Month: May 2017

To be honest, I don’t know why God created lemmings but an interesting analogy exists between the lemming myth that they rush head long to their destruction during their migration urge and the world as it rushes head long to fulfill the prophecies in the book of Daniel. There is no doubt that China, Russia, and Iran are three of the four beasts described in Daniel chapter seven if the prophecy is for our generation. The world is re-aligning to follow the beasts, not based on some reasonable choice but driven by an irresistible urge for wealth and power. And the world will follow the beasts right over the cliff without hesitation.

The Tribulation requires all four beasts of Daniel chapter severn to have risen and the rise of the fourth beast is brewing. Its birth will be the result of warfare between Persia and the land of Javan as described in Daniel chapters eight and eleven. But there are some pre-requisites to be fulfilled before the warfare begins. One requisite is represented by the four heads of the leopard of Daniel chapter seven which are synonymous with the four Persian kings of Daniel chapter eleven. In today’s context the warfare is instigated by the fourth Ayatollah of Iran where the leopard is Iran and the Ayatollahs are its heads. The current Iranian Ayatollah is the second Supreme Leader. Between now and the appearance of the fourth Supreme Leader Iran’s hegemony in the Middle East will become increasingly militant.

China, Russia, and the land of Javan are situated as a geopolitical barrier containing the chaos being propagated by Iran. Turkey occupies the land of Javan today and is active in thwarting Iran’s dominance of Syria. It is the warfare between Iran and Turkey that will unleash chaos in the Middle East and eventually over the whole world. But this, too, is not eminent.

What does appear to be the next step in the process for the rise of the fourth beast is Iran’s success as the undisputed leader of Islam over Saudi Arabia. The desperation of the Saudi’s, and by extension other Sunni Arab states, is evident in their warming of ties with Israel and the United States in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism, the brush the Saudi’s use to paint the current Iranian regime because of Iranian support for terrorism. Perhaps the Saudi’s aren’t following the United States over the cliff so much out of some blind urge but rather more based on the reality that if they stop running with the United States the Iranian leopard will certainly have them for lunch. I expect the unrest in Yemen and Bahrain, both have borders with Saudi Arabia, will not turn out well for the Saudi’s. In Daniel chapter eleven the fourth Persian king is wealthier than the previous three and it is this wealth that emboldens him to strike at the land of Javan.

It seems unthinkable that United States would not intervene should Iran try to gain control of Saudi Arabia and its oil wealth. Saudi Arabia is much like South Vietnam during the sixties and seventies, unable to survive without the military support of the United States. Should the United States be unable or unwilling to defend Saudi Arabia they would fall to the cunning of Iran.

And let’s not forget that the beast like a bear with three ribs in its mouth was told to devour much flesh. Expect Russia to become more militant also.

May God bless you in your study of His word.

The current trip by the President of the United States to Saudi Arabia intends to show strong support for the Saudi effort to thwart Iranian hegemony in the Middle East, choosing to align with the Saudis while rebuffing Turkey. The Saudis have something the Turks do not, hundreds of billions of dollars to spend. It is here that the crucks of the answer lies to the question, where is the U.S. in the end-times?

It’s an interesting question in the broader sense of what is the role of nation states or regions not specifically mentioned in Christian eschatology such as India or all of North and South America? The typical answer is that they are under the control of the antichrist. While it is true that the antichrist is given “authority” over all the earth by Satan (Revelation 13:4), the Greek word exousia translated authority means authority in a moral or spiritual sense that is demonstrated in an earthly way. Indeed, the book of Daniel tells that the antichrist’s reign will not be absolute like Nebuchadnezzar’s (Daniel 2) and that four great coalitions will exist during the Tribulation of which the antichrist controls only one (Daniel 11:21-45). Through his persuasive moral and spiritual authority the antichrist will cause the deaths of millions beyond his direct control.

Where is the U.S. in end-times scripture? The better question is where is the influence of the United States in the end-times? The answer is no-where. Saudi Arabia, and much of the moderate Arab states, is betting the future of their government on the backing of the United States with military training, intelligence, and support. The Saudi’s believe this will be sufficient to thwart the rise in Iranian hegemony in the Middle East. The Saudi’s are throwing hundreds of billions of dollars at the U.S. to strengthen a faltering U.S. economy. If the visions of the book of Daniel are for our times then this will fail. Iran, China, and Russia are destined to rise in power and influence while Saudi Arabia’s attempt to thwart their rise, and by extension the U.S, will not succeed. From the vision of the ram and the goat, the country that stands up to thwart Iranian influence is Turkey, not Saudi Arabia (Daniel 8). It would not be surprising to have Saudi Arabia drop its ties with the U.S. and align itself with Turkey in the future.

The U.S. continues to rebuff the Turks, one by arming the Kurds rather than forming a Turkish alliance in Syria and two by harboring a detested rival of Turkish President Erdoğan. That is not to say I believe the U.S. should support the Turks but rather it shows that the U.S. influence in the region is destined to fade while Turkey and Iran rise as the dominant players.

The collapse of the U.S. economy doesn’t play well in the U.S. press but articles appear weekly suggesting just that. There is no more funny money by the Federal Reserve to keep the ship-of-state afloat. The illogical hope is that an infrastructure spending bill along with a deep tax cut will provide the necessary stimulus to jump start the economy. It is reminiscent of overdraft charges where banks charge you money they know you don’t have. The congress is many months away from presenting a tax cut bill which will be much debated for more months before a vote, the effect of which will not show in the economy until 2019; too little too late.

U.S. military training and support runs on money. When the money disappears so will the export of training and support, not just to the Saudis but throughout the world. The U.S. will go from banker to beggar. It is the antichrist who will control vast sums of wealth and distributes it to those who yield to his exousia (Daniel 11:24). Will liberal politicians compromise their stand on human rights in an effort to get some of that wealth to keep the ship-of-state afloat? It won’t bode well for those who reject the antichrist and profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Just a side note, if you’re counting on a pre-tribulation rapture to escape the trouble ahead then you are taking a stance destined for disappointment just like the Saudis. The scriptures tell us that we are to be refined by fire to strip away all hindrance to a holy life during the Tribulation (Daniel 11:35; 1Peter 1:7; Revelation 2,3).

May God bless you in your study of His word.

I read an article in The Times Of Israel that is an icon for the secular approach in the search for peace in the Middle East. The article contains the usual ambiguous statements about building bridges across issues that divide Arabs and Israelis and the two states as the only real solution to guarantee peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Then the article casually adds that the inside out approach, where the antagonists form the basis for a resolution, does not work. It is time for an outside in approach. Whatever an outside in approach means in real terms, it isn’t going to be good for Israel.

The fault with the international approach to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and by extension the Arab world, is that world governments see the underlining cause as sociological rather than theological. There may be ways to bridge sociological gaps between Arabs and Israelis but there is no way to bridge the theological gaps.

From a Biblical perspective God’s plan is, and has always been, one state called Israel and includes the land Palestinians want for their own state. The Mosaic Law is clear that non-Jews may live in the land of Israel but they must not violate Jewish rule. Non-Jews living in Israel are not to corrupt the Jewishness of the state. A recent bill likely to pass in the Israeli Kinneret will declare Israel a Jewish state regardless of the ethnic makeup of its population. Israel now realizes that a two states solution alone will not allow it to maintain its Jewishness.

The Koran’s perspective is that any land that comes under Muslim rule is forever Muslim. All of Israel was once under Muslim rule and all of Israel must return to Muslim rule. Under Sharia Law non-Muslims may live in Muslim lands but they must not violate Muslim rule. Non-Muslims living under Sharia Law are not to corrupt the Islamic nature of the state. Iran, Hamas, and the majority of the Palestinian population view the two states solution as the first step to extending Muslim rule over all of Israel.

The world is tiring of the pursuit for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and wants a solution, any solution. Which brings us back to the outside in approach, political speak for an imposed solution. Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians will be happy with such a deal and it will take some muscle to do the imposing. The truth is that any imposed solution will not bring all of Israel under Muslim rule and will not guarantee peace for Israel. It will take more muscle than the world or the antichrist has to impose a peace solution for the land of Israel. It will take someone who can truly rule the world with an iron scepter.

That brings an interesting thought. Who are the people to be ruled with an iron scepter? People, today, fall into three categories concerning Jesus as the Christ. There are those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. There are those who accept Him as Savior but balk at His absolute rule over their lives, preferring to give little to no thought about “What Would Jesus Do”, WWJD. And last there are those who reject Jesus as Lord or Savior. The Tribulation removes any question concerning the lordship of Jesus Christ over the earth and concentrates the remaining inhabitants into either accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior or Lord but not Savior. It is the final battle with Gog and Magog after the millennial reign that removes the last of earths inhabitants that rejected Jesus as Savior and ushers in the everlasting kingdom of God.

Those looking to make peace, any peace, between Israel and the Palestinians will be greatly disappointed.

May God bless you in your study of His word.

Two lesser known participants of the end-times are referred to as daughters. One is well known and understood while the other is more obscure. The well-known daughter is the daughter of Zion. She is the city and center of Judaism, Jerusalem. Her counterpart is the daughter of Babylon. She, too, is a city and religious center but the question is, where and what religion?

“Daughter of Babylon” is an Old Testament term used by the writers of Psalm 137, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. The New Testament refers to her as the great city Babylon. The Psalmist, Isaiah, and Jeremiah had the capital city of the Babylonian nation in mind and their prophecies concerning the city of Babylon have been fulfilled. Zechariah wrote after Babylon had been subjugated by Cyrus who would eventually move the capital to Shusha in Persia. It is in Zechariah’s third vision, the vision of the surveyor (Zechariah 2), that the term daughter of Babylon is used in an eschatological sense. The second chapter of Zechariah refers to the end-times as expressed in verses 9-12 and the daughter of Babylon referred to is a city during that time. As always, there lies the conflict. Any association of a city with the daughter of Babylon in an eschatological sense will likely be incorrect unless the end-time is near.

One city associated with the daughter of Babylon became popular in the seventies. The Apostle Peter used the term Babylon as code to refer to Rome in his first Epistle (1Peter 5:13). Many commentators of Christian eschatology ascribe Babylon to Rome and the Roman Catholic Church. The idea gained credence in the mid to late twentieth century as the formation of the European Union was also seen as the ten nation confederate lead by the antichrist. The idea of the European Union as the nations that control the world under the leadership of the antichrist and Catholicism as its religion lead by the Pope seem to fit. Today the influence of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope are declining and they were never associated with the European Union in the same sense as Judaism, Jerusalem, and Israel. To be clear, the European Union is not the ten nation confederacy of the Tribulation period and the Pope is not the false prophet. Not because I think so but because the associations required in Christian eschatology do not fit with all the scriptures that discuss the confederacy and its center, the daughter of Babylon.

Another city has recently surfaced in commentary as the daughter of Babylon and since its candidacy is closer to the Tribulation it deserves consideration. Much of the documentation supporting this notion is outside Christian theology and is found in Islamic eschatology. According to the notion, not Islamic teaching, the antichrist and false prophet are adherents to Islam. This would make Mecca, which is the center of the Islamic hajj, the end-times daughter of Babylon. As tempting as it might sound to associate Saudi Arabia with the beast of the Tribulation, Christian eschatology depicts the beast as a coalition of diverse nations (Revelation 13:1-4). While Mecca is synonymous with Islam, Saudi Arabia is not considered the focal point of Muslims. Mecca is not a good candidate to be the daughter of Babylon at this time.

The iconic city to be known as the daughter of Babylon must represent the Babylon of the Tribulation. That Babylon consists of the nations that comprise the rest of the statue of Daniel chapter two, shown as rising at the same time in Daniel chapter seven, and bound as a coalition in Revelation chapter thirteen. Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold and the city of Babylon his capital. In the Tribulation a city will become the icon of the end-times Babylon which is depicted by silver, bronze, iron, and iron and clay portions of the statue of Daniel chapter two. If China, Russia, Iran, and an Islamic Union are the Tribulation Babylon, what city would be iconic of their rule? (See post Times – They Are A-Changin April 10, 2017 for the nations that rise during the Tribulation.) Perhaps they come to dominate the United Nations which would make New York City the daughter of Babylon of the Tribulation. The problem with a city like New York fulfilling the role as the daughter of Babylon is its lack of any religious significance. The same is true of Brussels and its association with the European Union.

A fascinating possibility, not found in popular commentary, is Istanbul. It has a rich Asian, Western, and Muslim history. As Constantinople it was the eastern capital of the Roman empire. It remained the capital of the Ottoman Turkish empire until the establishment of Turkey’s secular government in the early twentieth century. Like Rome, Istanbul was originally built on seven hills. It was a destination on the Silk Road trade route for China. Today, Turkey is drifting away from secular governance and there is a national desire to make Turkey the focal point of Islamic hegemony as it was during the Ottoman empire. (See post Where In The World – The Ram and Goat? April 17, 2017 for the rise of Turkey in the Tribulation.) It is worth keeping an eye on current events. Will Turkey return to a system of governance reminiscent of the Ottoman empire and move its capital back to Istanbul? What role will Turkey play in China’s new Silk Road initiative? We will have to wait and see.

The iconic city to be known as the daughter of Babylon may not have risen to such status as yet, but when it does, it will require a historical context to fulfill the same associations as does Judaism, Jerusalem, and Israel as the daughter of Zion.

May God bless you in your study of His word.