My ‘take’ on Iran vs. Israel

Posted on Thursday, 27 August, 2015 by Richard Barker

In case you may be unaware of updates to my covering remarks on Joel Rosenberg’s Iran performing its own nuclear inspections, I will briefly relate what happened. Then we’ll get to the real heart of this issue, which I’ve kept an eye on for 30 years. Kindly bear with me…

“Sheer, utter folly!” was my reaction to the eventual news of the nuclear ‘fix’ or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 (the 5 permanent members of UN Security Council; USA, Russia, Britain, France, China plus Germany) and the EU. The strength of my reaction arose from knowing the Iranian regime’s freely admitted and never rescinded ultimate goal – the downfall and removal of the state of Israel. (See for example, Cranmer’s Iran Nuclear Deal: Obama is Fulfilling Shia ‘End Times’ Prophecy.)

Public’s Positive Attitude

The re-blog attracted informed contributions from a blogger who drew attention to an issue over the source behind the original Associated Press (AP) report. This revealed the fuss was over Iranians already cleaning up a well-known but long-disused site and journalists’ lack of expertise in appreciating technical complexities. (See AP’s controversial and badly flawed Iran inspection story explained.)

The informative comments on the thread are welcomed and I’d encourage you to take a couple of minutes to check them out, as well as to see the brief video summarising the deal.

Next, I introduced MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) reports on Critical Points to Consider in Understanding the Iranian Nuclear Deal as well as Senior Iran Officials Disclose Confidential Details…

My contributor pointed out MEMRI isn’t a neutral observer and suggested reading about ordinary Iranian’s perceptions of Westerners, as reported in his site The Other Iran. (For example, see Iran’s exceptional reaction to 9/11 attacks.)

Throughout all consideration and discussions we cannot overlook the fact that There’s a Higher Plan at Work…, as Elam Ministries remind us. Their mission is to strengthen and expand Christianity within and beyond Iran. Like Hormoz Shariat’s Iran Alive Ministry, a great deal of teaching and evangelism goes direct to Iranian homes by satellite.

Regime’s Negative Doctrine

1) Then came next day’s news from the semi-official Fars News Agency reporting senior Iranian aide Hossein Sheikholeslam (parliamentary speaker’s Advisor for International Affairs) as saying – “Our positions against the usurper Zionist regime have not changed at all; Israel should be annihilated and this is our ultimate slogan.” (Emphasis RB.)

This came in response to Foreign Secretary Hammond’s remarks upon re-opening the British embassy in Tehran on Sunday following years of strained relations between the two countries. FNA stated,

“Hammond claimed in an interview with the British media that the current Iranian government had displayed a more nuanced approach than its predecessor to a long-running conflict with Israel. Also, on Hammond’s remarks in a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in Tehran on Monday that the past hostilities should be forgotten, Sheikholeslam said Tehran will never forget the past and Britain’s colonialist moves.”

2) Last month Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei published a new book called Palestine, a 416-page screed against the Jewish state. The back cover credits Khamenei as “The flag-bearer of Jihad to liberate Jerusalem”, writes Amir Taheri in Iran publishes book on how to outwit USA and destroy Israel. Rather than reach and keep a nuclear deal, “Iran’s religious leader has another issue on his mind: The destruction of Israel”.

In his forthright, well-argued Has Obama read the Khameini Palestine Book? Jonathan Tobin cites Teheri, claiming “latest evidence of the malevolence of the Islamist regime should be regarded as yet another inarguable reason for Congress to vote the deal down“.

Obama is on record as saying the anti-Semitism of the Iranian leadership doesn’t mean they were not also “interested in survival” or being “rational.” As far as the US president is concerned, the regime’s ideology isn’t something that would influence its decisions. I can only conclude POTUS lives in ‘cloud-cuckoo land’!

Both journalists are quoted in the introductory lead-in to the exclusive, first translation of Khameini’s book. Note especially Tobin’s:

‘The Khamenei Palestine book is important not in and of itself but because the regime’s obsession with Israel is a key to its foreign policy. Iran constitutes a grave threat to neighboring Arab countries that are at least as angry about the president’s embrace of Tehran as the Israelis since their nuclear status would undermine their security…it is the fixation on Israel and Zionism that really animates their expansionism and aid for terror groups. (Underline added.)

‘As Taheri notes in his article on the book, Khamenei distinguishes his idée fixe about destroying Israel from European anti-Semitism. Rather, he insists, that his policy derives from “well established Islamic principles”. Chief among them is the idea that any land that was once ruled by Muslims cannot be conceded to non-believers no matter who lives there now…(Israel’s) central location in the middle of the Muslim and Arab worlds and the fact that Jews, a despised minority people, now rule it makes its existence particularly objectionable to Islamists like Khamenei.’

3) We now go full circle back to 1980’s with last week’s The Algemeine’s report (source The Investigative Terrorism Project – since updated):

“A newly revealed video produced under the auspices of the Iranian regime in early August threatens and visualizes the destruction of Israel at the hands of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iranian Middle East proxies.”

This is not entirely new. Its purpose echoes the stunt that stunned me 30 years ago as a non-Christian and made me realise the accuracy of Bible prophecy! Therefore, let me close by summarising personal events indicative of the significance of Iran’s official hostility toward the state of Israel.

Personal Perspective

This blog’s Welcome briefly recounts how I became aware of the huge role played by Iran in ‘The Last Days’. Now and again I refer to Iran in connection with the ‘Ezekiel 38 alliance’, otherwise known as ‘Gog and Magog’ and referred to in Revelation 20.

That role’s warning flags are:

Mid-1980’s joint-rehearsal of the storming of Jerusalem by Iranian-Iraqi elite units, despite fighting on opposite sides during the Iran-Iraq War! (Refer to Review 2 – Iran and Nuclear ‘Fix’).
Very early in his presidency Obama starts secretly appeasing Iran (email 18 May 2009).
July/Aug 2010 – Iran’s nuclear reactor goes live, Supreme Leader reports having been visited by the Hidden Imam about his violent return (email 19 August 2010).
Nov 2011 – referred to event 1 above in ‘Welcome’, introductory post launching this blog.
Nov 2013 – event 1 repeated by Iranian troops in drill ‘Towards Jerusalem’ two years to the date I blogged about the 1980s rehearsal in ‘Welcome’. (Invisible Hand Reappears).
Mar 2015 – The Lord asked, “How many months since that blog you wrote about Iran?”. Upon checking, I’m prompted to expect developments of nuclear deal four months later, ie this July (Review 2 – Iran and Nuclear ‘Fix’). The reference was to when I’d asked if my triple warning about Iran had disrupted my internet’s blogging connection in Nov ’13.
Aug 2015 – new video of IRGC & Iranian proxies ‘imagining’ taking Jerusalem, as related in above section.

Finally, there’s also my statement in March: What’s weird about blogging about Iran 🙂

Review 2 – Iran and nuclear ‘fix’

Posted on Thursday, 16 July, 2015 by Richard Barker

We continue to consider some past posts relevant to today’s events:

Iran

Regular readers may recall the eschatological role of Iran was drawn to my attention 30 years ago as a non-Christian. I’d been given a new book on history and geopolitics that claimed the Bible held coded and plaintext prophecies on the British Mandate in Palestine (The Invisible Hand).

Whilst watching a documentary on TV about the Iraq-Iran war, I flicked through the book and noticed there were lots of references to the significance of Jerusalem. Then I heard the narrator’s voice over video purporting to show elite units from Iran and Iraq rehearsing an attack upon Jerusalem, in spite of being at war with one another! Continue reading →

3 of 3: US presidents’ actions relate to Daniel’s visions

Posted on Thursday, 2 April, 2015 by Richard Barker

Ancient Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar had a very disturbing dream and demanded that his ‘wise’ men tell him not only what it meant…but also what it actually was!

An impossible task! And they told him so, but in his fury he called for their executions. Questioning the urgency of this, captive Jew and king’s advisor Daniel sought a stay of execution in order to pray for the answer. With friends, Daniel petitioned the Lord and the secret was revealed in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven as follows (as in Daniel 2 per NKJV, emphasis added):

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.

I thank You and praise You,

O God of my fathers;

You have given me wisdom and might,

And have now made known to me what we asked of You,

For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
With this scripture setting the scene we’ll continue (and close) our consideration of the devil’s attempt to pre-empt the Bible’s ‘end-game’. This time we’ll look at how America may have become involved. As previously, it’s helpful for new readers to know why I’m engaged with this particular issue. (Confirmations it’s of the Lord have come and I may share that personal material soon.)
Quick recap
Writing got irregular throughout February and March. Nina’s sudden immobility meant time for blogging was available only as and when I was free to do so – yet I was blessed it didn’t detract from musing upon and insights into specific themes, especially satanic strategy. (Start reading here if you want the full story).
An avalanche of related material (which even allowed for the scheduling of my wife’s operation!) ‘nudged’ me into checking my earliest writings. Amazing to see how history cycles around in events I’d written about!
One month ago
First Monday in March brought synchronous, or ‘God-incidental’, information to my in-tray. And into the week I was deluged with physical and mental material. It began with Lion Bite: Watchmen Arise! and a post from Mark Davidson’s The Four Signposts.
[It’s ‘God-incidental’ that Tony Puccio out in Arizona has today posted a vision from last night about Watchmen on the Wall – please read, noting my associated comments. He certainly had no idea of what I was about to write today.]
What Mark published really caught my attention and set me ‘buzzing’ for the week, as though a ‘door’ or ‘gateway’ had opened up for me. When I started writing there was too much for one post and so it would be a 3-part mini-blog. I considered cycles, looked at specific events and their current equivalent.  I referred to what had set me off in the mid-1980s – that’s what amazed me about Mark’s post of Monday 2nd March.
The Invisible Hand
In 1 of 3: the ‘End-game’ gets ramped up another level I outlined how this book published in 1984 had ‘hit me between the yes’!  Later its importance got  ‘coincidentally’ reinforced, as in The Invisible Hand re-appears!

Yet again, it’s significance got flagged by Mark’s post going back to Saddam Hussein’s war with Iran and American involvement. Before we look at this there are some interesting points.

First, look at what author Victor Dunstan foresaw. He opens chapter 12, The Mark of the Beast – 666 which covers Daniel 7 and Revelation 12 & 13, as follows:

‘That we are about to witness some of the most traumatic political events the civilised world has seen is clear from the writings of the ancient seers [ie. OT prophets].

‘Within a few years, according to the prophets, the economy of the civilised world will be operable only by the consent of, and on the terms laid down by, an Islamic Empire which will rule a large part of the earth’s surface.

‘The oil producing nations will be swept by a wave of religious fervour such as not been seen since prophet Mohammed himself inspired the great upsurge of religious, political and militant Islam.’ [Emphases RB]

Doubtless, Dunstan had in mind the experience of outrageous hiking up in oil prices by OPEC in 1970s. Even so, he subsequently stresses,

‘Let us make no mistake; Islam is about to become the most powerful empire the world has EVER SEEN.

His chapter summary includes this accurate prophetic point, made 30 years ago:

‘Though we see the first signs of an Islamic revival, that revival has a long way to go but it’s going that ‘long way’ very quickly.’

Early Emails

That Monday 2nd March email alert from Mark opens with claims that President Obama had ordered Israeli aircraft to be shot down if overflying Iraq en-route to Iran. Now that reminded me I’d written something on that matter and dug into my records.

My contemporaneous email covering a likely attack on Iran’s not-yet operational nuclear reactor at Bushehr was entitled Could This Weekend Change the World? And the world did change, but not following an attack! The reactor’s production of material for nuclear weapons has led to global economic sanctions against Iran and prolonged discussions to allow its restricted operation. Also as my email of August 2010 stated, it eventually led to Saudi Arabia falling out with America.

But what is particularly amusing is what I found last week. It confirms Mark’s points! The next email, Update to…Change the World? closes by asking,

…perhaps the Lord may be using Obama to bring about His purposes?

To flag up the peculiarity of what I’m writing, that remark’s followed by:

Do I sense pieces of the Lord’s biblical ‘jigsaw puzzle’ falling into place? (At this very moment, as I write, my PC radio plays ‘Dies Irae’ (Day of Wrath) from Verdi’s Requiem Mass!! Now is that just coincidence or God-incidence? I’d stopped writing to get a coffee and share my thoughts with Nina before resuming with fresh idea about jigsaw. Had that not happened there’d have been no synchonicity – so I’m awestruck!)

From The Four Signposts

With that in mind, Mark’s illuminating observations on US presidential involvement in Daniel’s visions conclude as follows:

“So what’s next, courtesy the Obama administration? Engraved invitations to the IRGC to run amok all over the Mideast while being given free transportation by the American military? I’m joking of course. But by the time this is all over we might be quite surprised at the total contribution that U.S. leadership made so that God’s word is ultimately carried out.

“It is interesting and surprising to me that God has chosen the mightiest nation that ever existed – and the only nation dedicated as a Christian nation, the United States of America – to unwittingly orchestrate the execution of the Signposts one by one. The nation responsible for churches planted all over the dark places of the world and bringing the light of the Gospel to millions of the lost, is the same nation most helpful in allowing the Antichrist to emerge.

“How many Christians in the USA even realize that their country is being used by God to bring out the Antichrist? Who could even imagine such a thing on their own? The only reason I discovered this is because it is a consequence of the Signpost interpretation of Daniel 7 and 8. Truth can be definitely stranger than fiction.”

Amused, I commented that his opening quip may actually be what’s happening! Also, I’d add that from the outset of his presidency Obama opened up ‘back channel’ diplomatic communications with Iran and is said to have used them to seek permission to fly US troops to Afghanistan (email May 2009 Today’s Importance in History refers).

Now let’s continue by reading Mark’s account and discussion of how the USA fits into prophetic ‘signposts’ in Daniel’s book, by clicking on this linked-image:

The five living U.S. Presidents gathered at the White House in 2009, with their end-time accomplishments noted, per the Signposts. (Credit and courtesy of Mark Davidson)

Finally, it’s claimed USA is in the middle of ‘Jerusalem’. But that could also mean it’s either closely supportive or else divisive, as in ‘Jer-usa-lem’ ?

What’s weird about writing about Iran

Posted on Thursday, 26 March, 2015 by Richard Barker

Subscribers quick off the mark to read the previous post (2 of 3) upon publication may recall having read its second paragraph, which is now relocated here:

“Note it’s taken all morning to polish this in minor ways because of online problems! (Internet Explorer kept failing to connect and load tabs, and when it did I couldn’t get into WordPress. So I used Google, which is faster but has its limitations and, on both, a WP formatting issue needed sorting.) I wonder, could aggravation indicate this post may be of some significance?”

There was a distinct sense of having been in that same scenario before – ‘deja vu’.

And it’s not a coincidence – probably not of the Godly variety, or God-incidence, either.

And previously, a lot of synchronous stuff on today’s topic was happening around the blog’s second anniversary – as in A Weird Mix-up! (Likewise, in recent weeks!)

007 author Ian Fleming’s comment on such repetitive events fits the bill. He’s quoted as saying,

“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action!” (Courtesy of Brainyquote.com)

How highly appropriate for this blog – Iran is the common denominator on FOUR such synchronous occasions!!!!

The last time, November 2013, was also one of unusual, annoying technical connection problems, and today it involved my PC’s operation as well as internet drop-outs.

Then, it was the third time! So I blogged, Did my triple warning about Iran affect my WordPress connections? which begins,

“Publishing this and the previous post proved arduous. In telling why, it may cross your mind I could be getting a tad paranoid – but actually it’s funny; yet perhaps there’s a grain of truth buried away here…

“Was what I was trying to write about so revelatory that another ‘invisible hand’ came in causing chaos to connections?? Perhaps it’s not such a daft idea, you know.

“Guess what I was writing about the previous time this happened! The very same topic – Iran, and its leaders’ policy to bring about their notion of End-Times!! Oh, that’s just a coincidence. Well, what are the odds of such a cross-connection between two lots of technical trouble; in addition to the other oddities that occurred recently?”

Then I gave details of the components of the synchronous events:

“For the record these are the previous posts: Joel Rosenberg’s Iran leader: We must prepare for the ‘End-Times’, my Iranian leader’s End-Times declaration which appeared after Sharanelle Clark’s Getting ready for His return. (For anyone wishing to check my claims see my original support request and covering mammoth one of 373 posts.)”

Technically savvy folk may like to check out the detail – if so, continue reading here.

Now it gets even more interesting in what I didn’t dwell on above, for it involves that previous post’s report “on something so weird it’s beyond coincidental”. The upcoming post ‘3 of 3’ will plug right into that previous post – The Invisible Hand re-appears!

So why not take a peek? And hold onto your seats…

1 of 3: The ‘Endgame’ gets ramped up another level

Posted on Thursday, 5 March, 2015 by Richard Barker

A fast fortnight ploughed a deep furrow along a cycle of time – ‘a wheel within the greater wheel’ of End-time events…

Bells start ringing that we’ve been here before – and at this time of year too! – like fresh, bright-yellow daffodil bells I see springing up outside! Let me to add to what others are doing as ‘prep’ for 2015…

Time is non-linear. Our analytical mindsets think time’s a straight line. Often we see time-lines listing events in history – or use one for our own life.

The passage of time and events is seasonal; ie. cyclical. I regard time like a spiral for, when considered dynamically under the interaction of various influences, it’s just like a corkscrew being turned. Nature provides an excellent example that carries information – the DNA spiral.

Another example: on a spiral staircase we pass by different walls. If it’s in a castle turret there’d be a doorway on each floor and in the same vertical wall of the well. Regard this wall as a certain kind of event and note how it connects with us, or is relevant to us, at different times and levels.

Hence, various types of event can crop up in a cyclical pattern of repetitions at different levels and show some development has taken place. So it is in history and with God’s plans too, could we but be aware, or receive revelation.

Before I heard about Jonathan Cahn’s US best-seller The Harbinger, I’d outlined the Biblical analysis of historical and financial cycles in one of my first months’ blogs, Points to Ponder 2011-2012. (For more see below.)

Quick recap

Last week I promised to reveal how a possible option between either one of two weeks for surgery affected, or even enabled(!), further insights into something we’d recently mulled over on this blog – Satan’s strategy to avoid the Lake of Fire.

Please accept my apologies for not having done so in ‘the next post’. So much was still surfacing – from both the past and the present – that I had to take stock. To my great surprise a cycle of events was laid bare.

Once again, more of the ‘Invisible Jigsaw’ is appearing, as blogged extensively in 2014 (click image to read about its themes).

So, I’ll explain this year’s view of ‘the grand design’ for you to follow my logic. Let’s look at the jigsaw pieces we’ve placed down thus far.

I mused upon how Satan could have adopted tactics to avoid his destined demise in the Lake of Fire and a progression of ‘pieces’ was revealed as follows:

Paws 4 thought: devilish plot to avoid the Lake of Fire – the removal of conditions necessary for Jesus’ prophesied return: no Jews alive in Jerusalem and Mid-East and disunity among Christians, plus not living in Holy Spirit’s power and a deep rejection of Jews and Israel on supposedly ‘scriptural’ grounds!
An insight into global Satanic strategy: Part 1 – misinformation from many political leaders. ‘Coincidently’, Archbishop Welby denounced anti-Semitism and had its most vociferous vicar silenced.
An insight into global Satanic strategy: Part 2 – history of Islam from start up to the Crusades and exposure of the myth they taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians. It originated in Western intellectuals, whose fallacies within academia continue unabated!
Anti-terrorism summit confirms this week’s insight – Within a day of blogging as above, international news on security confirmed my conclusions. But technical hitches hindered my publishing this, which revealed I faced ungodly opposition!

History cycles around

On top of those concepts, accelerating developments in the Middle-East only add to the mix. Therefore, an appreciation of my background in this will be of some help.

Pertinent to today’s issues is a personal event that hooked me into Eschatology, as well as subsequent developments, viz:

Mid-1980s

As stated in this blog’s Welcome, the Iran-Iraq war opened my eyes as an unbeliever because I’d been given an unusual ‘secular’ book on OT prophecies of modern events. Whilst watching a TV documentary about that war I flicked through the brand-new book and noted references to the significance of Jerusalem. THEN I heard the TV narrator speak about, and showed, elite units from both sides rehearsing together an attack upon Jerusalem! – despite being at war with one another!! So I’ve since kept an eye on international affairs.

Once again, conflict in Iraq involving Iran is in the news because of ISIS’ invasion of Iraq in 2014.

2009

Six years ago last weekend, on 28th February 2009, I started what would become a series of private emails to Christian friends and church leaders drawing attention to the plain fact that events are fitting more clearly into Biblical prophecy.

We’d already debated the Lakeland, Florida, outpouring as I’d known of Todd Bentley before-hand. However, the new direction had become abundantly obvious and so I emailed them, The ‘Endgame’ is now in play.

It was only much later, in Autumn 2011, that the Lord prodded me into going public with this blog. (If you’re interested in numbers; the 700th post is one the above ‘insights’.)

As said, significant End-time events began to escalate. To appreciate how they’ve again become ‘hot potatoes’ you may like to dip into later emails of May and July 2009 noting especially as below:

Today’s Importance In History – reference to Obama’s ‘back channels’ (secret diplomacy) contact with and appeasement of Iran, and consequential dismay in Egypt and Saudi Arabia – and their cooperation with Israel.
Middle-East Update July 2009 – Obama’s making Netanyahu the bogeyman in preventing nuclear-arms discussions with Iran. Obama’s character.

2010

An entirely forgotten idea privately posited with those friends popped up again unbidden in the last fortnight. Part 2 will show how the shuffled surgical schedule reported in The Shepherd, the Shadow and the ‘Spread’ fits into our ‘jigsaw’.

I hope you’ll have time to dip into those archived papers whenever possible.

Continued in Part 2 >>

More on cycles

[‘Spiral Stairway To Clouds’ by Victor Habbick and ‘Spiral Stairs’ by Franky242, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

Catholic and Orthodox churches choose fealty to 7th Century Muslim edict

Posted on Tuesday, 18 November, 2014 by Richard Barker

Jesus asked, “When the Son of Man returns will He find faith on the earth?” Today’s answer could well be, ‘Not where You’d expect to find it – in parts of Your Church!”

The Temple Mount with al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem reported last week that some Christians in Jerusalem pledged solidarity with Muslim authorities of the Temple Mount – and this in accordance with a 1,400 years-old decree of subjugation! The ICEJ report opens as follows (inserted numbers refer to my comments),

“Leaders of Jerusalem’s Catholic and Orthodox churches met with Moslem officials this week, declaring their solidarity against what they described as Israeli “oppression” and “violations” of the Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem’s Old City [1]. Examples they cited of such “violations” included rumors about plans to change the status quo on the Temple Mount which have been dismissed as “fabrications” by Israeli officials but which have persisted nonetheless [2].

“The statement also reaffirmed the leaders’ commitment to the so-called “Pact of Omar” which was established following the Moslem conquest of Jerusalem in 637 AD which codified understanding that Moslems have a superior legal, political and social status to all others in the Levant, while also protecting the rights of non-Moslems to practice their religion [3, 4].” (Read full report here.)

In response I submit the basic facts, along with a few thoughts:

1. A timeline of recent related events is given in Joel Rosenberg’s blog and indicates the violence was instigated by Muslim extremists and deliberate incitement from the Palestinian leader to start a third intifada. But Joel doesn’t go back far enough!

Six months ago, after disturbances in April, an imam from al-Aqsa mosque called for the destruction of Israel and urged Middle Eastern countries that signed peace agreements with Israel (Egypt and Jordan) to take up arms against it. [Israel Today citing al-Jezeera as herein.]

The latest outbreak was started not by Jews, but by Moslems throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails and fireworks at police at the entrance to the Temple Mount – NOT because Jews tried getting onto it or into the mosque, BUT BEFORE the Israeli police tried stopping this disturbance.

See Honest Reporting’s detailed analysis of Wall Street Journal and New York Times’ reports, the details of which give a better account than Daily Telegraph’s incomplete video which, in the fuller context, actually gives credence to the Israeli version of events.

BBC Watch also provides a proper picture by correcting badly biased broadcasters, as well as exposing the quisling BBC’s platform to Palestinian Authority’s falsehoods and incitement of violence on Judaism’s holiest site. [Today: Anachronism and inaccuracy in BBC News Jerusalem reporting.]

The massive rock platform which the first and second Jewish temples were built upon is supposedly sacred to Moslems too, but their fanatics don’t treat it with reverence or with respect. And it’s no wonder because the city of Jerusalem and its sacred centre do not feature in their holy book. There are no historical references in it, only an inference that Jerusalem was the destination of their founder’s ‘night journey’ on an imaginary horse!

2. PM Netanyahu Israeli addressed the recent wave of violence in Israel last Tuesday by telling journalists that PA’s Abbas is “fanning the flames” of incitement by lying about Israel’s non-existent plans to change the status quo on the Temple Mount.

Deception and dissimulation are sanctioned in the Qur’an and known as the doctrine of taqiyya. According to a former Islamic studies professor at the American University of Beirut, Sami Mukaram, “Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era”. (Raymond Ibrahim’s eye-opening analysis, How Taqiyya Alters Islams’ Rules of War)

I’d add, ‘and throughout Western media too’! The global scale of misinformation and lies makes Herr Goebel’s Nazi propaganda machine look archaic by comparison. No wonder the need for the highly commendable services of various media watchers, for as Raymond explains in summing up the implications of taqiyya:

…zealous belief in Islam’s tenets, which legitimize deception in order to make God’s word supreme, will certainly go a long way in creating “incredible self-confidence” when lying.

Yet most Westerners continue to think that Muslim mores, laws, and ethical constraints are near identical to those of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Naively or arrogantly, today’s multiculturalist leaders project their own worldview onto Islamists, thinking a handshake and smiles across a cup of coffee, as well as numerous concessions, are enough to dismantle the power of God’s word and centuries of unchanging tradition. The fact remains: Right and wrong in Islam have little to do with universal standards but only with what Islam itself teaches—much of which is antithetical to Western norms.

[Churchill was well aware of the dangers, as quoted in my blog All Hail the Lamb!. AND whilst writing, an excellent example of media proclivity to blame Israel arrived from CNN of today’s outrage on a synagogue as ‘Deadly attack on Jerusalem mosque’!! So much auto-brainwashing its overwhelmed what few ‘grey cells’ they possess…]

Had it not been for that faith’s founder using dishonesty to defeat his first opponents in reneging upon the treaty of Hudaybiya (628AD) – thereby showing the perpetual nature of jihad – his totalitarian religion would not have swept by the sword across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Compare this with the Ten Commandments the Almighty gave Moses for how Israelites are to live; eg., to be truthful and trustworthy, as required by not bearing false witness against one’s neighbour! (Exod 20:16)

Compare also with Jesus’ description of the devil as “a murderer from the beginning” and “a liar and the father of lies”! (John 8:44) Noteworthy for this discussion is the fact Jesus was chastising the Pharisees and scribes, which can be applied to mullahs and imams too because His rebuke concerned their non-acceptance of His identity and His relationship to God. (Read about it in this link to BibleGateway.)

But the Qur’an describes Allah as the best makar, ie the best deceiver or schemer!!(Suras 3:54, 8:30,10:21 per Ibrahim; also see in-depth discussion in Answering Islam)

Thus, anyone claiming the Holy God of the Jews and Christians is one and the same as Islam’s Meccan moon-god has been deceived and is utterly deluded!

3. As liberals whine about Israel ‘occupying’ Palestinian territory and the PA still does not recognise the right of Israel to exist but is to be removed, then the same ‘logic’ must be applied to Muslim claims. Second caliph Umar, companion to their founder, and his army invaded and occupied Jerusalem in 637AD. Therefore, Muslims don’t have any legitimate right to be there or to have built mosques on the platform. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander!

Dr Mike Evans writes only last week, “Palestinian leaders have issued a new demand to their allies in the liberal media—stop calling the Temple Mount the Temple Mount. The Palestinians are annoyed because of the unmistakable link to Israel’s heritage in the Holy City that remains in the name of the places…so they want to wish it away.”

This capacity for lying to themselves has also produced the stupid claims that Jesus was a Palestinian and thus not a Jew! Anyone with any intellect knows Palestine didn’t exist until the Romans trashed Jerusalem and dispersed nearly the entire population of Judea. The region was then named ‘Philistia’ after Israel’s old enemy, the Philistines.

Update (22/11) Read Ruthie Blum on ‘Temple Denial’, a term coined in 2007 by Dore Gold author of The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, the Future of the Holy City.

4. In the non-sectarian book that opened biblical prophecy to me in the mid-1980s,The Invisible Hand (see blog’s Welcome), Victor Dunstan makes the following remark:

“It is interesting to note that when Caliph Omar entered the city, Gibbon in his ‘Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’ records:

“After signing the capitulation, he entered the city without fear or precaution; and courteously discoursed with the patriarch concerning its religious antiquities. Sophronius bowed before his new master and secretly muttered, in the words of Daniel, “The abomination of desolation is in the holy place”.

Recall Jesus’ warning about this,

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…” (Matthew 24:15 NKJV)

Read for yourself the requirements of this Dark Ages despotic document in Analysis of the Pact of Umah, courtesy of Wiki-Islam.

Conclusion

In preferring to kowtow to Muslim demands instead of those of their Lord and Saviour, and opportunities afforded by the liberation of Jerusalem, those church leaders have given affront to the men, women and babes martyred by maniacs in recent months.

Sowing and reaping comes to mind. The traditional super-cessionist stance of the Church replacing Israel in God’s favour together with centuries of anti-Semitism has brought about these leaders’ own subservience and spiritual captivity to a falsehood that claims superiority. How abject!

We also have to ask, where’s these Catholic/Orthodox leaders’ real faith? Apostle Paul’s prime point about Jesus Christ’s identity, the clear denial of which by these clerics in bowing the knee to 1,400 years of antichrist rule, implies they may have little faith,

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NKJV)

An unclear theology and lack of understanding the Word of God has probably led them to their unsound slavery. But in my humble opinion they’re in danger of committing, if not having committed, apostasy because what they speak from their authority could hinder others’ growth into fullness of faith. As the Lord warns disciples (Luke 17:1),

“It is impossible that no stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come!”

Enough said?

On Scottish First Minister’s possible Islamist stance

Posted on Thursday, 18 September, 2014 by Richard Barker

In re-blogging Gillan’s Scott’s thoughts on the Scottish referendum (here) I referred to the Almighty’s personal promise to Abram, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you”.

This plumb-line standard of Genesis 12:3 means Scotland’s future could well be bleak because, and I emphasised, the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) leader, ‘Alex Salmond is not only in favour of boycotting Israel but his party also funded a Scottish affiliate to Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood‘, and linked to its source, Labour Party blogger Rob Marchant’s SNP and Gaza: why Salmond is Not a Statesman.

I’d discovered this by ‘googling’ salmond israel and also found that Salmond supports sanctions against Israel, as reported by the BDS (Boycott, Divestment &.Sanctions) movement. Salmond’s support for bellicose Turkey over the Mavi Marmara incident is as plain as a pikestaff.

Then there’s detailed journals on Alex Salmond and the SNP’s Support for Terrorists by anti-BBC researcher, ‘Highland Rebel’, and on noticeable Anti-Israel sentiment and fears of a ‘Yes’ vote by Daphne Anson, as well as her blog SNP-led Scottish council bans Israeli books!

Furthermore, last month Salmond wanted an arms embargo on Israel because of the Gaza war, as reported by The Independent and Huffington Post.

And I missed the denials over whether or not he equated Israel to ISIS on a TV show over the weekend, see Commentary Magazine.

On top of that lot are reports of threats, intimidation and abuse, as well as a possible NHS budgetary deception.

With such notoriety, Alex Salmond appears too undesirable to be in charge of our sister nation beyond the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall. [Was this a prophetic decree?]

UPDATE 19/9: As a result of his failed ‘Yes’ for independence campaign, Alex Salmond has resigned as First Minister of Scotland and as leader of the SNP (BBC news).

Personal background

The above remarks may generate questions over my knowledge of Islam. An outline to this may be gained from my comments appended to God has used Britain to do great things…, which are as follows:

“United we stand – divided we fall”!

Our UK issue reminds a South African pastor of SA’s difficulties changing government. Chinese and Russian triads took advantage of the situation and infiltrated her nation.

Nick wants to know about spiritual elements at work in this. I agree. We need to be alert to the spiritual dimensions and opposition that’s demonstrated its evil prowess globally. And we need to understand the principles involved (eg territorial footholds), none of which is hardly ever taught in ‘Churchianity’.

Whilst our focus has been on ISIS overseas we have a blind spot to home defences and an Islamic flag has been flown officially over Glasgow council offices. Surely that’s an open invitation and ‘welcome’ to undesirable elements? None of us are ignorant of the advances made in the UK since the demand for a muslim parliament in Britain was announced on 6th Jan 1992. [NB: am not anti-muslim, but am also not blind.] This link refers.

So, maybe Scotland should be separate after all?

> Fellow contributor ‘Sarky’, with whom I’ve developed a dialogue through several posts on God and Politics UK, responded as follows.:

Richard, you may not be anti muslim, but there is definately a bit of muslim paranoia creeping in on your post. Hinting that scotland should seperate because of a perceived muslim influence?? Really??
listen,the percentage of muslims in the uk is roughly equivalent to the percentage of practicing christians, at around 4%. I think any real influence by christisns/muslims is greatly exaggerated and is really just a product of the media. It makes me laugh that you fear the goals of muslims, yet they are your goals, a country/population living under the rules/influence of your god.

Thankfully the majority of votes tomorrow will be cast with god/religion left firmly on the back seat.

> In replying I referred to my decades-long background on the subject.:

Sarky, I was being sarcastic about it being a reason for national separation. But thanks for proving my point about general ignorance of spiritual principles.

Your ardent atheism doesn’t equip you with a grid for that dimension. Not surprising you’re uninformed too. So too are many clueless politicians who fool themselves that ISIS/L isn’t Islamic. It simply copies the founder’s life-style and strategies after he was thrown out of Mecca – so it IS the real deal. [Added for blog: ISIS-ISIL difference and ISIS not Islamic?, see also this Investigative Report on Terrorism. Also see the Home Secretary’s incompetent claim about the Quran]

No, I don’t fear Muslims at all but love them. My quoted date hints how long I’ve been watching/studying this phenomenon. First as a ‘new ager’ 40 years ago, then in ‘84 a perspicacious writer on the Middle-East pointed out,

“We’re about to witness a mighty and almost unbelievable upsurge in Islam. Although we see the first signs of that revival (it) has a long way to go, but it’s going to go that ‘long way‘ very quickly”! [‘The Invisible Hand’ page198, Victor Dunstan, 1984]

So the outrages of 9/11 and 7/7 were not really surprising. [Link on latter here. Also, I could add the barbaric murders of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich on 22 May 2013 and humanitarian worker David Haines last weekend – plus other internationals]

Also, you and I are far too young to recall Churchill’s prophetic warning of 1899 in his honestly critical ‘The River War’ (vol 2 pp 248-50, per Wikipedia).

Therefore, we do need to be well-informed on what’s going on.

> The discussion continued…

ISIS is islamic in name only, like the uk is a christian country in name only. you cannot judge people on the actions of a few idoits!! Or are we to judge christians on those who gun down doctors at abortion clinics?? Or those far right christians who want to bring about the end of the world so jesus returns?? You have to be so careful with labels, or you run the risk of alienating moderate voices within communities, and you dont have to have supernatural ‘superpowers’ to see that.

> Therefore, I provided more information:

Well I’m glad we can agree about labels! And I accept your point Sarky, and assure you I know only too well about judging. But you’re wrong about the IS as they do have solid grounds for using the term ‘Islamic’. A ‘few idiots’? Maybe you’re unaware of what’s gone on outside Syria/Iraq/Nigeria etc etc – that is, in Australia? [Almost 24,000 globally since 9/11, thousands so far in 2014, and click here and here re Australia.]

At long, long last many leading Muslims are voicing their objections about ultra-extremists. But the fact remains that Islam started off peaceful but became savage during the lifetime of its founder because of his example and purported private instructions from his ‘god’. So they savagely plundered their neighbours, killed those who refused to convert, and after he died they divided, argued and started fighting one another! (Compare with early Christianity – not churchianity, please.) [Oct 5th, a brave Catholic professor writes, ‘Islamic State is not heresy; “model is Muhammad himself”.]

Also, I do know different kinds of Islam are practised, and some like the Ahmadiya and Grand Mufti of Syria preach and practise peace, who was targeted for assassination but his son got killed instead. Read this ex-Muslim [Dr Patrick Sookhdeo] on it and his remarks on ISIS at [link provided: Barnabas Fund editorial ‘The Two Faces of Islam’].

Also, this non-judgemental expert who warned about 9/11 answers ‘ISIS not Islamic?’ [link provided: Daniel Pipes ‘ISIS Is Not Islamic?’]

I study eschatology but only crackpots would do what you suppose. (If meaning GW Bush, his ‘theology’ was unsound.) What you describe is actually part of ‘Twelver’ Shiite doctrine. They’re keen to usher in the end of the world by military means so that ‘Hidden 12th Imam’ can appear and bring Jesus with him! Those are more dangerous than the barbarians.

PS. Missed Dr Sookhdeo’s apocalyptic bit about Sunni ISIS’ ultimate goal. Perhaps this is where Sunni and Shiite may agree with one another, as they do over capturing Jerusalem.

A recap of this year thus far

Posted on Thursday, 3 April, 2014 by Richard Barker

I wish to thank each new reader personally, especially those who’ve decided to follow my reports and musings. Usually, I dip into blogs of fellow WordPress users but don’t always have time to say “Hi and thank you”, so please accept that now.

To help you catch up with background material, I’m providing a ‘synoptic’ overview by title of relevant posts linked to content, should you have time and inclination to peruse. This should prepare you, and regular readers/visitors too, for what’s about to follow.

In 2014 Preview I announced a slight change in my blogging emphasis towards current prophetic words for the church and away from those on the Middle East, as well as how to tell the time prophetically. Little did I suspect we’d be considering how to prophesy to Time!

A Parallel Year – 5774 and 2014

At first the recap was to be from January, but I got prompted that the better starting point would be last September’s Hebraic New Year 5774 – year of the ‘open door’. (Prophetic words are excluded as they are available in the Library of Prophecies and Visions.)

The following titles provide a background to what is to follow soon (click for content):

Footnote

For readers who are not Christians I’d suggest reading first, Do you know Jesus? This is because an appreciation beyond the cursory, cultural norm of designating Him as just a historical, religious personage will be of help.

Jesus is ‘The Beginning’ and ‘The End’, and whose other time-related description I personally ponder is, ‘Always’. Please don’t think this implies Jesus is all ‘ways’, because He alone is ‘The Way, the Truth and The Life’, as the one and only way to a personal revelation and relationship with our heavenly Father.

[Whitedoor in Sky by Nattavut courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.com]

Confirmations of the reality of my visionary encounter

Posted on Thursday, 19 December, 2013 by Richard Barker

[Our conversation over morning coffee continues with factual refutations of a claim of indoctrination…]

The waiter brings a tray of freshly ground coffee; an enticing aroma wafts around our window table. Taking my cup, I muse over how the Lord would like me to play our time: like a mental game of draughts/checkers or, even better, completing an invisible jigsaw?

Puzzle in Sky by Idea Go courtesy Freedigitalphoto.com

“It’s good you’re able to join us my friend and, to answer your good question about my ‘dredging up’ the past; it’s been necessary to revisit the launch of my blog. Why, you may ask? Maybe you read how its anniversary week got scrambled? Something I’d written about back in 2011 got repeated precisely on the blog’s 2nd birthday?”

“You mean the references to Jerusalem in Iran’s military plans?”

“S’right! That repetition amazed me – and don’t ask about their nuclear accord’s likely link with EU Recommendation 666! If you’d like to mull that over then check one of my earliest emails…” [See Not many people know…]

“I recall your confiding in me back then,” interrupts Steve, “You sure were slow making up your mind and moving from private emails into public blogging.”

“Right Steve. And when I eventually got down to it, I aimed to briefly tell my story in time for the start of Advent because it’s related to that. Yet, I’d never have dreamt how that timing fitted in with how it was to be repeated – maybe the Lord arranged for that to confirm the change was the right thing to do?..and done at the right time? After all, He’s the only real Time Lord. But don’t make me duck the question Steve…

Steve chuckles into his coffee, “You just can’t get away from that daft, dead duck!”

Grinning too, I continue, “After that weird…nay, uncanny ‘co-incidence’, I wanted to be sure I wasn’t missing anything else. I was open to hearing from the Lord on that score. He reminded me about two items put aside at the blog’s launch. The main one is held pending the growth in readership and the other, our topic, had been briefly tackled at the time elsewhere. However, I thought it may prove useful in addressing any cynical reaction to a later, fuller account of how I was set free. Also, it relates to the validations of that story, as promised two months ago.” [See The last day in my life…]

“Hold on, I find some of that hard to believe. Why would God be interested in obscure, minute details? Couldn’t it simply be your own imagination Richard?”

Putting my cup down, “I understand what you’re saying my friend. I recall having heard in my youth someone claimed to be a Christian because of personal experience. I didn’t believe it because, if God does exist and is omnipotent, then He’d be remote and not be in touch with mere mortals. And, if Jesus had gone to join Him then the same would apply about Him. Anyway, isn’t that why Catholics pray to Jesus’ mother and dead saints; because they were ordinary humans? (None of which I did.)

“What I learned from the brotherhood I joined seemed far more rational and superior to religious nonsense. So, I became intellectually arrogant after accepting the existence of a supreme mind, to which all religions lead. I was taught how to attune and commune through meditation with this ‘cosmic’ mind, which wasn’t like the personal god of Judeo-Christianity. Now and then I’d muse over how such a non-personal being, both the source and goal of existence, could connect with human nature and our minds.

“But when the real Jesus confronted me and I learned He’s exactly as in scripture, then I was able to understand why and how the ultimate Father is very interested in our own well-being and details of our daily lives. So, to answer your point – He had something, or several things, to convey about that ‘coincidence’ to me – a ‘God-incidence’, as I’d say.

“Furthermore, such a grouping of related matters isn’t unusual. It’s happened previously about my blog’s launch – and that again was all to do with timing!

“Look at it this way: suppose you played a game of dice and started by rolling a double-six and then immediately did it again – twice! The next time you go to the same table you repeat triple rolls of double-sixes right at the start, as before. If that happened at a real casino trickery would be suspected, would it not? But we know such an oddity has actually happened. Logically, we could infer some sort of guiding hand or unseen intelligence behind those events, could we not?”

“Maybe Richard, I’m almost convinced. On the other hand your banging the drum about this may mean you don’t like that man’s idea of your dream and conversion all coming out of indoctrination as a child. I can see his point…if he’d read your description of your earlier life.”

“I see where you’re coming from my friend. As a Humanist he had difficulty grasping what my previous, totally different life-style had been like, especially with a working knowledge of the paranormal. To me, it made absolutely no sense to relinquish all that. It would have to take an exceptional event to top it and change me. Also, I’m sure he’d know some dreams can be so lucid it seems we’re more awake than when normally so. But no doubt he’d find it incredible to believe dreams can be controlled and changed!

“That’s why I likened the difference between us as his driving a dodgem car and my flying around and into orbit. Even so, I was grateful for his valuable contribution to the debate.”

“Ah, that’s where I came in. I wondered what you and Steve were talking about. Now I’ve got it – thanks.”

We take a few moments to relish our coffees before I resume…

“So it’s now time to revisit the lessons gained in that friendly debate. I think there’s good reason to put it to use in making a clear pointer to the existence of God in our lives, to encourage everyone to know why it’s vital to learn about Jesus and how to know Him personally.

“This year’s seen a growing number of readers who may not be committed Christians, or who may have a non-Christian perspective, as well as newer followers, maybe you too? – all of whom are warmly welcomed.

“What’s more, however, there’s an increasingly vociferous, if not hostile, anti-Christian posture of secularism within society, as is clear from Gillan Scott’s popular UK blog on God and politics. I’ve found atheists and secularists can have very closed minds. This prevents honest discussion.”

“Oh, come on, perhaps they could say the same of you Richard.”

“Ok, here’s a couple of examples from my online debates: A supposedly open-minded investigator of the supernatural, who claimed evidence for ghosts, refused outright to check documentary evidence for divine healing I’d offered. Someone else, unfamiliar with the Bible and history had no framework for understanding spiritual gifts, although in a Christian community! She smacked me down for being arrogant in referring to facts about spiritual experiences – simply because her community never talks about them!! Obviously, an unusual sort of believers! Or are they?

“Now let’s get to the hub of the matter and discuss data: facts that confirm my claims.

“By facts I mean something more concrete than coincidence or happy chance, or ‘God-incidence’ – facts that refute any claim of indoctrination, or of my imagination, being the cause of that life-changing dream or vision – my unsolicited, unsettling encounter with Jesus. Please bear with me a tad longer on these personal details…”

[It may be helpful to read The last day of my life… for an appreciation of what follows.]

MORE THAN A DREAM – A VISITATION

“Some time was needed to gain a fuller understanding of that awesome visitation. It was so powerful it remains vividly etched in my mind nearly 25 years later!

“The event used two very personal aspects of my childhood to grab my attention. To be fair, they may support the claim of indoctrination. My adversary thought ‘the twitch upon a thread’ had the potential to cause my ‘Damascene conversion’. But even if that were so, those hoary aspects show the event was related to past reality and not imaginary. What’s more, objective facts prove it wasn’t an entirely subjective dream! And if it was imaginary of simply the result of early indoctrination how could it explain all consequent events such as being led to similar testimonials or invisible shackles being shattered?

“Intriguingly, both aspects are directly relevant to the 1st and 2nd Advents! So, they couldn’t fail to enhance my interest in End-Times, instigated as it was only a few years earlier by The Invisible Hand – the starting point of my blog’s Iran-Jerusalem issue!

First Validation

“Inwardly I ‘knew’ the heavenly visitor was indeed Jesus, and that the impressive action was a foretaste of his promised return – His Second Advent or Coming, in all His power and glory:

“It reminded me of my favourite picture in mother’s Missal, or service book of the Roman Mass. It gave full details of every Sunday service throughout the year with a diagram representing its theme. As a boy keen on astronomy I’d been fascinated by the picture for the First Sunday in Advent showing Jesus standing on clouds over a burning earth in the midst of sun, moon and falling stars. This portrayed events prophesied for the time of His return!

“The first objective confirmation, or validation, of the personal visitation came almost as unusually. During a healing retreat in 1995, one of the ministry team told me God would show me something after lunch. And that did happen after lunch! Someone at my table took me aside afterwards to confide the Lord told her to show me a treasured photo.

“This photo is said to have been taken from an aircraft over a thunderstorm. After the camera film was taken for development the developer apologised for its poor quality – he didn’t know this unusual image of clouds seemed to be of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, the facial features are hazy, not defined, BUT exactly like Jesus in my dream for I had not seen His face. [This is published by Bible Probe. I recall dark, hazy clouds at the foot of the image.]

“Upon seeing this photo my legs gave way – I could not stand but fell into a nearby chair! My companion said I went so white she thought I was going to faint or fall. Yet, just how did a stranger know to show me this photo? I’d not divulged such a personal dream – she simply said, “It’s the Lord’s doing”.

“Therefore, in my opinion this may be regarded as an objective confirmation.”

Second Validation

“I was puzzled over the closing element of the dream-event. When I reached out towards Jesus’ feet to grasp His robe, it turned into the branch of a Christmas tree which toppled over as I touched Him. And a fairy fell off the tree’s top and onto the floor!”

“How peculiar!”

“Indeed, but the event was the most fantastic Christmas present. It’s always an encouragement and help in time of need, no matter how dire.

“Some years passed before a fuller understanding came. In the dream, the corner of the room by the window was where the family Christmas tree used to be placed. So that corner was closely associated with Christmas. In painting pictures I’d put a blue stripe at the top of outdoor scenes to represent heaven, as some children did. But I’d also draw a small Christmas tree in heaven as being Jesus.

“Why? It was quite logical to my child’s mind for I’d heard a TV actor mention “Jesus” whilst in between fir trees of his height. Taking the actor at his word I’d then draw Jesus as a fir-tree. Hence, the heavenly visitor in my dream changed to reflect that memorable image.

“The dream’s dramatic closing signified the time had come to put away not only childish misconceptions but also false teachings and replace them with truth – the one who is the Truth in person.

“Everything pointed to a most intimate knowledge of my childhood. Now that may have come direct from my deep subconscious, as claimed in debate. But that just couldn’t explain 3 separate, objective confirmations from 3 different sources, human or divine.”

“Nor could it explain,” Steve volunteered, “The unexpected appearance of a UFO in the dream for I think you told me, Richard, you didn’t take those claims seriously. You’d done your homework and became quite cynical about UFOs.”

“Yes, that’s so. Sometime later, in a lucid dream, I gained an insight into possible UFO demonic activity. And so in the ’89 dream, I exclaimed to myself when one appeared and then realised I was dreaming. To avoid the necessity of explanation, I didn’t quote what I’d actually said because I’d referred to the UFO by using the name of Eric von Daniken, the author who’d introduced the idea our ancient ancestors as space gods. My dream had already opened into a higher realm, signified by looking through the window. After I saw the UFO and exclaimed, “Not that von Daniken nonsense!”, it brought further revelation but for which I wasn’t in the right place.

“Hence, my realisation of the truth of scripture and that I was not IN Christ Jesus. What an encounter, even though it went on to use intimate memories for reasons unknown to me at that moment. But back to the second validation…

“The visitation of Sept 1989 was validated in 1995, but more confirmations were yet to come! Upon revisiting this story for this blog another 16 years later, I was surprised by a couple of insights that dropped into mind. One was tantalising: could the number of my childhood home (212) possibly be significant in pointing toward the coming year? That is, to 2012!

“Such musing was confirmed by a numerical ‘coincidence’ at the first conference we were to attend in 2012. The car’s odometer measured the ‘trip’ distance between home and the conference hotel as 212 miles!!”

[See Blog’s birthday and 2/12, 1st Sunday in Advent 2012 for further details.]

Third Validation

“Once again, timing proves critical in presenting another objective confirmation! Again, had I not been writing about the visitation I would have missed the crucial linkage!

“If you read the installments of my journey into freedom you may recall I’d inserted a report on something pertinent that happened at that time in the USA. This came as a ‘new revelatory word’ from the Lord to Revd John Kilpatrick and began at 2:22am. This is numerically interesting and the word itself is directly relevant to my dream visitation in referring to the angelic host as well as in closing with Luke 21:28, namely:

But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.

“Here’s mother’s Missal for the First Sunday of Advent and you can now see how that scripture links into my personal visitation and what pastor John brought…”

[Page 69 on image refers; click to enlarge]

Did my triple warning about Iran affect WordPress connections?

Posted on Thursday, 28 November, 2013 by Richard Barker

Publishing this and the previous post proved arduous. In telling why, it may cross your mind I could be getting a tad paranoid – but actually it’s funny; yet perhaps there’s a grain of truth buried away here…

Was what I was trying to write about so revelatory that another ‘invisible hand’ came in causing chaos to connections?? Perhaps it’s not such a daft idea, you know.

Guess what I was writing about the previous time this happened! The very same topic – Iran, and its leaders’ policy to bring about their notion of End-Times!! Oh, that’s just a coincidence. Well, what are the odds of such a cross-connection between two lots of technical trouble; in addition to the other oddities that occurred recently?

For the record these are the previous posts: Joel Rosenberg’s Iran leader: We must prepare for the ‘End-Times’, my Iranian leader’s End-Times declaration which appeared after Sharanelle Clark’s Getting ready for His return. (For anyone wishing to check my claims see my original support request and covering mammoth one of 373 posts.)

HA…in hindsight it really is amusing. Fortunately, I’d started drafting on Monday but noticed links were taking several seconds longer than normal to connect and load on-screen. The next day, however, when writing about the three times on which I’d written about Iran and Jerusalem the new paragraphs were lost as the system failed to save. It seemed doing that caused my connection to crash. So it became an arduous and time-consuming task to get the additional material completed because I couldn’t check what was actually getting saved onto the server. It was as though another invisible hand had started playing mayhem with UK internet connections to WordPress servers to the great annoyance of users (see today’s support forum).

Yet when it was published late Tuesday afternoon my stats shot through the ceiling to almost double the daily average. Thank you readers and visitors. If you’ve not yet had opportunity to read it then here’s the link > The Invisible Hand re-appears!

Updates on the Iranian nuclear situation

For those who’d like to keep informed about developments there’s a mass of informed opinion about the Geneva arrangements. In addition to mainstream media reports and rolling news on World Watch Daily, here are links to articles I’ve found of interest.:

The Invisible Hand re-appears!

Posted on Tuesday, 26 November, 2013 by Richard Barker

You may think this far-fetched – this is SO spooky, even for someone not fazed by the supra-natural, as hinted at in the story of my Journey.

Yet what happened late last Thursday is so weird it’s way beyond coincidental. Two years previously on that day this blog was launched with a ‘Welcome’, as well as some personal background. As recounted in the previous post, I’d mentioned watching a TV programme in 1980s about the Iran-Iraq war whilst flicking for the first time through a book I’d been given. But this time something exceedingly extraordinary happened..

I’d never have expected what I wrote about precisely 2 years ago, on an event seen over 25 years before, to be similarly repeated now!

Remember, that was about elite units of Iranians and Iraqi enemy combatants, halting in their intense warfare to mount a full military exercise together to rehearse an attack upon and the capture of Jerusalem!

As mentioned in my mix-up over the blog’s birthday, my intention was to follow up on Baroness Warsi. I’d read the transcript of her recent Georgetown interview and noted part of her plans may line up with a recent prophecy for Britain. But in view of the ominous importance of what was going on with Iran and having blogged about the ‘Ezekiel 38 Alliance’, I once again needed to cover that issue. (My early email updates to friends in 2009, starting with The End-Game is now in play, went on to cover President Obama’s back-door contacts with the Iranians in Today’s importance in History, which Debka had exclusively revealed along with clear betrayal of Israel, as their readers are reminded here.)

Thursday 21 November 2013

Therefore, after an unusually busy day I spent the rest of Thursday writing an Update on the ‘Ezekiel Alliance. After publishing and before closing down for the evening, I decided to check the latest news. On World Watch Daily I saw this leading headline:

Iran Launches ‘Massive’ War Drills: Codenamed ‘Towards Jerusalem’

The next day the headline had rolled down the front page, as below (click image for link to full story):

I recall reading elsewhere that these units were being deployed against undercover Saudi activities in distant parts of Iran.

Afterthoughts

So could the Almighty One be saying something in this highly unusual juxtaposition of timing regarding the strategies of those who oppose His plans and purposes for His people? People with whom He has not one but several personal, eternal covenants!

After realising how my thoughts and actions had been ‘engineered’ towards this global issue, I had to ask ‘Why?’. My first impression was astonishment at how the Lord may have so muddled and juggled my days to bring me into this insight? I recalled that, in admonishing the early Philippian church to avoid grumbling and arguing (Phil 2:13), Paul wrote,

…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.

I’m well aware that, on the other hand, in His sovereignty the Lord also lets those who prefer wickedness and hate Him get deeper in their prison (2Thess 2:10-12):

They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

His Will will be done on earth, as Nathan Morris heard at the start of 2012:

“For I would know that My people would hear My voice, that I am setting the stage for that which I have foretold in My Word and it will quickly and swiftly come to pass. For the days are coming when the lawless one shall be revealed and the son of perdition shall take his stand…”

Therefore, could the dramatic cover of Victor Dunstan’s book be prescient? Does it prophetically indicate the Lord is going to get a tight grip on events in view of what USA, Britain and Russia have now done in the Middle East?

Today, I read Obama has done such an extreme about face at Geneva that he,

…secretly agreed to elevate Iran to the status of seventh world power, as a strong inducement for signing the interim nuclear accord!

Jerusalem and Riyadh are aghast at this development. Our Jerusalem sources report that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has kept it back from his cabinet colleagues, has been holding back-to-back confidential consultations with the heads of Israel’s security and intelligence services and the high IDF command to decide how to handle Obama’s sudden replacement of Israel with Iran as America’s No. 1 ally in the region.

Most immediately, a hostile Iran with a role in the ongoing US-sponsored negotiations with the Palestinians does not bear thinking off.

The Saudi royal house is deep in similarly anxious and angry discussions.

The whole ‘ball-game’ has now changed and many pundits are busily proffering opinion. But, as we keep watch, let’s also keep looking up to Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb12:2).

PS:

Last Thursday reminded me of how I’d been led through a string of coincidences over the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Bells. (There were many more than are mentioned in that trilogy!) Had one step not been taken, one item been missed, one event not actioned then the next step or event would not have happened and no insights gained. The whole was undeniably ‘God-incidental’.

Yet the way I was ‘set up’ last week was extraordinary! Had an awkward issue not needed attention, had I not mistaken the day the anniversary fell, had my starts at blogging not been thwarted, had I not been diverted from what I was to write, and had not the grave global issue of nuclear Iran coincidentally been taking place – then I would have spent last Thursday writing about the blog’s birthday and Baroness Warsi’s plans.

A weird mix-up resurrects this blog’s ‘Welcome’

Posted on Monday, 25 November, 2013 by Richard Barker

After publishing the 2nd Anniversary item on Wednesday I discovered I’d done it a day early!

Weirdly, I was convinced Wednesday was 21st Nov and had worked with that firmly in mind. In fact, hectic events had skewed my week. After that weekend I was aiming to follow-up on Muslim reaction to Christian persecution. However, a major issue arose that took up an hour on Monday and over an hour the next day to resolve. So my writing schedule for the week went ‘up the spout’. (I can only applaud the Halifax Bank for the most professional and courteous manner in which they handled my complaint, including an immediate compensation, including cost of calls!)

With 21st fast approaching and on Wednesday I’d be busy offline, my priorities changed with the ‘birthday blog’ getting drafted in short time-slots. (Evenings are always offline.) My fixation on the wrong date was soon explained: Our wall calendars start weeks on Sundays but I’d mentally mapped out last week by using a daily verse calendar in the bathroom. I didn’t realise its tiny page has weeks starting Mondays. So, glancing at these row of dates I could see 21st as being exactly mid-week, ie. Wednesday; so I presumed!

There may have been an ulterior and unseen reason behind this time-skew, however, as became clear at the close of the next day’s full blogging, when I realised it was the real 21st Nov. But I was left stunned by an extraordinary coincidence, which has yet to be recounted.

In trying to solve this puzzle I checked the date this blog went public, but found the very first post had disappeared from the sequential listing. I recalled trashing it after having copied it into the About hub for reference purposes. But then I found the original stored safely in the Posts’ Trash folder and its publication date retained, as here (click to see) >

The original ‘Welcome’ has now been resurrected and republished. In there I refer to a book read in the mid-1980s which plunged me into the deep-end of Biblical prophecy. (I wasn’t a Christian but the book had no direct influence in that regard.) That part of the resurrected post is reproduced below, but to which I’ve added an emphasis for you to note, as well as the Update from About/Welcome…:

Welcome….

…I was also well-informed on new-age spirituality and prophecies, as well as material behind the supposed Da Vinci code. As editor/publisher I was, therefore, well placed for a friend in mail-order books to give me a new publication on geopolitics, The Invisible Hand (Victor Dunstan, Megiddo Press, 1984).

This gift claimed the Bible held coded and plaintext details of prophecies concerning the British Mandate in Palestine, as well as giving historical details on the Mandate. Whilst watching a documentary on TV about the then current Iraq-Iran war, I flicked through the book and noticed there were lots of references to the significance of Jerusalem. I then heard the narrator refer to elite units from opposing forces rehearsing together an attack upon Jerusalem – despite their being at war with one another! Upon looking up, my jaw dropped! Wouldn’t yours? So, this was a book to take seriously; it grabbed my full attention.

Consequently, I became aware of Middle Eastern matters, and related events globally, which suggest things may not be as they seem at first glance. However, I was amazed to learn they’re of major Biblical significance. Bemused, therefore, I began to watch…

UPDATE: Dunstan estimated all the prophecies would come to a climax in 1992 with Russia being the lead villain against Israel. However, he didn’t foresee the collapse of communism in 1989! Yet that year proved pertinent because the ‘Middle East Peace Process’ had just got under way in October 1991 and led to the Oslo Accords of 1993. At the turn of the millennium, I discovered that John McTernan and William Koenig had been following prophetical developments since 1986 and the mid-1990’s respectively. In 1996 William published his work as Koenig’s International News (now Watch.org) and became an accredited White House correspondent in 2001, the year they co-authored Israel: The Blessing or the Curse. They’ve written other works and continue to monitor matters separately, as occasionally covered in this blog – see tags Koenig, McTernan.

> > Continue reading at > The Invisible Hand reappears!

Not many people know this…

Posted on Tuesday, 22 November, 2011 by Richard Barker

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! You may know it as ‘The Last Days’ or, more popularly, as ‘End-Times’. The origin of this term is in the ancient Hebrew Torah’s description: Acharit Hayamin, ie. ‘Last of the Years’.

Let me take you for a very brief visit into one of my favourite classes where 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:

over 1800 references in the Old Testament to this event – 17 Old Testament books give prominence to the event.

over 300 references in the New Testament – 216 chapters in 23 of its 27 books give prominence to this primary issue: the return of Jesus to rule on earth.

“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 here…

Footnote

The following posts are just a few examples among many of subsequent eschatalogical developments:

Events indicate the Bible’s relevance for today (30 Aug 2013)
World leader tells other leaders Bible prophecies are being fulfilled… (8 Oct 2013)
Billy Graham: “It’s time to take the news…and Bible…and watch (22 Oct 2013)
Update on the ‘Ezekiel 38 Alliance’ (21 Nov 2013)
‘The Invisible Hand’ re-appears! (26 Nov 2013)
Synod sides with satan – Risk of Anglican Schism/Shaking (19 Jul 2017)
See also Bible Updates tag for collection of blogged material.

Welcome

Posted on Monday, 21 November, 2011 by Richard Barker

Hello, I’m Richard Barker.

Welcome to my musings about what’s going on in the world and I trust this blog may help you gain some insights. Indeed, what on earth is going to happen next?

You may find some of my ideas challenging, even outlandish! For instance, come along on an imaginary trip in a ‘time machine’ and, later, receive unusual instructions on how to tell the time!

Some pertinent points from my past are given in my Bio Info, where you’ll learn some facts about a seminal work that was to serve as a fascinating foundation for a my appreciation of Bible prophecy.

Reading The Invisible Hand in the mid-1980s made me very aware of Middle Eastern and related events, all indicative of things not being as they may seem. I was amazed to learn they’re of major Biblical significance! (More on the book in ‘Bio Info’.) Bemused, therefore, I began to watch…:

A Supernatural Rescue

A couple of years later, I was alarmed to be unexpectedly faced with my own immediate demise – but I was blessed that a real, invisible hand saved me. The Living God made me an offer I simply couldn’t refuse. I gladly accepted His free gift of everlasting life, ie. Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection was for my personal benefit. Incredible!

As the Living God graciously and gently dealt with me I was completely turned around (ie. repentance) and cleansed of my involvement in yoga and the occult. Some years later, I received training in and practised full gospel prayer ministry, as well as secular person-centred counselling.

Inner Eyes Descaled

As I got to grips with my new life in him, learned his ways and was introduced to his Best Instructions Before Leaving Earth – scales fell from my eyes! Scriptures about what’s happening to the world became particularly clear. For the last few years I’ve updated Christian friends upon possible connections between holy writ and current events.

You, dear reader, may be unaware of the exceptional relevance of a great chunk of the Old and New Testaments to today’s events. Regrettably, many others are not only woefully uninformed but may also be quite biased against Christianity. Therefore, I ask you to adopt an open mind as you mull over the themes and ideas expressed in this blog.

As not many people know of this, let’s seek expert advice next…(click on this ‘next’)

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Richard's Watch

Looking for the signs of Jesus' return

Tag Archives: #Invisble_Hand

My ‘take’ on Iran vs. Israel

Review 2 – Iran and nuclear ‘fix’

3 of 3: US presidents’ actions relate to Daniel’s visions

‘That we are about to witness some of the most traumatic political events the civilised world has seen is clear from the writings of the ancient seers [ie. OT prophets].

‘Within a few years, according to the prophets, the economy of the civilised world will be operable only by the consent of, and on the terms laid down by, an Islamic Empire which will rule a large part of the earth’s surface.

‘The oil producing nations will be swept by a wave of religious fervour such as not been seen since prophet Mohammed himself inspired the great upsurge of religious, political and militant Islam.’ [Emphases RB]

What’s weird about writing about Iran

1 of 3: The ‘Endgame’ gets ramped up another level

Catholic and Orthodox churches choose fealty to 7th Century Muslim edict

On Scottish First Minister’s possible Islamist stance

A recap of this year thus far

Confirmations of the reality of my visionary encounter

First Validation

Second Validation

Third Validation

Did my triple warning about Iran affect WordPress connections?

The Invisible Hand re-appears!

A weird mix-up resurrects this blog’s ‘Welcome’

Not many people know this…

Footnote

Welcome

A Supernatural Rescue

Inner Eyes Descaled

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‘That we are about to witness some of the most traumatic political events the civilised world has seen is clear from the writings of the ancient seers [ie. OT prophets].

‘Within a few years, according to the prophets, the economy of the civilised world will be operable only by the consent of, and on the terms laid down by, an Islamic Empire which will rule a large part of the earth’s surface.

‘The oil producing nations will be swept by a wave of religious fervour such as not been seen since prophet Mohammed himself inspired the great upsurge of religious, political and militant Islam.’ [Emphases RB]

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First Validation

Second Validation

Third Validation

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Footnote

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A Supernatural Rescue

Inner Eyes Descaled

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