Posted on 10/08/2011 7:24:43 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
The burden against Damascus. “ Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. (Isaiah 17::1)
Like much of the Arab world, Syria is a nation in agony. The passions incited by the “Arab Spring” have been inflamed in Syria, as they have in the rest of the middle east. No one can fault the people of the region for longing to throw off the suffocating tyrannies that have held absolute rule over them for so long.
Through a ruthless willingness to crush all dissent, the late Hafez Assad and his son Bashir, have made of Syria a terrifying police state .The Assad’s are Alawite Muslims, ruling over the majority Sunni nation.
There have been uprisings before against the Assad regime, but always repressed without mercy. For six years starting in 1976, Muslim brotherhood- backed Sunni rebels resisted the Assad regime in a low level conflict. But in February 1982, the Syrian army was called out in full force, launching an attack on the town of Hama where the resistance originated. The ensuing massacre resulted in the slaughter of 35,000 to 40,000 Syrians!
Syria’s current violent repression of its own people, has been severely censured by her near neighbors, and by the wider world community. Because of the refugee crisis created by the Assad’s brutal crackdown on its own people, Turkey has threatened to intervene, and is currently holding military exercises all along the border with Syria as a saber-rattling exercise.
Assad of Syria and his advisers, know full well what the Europeans through NATO did to the Gaddafi regime of Libya, and is determined not to allow that to happen to his own.
Syria’s current “cornered animal” foreign policy is much like another Arab despot, the late Saddam Hussein. It consists of drawing out the “hate Israel card” in the face of international sanctions and threats, hoping to rally the sympathies of her Israel hating neighbors. Assad’s response to the west/Nato is to threaten to obliterate Tel Aviv!
Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency reported on Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a dark warning to western countries during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmad Davutoglu, saying that if his regime comes under attack from NATO the way his colleague, ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi did, he will fire missiles at Tel Aviv. “If a crazy measure is taken against Damascus, I will need not more than 6 hours to transfer hundreds of rockets and missiles to the Golan Heights to fire them at Tel Aviv,” Assad reportedly said. He added that he would demand of the Lebanese Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah that they join in the attack. “All these events will happen in three hours, and in the following three hours, Iran will attack the US warships in the Persian Gulf and the US and European interests will be targeted simultaneously,” he concluded. Assad Threatens Tel Aviv
Israel has indicated that it will respond to an attack, with full force, threatening to bomb Gaza, Syrian and Hezbollah controlled Lebanon, and Damascus itself! This from a Lebanese source, Naharnet; Israel has warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that should Tel Aviv be attacked, then it will retaliate by bombing the Gaza Strip and the whole of Lebanon. Israel’s NFC website reported that the Jewish state’s government relayed this message to the Syrian president through European intelligence circles.
These sources said that seeing as Tel Aviv is Israel’s economic and financial hub, a retaliation for an attack against it, by Hizbullah, Hamas, or Syria, will not be limited to Syria, but all of Lebanon and Gaza.
NFC reported Israeli military circles as saying that the Jewish state’s message to Assad “is clear in that Damascus’ fate, should it be targeted, will not be different than Lebanon’s.”
Syria has long been the bitter,implacable enemy of Israel. In spite of overwhelming odds, Syria, along with Egypt, Jordan,Iraq and the rest of the Arab world, have been defeated by Israel in more several wars. Under the Assads, Syria has undermined and destabilized Lebanon, virtually turning it into a ‘client state’, assasinating popular leaders and installing The Rest of the article: Syrian backed puppets. Southern Lebanon has been turned into a stronghold for the terror group Hezbollah through which the Assad regime has been fighting a proxy war against Israel .
We don’t know when exactly, but the spark that will finally lead to Armageddon, involves what happens to Syria, and Damascus in particular. The oldest continually inhabited city in the world will “cease from being a city”, many of the surrounding cities of Syria will have to be abandoned, and the world will go into an absolute anti-Israel frenzy.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us.(Isaiah 17:12-14) )
Things are heating up, prophecy is being fulfilled. People say,”They have always been saying that, what makes this time different? “, True they have always said that Jesus was coming back, but only in our life time, have the prophecies been capable of fulfillment, for they all pre-suppose an entity, a nation of Israel, which was deconstituted almost two thousand years ago, but since 1948 has been resurrected!Jesus is coming soon! Make sure you are ready to meet the Lord. If you should die, would you go to heaven?
Are you ready? Why should a Holy God let you into His Holy Heaven? The only acceptable reason why sinners like you and I should be allowed into the Holy Heaven of God, is because “Christ died for sinners, once and for all, the just for the unjust to bring us to God”- do you believe that? ave you confessed Jesus as Lord?
ping
the true “Israel” of God are all those believers in Jesus Christ ( whether they be Jew or Gentile ) corporate Israel was cursed by Jesus, and it will never bear fruit again.
Jesus rules today as King, not in some future 1,000 year period.
Do you see this as conveying a more accurate sense of the meaning of the text in comparison to more mainstream efforts?
“Matthew 21:18-22
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
If this is the verse you are refering to to base your assertion on, you are way off target. You also ignore scores of Old Testament prophecies regarding the status of Israel when Messiah shall rule on the Earth, presumably during the millenial reign as mentioned in Revelation.
yes, Jesus cursed the fig tree and it will never bear fruit again. Paul tells us who the true Israel of God is and he also tells us who the true Jew is. ( actually the Holy Spirit tells us thru Paul’s writings )
the problem people have in reading the OT, they see “Israel” mentioned and they immediately think of Jewish DNA. it’s as if Paul and historic Christianity never happened. once someone realized who “Israel” is in the Scriptures, the scales are removed.
Abraham continues to bear fruit and by the spirit of adoption has inherited Christian gentiles as well a few Christian Jews. There will be more Jews joining us as foretold by Paul in Hebrews, they’ll be “grafted back in”. Israel will stand until the final judgment and perhaps beyond in the form of the redeemed. Israel is God’s anvil upon which he’ll beat the spirituality of Humanity into the image of his son Jesus Christ!
when Paul says “all Israel will be saved”, is he speaking of the Body of Christ, the Church or is he speaking of every person with Jewish DNA?
Paul says the blindness will be lifted off the Jews and they’ll be “grafted back in”. Revelation says Christ will rule out of a new Jerusalem centered in the Middle east in a region 1500 miles in all directions. Israel, yes consists of her spirit filled people first, but let’s not over spiritualize and symbolize graphically prophesied, black and white text.
Christ, cursed the fig tree to give an object lesson about faith that can move mountains, there was nothing in that story’s context where he condemns Israel to further fruitlessness. Had that been so, then Christ should not have died for our sins and resurrected! Indeed, is not Christ the “shoot of Jesse” and are we not of the fruits of that vine or at least, have we not been grafted in?
Israel abides forever!
END TIMES PING LIST PING . . . ISAIAH 17 . . .
Paul, in speaking of a spiritual Israel never in his writings implied that a physical Israel would again be incorporated as its own entity. Modern replacement theology has asserted that, putting words in Paul’s mouth. Revelation graphically asserts that Christ will rule out of Jerusalem, albeit in a heavenly constructed city. The OT in many places speaks of the restored status of the Hebrews during the millenial time when Messiah rules on the Earth, how people, including the gentiles, will seek individual Jews(this may include Christian gentiles, via the spirit of adoption) out for teaching and wisdom. The nations of the Earth will be FORCED yearly to send delegations to Israel to give honor to God, if they did not do so, their nations would have no rain.
A physically restored Israel has a place in the Earth’s future, just as each individual redeemed of Christ(from before the rapture) will have a place in the ruling of the world at this time.
So, Elenin didn’t pan out? Or is that still in play?
Looks like a couple of replacement theology types who don’t take God at His word. Don’t guess there’s much we can do for them.
Actually it was the Holman version, and I used by accident(although I have no problem with it)- I meant to use the KJV-
SIGH.
VERY SAD, THAT.
I don’t know what you are talking about- Scripture is my guide-
Thanks for the ping!
Lies upon Lies upon Lies, Blasphemy against YHVH, when will it end.
Jesus rules today as King
Last I checked, Yah’shua the prophesied King is not sitting on the Throne in the temple in Jerusalem. When the time comes, we will see our King crowned. Until then, prepare for the tribulation because none will be free from it for it is through tribulation that the tares will be exposed and plucked from amongst the wheat.
It is because it didn't happen but in the imaginations of sheeple following lies (Jer 16:19 ~ our ancestors inherited nothing but lies)
Acts Ch 7:
[NKJV]: 5 These men, going ahead, waited for us at Troas. 6 But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. 7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight
the word “day” is italicized meaning that that word is NOT in the original scroll, but was added. Now read it as it more properly translated.
5 These men went on and waited for us in Troas, 6 while we sailed from Philippi after the Days of Matzah. Five days later, we met them in Troas, where we spent a week. 7 On Motza’ei-Shabbat, when we were gathered to break bread, Sha’ul addressed them. Since he was going to leave the next day, he kept talking until midnight.
Motza’ei-Shabbat means going out of the Sabbath, Saturday night after Sabbath services ended.
In Greek the word for first is Strongs G3391 = mia = mee’-ah which means “first of” and since we know it is after the days of unleavened bread, we know that this is during the counting of the Omer.
The Greek word for week used is Strongs G4521 = sabbaton = sab’-bat-on which when taken in context means "the weeks of the Sabbaths"; the 7 Sabbaths of the Omer, 49 days starting at First Fruits & when the spring barley harvest begins and then is completed at the next High Sabbath which is Shavuot/Pentecost.
Breaking bread is a Hebrew idiom for a meal, any meal, any day, any hour. It has nothing to do with what we know as communion. In Hebrew, the custom we know as communion is called Passover in Hebrew and is but once a year. Also, in the 1st century they did not use names for the days of the week. How they counted days was “the 1st day after Sabbath, the 2nd after, etc, etc” or “the 6th day before Sabbath, 5th day before, 4th day before, etc, etc”. Everything was centered around the Sabbath and it was not abolished or changed as we can clearly see that after the Messiah had risen, they were all still keeping the Sabbath & teaching in the synagogues as there were no churches as we know them to be. And really, what pagan cleric is going to let a Jewish Rabbi come in to speak & convert their followers. It just did not happen.
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