Leadership by Farce

 

- Steve Schmutzer - https://www.rev310.net/post/leadership-by-farce   No rational mind regarded the new leadership as legitimate.    All clear-eyed assessments knew the incoming man-in-charge was undeserving of his position. The means by which he’d come to power were marinated in corruption and fraud.     Conversely, the case of the rightful leader was legally sound - but law and order had been systematically undermined. The true top dog was spurned. Chaos abounded as his adversaries refused to grant him what he’d justly earned.   The fraudulent new leader was widely regarded as a bungling fool. He’d have stood no chance of gaining power if his unstable mental state had been properly disclosed. He assumed titles he wasn’t qualified to receive, even as he gained infamy for his bizarre antics. Nicknames which drew attention to his lack of self-control, his brittle ego, and his inept behaviors were well-known.   It came to light that the new leader’s ascent to power had been assisted by unethical people in key places. One might argue it was all “politics as usual,” but this was over-the-top “deep state” stuff: cold, covert, conniving, and corrupt. There was nothing remotely proper about any of it.   And it wasn’t far into the new leader’s rule that it was learned this cronyism was much bigger than it had initially appeared. Other countries were part of the collusion too – including their top leadership. These roots of corruption had run wide and deep.   The fake leader’s subjects paid grievously for his ill-gotten gain. The gravity and number of his authoritarian decisions were unparalleled. New taxation plans were heavy-handed, and decisions that eroded national welfare were made. Redistribution tactics were implemented which benefitted his shady supporters most.     Though relative peace and security had preceded the fraudulent leader’s rule, that all changed when he came to power. The new leader schemed with his advisors to undermine various places and pillars of vitality. Long-standing stalwarts of socioeconomic influence were attacked.    Foreign relations eroded quickly under the new leader’s administration. Diplomatic campaigns with other powers were insincere. Shoddy and meaningless agreements were struck, and the likelihood of wars grew.    Tensions and mistrusts swelled in the wake of the sham leader’s myopic postures, most notably in the Middle East. The new ruler made it clear from the get-go that his regard for Israel and the Jews was very poor. It was plain to see his crosshairs were on the back of the Jewish state.   Moreover, the new leader was personally compromised. Behind the scenes, he was indebted to other empires whose influence was clearly surging. His decisions could not cross the wishes and demands of these outside powers, and so they controlled him. These foreign nations cared little for the interests of the bogus leader’s own people.   Many innocent lives suffered due to the new leader’s disastrous decisions. Tens of thousands died as he failed to display even basic common sense. His zeal to enforce conformity placed him at odds with many who would not embrace his ideals. These dissenters posed threats to the new leader’s agenda, and he chafed as their liberties were expressed.   Rumors of a civil war simmered. His subjects writhed under his foolish antics, his desire for control, and his senseless schemes. This fiasco should not have happened in the first place.   The fraudulent new leader was Antiochus Epiphanes. Did you have somebody else in mind?   Antiochus Epiphanes reigned from 175 BC to his death in 164 BC. He ruled the Seleucid Kingdom which was headquartered in the area we know today as northern Syria. He is prophetically introduced in the Bible, roughly 350 years before his reign, in Daniel 11:21-35.     This portion of Daniel, and many historical records, provide a detailed account of a despicable king. Antiochus Epiphanes was not the rightful heir to the Seleucid throne; that claim belonged to another, Demetrius I Soter. With the help of King Eumenes II of Pergamum (Turkey), Antiochus Epiphanes seized the throne for himself and murdered remaining lineage threats.   The Bible records that the entire reign of Antiochus Epiphanes was marked by dishonesty and perversion. From beginning to end, his rule had a broader pagan agenda. His decisions pleased his godless supporters and other pagan cultures, but they displeased God.   Antiochus Epiphanes came to power during a time of relative calm. While his kingdom was still paying tributes to Rome for conflicts from years before, an acceptable status quo had entered. The century-long wars between the Seleucids up north and the Ptolemies down south in Egypt had yielded to a do-able peace. Folks had moved on with their lives and routines were established.   It all proved to be a false security. Antiochus Epiphanes’ ascent to the throne caught people unawares. His illegitimate power grab was a dramatic and disruptive event. The unexpected circumstances traumatized many both inside and outside his kingdom.   His insatiable lust for power dictated his bizarre conduct. Historical records are rife with the claim that Antiochus Epiphanes was “not right in the head.” He gave himself divine titles like Theos Epiphanes (“God Manifest”), and triumphant names like Nikephoros (“Bearer of Victory”). Such pretenses failed to disguise his eccentric tendencies, and some of his contemporaries called him Antiochus Epimanes instead. It was a wordplay off of his name, and it meant “The Mad One.”   In the immediate aftermath of his rise to power, Antiochus Epiphanes set out to crush all opposition to his reign. He reignited tensions and initiated a series of conflicts with his perceived enemies. Notably, he murdered the high priest, Onias III. This signaled to the Jews under his rule that Antiochus Epiphanes was not going to tolerate any religious dissension to his policies.   A sobering fact on the ascent of Antiochus Epiphanes is found in verse 23. Here, we find his rise to power was aided by “a few people” (NIV). The New Living Translation puts it more bluntly, “He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers.”    The bottom line is Antiochus Epiphanes was not a leader who had gained majority support. He did not represent the mainstream, and instead, his base was quite small. It is why his rise to power was a corrupt and deceitful process. He would not have acquired power any other way.   Once in power, Antiochus Epiphanes and his cronies pushed the envelope of frank corruption. The Bible records these activities as unprecedented – and strongly socialist in nature. He schemed to tear down the strength of others, and he plundered their wealth. Historical records note that he distributed these resources to influence and benefit his most ardent followers - in the form of blackmail, bribes, and other unethical transactions.    A veritable list of Antiochus Epiphanes’ character flaws rounds out the balance of this passage in Daniel. To start, Antiochus Epiphanes was markedly disingenuous in his dealings with other nations. He ignored common sense and he broke terms of the agreement to act out of self-interest. He met with foreign leaders with his own heart ‘bent on evil.” He engaged in lies instead of truth.    To top it all off, Rome made the final calls. Rome was the new emerging world power, and what Rome wanted, Rome got. While Antiochus Epiphanes was focused on acquiring greater plunder and influence for himself, he could not overlook his own compromised position with Rome.   The entire state of affairs inflamed Antiochus Epiphanes. He blamed the Jews for problems they were no part of, he actively meddled in other nation’s political affairs, he sought ways to limit his subjects’ rights and liberties, he persecuted those who disagreed with him, he elevated those who supported him, he silenced others who spoke out against him, and he escalated conflicts where he perceived he had something to gain.   His irrational and tyrannical behaviors were so corrupt, so violent, so murderous, and so comprehensive, that they incited the famous Maccabean revolt.   I already know what many of you are thinking, “So much THEN sounds like so much TODAY!”   You’re right. Many details in the story of Antiochus Epiphanes feel as though they were lifted straight out of America’s present challenges. An entire book could be written to make that case.   I recently finished teaching Daniel 11:21-35 to my Sunday School class. It took a few weeks to get through this passage, but as I worked my way through it verse by verse, I was also struck by the similarities between past and present leaders.   I received several questions several times as I taught this portion of Scripture. I share some of them here as I offer a few concluding points:   Why does the Bible give us so much information about Antiochus Epiphanes?   We are given extraordinary detail about Antiochus Epiphanes because he is a “type” – or picture - of the final antichrist. Nimrod, in Genesis Ch. 10, is too. Both came from the same region of what eventually became the eastern leg of the Roman Empire. That is probably significant.   Because the Bible makes the case that the antichrist will emerge from a “revived” Roman Empire, many people believe the antichrist will come from Europe. Such views fail to recognize the Roman Empire also had a powerful eastern leg, and that eastern leg outlasted the western one politically and militarily by hundreds of years.     Keep in mind, the Roman Empire never really disappeared. It merely changed form and function over time. It became the Holy Roman Empire and was once headquartered in Turkey. It then became the Holy Roman Catholic Empire, and today it’s simply called The Catholic Church.    Presently, The Catholic Church is headquartered in The Vatican, and its increasingly godless influence is obvious and worldwide. It traces its roots all the way back to its rise as a Gentile military and political kingdom around Antiochus Epiphanes’ time.   But the greater point is, we are given many specifics about Antiochus Epiphanes because much about him will also be true about the future antichrist. The Bible doesn’t waste words. We need to pay close attention.   What kind of administration will the antichrist have?   It’ll be a lot like the administration of Antiochus Epiphanes, but far worse. It’ll also be global. If you’re connecting all the dots here – it’ll be a much baser expression of the type of leadership we’re seeing right now in America: corrupt, deceitful, conniving, unethical, hostile to personal freedoms, anti-God, power-hungry, agenda-driven, suppressive, senseless, - - - and yes, socialist.   Jesus warned us we would see certain events exacerbating as the time of His Second Coming draws closer (Matt. 24:7-8). Typically, we think in terms of earthquakes, wars, famines, and such. But we are also seeing other trends in our time which portend the proximity of Christ’s Second Coming too. Like earthquakes and wars, these elements are increasing too.   These trends are “setting the stage” for one-world governance, and they include erosion of national boundaries, and embracing of socialism, a systemic rejection of Godly values, an obsession with “mother earth,” and various attempts to force the masses into conformity.   America was the world’s last holdout under its previous administration. The “America First” policies of President Trump thrust a hard stick into the spokes of a globalist agenda. This nation’s current administration is now working overtime to reverse those prior policies and to make America an active participant on the one-world stage.   Why would God allow America’s current administration into office?   Many believers suffer from looking at the Bible through the wrong lens. They try to interpret the Scriptures through a western-centric view.     The Bible is not only eastern-centric instead, but - in the prophetic sense – it is focused on the nation of Israel. Dr. John MacArthur said it best, “If you get Israel right, you get your eschatology right.” For us to properly understand the times in which we live, we need to properly understand that Israel is the hub of end-times events.   From my vantage point, President Trump did a lot of things right when it came to Israel. He formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He endorsed the Golan Heights as Israel’s land. He negotiated breakthrough peace deals with nations that historically were adversarial to the Jewish state. In nearly every way he supported Israel, and the Middle East had a rare calm.   Not so with the current leadership. America’s policies now are to advocate for Israel’s enemies and to undermine Israel’s national welfare. The effects of such shortsightedness are obvious.    Tensions have inflamed in the Middle East since Biden “took” office. His policies have invited this. The IDF and Israel’s neighbors are all projecting an imminent war against Israel from multiple fronts. The prophecies of Psalms 83, Jeremiah 49:34-39, and Isaiah 17:1-3 could occur any day.    My own opinion is God is using America’s current corrupt administration to bring about the next chapter of prophetic events concerning Israel. God has used depraved leaders and nations before to fulfill His plans with Israel – King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon are a great case in point (Jer. 25:9; 27:6; and 43:10). Like past leaders, current leaders remain subject to God’s sovereignty.   The story of Antiochus Epiphanes is not only a story about the past, it’s a window into the present. As we ponder the things which once took place, we are better equipped to understand the things which are now occurring.   The grand takeaway here is we live in the most exciting of times. The signs are so clear. We are likely the generation that will experience the Rapture. Every morning I wake up wondering if this will be the day of our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). Nearly every night, I pray for that.     May God strengthen our hearts with new resolve and encouragement as we glean from His Word, and as we faithfully endure in one righteous direction.

GOD WILL SAVE ISRAEL, NOT USA

 

By Pastor Mike Taylor

25 “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” (Romans 11:25-27)

Have you ever stopped to consider in this fast paced world we live in, the miracle this is the nation of Israel? Of all people on earth, the Israelites, the Jewish people have been the whipping boy for the entire world. They have been persecuted wherever they went. The Gentiles around them abused and destroyed many of the members of this race, God called Israelites, or Hebrew in the Old Testament during the time of Abraham.

I see what the history of Israel has been since I've been alive, and all you can say, God has worked a miracle when it comes to Israel. Let us examine for a bit, the quick history of the establishment of Israel and the fight she has had to bring to her enemies who only wish to destroy her.

In 1948, the tiny nation of Israel declared her independence and was recognized by our president at the time, Harry S. Truman, which gave them immediate credibility on the world stage. But it also brought about the swift action of the surrounding Arab neighbors who wished to drive them into the sea.

Israel should not have won. Their military assets were grossly inferior to the blood thirty Arabs who wished only to destroy this fledging nation and remove her from the face of the earth once and for all...but that is not what happened. Anyone who wants to read about the unheard of “miracle” of the first war of survival that Israel was faced with can only come away with one impression., that is, God was on the side of Israel.

No one can explain how Israel won the 1948 War of Independence.  The US Army War College at West Point doesn’t even study Israel’s victory.  When asked why, they replied, “We don’t teach miracles here.”...Even our military realized that it was an impossibility for Israel to win against such odds, but she did.

She has been the recipient of God's blessings, and many of those who fought did not realize that they were a part of the Divine intervention of God Almighty. Fast forward to the war that developed in 1967, or the Six Day War.

ISRAEL RECLAIMS THE TEMPLE MOUNT

In May, 1967, Egyptian and Syrian troops began massing along Israel's borders. Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping.  Egyptian President Gamel Abdul Nasser filled the airwaves with calls to drive the Jews into the sea.
Facing five well-equipped, Soviet trained Arab armies, Israel's defeat was virtually a foregone conclusion.  But instead of defeat, Israel managed to achieve a stunning victory. 
In just six days, Israel doubled its territory, capturing the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, Gaza, the West Bank and the Old City and Temple Mount.

This lightning speed war that gave Israel the victory against all odds, was called a miraculous victory, but it wasn't Israel's first miracle on the battlefield and it would not be her last. Every single battle that Israel has fought with her Arab neighbors has resulted in their victory in every single one of them and they all were miraculous.

There was a man that I was reading about during this Six Day War, that has a miraculous story to tell. The man Gershon Salamon tells a story of battling Jordanians forces just outside of his home in Israel. The man is a tenth generation “Sabra” or “native born Jerusalemite” who fought in every war since the 1948 war of Independence. The man was reported to had to have use of a cane to walk, and from that he told his story. The man's back was bowed and you would think he had some type of genetic defect that he was born with, such as Spina Bifida, or some similar defect that left him in this condtion.

His wife reported that she stood on her balcony and saw the fighting in a field just behind their house. She pointed out that the Jordanians were “right there” as she pointed off into the near distance. She knew her husband was probably fighting in that field
Backing up, it was told in 1958, during a battle on the Golan hights, that her husband was wounded by an Israeli tank. Salamon told of how the tank accidentally rolled over him and ran him over. The tank caught his collar of his shirt and folded him over backwards, snapping his spine in two.

The Jordanians overran their position and were shooting wounded Israeli soldiers as they lay on the ground. As they were about to shoot Gershon Salamon, he told that they suddenly dropped their weapons and ran away.
Later, it was reported to UN officers these enemy soldiers had seen thousands of soldiers surrounding the cripple IDF officer and had, therefore, fled believing they were outnumbered..The event was corraborated by a UN document filed by a UN observer, as he went to see the injured Salamon because he witnessed the retreat and was mystified to its cause.



Gershon Salamon's story of angelic warriors is not the first I'd heard -- it was merely the first time I'd heard the story from an eyewitness. The bible speaks of another time, when Angelic host came to fight on the side of Israel.
In 2^nd Kings, there is a recorded miracle of Divine intervention when the enemies of Israel surrounded the city and God provided a miracle that Elisha saw and told his servant “Fear not”. :

14 “Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.” (2^nd Kings 6:14-18)

REPORTS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD

Soldiers have reported seeing angelic being on the the battlefield and this has happened in all of Israel's wars. There is an example of a Colonel Uri Ram that was welcomed into Shecham by enemy Jordanian troops during the Six Day War.

Somehow the Jordanians inadvertantly mistook the Israelis for Iraqis and by the time they realized their mistake they had no choice but to surrender.

Another instance recalls of a lone Israeli soldier stumblind into a Jordanian trench where he single handedly captured Ammunition Hill which led to the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem the following day.

And an Egyptian tank commander in the Sinai surrendered his entire column to less than a dozen Israeli tanks on the second day of the Six Days War.   He later said that he saw thousands of them. Remember the scripture that Elisha opened the eyes of his servant to the hills being filled with chariots of fire all about them?

17 “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LordGod might dwell among them” (Psalms 68:17-18)

THE LIST GOES ON AND ON

Need a few more miracles that cannot be explained? I saw this on TV that was a depiction of this next miracle, when a group of Israel commandos were trapped in a minefield in the dark and they could not move, unless they trip a mine and kill them all. So they stayed where they were not knowing what to do. Suddenly, a strong wind came up and surrounded them and blew very hard for several minutes. When they finally opened their closed eyes from the blowing sand being expired, they could not believe their eyes. The wind had blown away all the sand around each land mine, and exposed them all to the soldiers and they were able to escape the mine field safely.

An Israeli documentary series entitled “Against All Odds - Israel Survives: The Complete First Season" details miracles a lot harder to explain, like strange beings with flaming swords defending a Jewish farming community from marauding Arabs. And the list just goes on and on.



I guess with any reported miracle, you could take it apart and try and explain it away as some natural cause rather than a supernatural cause. The Egyptian tank commander who lost his whole column could have been seeing only a “mirage” . Maybe the Jordanians had never seen an Iraqi tank and could not tell the difference between it and a Israeli tank.

Maybe the lone Israeli soldier was just “lucky” when he captured a whole host of Jordanian soldiers and the capturing of Ammunition Hill and the retaking their Holy City of Jerusalem.
I don't know what you could come up with to explain why the man Gershon Salamon survived and the enemy ran away seeing thousands of soldiers around him. I choose to believe that God has got Israel's back and will not let them be destroyed. Could it be coincidence? I don't believe God works in coincidence.



The Bible identifies the archangel Michael as Israel's guardian angel. (Daniel 10:13)
Daniel specifically notes that at the time of the end:

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

2 "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:1-3)

The prophet Zechariah prophesied that in the last days, God would send His angels to fight alongside Israel.

6 “In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”(Zechariah 12:6-9)

The war of Independence that Israel fought in 1948 is no less a miracle than the preservation of the Israelites in the desert when they took flight from Egypt under the command of their mortal shepherd, Moses. Or the miracles that Joshua commanded Israel to reclaim the land of Canaan for their promised land.

God has been doing miracle after miracle when it comes to the land of Israel, as God said that they would never be uprooted again.

20  “and when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.

21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.

23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.” (Ezekiel 36:20-25)

Israel has had to fight for her very life, since she came back into her own land, that God gave to her descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for a perpetual inheritance...meaning it will never end.

Remember in the recent past when Saddam Hussein fired thirty Scud missiles in to Israel during the first Gulf War, hoping to divide the UN coalition? Most of the missiles landed in the inhabited portions of Tel Aviv to name one, where in comparison, a single Scud missile fired at the US barracks in Saudi Arabia killed 28 National Guardsman from Pennsylvania. But not one missile killed one Jewish resident of these major cities of Israel. Only two causualites were reported..a Saudi security guard, and an Israeli-Arab.

During this war, Israel had nothing to do with the conflict between Kuwait and Iraq, but Israel is always the ultimate goal and target of those who wish to do her harm in any war in the Middle East.

IN RECENT NEWS CLIPS

I have been reading the developments in the nations surrounding Israel and from all reports, the Syrians and the Lebanese are trying to create a noose around Israel's neck. I have reported this in the recent past, but the enemies of Israel are growing more bold, since they have as their junkyard Dog, the nation of Russia to give them confidence of their ability to wage war in the area. I note that Hezbollah has upwards of 150,000 short, medium, and long range guided missiles that in the next war will cause much devastation for the Israeli-Arab citizens. To the east, the Golan Heights are being enforced with Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their troops that are building bases right at Israel's front door. The likelihood of another war involving Lebanon, or/and Syria is not if, but when will the fighting start.

It doesn't take much imagination to see that the next war is shaping up to be fought very soon. I have been watching and wondering when the prophesied war of Psalms 83 would be coming forth, and I feel we are on the cusp of its fulfillment. Never has this prophecy been completed, even though Isreael has fought many wars since her birth in 1948. God has promised Israel that they will possess all of the land promised to their forefather Abraham, and this war just might do it. When Israel is cornered and her existence is in doubt, the “Samson Option” will be put in place. I believe it might include a nuclear hit on the capital of Damascus, Syria.



FROM ONE WAR TO ANOTHER

As I have preached in the past, this coming Psalms 83 war sets the table for the next big war that will cause the earth to tremble when God will come down to defend Israel in all His fury and there will be no doubt who is doing the miracle here.

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

17 Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.

19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother.

22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 38:17-23)

Does it give you pause to know that each war is a domino, that when it falls, the next one is set up to be knocked over as well? What will the coming Ezekiel War produce? It will produce profound desolation of the invading armies that will destroy 85% or 5/6 of the invading army. The plague that will be produced will follow the survivors back to their home countries and the destruction continues in their own land, family, and countrymen. I believe Islam will be decimated, as the armies of this invading hoard are near total Islamic.

What is coming will be swift. It won't take many years before Gog-Magog will be brought down into Israel like a fish with a hook in his mouth and be destroyed on the mountains of Israel. When this happens, look for a charistmatic man to arise who will attempt to prevent such a total disaaster from happening again in this part of the world. The world has always been focusing on Israel as the problem with everything, including terrorism, the plight of the so called “Palestinians”, and every ill they can conceive to cast upon Israel. Anti-Semitism is and will grow to make Nazi Germany look like a school yard picnic compared to what is coming. As you know, this man will “confirm” a pre-existing covenant to fulfill the coming 70^th week of Daniel's prophecy concerning the people of Israel.

I see the whole scenario coming very quickly in our end of days, which we live in. But not to worry, if you be found in Jesus Christ, for that man will not be revealed until one thing happens. Can you say it before I do?

HOLY SPIRIT DRAWN BACK ALONG WITH HIS CHURCH

 7” For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 

8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,”(2ND Thessalonians 2:7-9 NKJV)

God will remove the Bride of Christ before the Anti-Christ is revealed. We won't see him, but may have an idea of who is actually is.

The soon removal of the Church from this planet, as that covenant confirmed will not be ratified before that time, and God will reveal that “man of sin” which we only can wonder who he is. He will be revealed at God's timing, and only God knows when He will remove the church from out of the way to bring His Holy Wrath upon this earth, and it starts with the signing of this 7 year “peace treaty” by the Anti-Christ and the government of Israel.

Israel still has a long “row to hoe” as she will face untold persecution in the foreseeable future. But God will bring a remnant through much suffering, and will come and fight for them, as Zechariah prophesied, and it is just over the horizon, just out of sight for us, but grows closer with each passing day.

2 “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” (Zechariah 14:3-5)

Israel will realize their Messiah through much death and persecution, where the Bible says 2/3 of the people will be slain, but a remnant will be saved.

8” And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.”(Zechariah 13:8-9)

Believe my reader, Israel's existence is a daily miracle, punctuated at times by a whole set of miracles, but you have not seen anything yet. Those who are still on this planet, will see much happening in the nation of Israel. They will see Divine Protection, but also Divine judgment to bring Israel to the realization of her Messiah.

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)

 This Divine protection over Israel, even their refining as gold is refined in the fire, is not conditional. God will not remove His Hand from the protection of Israel, unlike what is happening in America. God cannot withdraw His hand from Israel, but it doesn't apply to the USA, as we do not have a covenant with God, as Israel does and ratified in the time of Abraham. American could collapse and go the way of the Roman Empire, but Israel cannot.
Israel is on the exact real estate that the Roman Empire evicted them from in 70 AD. Restoration began in 1948 and will never be annulled. God will not allow Israel to be destroyed and restored again. These are the final days of the end for this earth, and the fulfillment of Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy.



The restoration of Israel marks the  beginning of the countdown to the return of Christ within that generation.   Israel can only be restored for the first time once.

“Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

Note that the word ‘ordinance’ means ‘law.’  God has decreed the existence of Israel forever as a matter of Divinely-settled law.  Israel’s miracles aren’t over.  Not by a long shot. 
If anything, they are just beginning.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Israel has all kinds of Divine promises to protect, and restore her. You and I cannot say the same thing. We are a Gentile nation that God has a plan for us as well. Israel are a special people in His eyes, but He has another special people that He desires to be in His family, just as Israel are His chosen people. God has been working with a “people who were not His people”

We the chosen of this age are called “His people” His bride...

7 “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

8 'And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” (1^st Peter 2:7-10)

God has chosen a people, who will become part of His family..the Family of God YAHWEH. We who accepted Jesus as personal Savior will not see much of what I have spoken of near the end. It is designed for the future after the church is gone. I invite you to become part of this family...The Family of God. It only takes belief in two scripture passages, as there are many more, but this two passages seal the gift of eternal life for all who believe.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

and the other passage I like to include in any message I write beside the above, is the following:

 “ 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” ” (Roman 10:8-13)

Make that decision for Christ today, as Israel has a promise, you do not...

This is pastor Mike Taylor, praying for your salvation today. If you need prayer, counseling, or just a listening ear, email me at pastormiketaylor@ yahoo.com. God bless you all.

TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET