Think the 2012 date setters are not having a negative effect on many in the Church? Obviously this speculation based mostly on Mayan ages and a Mahdi coming out of well is attracting many followers. Some such as the “Gospel Tract Society” now take the position that we are already in the tribulation. H E L L O… what tribulation? I will say it as gently as I can, those who think we are already in the tribulation have lost their marbles.

I do not see a good end result coming from all this date setting nonsense. By 2013 Bible prophecy teachers will be mocked. It is as if there is a Satanic deception (there is) to destroy the message of the soon coming of Jesus through the promotion of those crying wolf based on pagan crap – not the Bible. This 2012 date setting speculation is not coming from God.

I think I understand why people promote their crap and pet theories in books, it is profitable for them. But, why do Christians buy it and suck it up like it was profound biblical truth. Some of us warned that the 88 reason why Jesus would come in 1988 was unfounded but people bought the books anyway and Bible prophecy teaching in the Church took a huge hit because of that. Now we have to endure the 2012 end of the world books and movies based on pagan fantasy and those who only know enough about Bible eschatology to twist it to fit their theories.

The world is not going to end in 2012 and we are not in the tribulation. Like Nathan Jones said in this article “take a chill pill”

The Christ in Prophecy Journal: Gospel Tract Society Abandons Pre-Trib Heritage

The Gospel Tract Society has changed their longstanding view in the last month. Lamb & Lion Ministries was first alerted to the change when the ministry’s successor, Tom Buttram, asked founder Dr. David Reagan to change the wording in his tract “Living for Christ in the End Times” (based on the article) from “Rapture” to “Second Coming.” The second alert came when a friend of Lamb & Lion Ministries contacted the Gospel Tract Society for copies of that tract, only to be told the remaining 6,000 in inventory were going to be destroyed.

Upon inquiry as to why the Gospel Tract Society would desire to change the wording and destroy the existing inventory, Tom Buttram responded with a very startling revelation. “As though someone reprinted my Bible overnight,” Tom Buttram now believes humanity has already entered into the Tribulation and the Church will not be raptured until the Seventh Trumpet Judgment has sounded mid-way through the Tribulation.

after over 80 years of the Gospel Tract Society proclaiming the imminent return of Jesus Christ, they will now refocus their attention on printing materials “needed for all to escape delusion and attack” by the Man of Lawlessness (the Antichrist) and a Mid-Tribulation rescue by Jesus.

the esteemed Gospel Tract Society after 80 years of preaching the Rapture of believers before world judgment has just declared that they got it all wrong, that we are actually living in the Tribulation, and that we will all be attacked (means “massacred,” folks) by the coming world leader — and that is supposed to be a source of calm!?! Just how much “calm” are they now going to spread with their newest batch of tracts?

Secular movies like “Knowing” and “2012″ and books and commentaries and pundits (and the list goes on) are very interested in End Time speculation. Only the overall Church seems to be sleeping on this subject. But, for those believers who are anticipating Christ’s return, a certain hysteria has begun to set in. The people are getting very antsy and have begun chasing after every new theory and speculation that rises to the scene.

Secondly, as Dr. Ron Rhodes once said, we are filtering God’s Word through our human antennae and our fallen nature is putting static in our reception.

Every person believes God is giving them a particular revelation or insight into the Bible that is different than what they once believed — but they all conflict! I get hundreds of emails a week from people all over the world, and many writers purport to have discovered some special insight from God. For example, could the Pope, Javier Solana, Prince Hassan, Tony Blair, Barack Obama, the Mahdi and the entire United States of America all be the Antichrist at the same time? Saved believers in Christ each have a candidate God has “revealed” to them in Scripture. Or, could the Tribulation be seven years long, World War II, the Papal years, only for Israel, for the entire world, and it’s just the conflict in our hearts all at same time? Saved believers each have a position. But, only one answer can possibly be correct.

To use an 80’s term, we all need to “take a chill pill.

Full article

I think one of the reasons why people get way off on Bible prophecy is that they do not understand the nature of the Bride of Christ. The Church is the betrothed Bride of Jesus Christ. Even those who do seem to understand that concept often completely miss how God showed us the future of His blood bought Church in the process of obtaining a wife in the culture of the ancient past. I think Jack Kelly explains this as good as anyone I know in this article. I hope it will help you understand that God has a unique role for the Church apart from Israel and that the bride of a soon coming King would rule with the King but would not replace the King’s Kingdom. Apart from ancient customs there are also stories and “types” in the Bible that convey similar concepts. Kelly points out such a “type” in the details surrounding the obtaining of a bride for Abraham’s son, Isaac.

Keep in mind that after the price was agreed on and the Bride agrees to become the wife she does not know when the Groom will come for her. She also cannot disown the groom and the groom cannot disown her except if there is clear proof of adultery. We do have eternal security if we remain faithful to Jesus.

The Bride | GraceThruFaith

by Jack Kelley

This is an update of an article originally published in March 2004. While it’s based on the Bible, it also includes Jewish wedding traditions from Biblical times. Some of these traditions go all the way back to Abraham’s time and are described in Genesis 24.

the young woman was to watch and wait at her parents’ home. She and her bridesmaids had to maintain a constant state of preparedness, since the wedding date would not be revealed to her until the bridegroom actually appeared at her door to take her to their new home.
Surprise, Surprise

For his part, the groom would try to show up unexpectedly to surprise her, carrying her off suddenly “like a thief in the night” when no one would see them. The only advance warning she would get was the sound of his voice shouting her name and the blast of a ram’s horn.

Full article

(Revised addition)

I have been saying that the Mediterranean Union (MU) will be the actual revived Roman Empire and not the EU alignment that we see today because many of the nations in the EU do not belong in the land area of  the old Roman Empire and others that belong in it are missing from the EU. Some have said I am wrong because the MU idea was recently not well received by certain nations. However, that is changing, it looks like Sorkozy’s MU idea will take root after all.

The Mediterranean Union as the revived Roman Empire makes more sense to me than the present EU for a lot of prophetic reasons. First of all, let me be clear, I am not saying the EU is going to die, it will probably just morph into the borders of the MU and move its headquarters to Rome. Whether or not the EU changes its name to the MU or even something else is really not important.

I still think the major change from the present EU to the borders of the proposed MU will take place during and after a world war with radical Islam that will include the Arab and Israeli war of Psalm 83. There has to be a war in the Middle East. How else can Israel rid the area of over 40,000 rockets that threatens all of Israel today? The Arabs are never going to peacefully give up their weapons and they are not going to recognize Israel’s right to exist in the Middle East as a Jewish state. A major war is certain.

Some of the Eastern nations in the EU are just not going to fit in with the West and will eventually form their own union probably dominated by Russia. Look at a ancient map of the land extent of the old Roman Empire. This will probably be about the same extent of the revised Roman Empire. The EU today simply does not fit.

The EU has its headquarters in Brussels Belgium which prophetically means absolutely nothing. The MU would much more likely have its headquarters located in Rome which prophetically means absolutely everything.

Israel will be in the MU as will the defeated states of Psalm 83 and others already predetermined to be part of the MU. This makes the prophetic statement about the Antichrist figure confirming a covenant with the “many” for seven year much more plausible. The only way Israel can live in peace and security with hostile neighbors is if it is enforced by a force larger than any of the nations involved. Being part of the MU is a rational reason why Israel would be living in peace and security prior to the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war.

Israel is to become part of this revived Roman Empire also known as the MU. The peace and security in Israel is prophetically absolutely required before the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39. The covenant or treaty the Antichrist confirms with all these nations is the conditions lain down by Israel and the Western powers after the war of Psalm 83, the war against radical Islam, and probably the Ezekiel war.  At the end of the Ezekiel war, the God of Israel will reveal Himself to Israel and the whole world by His supernatural intervention which destroys the army of the northern invaders.

The “many” that this later Antichrist figure from the MU confirms the agreement with could be ten regional zone leaders within the MU. A much expanded Israel  could be one of the ten zones. Then 3 1/2 years after confirming this agreement, this world leader breaks the pact with Israel after Israel’s two prophets are killed. Then he attempts to appease and deceive all the world nations that hate Israel and the Israeli God and he eliminates three leaders and three MU zones in order to make room for his new Babylonian province that God identifies as Babylon the Great.

This article by Chris Perver will give you the latest on the revived Mediterranean Union. It is good to see that he also thinks this Mediterranean Union fulfills the prophecy of a Revived Roman Empire.

EU to Revive Mediterranean Union ~ Bible Prophecy Today

The French Foreign Ministry has announced that the Union for the Mediterranean, a project aimed at boosting ties between the European Union and Mediterranean states, is to be formally revived at the end of this month. The announcement follows a meeting of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who jointly hold the presidency of the new bloc.

As we saw at its inception, far from being a political project aimed at merely increasing peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean region, Sarkozy’s vision of the Union for the Mediterranean is nothing less than a revival of the old Roman Empire itself.

The French President claimed in February 2007, “within every man and woman who lives on the shores of the Mediterranean sleeps the memory, nostalgia, for the unity lost 15 centuries ago”. He added that he wanted to be “the president of a France that will set the Mediterranean on the path of its reunification, after 12 centuries of division”. That vision, of a revival of the order of the old Roman Empire, is also shared by other politicians involved in the European Union project. Last year European Commission President Manuel Barroso, when questioned on exactly what the European project hoped to achieve, claimed that the EU was the world’s first “non-imperial empire”. Belgian politician Paul-Henri Spaak, who famously called for a man, “be he god or devil”, to lift the nations out of the economic morass into which they were sinking, was a signatory to the Treaty of Rome which established the institutions of the European Union. When asked how he felt when signing the treaty, he said, “we felt like Romans on that day… We were consciously recreating the Roman Empire once more”.
(bold emphasis mine)

Full article

It is interesting times in Iran these days. When 1 in 6 of all Iranians take part in the demonstrations in the streets of Tehran in rage against the fraudulent election results you know things are a changing in Iran. The Iranian people are taking to the streets knowing that they will be in danger from the Islamofascists running the nation. Their Islamic taskmasters are even using foreign hired Arab thugs to put fear in the people. You can be sure when city streets are totally filled with people that things are soon likely to change. Read Joel Rosenbergs take on these Iranian events.

It seems to me that the Islamofascists are rapidly losing control of Iran and that Iran is now ripe for a cultural revolution. We are probably seeing the start of this taking place right now. Could you even imagine the change in America if 85 percent of people eligible to vote actually voted? Could you imagine if government then decided not to count most of the votes of the conservatives? Would Americans have the guts to march on Washington like the Iranians are doing today? We might be put in that position sometime down the line. Would Americans put their lives on the line to throw off oppression like the people of Iran? Maybe we can learn some lessons from the people of Iran. Guns are not even needed for a Revolution if huge numbers of people of the nation get out on the streets in protest. Troops are not going to kill their own people for long. The troops will soon turn against the outlaw leaders giving them the orders.

The official government line is that Ahmadinejad won the election by a 2 to 1 margin but everyone knows that is a lie. The real election result looks more like the following:

Did you know that 70 percent of the people of Iran are secular and are really atheists? So much for Iran being a Muslim nation. Those in Islam have controlled the Iranian people through threats and intimidation but they do not have the popular support. The majority of the people of Iran have more in common with the West then they do Islam. It also is no coincidence that 70 percent of the people in Iran were born after the Islamic Revolution. These young people do not support the repression coming down from the Mullahs through puppet leaders like Ahmadinejad. They see them as a hindrance to their economic prosperity, freedoms and modernization and they fear that they will lead them into a war and the destruction of their nation.

So let’s for a minute assume that the Islamofascist Iranian government and the Mullahs lose control and an actual democracy soon emerges in Iran. Iran then becomes more moderate. So what will that mean to the West and Israel? It certainly will not be the end of the Iranian nuclear program but they truly might decide to not actually start producing nuclear weapons. It also means that Iran will no longer be calling for the destruction of Israel. In that case, I do not think Israel would strike Iran. That would explain why Iran does not come against Israel with the Arabs in the war of Psalm 83. It also explains why they will be one of the major players with Russia in the Ezekiel Chapter 38 war. Their military capabilities will not have been destroyed and their nuclear weapons development will be postponed until that time.

Be aware that Iranians are not Arabs. The Arabs fear them and they certainly do not want to see Iran with nuclear weapons. A cultural revolution could be the reason why they do not attack Israel until the Ezekiel war. However, if the people lose and the old guard consolidates their controls over Iran you can be sure that a first strike on Iran by Israel is a certainty and that it will happen soon.

Anyway, the events we are seeing now will be a major turning point in Middle East events so pay close attention to the latest events in Iran. The protests are not about Mausavi either the Iranian people did not have anyone but state approved candidates to vote for and Mausavi is part of the problem. What the people want is freedom from their oppressors.

The great majority of the people of Iran are disillusioned and even disgusted by the mediaeval incompetent, oppressive, and corrupt rule of the mullahs, irrespective of which mafia gang is in power. The votes, more than anything else, are protest ballots cast against the entire system, rather than indications of support for the so-called conservative-moderate coalition.

It took less than 4 years for Iranians to realize that boycotting the so-called elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran can only bring to power even a worse bunch of Islamofascists. This time around the people turned out to vote for the lesser of two camps of evil — the mullah dominated gang of conservatives and “moderates.”

It is clear that Mr. Mir Hussein Mousavi won the election by a large margin. Ahmadinejad came out third. But on Friday June 12, 2009, in the Islamic election (selection) something happened. Something beyond what anyone could have ever imagined. Something huge. A daylight coup d’état by the elements of the establishment, particularly, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the Senate designated as a terrorist organization (with Senator Obama not voting). The clerical leadership in Iran has grown increasingly reliant on the IRGC to help it stave off internal pressure for political and economic reform and external pressure resulting from international concern over Iran’s nuclear program.

An Iranian journalist said, “The important event that took place in Iran is that it wasn’t an election; it was a coup d’état. [They] stole 24 million votes of the nation and took them away for themselves. If there were really a winner, they would have to celebrate, but instead they beat people. They performed a coup, but they don’t call it a coup.”

He continued, “Please don’t use the word “fraud” because it is mitigation of what has happened in Iran. Fraud is what was happening in the past 30 years. This is not fraud. They haven’t [counted] people’s votes. Using the word fraud is like calling a deep cut a small scratch. There was no fraud; it was a coup.”

The political chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guard warned it would crush any “revolution” against the Islamic system by Mousavi’s “green movement” — the signature color of his campaign. However, on Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of thousands of opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with Hizbollah thugs dressed in police uniforms in the heart of Iran’s capital, pelting them with rocks and setting fires in the worst unrest in Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. They accused the hard-line president of using fraud to steal the election victory from his reformist rival.

The ever-conniving mullahs dread the Iranian people. Granted that a small percentage of Iranians, known as the 3Fs — fools, fanatics and frauds — support the mullahs. No totalitarian rule can ever survive without a segment of the population, for one reason or another, supporting it. Yet, time is not on the side of the mullahs. By their mismanagement, thievery and oppression of the masses, they have created explosive internal conditions. As I have said over and over, the Mullahs need to have the N- bomb to create a fake sense of security so they can prolong their survival.

In short, Iran is in a state of serious upheaval. Replacing Ahmadinejad with the already tried and proven wanton gang of Rafsanjani-Khatami-Mousavi is not going to change matters much.

As for the West, it is prudent that it does not embark on a trigger-happy, self interested policy. The mullahs’ lease on life, [short of brutal massacre of the Iranian people in the absence of any foreign media] is just about over. A concerted political, economic, and moral support for the long-suffering and valiant Iranian people and the secular opposition can put an end to the shameful and hate-driven Islamofascists of any and all stripes.

Full article

While reading Carla’s excellent and always discerning More Books and Things blog I came across an article that I think needs further attention by those who study world events and Bible prophecy. I might not agree with every single point in this article but I certainly agree with Prof. Malan’s major concepts. Bible prophecy teachers seem to convey that Israel today is in the will of God. Therefore they suggest we better not do anything that could be conveyed as touching the apple of God’s eye. Some even suggest that if we do not bless this largely atheist nation that God will judge our nation. There are some erroneous teachings going around that relate judgments on America to how we treat unrepentant Israel. That concept is wrong. The judgments coming on America today is due to our own sins. We are judged on how we treat all nations not just Israel. If we are a just and moral nation we have nothing to fear. God will judge all the nations on how they treat Israel after Israel accepts their true Messiah.

Israel today is still reaping the curse because they rejected God’s salvation in His Son. When God said He would curse those who curse the descendants of Abraham and Jacob he was talking about those cursing the children of the promise, the people of faith. They are the true children of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Remember, the leaders of Israel claimed they also were children of Abraham but Jesus called them children of their father the Devil. So did Jesus curse these descendants of Israel? Actually He did. He cursed the unbelieving descendants of Israel as represented by the fig tree that had no fruit when He came (Mt 21:19).

Other Christians will not even evangelize Jews thinking that Jews already know God. They are also wrong. Those who do not accept Jesus Christ do not know the Father either (John 14:6). The nation of Israel will certainly prove that point when they accept the false Messiah that is coming in his own name and not the Father’s name like Jesus. Some of these Christian ministries will raise large sums of money to send Jews back to Israel but spend nothing on giving these Jews the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They do not even tell them that two-thirds of the people that they are sending back to Israel will be killed in the coming Jewish holocaust (Zec 13:8).

One might think that if Christians really loved the Jews they should be telling Jews about Jesus so they would get saved before these terrible events happen to them? But it is not happening, not that anyone is actually allowed to preach the gospel in Israel anyway. So what does that say about Israel? Instead we rant about how nations are dealing with Israel as if God is not sovereign and not using the leaders of these nations toward His own ends to bring Israel to repentance. Had not God said that these things would happen to the Jews in the end times?

So how will Christians siding with Israel on world events give them physical peace and spiritual enlightenment? Even if we could change our national policies toward Israel the things God said about Israel in the latter days are still going to happen. The real problem with Israel is not the Gentile nations and our leaders decisions. The real problem with Israel is the unbelief of the Jews in Israel. The Gentiles will just be used to bring Israel to a place of repentance. God would protect Israel if they came to belief in Jesus Christ but instead they will believe in the Antichrist and go into more national tribulation before they finally get the message that peace and security is only found in their Messiah Jesus Christ.

If I did not know that we were in the end times when God’s words about Israel will be fulfilled I would have to believe that the unbelieving Jews now occupying God’s land would again be cast out. Yet, the religious Jews living in Israel think that God is on their side while they reject His Son and the non-religious Jews think that they are going to hold unto the land by their own military might. Sorry, but that is not God’s plan for Israel. Many Christians by what they say and do, seem to covey similar false pretense as well. Ever wonder why the Jews flee to the mountains for 42 months? Because Satan seeks to kill every Jew in the world (Rev 12:13). That is the real destiny of those in Israel before they come to God’s Messiah. Exactly what world actions and reactions get us to that point is frankly very subjective stuff that even Bible prophecy experts do not agree on. So how do we know where God’s will is on every current event in the Middle East so that we take the correct position? Does our position even matter in God’s plan?

So knowing these things lets teach the truth to Israel and evangelize those that can be reached instead of acting as if Israel’s leaders or America’s leaders will make correct decisions to keep Israel from the holocaust that clearly will come upon Israel in these last days. In the final analysis, it really does not matters one iota if Israel or the US takes out Iran’s nuclear capabilities at least not if we are in the sequence of end time events like Bible prophecy teachers claim. Iran will invade Israel in the latter years because Ezekiel says so, and the end of that war has already been determined by God. It really does not matter if Israel agrees to divide Jerusalem in some false peace deal either because the Bible says it will happen anyway, “Zec 14:2  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.”

It really does not matter what action Israel takes because whatever action Israel takes in unbelief will lead to the same biblical end that God foretold the prophets and that us Bible prophecy believing Christians should be aware of. The primary Christian commission is to teach the gospel to Israel and everyone else. Our commission is not trying to stop or change Middle East events that have to happen if we are in the last days. If Christians should learn anything from Bible prophecy it should be to discern how close we are to the Lords coming for the watching faithful Church. If Christians use Bible prophecy it should be to used to evangelize those who might come to know God through Bible prophecy. Bible prophecy for Christians should not be about trying to figure out every insignificant detail and the exact dating of all events beforehand. Some of these things cannot be known with any certainty.  Nothing at all has to be fulfilled before the rapture of the Church and after the restrainer is removed all end time events will rapidly come on the earth just as God said. For most Christians it is enough to know that what God said about the last days will take place literally and that the time to work is short.

If you want more thinking on this issue read the full article.

Jesus Christ in Biblical Prophecies

Jesus Christ in Biblical Prophecies

Prof. Johan Malan, Middelburg, South Africa (June 2009)

The spiritual and doctrinal value of various articles currently published on Israel is extremely poor. Authors mostly offer only a secular review of news events without giving a balanced biblical perspective on them.

It is an alarming fact that even Christian analysts on the situation in the Middle East reveal very little insight into Israel’s end-time position. Obama is now blamed for isolating and forsaking Israel. Is he responsible for these actions or did the Lord ordain them? According to Ezekiel 22:18-22, Jeremiah 30:7 and Zechariah 14:2, the Lord will bring Israel into great affliction because they have, spiritually, become dross in His eyes for dishonouring His Word and rejecting the Messiah. In the light of this situation we should understand their international dispersion during the past 2000 years, as well as the Holocaust of World War II. Or will we merely blame the Roman Empire, the Nazis and other nations for this human tragedy? These nations are definitely guilty, but Israel is more guilty and mainly responsible for their own problems. Didn’t Jesus say that Jerusalem would be destroyed and trodden down because its inhabitants refused to accept Him as their Messiah (cf. Matt. 23:37-38)? In the attached addendum a Messianic Jew, Arthur Katz, explains the full implications of Israel’s sin and lack of faith.

As for Israel’s future, it is really irrelevant what Obama, the pope, the EU, Iran or Russia say or do with regard to Israel. If they don’t persecute or isolate Israel the Lord will allow other groups or nations to do just that. The fact is that the Israelis have to go through the time of Jacob’s trouble because of their continued apostasy.

Why are there so few people who have the boldness to inform Israel on the true reasons for their problems? Why is their own spiritual bankruptcy not addressed? Why are even organisations such as the International Christian Embassy engaged with the establishing of good relations with unsaved Israel without explicitly proclaiming the Messiah to them? Why do preachers such as John Hagee deny Jesus as Messiah of the Jews by alleging that they don’t have to accept Jesus to be saved? Why do all the Christians follow him and merely donate money to Israel, but withhold the gospel from them, which is their only hope?

When will Israel’s fortunes take a turn for the better – when the United States again support and assist them militarily, or when they have accepted the Messiah? Will they ever seek the Messiah unless they are in a great affliction (cf. Hosea 5:15; 6:1-2)?

The less people think and speak about the Lord Jesus, the less they will believe in His promise of a pretribulation rapture (Luke 21:36); the less they know about His judgement seat, the less they will be prepared for His sudden coming (1 Cor. 3:9-15). Many people become so involved with a study of the signs of the times, including possible dates for the second coming of Christ, that they never seriously attend to the necessities of our relationship with Him (holiness), and also neglect to work for Him while it is still day – the night of God’s judgements is approaching when no one can work.

I do believe that Israel and many other signs are prophetically significant, but this knowledge should lead to deeper spiritual insights and particularly to the glorification and exaltation of the Lord Jesus – also to fear for the coming day of His wrath upon sinners, including all the carnal, agnostic and unholy people. His judgements should be considered as part of the bigger picture, lest people think that the nature of the future world will only be determined by the decisions and military actions of the present generation of world leaders. One actually pities them when listening to their decisions and beholding their military manoeuvres, as they don’t have the faintest idea of what is waiting for them. They don’t know that they will be gathered in Israel to be judged by the Lord (Joel 3:2; Zech. 14:2,12).

Israel is prophetically one of the most uninformed nations in the world as far as events at the end of the church dispensation are concerned. Their ignorance will cause their virtual downfall as they will lead the way in concluding a covenant with the Antichrist under the false impression that he is the true Messiah (Dan. 9:27; John 5:43).

People in the end-time are shallow in their thinking and judge all things in terms of secular, humanistic criteria. Even Christians start conforming to this way of thinking and are in most cases not able to correctly determine and describe a spiritual perspective on world events. Many of them do not even realise their own spiritual poverty and blindness,

every Christian is committed to inform Israel on the correct biblical route to their full restoration. If they are not warned against the coming false messiah and the great tribulation, how will they ever be able to correctly understand these times and make the right decisions? Without accepting Jesus the Messiah by faith they cannot be saved – neither can they share in the blessings that He promised to the believing remnant in Israel and also to the whole world during His coming reign of peace.

Full article

Saying I do not pray God Bless America might sound like a unpatriotic unchristian heresy to some. However, there was a time when God told Jeremiah not to pray for Judah because the peoples hearts were far from Him and they loved to believe lies. America is not even a called out nation like ancient Israel and Judah but America certainly is just as evil as they were just before their destruction.

Can anyone even come up with a passage that tells the Church to pray for Gentile nations on the earth anyway? The Bible tells us to pray for those appointed over us for the sake of the Church, so that the Church can live peacefully on the earth. I do not see where we are to pray for Gentile nations to be great prosperous nations on the earth. I do not see where the Bible tells us to pray for the prosperity of the nations of the world. On the contrary, nations that become wealthy and powerful and full of worldly things always turn against God. We are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem but that really is the same as praying for Jesus to come again because Jerusalem can only have true peace after the Prince of Peace returns to earth.

I will not pray for America because blessing America in her sins has to be contrary to God’s will. If I become the intercessor for people practicing evil I have to ask myself why? God brings judgment for correction and America certainly needs correction so why would I pray against God’s will for America? I can pray that Americans will repent but I also know people who reject the teachings of the Bible will not repent. I should pray for the Church in America to repent of their sins because that is the only way a nation will be healed. It is healed for the sake of God’s people living within her. I should pray that God will send laborers for the harvest and reach those dead in their sins but to pray that God Blesses America and enables her to continue on the sinful path she is now choosing is not a Christian concept.

The only thing of lasting value in this fallen world is those who will come into the Church through God’s grace, Christ Jesus. Only after the Church age when Jesus is ruling on the throne in Jerusalem does Jesus make the Gentile world conform to God’s will. But even after the dispensation of the Lord ruling with a rod of iron for a thousand years the nations will rebel, throw off God’s ways, and bring swift destruction on themselves.

Let the Church therefore dwell on the eternal because this world is temporal and all of it will soon pass away. There are no Christian nations on earth so it is rather pointless to pray for their prosperity. The city and kingdom that those of faith look for is the city made by God. It is not of this world. The Church really needs to separate its heart from the nations she occupies.

Christians need to keep America in proper perspective or they make the nation an American idol. Find out why Americans  love government and where that insane thinking will lead this nation. America was a blessed nation perhaps unlike all other great Gentile nations of the world but all the great nations in history fell because of sin. America will be no exception. As Christians we were fortunate to live in America when she allowed free Christian expression and we sent missionaries all over the world but those days are rapidly come to a close. So don’t confuse the fourth of July and American pie and all the glory of the American past with the role of the Church in America. Also, what happens to America in the near future should not be nearly as important to Christians as what Christians allow the Spirit to do through them in these last days.

Here is a good article by Jack Kelly that puts all this in proper perspective.

Don’t Pray For America | GraceThruFaith

We need to remember that while in many ways America is like Israel, the Church is not. First, The Church is not a national kingdom with a homeland and geographical borders. Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phil 3:20) He’s not coming here to be with us where we are. He’s coming to take us to His Father’s house to be with Him where He is. (John 14:1-3) So when He does it won’t matter whether we’re from the United States, the United Kingdom or the United Arab Emirates because the Church is everywhere. God has only established one eternal nation on Earth and that’s Israel. The Church’s eternal home is in Heaven where an inheritance from God Himself awaits us. (Gal. 4:4-7)

Second, the Church never needs to fear a judgment such as the ones I described above. The Lord Jesus agreed to be judged in place of the Church in order to present us to Himself without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephes 5:27)

The Religious Right and other well intended American Christians frequently send out eMails urging everyone to pray for America. But where in the Bible did God to say to pray for any place on Earth other than Jerusalem? God’s will would be much better served if the Church would pray for itself, that it would finally adopt the Biblical world view it was intended to have, and become what it was intended to be, the body of Christ. It’s an indication of what a secular world view the American Church has when more of us are praying that God will restore the good old days in our country than are praying for the Lord’s speedy return to take us away from here.

Prayers for America are fine as far as they go, but they’re motivated more by a love for what our country has been than by a desire to see God’s will done on Earth. And when you get right down to it, praying that God will restore America could be seen as an admission that we’re really not ready to see God’s will done on Earth yet.

It’s time for American Christians to realize that America is just a place where we’re temporarily living. And while we mourn the fact that America seems to be turning its back on Israel, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that America is also turning its back on the Church.

According to no less an authority than our President, America is not a Christian nation. He’s right. The only connection between God and America today is that a bunch of us who believe in Him happen to live here. Americans don’t live by God’s laws, we don’t teach our children about Him in our schools, we don’t offer public prayers in His name, and the holy days we observe are no longer tributes to Him. We don’t thank Him for the blessings we receive and we don’t turn to Him when we’re in need.

America is a secular gentile nation that will soon be no more comfortable a home for the Church than pre-war Germany was for the Jews. It’s high time we excised our patriotism from our religion. Think of it as a reverse separation of Church and State. In the last election Americans said they don’t want the Church’s values guiding the nation’s direction. Well neither should Christians want America’s values guiding the Church. We should be so passionately yearning to leave here that our feet barely touch the ground when we walk.

full article

Here is another good article that add some thoughts to the subject.  A Word on Citizenship, by Heidi Swander of Olive Tree Ministries.
Also the excellent teaching of John MacArthur on America is unsurpassed.

This is another good teaching by Jack Kelley on the seven dispensations and why mankind fails in all of them. Dispensationalism is sometimes misunderstood. Dispensationalism is not different ways to find salvation; it is different rules for living in each dispensation for those who can be saved on the basis of their faith in God. Man is saved by God’s grace through man’s faith in all seven dispensations.

These seven different ways of God dealing with man on earth are probably demonstrations to man, angels and all creation about the sin nature of man and Satan. No matter how God deals with man on earth Satanic deception comes and most of mankind rejects God. However, in each dispensation God has His own elect on earth who overcome Satan and the world through their belief and trust in God.

Yes, even the dispensation of Grace (The Church age) is also a failure for mankind. The promise of a free gift of salvation for those who confess Jesus as God’s sacrifice for man’s sins will be rejected by the overwhelming majority on earth. Even the seventh dispensation, the Kingdom Age, will end in mankind’s failure because Satan will deceive those living in this restored paradise on earth and lead them to rebel against God’s elect. In all dispensations man will prove that in his fallen sinful flesh he cannot fellowship with God. The only way to eternal salvation is through a spiritual rebirth from God’s Son. There is no other name given in which man must be saved (Act 4:12).

I will add this, The dispensations all end in failure for those unbelievers following Satan but all seven dispensations successfully reach those who believe God.

Read the full article to get a complete picture of what Jack Kelley is teaching and to get a description of the seven different dispensations on earth.

Life On Earth In The Millennium | GraceThruFaith

by Jack Kelley

Hal Lindsey once speculated that at his judgment Satan hurled two accusations at God. “You’re not just and You have no love.” In our last study we saw how God demonstrated His perfect justice with Israel and His perfect love with the Church. Israel lived under an absolutely just system of law. It was clear and concise, made no exceptions, and showed no favoritism. There was blessing for obedience and punishment for disobedience in an obvious cause and effect relationship. What they did determined what they got. God said to them, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

The Church was shown the incomparable riches of God’s grace. We’re the most blessed of any group of humanity and the only thing asked of us is that we accept by faith the free gift of salvation, purchased in advance for us with God’s own life. Yes, God is pleased if we live our lives in a manner that expresses our gratitude to Him, but the only thing He requires is that we believe in the one He has sent. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

In the Kingdom Age believers will be saved by faith, like the Church, but will be required to keep the Law as evidence of their belief, like Israel. Perfect justice, perfect love. This will be God’s final answer to Satan and His final attempt to dwell among His people in peace. Will it work, or like Israel and the Church before it, will the Kingdom Age end in failure?

We’ve only talked about Law and Grace but there were actually four other attempts at peaceful coexistence between God and man leading up to them. For a complete understanding of man’s history with his Creator, we’ll need to review these others as well. They’re called dispensations, or administrations, and all together there are seven of them.

The 7 Dispensations

Throughout history God has dealt with His people in different ways as part of the process of revealing His character. Each of these dispensations has has begun with an agreement between God and man that man subsequently violated, ending the relationship in failure and requiring a judgment from God.

Innocence:
Conscience:
Human Government:
Promise:
Law:
Grace:
Kingdom:

Some in the Church might question the view that the Age of Grace has been a failure, but that’s because we’re among the few who have accepted the Lord’s free gift of pardon and will therefore enjoy its benefits. Remember, God’s desire is to reconcile us to Himself (Colossians 1:19-20). He doesn’t want for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). And yet over the last 2,000 years most people have turned down His gift and gone their own way. After doing everything He could, short of violating man’s free will and forcing him to accept the pardon He offered, most of mankind will have rejected Him. Can you blame Him for being so angry as to unleash the full fury of His wrath against them?

Even in the Church the response to God’s gift of eternal Life has been more apathy than adoration. When less than 10% of people who claim to be born again have adopted a Christian world view, it’s clear that there’s been a serious disconnect between His gift and our gratitude. When compared to the desired goal the Age of Grace has been a failure.

None of this is any more of a surprise to God than the outcome of His previous attempts. He doesn’t do things so He can see how we’ll respond. He already knows that. He does things so we can see how we’ll respond. Paul said every thing that was written in the past was written to teach us. (Romans 15:4) So far the lesson has been that no matter what God has done to draw us near, man is untrustworthy and rebellious, pushing God away and bringing judgment upon himself.
Now For The Kingdom

OK, so what about the Kingdom Age, will it be a failure too?

In an event that was later modeled in the Biblical adoption ceremony (Galatians 4:4-7), the Father formally named His Son heir of His estate and bequeathed His inheritance to Him. All the nations are His, and He has the authority to rule them as He pleases. Man’s choice will be to obey or suffer the consequences. Obedience will be rewarded with blessing, but rebellion will bring swift destruction.

We’re neither told how many will be saved during the Millennium, nor what their destiny will be. What we are told is at the end of the 1000 year Kingdom Age Satan will be freed and will have no trouble recruiting a large army for one last attempt to regain his lost empire. He’ll find a ready audience for his deception and his army will soon be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. From all over the world they’ll come to surround God’s people and His Holy City. But in one sudden burst of flame from Heaven they’ll be devoured and Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity. (Rev. 20:7-10) Once again, man rebels, God judges and another Age ends in failure.

God’s response to Satan’s accusations will be complete. Satan’s judgment will be final. Heaven and Earth will be purified. Eternity will begin. And God will reign supreme. Hallelujah! 05-30-09

Full article

This is an astute article by Jack Kelly on Pentecost and rapture of the Church. Like Kelly, I also believe that the parables of Matthew 13 describe the Church on earth and would also say each parable is linked to what Jesus also said to the seven different Church types in Revelation.

*Chuck Missler gives us a small taste of this design and correlation in his teaching on Revelation:

The Seven Kingdom parables:

The Sower ……………   Ephesus: The apostolic Church

The Tares …………….   Smyrna: The persecuted Church

Mustard Seed…………..Pergamos: Marriage to the World

Women/Leaven ……….Thyatira: The Papacy in the Medieval World

The Field………………. Sardis: Denominational/Dead Orthodoxy

The Pearl ………………Philadelphia: The rebirth of the Missionary

The Dragnet …………..Laodicea: The apostate Church

* The Book of Revelation , supplemental notes page 60, Koinonia House Inc., 1995

I believe that it is very possible that the Church will be taken alive to Heaven on Pentecost on the very same feast day when the Bride of Christ was born. The Church like Enoch was born on Pentecost and tradition tells us Enoch was taken on Pentecost. Enoch was taken because he walked with God before the judgment of the flood. The bride of Christ will also not reap the coming judgment of God because she is the Bride of Christ. Only after Jesus takes his rightful role as King of Israel and takes a Gentile bride can Israel’s promised restoration come.

I know many want to believe the Rapture is on the Feast of Trumpets but remember the Feast of Trumpets will be another fulfillment through Jesus for Israel. The Feast of Trumpets starts the last week for Israel foretold by Daniel and it ends it seven years later with the second coming of Christ. Some like to think the Rapture will occur on the same date that God deals with Israel again. However, scripture really gives no indication that the Rapture has to occur precisely seven years before the second coming of Christ. The Rapture could occur months or even a few years before the final seven years for the Jews.

One thing is certain in my mind. The 70th week and the lifting of the blindness of Israel cannot even take place until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Ro 11:25). In this passage Paul was speaking of the grafting in of a Gentile Bride into the Commonwealth of Israel. This Bride born from above is born of the Spirit she is not born of any flesh, be it Jew or Gentile. However, anyone not Jewish by natural birth (she is spiritual) is typed as a Gentile by definition. Therefore, the Bride is not Jewish even though there are people who were natural Jews within the Bride. This Bride gives no sin offering of her own as required by the law. Her sins are covered by the blood of God’s Jewish sacrificial Lamb. That is the reason why Pentecost is celebrated with leavened bread (leaven represents sin), the Church is full of sinners covered by the blood of Christ.

Anyway, this article by Jack Kelly is well worth the read and it is timely, being right before the Feast of Pentecost.

Pentecost and the Rapture of the Church | GraceThruFaith

Pentecost and the Rapture of the Church

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Pentecost comes in the early summer (May-June). This year it’s May 31. It’s the only Holy Day between the 3 Spring Feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits) and the 3 in the fall (Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles). Its Hebrew name is Shavuot. Pentecost is a Greek word and translates “50 days” since it comes 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits, the day we should know as Resurrection Morning . The Feast of First Fruits is celebrated on the day following the first Sabbath after Passover and Pentecost on the day after the Sabbath seven weeks later, (Lev. 23:15-16) giving rise to its nickname “Feast of Weeks.” Since the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday, both these Holy days are Sundays.
What’s a Pentecost?

Jews celebrate Pentecost (I’ll just use its Greek name to avoid any more confusion than necessary) as the day Moses received the Law on Mt. Sinai in the wilderness and the nation Israel was born. (Exodus 19-20) Christians celebrate it as the day the Holy Spirit fell on the Disciples in Jerusalem and the Church was born (Acts 2). If you agree with my view that the parables of Matthew 13 describe the church on Earth and that the parable of the yeast predicts there will be sin in the church, you’ll be interested in the fact that unlike all the other Jewish Feasts that call for unleavened bread, Pentecost requires bread baked with yeast (Lev. 23:17). Pentecost also began the annual wheat harvest, perhaps pointing to another of Matthew’s Kingdom parables, the Wheat and the Tares.

By tradition Enoch, one of the patriarchs from Genesis 5, was born on the day later to be known as Pentecost. Enoch’s name means “teaching”, a primary function of the Church. For this reason many scholars see him as a “type” of the church as well. Genesis 5:21-23 indicates that Enoch was very close to God and was actually taken live (raptured) into Heaven before the Great Flood. Pre-Trib scholars see this event as hinting of a yet future disappearance of the Church before the Great Tribulation. These same traditions also hold that Enoch disappeared from Earth on his birthday. So here’s a model in Genesis 5 of a man identified with the church being born and raptured on the day that would become Pentecost, the day the church was born.

Full article.

I ran across this interesting interview by Dr. Regan.

At a Bible prophecy conference Dr. Regan interviewed 11 well known people in bible prophecy and asked them if they believed the Antichrist will be a Jew? Along with Dr. Reagan’s own view point on this topic there are twelve viewpoints given in this article. It is always interesting to read the different answers you will get from some of the top Bible prophecy speakers on the same subject. Like I said in a recent comment, I looked at 20 websites and got twenty completely different interpretations for the seven heads on the Beast in Revelation.  lets just say that on some issues there is not a whole lot of agreement. Nonetheless, nobody seems to have a problem teaching their own interpretation as near gospel truth.

I will say this on Bible prophecy. I tend to agree on most issues with those in the old school. A lot of the new people on the block seems to be just trying to come up with a different theory to sell something . I am not saying the new kids on the block are not sincere but most of them would not even be known if they did not have some strange new theory (The twelve in this article are not new kids on the block). So the new names in Bible prophecy might take you down some new roads but you can be sure if you stay on the old roads they are well plowed and you won’t get snowed. That is not to say you should never venture on new roads but you might put on your high beams and have good thread on your tires when you do.

Will the Antichrist Be a Jew? ~ Bible Prophecy Today

Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Will the Antichrist Be a Jew?

By Dr. David R. Reagan

Will the Antichrist be a Jew or a Gentile?

Most Christian are aware of the fact that there is a lot of disagreement about the interpretation of Bible prophecy between those who have completely different viewpoints, like the arguments between those who are Premillennial and Amillennial. But, what many people are not aware of is that there are some strong points of disagreement between those that take a literal viewpoint of end-time prophecies.

Recently, I attended a major Bible Prophecy conference in the Dallas area where I had the opportunity to interview a number of Bible prophecy experts. Out of 11 Bible prophecy experts I interviewed, only 3 said they felt like the Antichrist would be a Jew or that he could possibly be one. We’ll start with one yes/no answer, one could be, and one maybe. The next seven people responded with a negative reply. The final expert I interviewed answer may surprise you. Finally, I’ll conclude with my response.

A dozen viewpoints from:

Phillip Goodman
Don Perkins
Todd Strandberg
Daymond Duck
Don McGee
Nathan Jones
Arnold Fruchtenbaum
Al Gist
Mark Hitchcock
Ed Hindson
Ray Gano
Dr. David Reagan

To make this a bakers dozen I will also throw in my own viewpoint. The Antichrist has to be from a Gentile nation because he is the Beast out of “sea” (Gentiles) vs the false prophet who comes out of the “land” (Israel). Also, because Daniel says he is the prince who confirms the covenant that comes from the people who destroyed the Temple. The people who destroyed the Temple were Gentiles. Further, because Daniel’s prophecy about the last world kingdom in context is talking about Gentile kingdoms.

There are other reasons as well, such as  Antiochus IV Epiphanes was an Antichrist type or foreshadow and was a Gentile. He set up a statue of the Gentile God “Zeus” in the Temple. The AntiChrist of the end will burn the monotheistic world Harlot of Revelation and also set up a image of the Gentile Beast in the Temple (himself). That means to me that he gets his following in the last 3 1/2 years from pantheistic new age pagans, when he as a man, claims to be the God of Gods (Zeus).

Now, if I really want to make everyone happy, I could say the Antichrist “could” have Jewish blood by his mother from the tribe of Dan and that he might be a closet Jew or might not even know that he has Jewish blood. But, for certain the Antichrist will come from a Gentile nation. In any case, the identify of the Antichrist is not going to be revealed before the Church is removed so I hope the Church does not lose too much sleep over this issue.

Things are getting pretty crazy out there to say the least so I think I will give you my world trends forecast for 2010-2020 AD. I think the next decade will be the most violent decade since the days of Noah. The only decade that will exceed it in violence will be decade of Jacob’s trouble. Here is a glimpse of some of the things I think we can expect. They are not in any time sequence and I probably will add more as I think of them:

• The world will not recover from the economic downturn and unemployment will stay high right into the next world war.
• There will be a world war early in this decade and there will be civil war in many places. The World War could start as the war of Psalm 83 or an attack on Iran. This war against radical Islam could also start over Pakistan. No matter how the war starts, at the peak of the war it will cover much of Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. Radical Islam will be defeated but it will be a very costly and bloody war.
• India will take back Pakistan and whole cites could be lost to nuclear exchanges.
• There will be national drafts to fight the world war. The volunteer army concept will be dead.
• The whole world monetary system will have to be scrapped, the most advanced nations will be technically bankrupted because of debt. A  new world monetary system will be set up.  Most people will lose their investments.
• The word democracy may still be used but within a few years true democracies or republics will no longer exist.
• The Supreme Court of the U.S. will turn liberal and the Constitution will only mean what liberals want it to mean.
• The world will embrace the “third way” but the “third way” really is liberal fascism.
• After the world war against radical Islam a religious harlot will be given authorization to oversee all world religion. This religious harlot will claim to be the Universal World Church and have a many paths lead to God attitude. She will be tolerant and inclusive as long as others recognize that the Vatican harlot is the final religious authority speaking for God on earth. The harlot will advise the emerging world government on all religious issues.
• All fundamental religion that teach exclusive paths to God will be outlawed and those who promote it will be seen as a threat to world peace. The religious harlot will persecute all that will not submit to her authority on earth. Teaching on a coming savior, messiah figure or end time prophecy will be outlawed. Religious holy books will be sanitized and passages that might offend others will be taken out or changed.
• Many liberal post-modern Protestant churches will continue down the road of apostasy and join with the harlot.
• The true Church of Jesus Christ will have to go underground in most areas of the world and she will be at great risk.
• A nuclear EMP is very possible over the United States during the next decade and if it should happen it would bring massive civil unrest, riots and martial law.
• We can expect at least one natural pandemic in the world in the next decade but the real danger next decade will be from man made viruses. There will also be famine because of the world war.
• There will be successful terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction until after the world war.
• Due to the growing differences between liberals and conservatives certain states in the United States will secede and there might be civil war.  There certainly will be conflicts when police attempt to take away peoples guns.
• Toward the end of the decade all nations in North America will  join a new North American Union or face total isolation.
• Western Europe will emerge out of the world war against radical Islam as a western superpower. This will be a new union of nations, it will not include all the same nations as are in the EU today. The new union will be more on the boundary lines of  the old Roman Empire and the recently proposed Mediterranean Union.
• China, India and Japan will be well on their way to becoming nuclear superpowers.
• North Korea’s military will be obliterated and South Korea or China will take over  North Korea.
• Russia will dominate east Europe and northern Asia and form a block of nations almost on the same lines as the old USSR. Iran will make a defense agreement with the restored Russian superpower after the world war.
• Israel and most Arab states will join the Mediterranean Union after the war. This will bring a time of peace to the Middle East that will last until the Gog Magog war (Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39).
• Iraq will escape most of the world war and even profit from it and start the rebuilding of Babylon.
• Most of Africa will come under the control of the African Union of states.
• There will be a South American Union of states.
• Anything you say or write that is not politically correct and that offends someone else will subject you to hate speech laws and civil suits.
• There will be total surveillance of all electronic communications. The Internet will be policed and monitored. Talk radio and websites will have to be politically correct or they will be shut down.
• All main streets in cities will be under video surveillance. Geographical locations of homes and the names and identification numbers of occupants will just be two of the many layers on a massive Geographic Information System database that will be accessible to government and law enforcement.
• Homeschooling will be outlawed. Children will only be taught state approved programs. Parents that are not politically correct will be reported by their own children and parents will lose their children if they persist.
• All forms of sex  perversions will be called normal and protected. Addicting drugs will be taxed and legalized and addicts will be released from prison.
• There will be national health care but your access to certain health care will have to be pre-approved by bureaucrats following government guidelines.
• Energy prices will triple. Burning of firewood without obtaining an expensive permit will not be allowed. It will be enforced by sky police and by rewarding finks.
• There will be food and gas rationing almost all of next decade. Fuel will be very expensive and travel will be restricted.
• Foods that Big government Nanny says is unhealthy will be taxed out of existence. Obese people will be forced to lose weight or lose access to health care. Obese children will get parents charged with child abuse.
• Assisted suicide will be encouraged for terminal patients.
• There will be pay caps on all professions. The state will determine the most you can get paid.
• Taxes will take over half of the pay of professional productive people to pay for massive government.
• by the end of next decade the standard of living in the United States will be less than half of what it is today.
• In spite of what some are now teaching, the Lord will not physically return to earth during this period but the Rapture could occur (or  it may not).

Pakistan is probably going to become the catalyst for the next world war and it will take place within the next decade. The leadership of Pakistan is corrupt and has little popular support. There is now no political remedy that will prevent Islamic radicals from taking over the nation. Islamic militants are now taking over more and more of the countryside and there will be no stopping them by the Pakistani military because the military is already infiltrated and also obsessed with India.

India today is being attacked by Islamic terrorists supported by Pakistan and is probably only one or two more major terrorist attacks away from taking military action against Pakistan. If India should do that the Pakistan military would move to the Indian border and that would allow the Taliban to take complete control of the countryside of Pakistan. Should that happen the Islamic extremists would then take the revolution to the cities with bombings and killings until the people appeased them by giving them control of the nation.

India will not allow Pakistan to have nukes if Pakistan is controlled by Islamic radicals. If Pakistan fell to the Taliban India would do a first strike to take out Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities. The U.S. might also decide to take out Pakistan’s nukes with special forces in order to prevent a nuclear war between Pakistan and India.

Should that happen the U.S. would have to fight radical Islam from India to Iran alone or withdraw (I doubt if NATO nations would offer to help). The U.S. could not fight such a war because it would require an unpopular military draft and money that America does not have. So more likely the U.S. would be forced to pull out of Afghanistan and then the world will see radical Islam ruling from Pakistan to Iran. When that happens these Islamic radical nations would foster actions against Israel, Iraq, India and moderate Arab states. They would also become a major terrorist threat to the whole world. Inevitably these nations would have to fight and form an alliance against the Islamic radical states and there you have the makings of the next world war.

Europe would not escape because of its large radical Islamic populations. There would be civil war in many nations in Europe and elsewhere and once their internal wars were won they would have to join the allied effort to smash Islamic extremism.

The other possibility where India takes out the Pakistani nukes also leads to the same world war because all radical Muslim states would then join in the fight against India and Israel. When push comes to shove most nations in the world would have no choice but to side with India and Israel and fight against radical Islam.

This is going to happen in the next decade so do not think that all of a sudden America is going to win the war in Afghanistan and then live in a world utopia of peace because the Obama administration is in charge. Like it or not there is going to be nothing less than a major world war against Islamic extremists in the next decade. North Korea will also try to take over South Korea during such a world war. We also should realize that if India or the U.S. strikes Pakistan’s nukes that Israel would also strike Iran’s nuclear facilities and that also would bring a Middle East war.

This is the future of the world for the next decade. Islamic radicals will bring in real global warming.

Pakistan in danger of fracturing into Islamist fiefdoms, U.S. experts say – Politics | Centre Daily

WASHINGTON — A growing number of U.S. intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials have concluded that there’s little hope of preventing nuclear-armed Pakistan from disintegrating into fiefdoms controlled by Islamist warlords and terrorists, posing the a greater threat to the U.S. than Afghanistan’s terrorist haven did before Sept. 11.

“The place is beyond redemption,” said a Pentagon adviser who asked not to be further identified so he could speak freely. “I don’t see any plausible scenario under which the present government or its most likely successor will mobilize the economic, political and security resources to push back this rising tide of violence.

“I think Pakistan is moving toward a situation where the extremists control virtually all of the countryside and the government controls only the urban centers,”

Many U.S. officials, though, regard the civilian government of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari as unpopular, dysfunctional and mired in infighting. It’s been unable to agree on an effective counterinsurgency strategy or to address the ills that are feeding the unrest. These include ethnic and sectarian hatreds, ineffective police, broken courts, widespread corruption, endemic poverty and a deepening financial crisis, they said.

Pakistan’s army, meanwhile, is hobbled by a lack of direction from the country’s civilian leaders, disparaged for its repeated coups and shaken by repeated defeats by the militants. It remains fixated on India to ensure high budgets and cohesion among troops of divergent ethnic and sectarian allegiances, U.S. officials and experts said.

Many officers and politicians also oppose fighting the Islamist groups that Pakistan nurtured to fight proxy wars in Afghanistan and Kashmir, and because they think the U.S. is secretly conspiring with India to destabilize their country.

The U.S. intelligence official, however, said that Pakistan’s elite, dominated since the country’s independence in 1947 by politicians, bureaucrats and military officers from Punjab, have failed to recognize the seriousness of the situation.

“The Punjabi elite has already lost control of Pakistan, but neither they nor the Obama administration realize that,” the official said. “Pakistan will be an Islamist state – or maybe a collection of four Islamic states, probably within a few years. There’s no civilian leadership in Islamabad that can stop this, and so far, there hasn’t been any that’s been willing to try.”

Several U.S. officials said that the Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy that President Barack Obama unveiled last month is being called into question by the accelerating rate at which the insurgency in Pakistan is expanding.

The plan hinges on the Pakistani army’s willingness to put aside its obsession with Hindu-dominated India and focus on fighting the Islamist insurgency. It also presupposes, despite doubts held by some U.S. officials, that sympathetic Pakistani military and intelligence officers will sever their links with militant groups.

Full Article

Another view that says Pakistan could fall in months

Pakistan in extreme danger of falling to Taliban

U.S. tells Pakistan stop Taliban advance or we will

Find out why things are not going to change for the better

Although I have seen this study posted in several different parts on a re-posting site elsewhere, the complete study is available on the link. This is about the best study I have seen on all the possible timings and positions on the Ezekiel 38-39 war. It gives all the different views and the pros and cons of each position. Nathan Jones position is quoted below. To read all the other views on this you will have to read the whole article.

By the way Nathan’s position is the same as mine except for a couple of timing differences. I am not sure this war is before the Rapture and I do not see how Israel could be burning the weapons of war for 7 years during the great tribulation?  At that point Antichrist has complete rule over the land of Israel and is exterminating Jews that did not flee to the mountains for safety. So how can Israel be burning Gog’s weapons of war in the great tribulation of 3 1/2 years?

My position is a little different then any Nathan presented. I think the war of Ezekiel 38-39 occurs 3 1/2 years before the 70th week of Daniel begins. After Gog is defeated supernaturally by God Israel burns the weapons of war but is forced to stop burning after 7 years because Israel has to flee from the Antichrist when the two witnesses sent by God are killed.

If you look at the many different views in this article you will see that none of them perfectly fit. I believe there is a reason for that. It is because most everyone thinks the war of Ezekiel 38-39 and Armageddon will happen within a seven year period. Actually I do not see where these events have to be limited to seven years at all. I do not think we can assume that all the seals of Revelation are within the last seven year spoken by Daniel. We also cannot assume that the first seals are part of Jacob’s trouble. The Jews are not even mentioned at all in Revelation until after the 6th seal is opened.

I say (not dogmatically) that the last seven years actually starts after the 6th seal. It begins with the sealing of 144,000 Jews. With my view we have a 10 1/2 year period from the war of Ezekiel 38-39 and Armageddon. All prophecy can then fit without using a shoehorn. In my view seven years after the Ezekiel intervention when the world is expecting a type of Christ to appear they receive the Antichrist.

So when is the Rapture in my view? It is imminent. It could happen today. It could be before the Ezekiel war or after it but before the sealing of the Jews.

Articles – Featured – Timing Gog-Magog

Timing Gog-Magog
When will Ezekiel 38-39 be fulfilled?
by Nathan E. Jones

My View
Which view one holds probably rests more on what one sees is the view that provides the most logical answers to the prerequisites. To me, timing the Gog-Magog Battle just before or at the very beginning of the Tribulation can best fulfill these prerequisites and makes the most logical sense in my mind.

This is how I see the timeline most likely playing out:

1. The Rapture of the Church removes the Restrainer.
2. Israel subjugates their surrounding neighbors in fulfillment of Psalm 83.
3. The Gog-Magog Battle destroys the Russian and Muslim influence in the Middle East, makes the world aware of God’s presence, and restores Israel’s belief in the God of the Torah.
4. The Antichrist conquers what’s left of the Middle East and makes a peace covenant with Israel to complete the Revived Roman Empire.
5. Israel spends the seven years of the Tribulation burning the weapons.
6. Jesus returns at the end of the seven years to defeat His enemies at Armageddon resulting in Israel acknowledging that Jesus is God’s Son.
7. Jesus gathers the people from all over the world for the Sheep/Goat Judgment, which results in only believers entering the Millennial Kingdom.

Time will tell when the Gog-Magog Battle will truly take place. But, the players are already in place and the scene is just about all set for this epic battle to be waged in the not-too-distant future.

Full article

About every other week I get a email telling me in one way or another that the parable of the fig tree means that all will be fulfilled by 2019 AD. Thus they believe the start of the tribulation or rapture has to be by 2012. There are well known Bible prophecy teachers teaching this today. I am tired of answering questions on this over and over so I am writing my own position on the “Parable of the Fig Tree”. In the future if anyone asks me about it or suggests that the Rapture has to occur within two or three years they will get a link to this post.

I will put the discourse from Jesus about the parable of the fig tree in proper context below so we can also see and consider what Jesus said before and after His parable of the fig tree statement.

Matt 24:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25  Behold, I have told you before.
26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The whole discourse here is a reply to what the disciples asked Jesus. They asked when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? Jesus then gave them a sequence of events. Scholars differ as to if part of it was already fulfilled in Jesus time, or if it is all yet to be fulfilled, or even if part of the prophecy might have a past and future fulfillment. I take the position that there could be a partial fulfillment in the past but this whole discourse is now about the future.

Lets look at what the passage implies and lets also look at what the passage does not imply. That part of the discourse is in bold print in the scripture passage above.

The parable of the fig tree implies:
When the branch of the fig tree puts forth leaves you should know that summer is near and when you see the signs Jesus talked about you know His coming is near. The other part of the discourse following the parable passage confirms that it is talking about the Lord’s coming for the elect.
The passage also implies the generation that saw what Jesus talked about in the discourse would still be around when the Lord returned, implying that all things would take place in a short period of time of less than one generation.

The parable of the fig tree does not imply:
That the fig tree is Israel, although some believe it is.
That this last generation started when the UN allowed the rebirth of the State of Israel
That a generation is 40 50 or 70 years. More likely all Jesus said takes place in less than a twenty or thirty year period since the generation seeing the signs would also have had to reach the full age of reason to comprehend them. Also, the generation that saw the Lord return most likely would not also be so old that aged brains would forget the data. The discourse does imply that some will actually give up waiting so this period spans more than a few years.

We seem to have false birth pains called the beginning of sorrows, persecution, birth pains and the second coming in this passage. This all could take much longer than just the seven years that most assign to end time things and that also may be why the discourse says that some people will give up waiting. The big clue for me that this is more than seven years is that in the first series of events Jesus makes it perfectly clear that the end is not yet. These are just the beginning of sorrows of this last time generation.

Was Jesus telling his disciples to learn that the fig tree represented Israel’s rebirth? I kind of doubt that, they would not have a clue unless He was referring to the fig tree that He cursed that did represent Israel. If that is true His using the fig tree here with the sprouting of leaves would have to refer to Israel returning to God not the rebirth of a nation that still rejects Him.
“Fig tree” is used 32 times in the King James. Most of the time it is used with other trees and is just describing abundance of food or the lack of it. A few are describing the spiritual condition of Israel but calling Israel the fig tree from those few passages is a stretch. Actually, Israel could more easily be identified with the olive tree in scriptures.

Luke adds a little more than Matthew on this passage and says when the fig tree and all the trees are putting forth shoots you know summer is near. So If Israel is the fig tree who are the other trees that are also putting forth shoots? Perhaps this parable is more straight forward than some like to think. Perhaps Jesus was just saying when you see the things He was talking about taking place on earth this will be the generation that would see His return if they do not give up waiting. Just as when a fig tree puts forth shoots you know that summer is near you can know that the Lord’s coming is near when you see the events Jesus talked about. Perhaps there is no hidden reference to Israel in this passage at all? I do not think we can be dogmatic about it one way or the other.

If the parable of the fig tree is all about the rebirth of Israel like many teach. I would like to know why a still dead tree at the time of these events is putting forth shoots and putting forth leaves?  What are the leaves anyway? Ask those who teach this and you will get different answers.

In any case, this passage does not imply the generation that saw the rebirth of the state of Israel is the generation that would not pass away before the Lord returns. It seems to me that Jesus is really talking about the generation seeing all the things that He was talking about in prior versus.

Why do I bring this up? Because some are saying that Jesus has to come before 2019 and the Rapture is before 2012 and that they get hostile toward Christians who do not believe the time is as soon as the dates they set. There was a time when people said that Jesus would have to come in 1988 because it all had to happened within a generation of forty years from the rebirth of Israel. Then when that date came and gone they said that a generation was about 50 years. When that date came and gone they said a generation is a life span of 70 years and that is where some stand now. All of this latest date setting by some new prophecy teachers probably has more to do with their interpretation of pagan Mayan calenders then it does with sound exegesis of biblical prophecy.

Never mind that the latest interpretation of a generation being 70 years logically makes no sense because during the first decade or two of their life people of that generation would have been been too young to observe the events and properly process it. Some others extend the date by saying we should count the generation from when Israel took Jerusalem because taking new territory represented the leaves on the tree. That again is subjective speculation at best. Meanwhile, the whole concept has opened up Bible prophecy teachers to just criticism because some Bible prophecy teachers seem to be straining at gnats and swallowing camels in order to be dogmatic about their own subjective interpretations with date setting.

I do not know when the rapture of the Church will be because that date is always imminent but just looking at the signs on earth that are necessary to fulfill prophecy tells me that the coming of the Lord to set up His kingdom on earth is still twenty or thirty years down the line. If you do not want to wait that long tell it to God because the time is set by the Father. Meanwhile, lets not be so dogmatic about our prophecy speculations.

This exclusive article about the author’s interview with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel tells me that Netanyahu is not going to allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. There are other problems with allowing Iran to get nuclear weapons besides the threat of a nuclear strike on Israel. If Iran acquired nukes it would upset the stability in the whole unstable Mid-East. The threat would also bully Israel citizens and some would depart Israel. Having Iran as a nuclear umbrella is certain to embolden all the terrorist groups in the area. Iran would also be a threat to Europe and Arab nations and could supply terrorists with a weapon of mass destruction that they might use anywhere. Another of Israel’s concerns is that eventually a Iranian leader would use the nukes to start a war with Israel and the West to fulfill his own Islamic Mahdi apocalyptic beliefs.

It is obvious that Netanyahu will give Obama a short period of time to use diplomacy. The chances of a peaceful solution are slim, but stranger things have happened in the world. After the Iranian election when Iran finds itself in increasing economic distress due to low oil prices and the leadership of Iran knows that an attack by Israel is imminent they might agree to a last minute agreement to allow some oversight of their nuclear program.

From my understanding of Bible prophecy, I think Iran’s nuclear weapons program will be put on hold or it will be delayed by a military strike on Iran. I do not see them being allowed to develop nuclear weapons at this time. Bible prophecy tells us that Iran will come against Israel with Gog of Russia but Russia is at least a decade away from having the modern military forces necessary to even fulfill that prophecy.

In any case, all this will probably come to a head by fall. Once again things might get very interesting around the time of the Jewish New Year.

Netanyahu to Obama: Stop Iran—Or I Will – The Atlantic (March 31, 2009)

In an interview conducted shortly before he was sworn in today as prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu laid down a challenge for Barack Obama. The American president, he said, must stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons—and quickly—or an imperiled Israel may be forced to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities itself.

“The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu told me. He said the Iranian nuclear challenge represents a “hinge of history” and added that “Western civilization” will have failed if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

In unusually blunt language, Netanyahu said of the Iranian leadership, “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.”

Neither Netanyahu nor his principal military advisers would suggest a deadline for American progress on the Iran nuclear program, though one aide said pointedly that Israeli time lines are now drawn in months, “not years.” These same military advisers told me that they believe Iran’s defenses remain penetrable, and that Israel would not necessarily need American approval to launch an attack. “The problem is not military capability, the problem is whether you have the stomach, the political will, to take action,” one of his advisers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told me.

Both Israeli and American intelligence officials agree that Iran is moving forward in developing a nuclear-weapons capability. The chief of Israeli military intelligence, Major General Amos Yadlin, said earlier this month that Iran has already “crossed the technological threshold,” and that nuclear military capability could soon be a fact: “Iran is continuing to amass hundreds of kilograms of low-enriched uranium, and it hopes to exploit the dialogue with the West and Washington to advance toward the production of an atomic bomb.”

In our conversation, Netanyahu gave his fullest public explication yet of why he believes President Obama must consider Iran’s nuclear ambitions to be his preeminent overseas challenge. “Why is this a hinge of history? Several bad results would emanate from this single development. First, Iran’s militant proxies would be able to fire rockets and engage in other terror activities while enjoying a nuclear umbrella. This raises the stakes of any confrontation that they’d force on Israel. Instead of being a local event, however painful, it becomes a global one. Second, this development would embolden Islamic militants far and wide, on many continents, who would believe that this is a providential sign, that this fanaticism is on the ultimate road to triumph.

“Third, they would be able to pose a real and credible threat to the supply of oil, to the overwhelming part of the world’s oil supply. Fourth, they may threaten to use these weapons or to give them to terrorist proxies of their own, or fabricate terror proxies. Finally, you’d create a great sea change in the balance of power in our area—nearly all the Arab regimes are dead-set opposed to Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. They fervently hope, even if they don’t say it, that the U.S. will act to prevent this, that it will use its political, economic, and, if necessary, military power to prevent this from happening.”

If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, Netanyahu asserted, Washington’s Arab allies would drift into Iran’s orbit.

Few in Netanyahu’s inner circle believe that Iran has any short-term plans to drop a nuclear weapon on Tel Aviv, should it find a means to deliver it. The first-stage Iranian goal, in the understanding of Netanyahu and his advisers, is to frighten Israel’s most talented citizens into leaving their country. “The idea is to keep attacking the Israelis on a daily basis, to weaken the willingness of the Jewish people to hold on to their homeland,” Moshe Ya’alon said. “The idea is to make a place that is supposed to be a safe haven for Jews unattractive for them. They are waging a war of attrition.”

Full article

Dr. David Reagan has been receiving attacks on the Internet for his article in Lamplighter that debunked the concept of a Muslim Antichrist. One of the misconceptions of Muslim Antichrist proponents is that Islam is looking for a Mahdi that all Muslims will unite behind. They believe this Mahdi will be the Antichrist and will lead Muslims to fight against Israel and the “Christian” West. Never mind that there really is no Christian West there is only a pseudo Christian West. There are more true Christians in Communist China than there are in today’s humanistic Europe.

I frankly do not know why Christians believe Muslim eschatology as if the lies of Islam can give Christians prophetic truth?  Perhaps they do so for two reasons.

One reason is because one of the main proponents of this Muslim Antichrist theory recently converted from Islam and instead of properly learning Christian eschatology used his shoehorn to ram Shiite eschatology and Christian eschatology into the same shoe. Yet, only ten percent of Islam even believes the eschatology that this man claims all Muslims will follow.

The other reason is because they want to make biblical eschatology fit the main threat that they see in the world today because they think Jesus has to come within a decade. Sorry guys, but the Lord is coming on God’s time schedule not yours. They fall in the same trap so many others did in history, i.e. the Pope, Hitler. Today the observable threat is Islam so the Antichrist has to come from Islam.

Nevertheless, I keep telling everyone that the Antichrist will be lawless. That does not fit Islam at all because Islam is all about trying to keep the moral law. When the real Antichrist arrives people will believe that He is God and if there is any religion in the world other than the worship of him it will be more like new age and alien concepts.

These Muslim Antichrist proponents have a strawman Antichrist. When the real Antichrist figure comes people will want to follow him like he was their God. The world does not throw a party when the Antichrist arrives on the scene and kills the two witnesses because he is now imposing Islamic law on them. They are rejoicing because He just killed the two prophets of God and set them free from moral law. Are these Muslim Antichrist proponents serious telling me that the whole world will follow some Islamic Mahdi with Islamic moral laws all the way to Armageddon? Give me a break! The concept is beyond ridiculous.

Dr. Reagan in this article points out why the Muslim Antichrist proponents have it all wrong about the teaching of Islam. Ninety percent of Muslims are not looking for a Mahdi and if one came they would not receive him. To think that all Muslims would accept the Mahdi is on par with expecting true Christians to believe that Jesus will gather all Mormons to New Jerusalem in Missouri before the judgment.

Further Thoughts About a Muslim Antichrist

By Dr. David R. Reagan

The January-February 2009 issue of our magazine, the Lamplighter, was devoted to the issue of whether or not the Antichrist could be a Muslim. I argued that there is no possibility.

Several readers questioned one of the points I made in the article, and I would like to respond to the question they raised. In the article I pointed out that those who believe the Antichrist will be a Muslim argue that he will be received by the Muslim world as their long-awaited Mahdi, or Messiah. I took the position that this is misleading to believe “that all the Islamic world is living in breathless anticipation of the appearance of the Mahdi, when the reality is that 90% of all Muslims – the Sunnis – are not looking for a Mahdi. In fact the concept of a Mahdi is not even found in orthodox versions of the Hadith like Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.” I further observed that “the Sunni Muslims are looking instead for the appearance of the Antichrist, whom they call the Dajjal. If a person were suddenly to appear on the world scene claiming to be the Mahdi, he would be automatically rejected by the vast majority of Muslims.”

Those who questioned my position on this matter all pointed to two pieces of evidence which they said prove that Sunni Muslims do believe in the concept of a Mahdi. One was a fatwa issued by the Muslim World League, a Sunni organization, in 1976 which proclaimed that belief in a Mahdi is “obligatory.” The other was a long article on the Internet entitled “The Twelfth Imam.” In that article the author points out that there have been Sunni theologians throughout history who have believed in a Mahdi.

On the surface, both of these items seem to prove that the concept of a Mahdi is central to Sunni eschatology. But I would argue that both give support to my position.

Let me explain.