Sunday, October 21, 2007

Beautiful video of Psalm 83

http://www.acwitness.org/psalm83english.html

Joel Rosenberg: Epicenter

What the bible says will happen to Damascus

Isaiah 17: Destruction of Damascus
Posted by brittgillette on 28th July 2007

In the last days, the Bible tells us of a horrible series of events that will take place in the lands of Israel and Syria. One of these events is the disappearance of Damascus as one of the premiere cities in the world. The oldest continuously inhabited city on the planet, Damascus has witnessed at least 5,000 years of human history, and some historians believe the city actually dates back to the seventh millennium BC. In fact, Paul was on the road to Damascus when Christ first appeared to Him, an event that transformed not only his life, but the course of human history.
In the very near future, Damascus will once again play a major role in human events. The prophet Isaiah provides us with God’s commentary on a future conflict between Damascus and Israel, and in so doing, he reveals certain prophecies which have been partially fulfilled in the past. However, the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah 17 remains in the future. The current existence of Damascus, which will one day cease to be a city, as well as the historical absence of the coalition of nations prophesied to attack Israel and be destroyed by God, is proof that Isaiah 17 prophesies events yet future.

This is what God revealed to the prophet Isaiah:

“This message came to me concerning Damascus: ‘Look, Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted. Sheep will graze in the streets and lie down unafraid. There will be no one to chase them away. The fortified cities of Israel will also be destroyed, and the power of Damascus will end. The few left in Aram will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 17:1-3 (NLT)

These opening verses paint a bleak picture. The city of Damascus will become a heap of ruins, utterly destroyed. Few, if any, buildings will be left standing. The once great city will be devoid of human life and will become home to all manner of wildlife in the absence of humans to chase them away.

According to these verses, the cities of Aroer, which are located on the northern bank of the Arnon River just east of the Dead Sea, will also be deserted. However, the passage doesn’t say they will be destroyed in the same manner as Damascus, just that they will be deserted. It may be that people simply flee these cities out of fear.

In addition, many of the fortified cities in northern Israel will also be destroyed. Those few who remain in Aram, 38 miles south southeast of Damascus, will share the fate of these northern Israeli cities.

“‘In that day the glory of Israel will be very dim, for poverty will stalk the land. Israel will be abandoned like the grain fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest. Only a few of its people will be left, like the stray olives left on the tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five out on the tips of the limbs. Yes, Israel will be stripped bare of people,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel.” Isaiah 17:4-6 (NLT)

The breadth and scope of destruction is clearly illustrated as God describes the Israeli landscape as stripped bare of people. Only a small fraction of people either choose to stay in the land or else survive what is a massive holocaust, leaving only a few inhabitants who struggle in poverty.
“Then at last the people will think of their Creator and have respect for the Holy One of Israel. They will no longer ask their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or burn incense on the altars they built.” Isaiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

As a result of this event, the people of Israel will once again turn to God Almighty. Currently, the nation of Israel is predominantly secular in nature. Other biblical passages infer that this will change as the prophesied rebuilding of the Temple in the last days indicates a spiritual resurgence among the Jews of Israel. Nevertheless, this passage clearly indicates the people of Israel will turn away from all false idols and gods.
Knowing that this will happen, we must ask: why does it happen? The answer is found in the verses that follow:

“Their largest cities will be as deserted as overgrown thickets. They will become like the cities the Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you – the Rock who can hide you. You may plant the finest imported grapevines, and they may grow so well that they blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a load of grief and incurable pain.” Isaiah 17:9-11 (NLT)

The devastation that overshadows Israel will come about because Israel has “turned from the God who can save them.” All the hard work performed prior to this event will be lost. Those who have been distracted by the things of this world will be disappointed, for they have forgotten God, and by putting faith in the things of this world, they will ultimately be disappointed. Their only harvest will be “a load of grief and incurable pain.” This grief will be brought to a climax when, in the midst of their suffering, the nation of Israel faces an imminent invasion:

“Look! The armies rush forward like waves thundering toward the shore. But though they roar like breakers on a beach, God will silence them. They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind or like dust whirling before a storm. In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn its enemies are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.” Isaiah 17:12-14 (NLT)

While Syria and Israel lie in ruin, the enemies of Israel will view her suffering as an opportunity to invade, their ultimate goal to destroy her forever. However, God has a different plan in mind, and He will destroy these invaders Himself. A more in depth illustration of this attack is foreseen in Psalm 83:

“O God, don’t sit idly by, silent and inactive! Don’t you hear the tumult of your enemies? Don’t you see what your arrogant enemies are doing? They devise crafty schemes against your people, laying plans against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.’ This was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you – these Edomites and Ishmaelites, Moabites and Hagrites, Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites, and people from Philistia and Tyre. Assyria has joined them, too, and is allied with the descendants of Lot. Do to them as you did to the Midianites or as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did. Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, for they said, ‘Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!’ O my God, blow them away like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind! As a fire roars through a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, chase them with your fierce storms; terrify them with your tempests. Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Make them failures in everything they do, until they learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.” Psalm 83 (NLT)

So how do we know that Psalm 83 describes the same scene envisioned in Isaiah 17? Let’s compare the two. Here’s how the intentions of Israel’s enemies are described:

Plunder & Destruction“This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.” Isaiah 17:14 (NLT)

Destruction“They devise crafty schemes against your people, laying plans against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.’ This was their unanimous decision.” Psalm 83:3-5 (NLT)

Plunder“for they said, ‘Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!” Psalm 83:12 (NLT)

Here’s how the fate of Israel’s enemies are described:

“They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind or like dust whirling before a storm.” Isaiah 17:13 (NLT)

“O my God, blow them away like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind!” Psalm 83:13 (NLT)
From the description of their fate alone, it is reasonable to conclude that the armies of Isaiah 17:12 are the same nations who sign a treaty against the Lord in Psalm 83:5-8. Below is a list of those nations and their modern geographical equivalents:

Edomites = Jordan / Parts of the West Bank
Ishmaelites The Arab people
Moabites = Jordan / Parts of the West Bank
Hagrites = Jordan / The Arab people
Gebalites = Lebanon
Ammonites = Jordan
Amalekites = Southern Israel / Gaza
Philistia = GazaTyre = Lebanon
Assyria = Syria / Parts of Turkey and Iraq
The Descendants of Lot = Jordan


By studying the geographical history of these ancient people and places, we can uncover which nations they currently compose. According to Psalm 83, in the aftermath of the destruction of northern Israel and Damascus, Israel will be invaded by armies from Jordan, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza. All of these locations are heavily populated by the enemies of Israel today.

An Expanding War?

But are the nations cited in Psalm 83 the only nations involved in this attack? It’s quite possible that additional conspirators are named in the Book of Ezekiel. Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 might well foreshadow the war of Gog and Magog.

In Ezekiel 38-39, an enormous coalition of nations, “a vast and awesome horde” – will roll down on Israel “like a storm and cover the land like a cloud” Ezekiel 38:9 (NLT).

This prophesied future war in Ezekiel has many similarities to Isaiah 17:12-14. Both prophets foresee a time when enemy armies rush toward Israel while she awaits unprepared. Both prophets foresee God’s instantaneous destruction of Israel’s enemies. And in both scenarios, the marching armies intend to plunder and destroy the people of Israel:

Destruction“You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!” Ezekiel 38:11 (NLT)
Plunder“But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, ‘Who are you to rob them of silver and gold? Who are you to drive away their cattle and seize their goods and make them poor?’” Ezekiel 38:13 (NLT)

Plunder & Destruction“This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.” Isaiah 17:14 (NLT)

Could the events predicted in Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 be a catalyst for the war of Gog and Magog prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39? Although it is not a certainty, the possibility can not be completely ruled out.

Today’s Headlines

Looking at today’s geopolitical landscape, it’s not difficult to envision the scenario outlined in Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83. Syria has been adamant in its demand that Israel surrender the Golan Heights, threatening war if Israel fails to comply. Meanwhile, the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah has apparently convinced leaders in Damascus that Syria can be victorious in a conflict with Israel by simply overwhelming the tiny nation with rocket attacks. From a greater perspective, it has convinced the entire Islamic world that Israel isn’t the militarily invincible nation they once thought.

Syria’s rocket technology is far more advanced than that deployed by Hezbollah, and Syria is known to possess chemical weapons, including the highly lethal VX and Sarin gases. If Syria miscalculates and attacks Israel with these weapons, the Israeli response will be swift and devastating. Israel is armed with nuclear weapons, and if its survival is put in question, it will not hesitate to use them.

If this happens, a mortally wounded Israel will become an irresistible target for her enemies. The surrounding Muslim nations will see an opportunity to destroy her, while Russia will see an opportunity to seize the upper hand in the oil rich Middle East.

Today, the most virulent enemies of Israel reside in the very places named in Psalm 83 – Hamas in Gaza, the Palestinians in the West Bank and Jordan, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Syria leadership and its Axis of Evil partners in the city of Damascus.

As of this writing, the conditions are ripe for the fulfillment of Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83, paving the way for the rapture of the church and the beginning of the tribulation. In light of such developments, we should zealously preach the Gospel of Christ to all who will listen. For the hour is late, and the return of Christ is near.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

When did the clock start ticking...

When you want to know what time it is on God's watch you have to look no further than Israel. Israel is God's timepiece amongst other things. The "end days" clock started ticking when Israel became a nation again in 1948. It ceased to exist for almost 2000 years, yet just as the bible has foretold, it became a nation again. Examine scripture for yourself. It's precise, clear and simple and current events take on a whole new meaning when compared with what God has told us.
I have highlighted verses from Ezekiel 36 and 37
To view the chapters in their entirety please click on link below

Ezekiel 36 Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel

1 "Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD

8 " 'But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, 10 and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.

24 " 'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.

28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Ezekiel 37

11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.


14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "

21 and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.

27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

To read the chapters in it's entirety click on the link below
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2037-38;&version=31;

Of course there is lots more to come. Just check back

What Putins Historic Visit to Iran Means

* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *
WHAT PUTIN'S HISTORIC VISIT TO IRAN MEANS Washington leaders are asking if unfolding events in the Mideast were foretold in the Bible.
By Joel C. Rosenberg (Washington, D.C., October 18, 2007) -- Sobering, apocalyptic talk from President Bush yesterday. During a press briefing at the White House, the President was asked about Vladimir Putin's visit with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran and the threat posed by this emerging Russian-Iranian nuclear alliance. The President warned that World War III could break out if Iran gets nuclear weapons. Here is an excerpt from the official transcript: "I believe that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would be a dangerous threat to world peace. We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." As the President was speaking to reporters at the White House, I had the privilege of speaking to a group of military leaders at the Pentagon on what Putin's historic and unprecedented trip to Iran means, and how Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's eschatology is driving Iranian foreign policy. The event was off-the-record, meaning I'm not at liberty to share who was in the meeting or any of the specific details. But I can tell you that I gave a condensed version of the same information I've been speaking about publicly in recent weeks. I will be speaking on the same topic on Capitol Hill today with a group of Congressmen who have invited me to discuss the latest events with Putin and Ahmadinejad and what they might mean. Here's an executive summary: * To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it. A new evil is rising in the world. Ahmadinejad is the new Hitler. Putin is a new Czar. Yet the West seems to be asleep to the implications of this dangerous new alliance. * Ahmadinejad is a devout Shia Muslim. He began telling colleagues when he was first elected in the summer of 2005 that the end of the world was just two or three years away. He said the way to hasten the coming of the Islamic Messiah known as the "Mahdi" or the "Twelfth Imam" or the "Hidden Imam" is to annihilate two countries -- Israel, which he says is the "little Satan," and the United States, which he says is the "Great Satan." * In September 2005, Ahmadinejad concluded his address to the U.N. by praying that Allah would hasten the coming of the Mahdi. * Ahmadinejad returned to Iran after that speech and told Shia clerics that as he had spoken at the U.N. he had been surrounded by a halo of light, and that for 27 or 28 minutes not a single person in the General Assembly hall had even blinked, so mesmerized were they -- he said -- but what Allah was saying through him. * In October 2005, Ahmadinejad gave his famous speech vowing to wipe Israel off the map. In the same speech, he urged the Muslim world to envision a world without the United States, and said this is possible -- a world without America and Zionism -- "when our holy hatred strikes like a wave." * In December 2005, Russia signed a $1 billion arms deal with Iran, selling high-speed missiles to the Ahmadinejad regime, on top of billions of dollars worth of other arms, submarines, and nuclear technology in recent years. * In September 2006, Ahmadinejad returned to the U.N. and again concluded his address by praying for Allah to hasten the coming of the Mahdi. Throughout 2006 and 2007, he has continued to give regular speeches denouncing Israel and assuring Muslims that the Jewish State will soon "vanish." * In August 2007, Ahmadinejad began shifting gears. He was no longer saying that the end of the world was two or three years away. Now he was saying the return of the Mahdi was "imminent." * In September 2007, Ahmadinejad again spoke at the U.N., as well as at Columbia University in New York City. This time, rather than ending his speeches with a prayer, he began both speeches by asking Allah to hasten the coming of the Mahdi. * For the past two years, Ahmadinejad has been feverishly trying to build, buy or steal nuclear weapons. He has specifically been building alliances with three nuclear powers, Russia, China and North Korea, in pursuit of his genocidal objectives. * Despite the apocalyptic rhetoric coming out of Tehran, the military, political and economic relationship between Russia and Iran has intensified dramatically over the past two years. Putin doesn't seem bothered by the talk of genocide. Putin and Ahmadinejad have met regularly. Putin's visit this week to Iran was the first by a Russian leader since 1943. * Putin didn't meet only with Ahmadinejad in Iran. He also held a summit with the leaders of several Central Asian/Caspian Sea nations and issued a threat to the U.S. not to intervene militarily to stop Iran's nuclear program. * No one is entirely certain why Putin is building an alliance with such radical Islamic regimes. Russia is certainly making billions of dollars from their arms and nuclear deals. Putin clearly wants to rebuild the glory of Mother Russia. He is becoming a Czar, centralizing power to himself and now saying he will step down as president in 2008 but stay in power as prime minister. * As an emerging Czar, Putin wants to expand Russia's borders and influence. But he can't go West, because NATO is moving East. Putin can't go East because he borders a nuclear China. He recently claimed sovereignty over the North Pole. But his real opportunity to build a global, anti-Western empire lies to the South. So Putin is feverishly working to build alliances with Islamic and Arab powers, including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, and several Central Asian states, as well as Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world. * Still, given Russia's experience in Chechnya, it doesn't really make sense that Russia would arm radical Islamic nations, or help them go nuclear. * The Bible offers an intriguing clue to what could be happening. In Ezekiel 38-39, the Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel foretold a Russian-Iranian alliance that would form with a group of other North African, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian states in what the Bible calls "the last days." For most of the past 2,500 years since the prophecy was writtten, this had never happened. But it seems to be happening now. * No one knows exactly when these prophecies will be fulfilled in their entirely. I certainly do not. My 2005 political thriller, The Ezekiel Option, was a fictional look at how these prophecies might play out, if they were to play in my lifetime. Epicenter is a non-fiction look (both the book and the documentary film) at these prophecies and the current dynamics in Russia, Iran and the rest of the region. It considers the possibility that we might actually be closer to the fulfillment of these prophecies that anyone in the political, business or media worlds has expected. * One curious development worth noting: Ezekiel 36 and 37 have already come true in our lifetime. These are the famous prophecies that say that in the end times, Israel will be reborn as a nation, Jews will pour back into the Holy Land after centuries of exile, they will make the deserts bloom, they will rebuild the ancient ruins, and have an "exceedingly great army." Since these dramatic events have already happened, it begs the question: Could Ezekiel 38-39 -- what Bible scholars call the "War of Gog and Magog" -- also come true in our lifetime? This remains to be seen. But current events are raising lots of intriguing questions. As I write in Epicenter, I am not trying to persuade people that these events are coming to pass soon. I'm trying to raise awareness of the threats we face as Americans, the threats our friends in Israel face, and the threats that everyone in the "epicenter" faces --, Jews, Muslims and Christians alike. I'm trying to make people aware of prophecies that intrigue me personally, and that may have relevance for our time. And I'm trying to motivate people to do more to care for the needs of the suffering and threatened people of the epicenter, specifically through the work of The Joshua Fund, the non-profit group that Lynn and I launched last year. While I cannot say whether people in the Pentagon or Congress or the White House share my views, I am both intrigued and grateful that they are interested and have invited me to share my perspective. At this moment in history, let us pray faithfully and earnestly for our political and military leaders, as well for the leaders in Israel, Russia, Iran and the epicenter. As the Apostle Paul wrote in I Timothy 2:1-4: "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." --------- PHOTO: Putin and Ahmadinejad in Tehran this week.