fall of the “morning star”, translated as Lucifer, which some interpret as referring to Satan, while others suggest it relates to the King of Babylon.
There has been much conjecture and many hypotheses over the centuries: some suggest Satan was a very powerful (perhaps the most powerful) angel and his pride and jealousy led him to rebel against God’s decision to create man (I have not found a scriptural foundation for this theory).
Another suggestion for Satan’s existence is that God, in creating man, wanted us to have freedom of choice, i.e. not be automatons. In order to have freedom of choice (i.e. the option to choose to love, follow and obey God) an alternative has to exist! God gives us all the information we need in order to make an informed choice about the gospel of God and the reality of Jesus as our Messiah. The gospel of God will continue to be preached for as long as God ordains, and during that time, Satan is permitted to roam the Earth (has a legal right?). Again, though some aspects of this theory can be inferred (e.g., from Job), there is no clear scriptural confirmation.
Perhaps Satan’s most significant advantage is that many people do not believe he exists! His and his henchmen’s depiction, particularly at Halloween, as some sort of demonic cartoon characters, has encouraged the view that the devil and his demons are figures of fun; a mythical oddity of no significance to 21st Century man.
However, we can see from Scripture that Jesus took Satan very seriously and even though Satan’s destiny is clear, in the meantime he and his demons will make every effort to undermine God’s plan.
Satan’s Ploys
Satan knows what the Bible says and that the book of Revelation shows that Jesus will return to Jerusalem to take His rightful place on the throne of David, as King of the Jews. He will rule His people and the world from Jerusalem.
Throughout history, Satan has been attempting to prevent the fulfilment of God’s plans. Satan appears to believe that, if he is successful, his eventual banishment to “the lake of burning sulphur” (Revelation 20:10) will not happen. His ploys include:
1. Tempting Adam and Eve (and hence mankind) to sin and fall from God’s grace
2. Seeking to have the baby Jesus killed
3. Tempting Jesus to sin and so become unworthy as Saviour
4. Seeking to destroy Jesus
5. Dispersing the Jews to fragment and destabilise their national identity and/or;
6. Destroying all Jews so that Jesus has no Jewish Kingdom over which to rule and reign;
7. Preventing the re-establishment of a Jewish nation state (Israel) and/or
8. Destroying Israel or Jerusalem, or dividing Jerusalem to ensure areas, particularly the Temple Mount, remain under the control of Muslims
Satan tried the first and seemed to be successful; however, God instigated plan B (or was it always plan A – God is omniscient!). The second ploy was thwarted and the third robustly rebutted by Jesus. Satan appeared to have achieved his goal with the crucifixion, but apparent victory turned to spectacular defeat when Jesus rose from the dead. The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth ploys have been ongoing throughout history, with varying degrees of success.
However, I want to emphasise the miracle of the preservation of Jewish identity and traditions, over thousands of years, and the huge significance of the re-establishment of Israel as a nation state in 1948; and the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.
Nevertheless, the Temple Mount remains in the hands of gentiles. Zechariah 1:14-16 may be a “model” for the present situation on the Temple Mount: “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’ “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” (See Addenda below for detail)
What is the Point?
The point is that “the devil roams around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. Hamas is the embodiment of that image of Satan, roaming around to devour people. It is imperative that Christians follow events carefully, seek to understand what is happening from a spiritual perspective and encourage their governments to support Israel.
Addenda: Comments on The Temple Mount
The Temple Mount warrants closer examination. The Jews, or more accurately those practicing Judaism, consider the Temple Mount to be the place where God chose to manifest His divine presence (Isaiah 8:18, Psalm 9:11). There has been much confusion about whether the Temple Mount is on Mount Zion.
From 2 Samuel 5:6-9 it is clear that Mount Zion was a fortress that King David captured from the Jebusites. He renamed it City of David and developed and expanded the site. The scope of the City of David can be seen from modern day archaeological excavations. King David’s son and successor, King Solomon, built the first Temple on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1-2) in 957 BC. Mount Moriah is probably synonymous with what we now call the Temple Mount, though its exact location has not been confirmed.
It seems that with the building of the Temple the term “Zion” was expanded to include the Mount and subsequently the whole of Jerusalem and the people of Israel (hence Zionism and Zionists). This collective term can be seen in Isaiah 40:9, Jeremiah 31:12 and Zechariah 9:13. The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Zion became a term used for the people of God (Isaiah 60:14) and this theme continues through the New Testament (Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 14:1). Peter refers to Jesus as the ‘Cornerstone of Zion’ (1 Peter 2:4-6).
The second Temple was built, under the direction of Zerubbabel, in 516 BC and destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Jewish tradition maintains that there will be a third Temple on the Temple Mount and that its design has been prophesied in Ezekiel 40 to 47.
Sunni Muslims consider the Mount to be the “Noble Sanctuary”, the third most holy site in Islam. It is revered as the location to which Mohammad was transported for his ascent to Heaven. The Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque were built on the Mount after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 637 AD. The Dome of the Rock, completed in 692 AD, is in the middle of the Temple Mount, on the site where many (but not all!) Biblical scholars believe the Third Temple should be built.
The question remains, why is the Temple Mount still under Muslim control?
In 1967, the Jordanians, with the help of Syria and Egypt, attacked Israel. Prior to the 1967 “Six-Day War” Jordan controlled East Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, and the West Bank. Israel’s armed forces defeated the attack and occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In the aftermath of the war Israel agreed the return of the control of the Temple Mount to the Islamic Waqf (guardians of Muslim holy sites). This gesture has not led to peace and reconciliation! The Temple Mount is an enclave within Israeli controlled Jerusalem. The Muslims have been granted authority to manage the Temple Mount in accordance with their traditions, while Israel continues to have technical control of the site and monitor access. To add to the confusion, the Palestinian Authority claims sovereignty over the Temple Mount.
In Summary:
Zion was the fortress that King David captured from the Jebusites. He renamed it City of David. It is thought that the location of Zion expanded to include the Temple Mount, and subsequently Jerusalem and the people of Israel. Following the destruction of Jerusalem the name Mount Zion was transferred to its present location across the valley to the south of the walled city. While the physical location of Zion may have changed over the years, the spiritual relevance has remained constant.
The Temple Mount is almost certainly the most contested religious site in the world. There can be little doubt that Jerusalem is different and, considering its size and location, it is truly amazing how significant it is in world affairs! It is the focal point of End-times prophecy and, as mentioned above, it is imperative that we keep a close watch on all information relating to events in Israel and Jerusalem. Finally, the literalist view is that the building of the Third Temple is a major prerequisite for progress (the next step?) along the prophetic time-line of the Bible story.
Richard's Watch 