Posted on 06/19/2010 7:09:47 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
Current Events and Biblical Warnings
This paper looks at some interesting current events in the light of Biblical prophecy. I want to make it clear from the outset that I am not trying to predict anything about the events described in the Book of Revelation. Rather, I am trying to see current events in the light of some Biblical warnings. God made it very clear that nations who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who turn against Israel will be cursed. God told Abraham,
“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
Later, God made it clear that this promise also applies to the nation of Israel:
“And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he took up his oracle and said... Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.” (Numbers 24:2-3, 9, emphasis added)
Baalam’s prophecy makes it clear that it is not healthy to do bad things to Israel. Nations that try to harm Israel risk incurring the wrath of God. Unfortunately, America seems to be moving in that direction. The United States is putting tremendous pressure on Israel to give the West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem to the Palestinians. (What politicians call “The West Bank” is an area that the Bible calls “Judea.”) This is being done in the name of “peace.” However, in the past, whenever Israel gave up land to the Palestinians, instead of resulting in peace, that land has been used to launch rockets at Israel.[1] The Palestinians control the Temple Mount, and only Muslims are allowed to pray there. Jews and Christians are forbidden to pray at the Temple Mount. Obama supports this prohibition.[2] The President of the United States forbids Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. President Obama and his administration are trying to force Israel to give the Palestinians “full control of a major neighborhood in Jerusalem.” They want this to be done before peace talks are conducted, with no promise of getting anything in return for the sacrifice.[3] For years, Hamas has launched rockets into Israel from Gaza. Finally, Israel had to act in self defense. In order to do that, it had to invade Gaza. The Israeli soldiers used great restraint in order to minimize civilian casualties. However, a U.N. document called “The Goldstone Report” portrays Hamas as being innocent victims, and Israel as being the aggressor.[4]
“The Goldstone commission found Israel guilty of committing war crimes during its anti terror Cast Lead offensive in Gaza early this year. Many in Israel feel that the commission’s purpose was to categorize Israel’s attempt to fight the same terrorist threat that threatens the entire world as ‘war crimes.’”[5]
The Israeli Sanhedrin wrote a letter of warning to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. They said that the Goldstone Report constitutes “an attack upon Israel,” and if the U.N. follows that route, then it will “bring upon the world the catastrophic events described in the Bible’s Book of Joel.”[6] Here is what the prophet Joel said about the seriousness of taking land away from Israel. Notice that God calls the Jews His people, and He calls Israel His land.
“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.” (Joel 3:1-2, emphasis added)
On April 8, it was reported that the United States has been “conducting negotiations with Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.” The issues being negotiated include “future borders.” In other words, these negotiations involve changing Israel’s borders. That would mean giving some of Israel’s land to the Palestinians. The news report said,
“A senior PA negotiator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said rather than act as an intermediary, the U.S. has been negotiating with Israel on behalf of the PA, assuming all Palestinian positions and bargaining with Israel from the Palestinian side. The account was confirmed with sources in the Israeli government, who said such behavior by the U.S. government is unprecedented.”[7]
On Wednesday, April 14, a pastor in Iowa preached a sermon based on chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Joel. That sermon was posted on YouTube.[8] Within two hours of that sermon, an exploding meteorite lit up the skies over Wisconsin and Iowa.[9] You can watch it on YouTube.[10] A portion of the night sky suddenly (but briefly) becomes bright as day. A volcano erupted in Iceland. On Wednesday, April 15, European airports were closed because of the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland.[11] During the day, it is as dark as night under that cloud of smoke and ash. You can see a photo that dramatically shows the contrast.[12] That volcano has erupted again, spewing ash over North Africa.[13] There is a much larger volcano nearby. Scientists are watching it carefully because it usually erupts when the smaller one does.[14] The prophet Joel described some events that will occur before God judges the nations. They include fire, blood, and pillars of smoke. They also include darkness in the middle of the day. Joel said,
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.” (Joel 2:30-31)
Now the smoke and ash of the volcano were a short-term event over Europe, as opposed to being a world-wide catastrophe. And the blood spilled in the oil rig explosion only involved 11 people being killed, as opposed to the carnage of a bad war. The meteorite was dramatic, but a small local sign, as opposed to something major. Perhaps you could call this a small-scale preview of something huge that will happen in the future. The pastor’s sermon discussed the plague of locusts that is described in chapter 1 of the Book of Joel, and referred to in chapter 2 (“I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten…”). On April 14 (the day he preached that sermon), a plague of locusts hit Australia, covering an area the size of Spain.[15] The following Sunday, our pastor read from chapter 3 of Joel. I had watched the April 14 sermon the day before, so hearing about Joel in my own church got my attention. I did some research about plagues of locusts and learned about the April 14 locust plague in Australia. The next day I read about the meteorite over Iowa. On April 20, an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people. The resulting fire and smoke were dramatic.[16] So far, efforts to control the spill have not been successful. The sermon about Joel, the meteorite, the volcano, the plague of locusts, and the oil rig explosion all occurred within one week. Here is what we have in terms of Joel:
• A plague of locusts in Australia. It is so large that it covers an area the size of Spain.
• A volcano, which means fire and smoke. The huge cloud of ash and smoke makes the sun look dark in the middle of the day. When the wind blows it over Europe, it is dense enough to stop air traffic.
• An oil rig explosion that kills people. This is fire that sheds blood, and it results in a pillar of smoke.
• A meteorite which suddenly and dramatically lights up the night sky. Taken by itself, I wouldn’t think much about it. However, when you combine it with the locusts and the volcano and the exploding oil rig, then (in the context of Joel 2:30) it could be considered a small “wonder in the heavens.”
On April 30, a British newspaper reported that Obama is threatening to “impose” a peace plan on the Middle East. He is reportedly “eager to gain international recognition for the creation of a Palestinian state.” The article says,
“The US president is proposing to hand control of the Middle East peace process to the international community unless there is a breakthrough in the next few months, Israeli officials have said. Mr Obama has formulated a secret plan with leading European allies to convene an international peace conference by the end of the year, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.”[17]
This imposed peace plan would “fulfil one of Israel’s deepest fears.” In effect, Israel would be stripped of its ability to do any negotiating. The international community would impose its will on Israel. Judging by present demands, it would give the Palestians some or all of the West Bank (Judea) and Eastern Jerusalem. According to Joel 3:2, some day God will bring judgment upon all nations because they divided up Israel. (God calls Israel His land.) That sounds like a pretty good description of having the international community force Israel to give part of its land to the Palestinians. This is not “business as usual.” I believe that God is trying to get our attention. Perhaps you could call it a “shot across the bow of the ship” to warn us not to harm Israel. If we fail to heed the warning, then we could wind up facing God’s judgment. If you read the Book of Judges, you can see many examples of how God brought judgment against His people when they turned away from Him. Another example of God’s judgment is the Babylonian captivity. I am not trying to speculate about the End Times. Rather, I want to call attention to the importance of taking God’s warnings seriously. The Bible tells us that those who curse Israel will be cursed by God, and if the nations take land away from Israel, then God will judge them for it.
NOTES
1. “The Long March to Destroy Israel,” May 12, 2010. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=146961
2. “The Eyes of Obama Are Everywhere – Even on Temple Mount,” March 14, 2010. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=127940
3. “Obama Pushing Israel to Carve Up Jerusalem?” April 22, 2010. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=144077
4. “U.N. Accused of Setting Up Israeli Officials,” January 27, 2010. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=123301
5. “Sanhedrin to UN: Goldstone Will Bring Judgment Upon You,” November 2, 2009. [The Hebrew Bible numbers the chapters differently than Christians do in the Old Testament. What the Sanhedrin calls chapter 4 is what we call chapter 3.] http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/134185
6. See Note 5.
7. “Unprecedented: U.S. Bargaining on Behalf of Palestinians,” April 8, 2010. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=137793
8. Signs in the Sky
9. “Meteor Seen Streaking Across Iowa Sky,” April 15, 2010. http://www.radioiowa.com/2010/04/15/meteor seen streaking across iowa sky/
10. “Huge Meteor Across Midwestern Sky USA, 14th April 2010.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypcLtsJkBOc
11. “Volcanic Ash Closes European Airports,” April 16, 2010. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/16/world/la fg volcano flights16 2010apr16
Some dramatic photos of the volcano. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html
12. Photo of a farm house at the edge of the ash cloud. To the left, you see clear blue skies. To the right, it is dark as night. http://www.csmonitor.com/CSM Photo Galleries/In Pictures/Iceland volcano/(photo)/8
13. “Iceland Volcano Erupts Again On May 11, Spews Ash Over North Africa.” http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/iceland volcano erupts again on may 11 spews ash over north africa_100362605.html
14. “Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Is Nothing to ‘Angry Sister’ Katla.” http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0418/Iceland s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano is nothing to Angry Sister Katla
15. “Locust Plague Hits Eastern Australia,” April 14, 2010. http://www.physorg.com/news190448921.html
16. “Rig Exploded with Hiss, ‘Green Flash.’” [The article includes a photo showing the rig exploding, with fire and a huge cloud of smoke coming out of it.] http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/11/1624656/rig exploded with hiss green flash.html
17. “Barack Obama threatens to impose peace plan on Middle East,” April 30, 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/7659235/Barack Obama threatens to impose peace plan on Middle East.html
9. “Meteor Seen Streaking Across Iowa Sky,” April 15, 2010. http://www.radioiowa.com/2010/04/15/meteor seen streaking across iowa sky/
10. “Huge Meteor Across Midwestern Sky USA, 14th April 2010.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypcLtsJkBOc
11. “Volcanic Ash Closes European Airports,” April 16, 2010. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/16/world/la fg volcano flights16 2010apr16
Some dramatic photos of the volcano. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html
12. Photo of a farm house at the edge of the ash cloud. To the left, you see clear blue skies. To the right, it is dark as night. http://www.csmonitor.com/CSM Photo Galleries/In Pictures/Iceland volcano/(photo)/8
13. “Iceland Volcano Erupts Again On May 11, Spews Ash Over North Africa.” http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/iceland volcano erupts again on may 11 spews ash over north africa_100362605.html
14. “Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Is Nothing to ‘Angry Sister’ Katla.” http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0418/Iceland s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano is nothing to Angry Sister Katla
15. “Locust Plague Hits Eastern Australia,” April 14, 2010. http://www.physorg.com/news190448921.html
16. “Rig Exploded with Hiss, ‘Green Flash.’” [The article includes a photo showing the rig exploding, with fire and a huge cloud of smoke coming out of it.] http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/11/1624656/rig exploded with hiss green flash.html
17. “Barack Obama threatens to impose peace plan on Middle East,” April 30, 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/7659235/Barack Obama threatens to impose peace plan on Middle East.html
I suppose we're too Christian of a nation to be told this in the ENEMEDIA.
I’m convinced.
I will agree with you on this point, Something seems to have been set in motion in the last few years and I do think the Global clock is seconds to Midnight.
Whatever His plan is, I’m all for it! Hey, LORD - bring it! Or, put another way: Maranatha!
Well said! Mara Natha!!
I don’t believe that pastors start churches. I think Jesus Christ started the Church. Any church that is not an offshoot of another church is:
1. Not following the order of the book of Acts
2. Is suspect until proven otherwise
On the other hand, I do believe we should pay attention to the signs of the times. They should not be under-interpreted or over-interpreted. They are exactly what they are and they compare with all of scripture or they do not.
Thank you for the comment - what do you mean by the comment about Pastors starting churches? Just curious
I get what you mean, I just re read my information page, I am only saying that we pioneered a church, the one I now pastor, and I appreciate what you said, but we were in agreement with another local church about it, thank you-
check us out at www.believersingrace.com thanks for being discerning and up front- pas Bill
Type “Wormwood” into a russian-english translator. It freaked me out many years ago.
I agree that that the devastation the book of Revelation describes has not occurred yet, but it pays to watch the news!
Maranatha!
On the Latest Articles page, take a look at the thread right above this one.
I saw that, shocking isn’t it? Heaven and earth shall pass away but God’s Word will not, but we can’t say the same for the constitution!
Hi Lera! Everyday it just gets wierder and wierder doesn’t it? Come Lord Jesus!
Amen, Maranatha! Amen sister !
Good. Jesus says, “My chuch..” Those who think they “founded” a church are of a different church, therefore. There is no such thing as a self-ordained minister or a minister-started church.
Good. Jesus says, “My chuch..” Those who think they “founded” a church are of a different church, therefore. There is no such thing as a self-ordained minister or a minister-started church.
Good. Jesus says, “My chuch..” Those who think they “founded” a church are of a different church, therefore. There is no such thing as a self-ordained minister or a church not lineally connected to the original church established by Jesus.
obviously
Sorry guys, Obama isn’t the AC. He has the spirit of antichrist, but he’s not the Son of Perdition. He’s not got the pedigree and he’s not in the right place.
Ergodan, on the other hand...
Oil rig fire, blood, and smoke...some would say it’s strtching it to equate that with “blood, fire, and pillar of smoke.”. On the other hand it should lead a biblically thoughtful man to think. Do you think that is “the” fulfillment of that prophecy or do you see it and other events today as invitations to think? Personally, I’d make an exception for Israel prophecies...they are such that only the biblically illiterate would not be watching them.
Test the spirits to see if they are of Christ.
“Test the spirits to see if they are of Christ.”
This, combined with Acts 17:11, will keep you safe when it comes to prophecy. Test all things, search the Scriptures daily and see if they are true.
Where did the original quote come from? I’ve not heard of this.
To be honest, I've been pondering along the same lines--not that I see the final fulfillment of the trumpets in any of this, but on the possibility that the Holy One is sending similar, if lesser, judgments against America as a warning.
If this is a "sea turned to blood," might Katrina be a type of hail and fire (lighting) mixed with blood (death) that damaged the "green grass" of our crops?
I don't know. If the next major disaster to hit this country is the contamination of a large chunk of our fresh water supply, however, I might be buying flashlights and locust repellant.
A lot of prophecy scholars are bothered by the apparent absence of the USA from prophecy. I think they're not entirely correct, but it is true that we're no longer the great superpower in the End Times. Is it possible that this country, this "Christian nation" founded by its first colonists in terms of a covenential relationship with the Holy One, will experience a personal apocalypse before the big event?
Again, I don't know. But I'm dilligently studying to find out.
Shalom.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.