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Category Archives: Bible Prophecy


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Bible Prophecy – Warning to Nations

Beginning last year we have seen enormous efforts being made by a number of players to get Israel and the israelPalestinians to come up with a solution to their differences in order to stop the ongoing violence. The United States of America, assisted by Great Britain and the European Union, has been in the forefront of that drive. Simplistically put, their solution is for a Palestinian state to be created alongside the state of Israel, with Jerusalem designated an “international city”.

Over the years the Palestinians have made it clear that they do not and will not recognize the state of Israel. Furthermore, they have made it clear that, amongst their many demands, they want the “Old City” and East Jerusalem as their capital and want the Israeli settlements in the so called West Bank to be vacated by Israelis living there and handed over to them.

For their part the Israelis consider an undivided Jerusalem to be their eternal capital. They also consider that they have a right to keep their settlements in the West Bank; the biblical area of Judea and Samaria.

As a result of these differences (not all of them) the international community has been putting enormous pressure on both sides to reach an agreement to settle those differences. However, the pressure appears to be rather one-sided, in effect requiring the Israelis to submit to Palestinian demands. We constantly hear of Israel being berated for building new homes in the West Bank, that it will not give up any land nor go back to pre-1967 borders and that it is being intransigent over Jerusalem. Even as we write, British PM Cameron is in Israel putting pressure upon Israel to agree to the proposals by the International community; not to forget that the US, led by Secretary of State, Kerry, is constantly putting similar pressure on Israel, often using veiled threats to try to get them to comply.

This pressure is likely to intensify over the next month, especially as Kerry has declared that he wants a final agreement by 15th April.

We believe that those involved in trying to force Israel to give up land and to give up control over Jerusalem are playing a very dangerous game! We are therefore led to ask: “What does God’s Word have to say about the land of Israel and Jerusalem? Who owns the land of Israel?  And, who has the “right” to look after the city of Jerusalem?”

There are many scriptures concerning these questions which, unsurprisingly, all point to the same answer but, here in our short article, we will only briefly consider a few of them.

Let us begin with the land. In Chapters 13, 26 and 35 of Genesis we learn that God first gives the land to Abram, later to be renamed Abraham, then reconfirms his oath with Isaac and finally with Jacob who, at that time, is also renamed Israel by God. In each case the land is given to them and their descendants:-

– To Abram in 12:15: “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”

– To Isaac in 26:3: “. . . . for to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.  . . . “

– To Jacob in 35:12: “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”

(All above are extracts from the NIV.)

Surely there can be no doubt as to the identity of the rightful custodians of the land? And yet the international community refuses to acknowledge it.

What about Jerusalem? In 1 Kings Chapter 14 God’s word tells us that He Himself chose Jerusalem as the city in which to put His Holy Name. In Matthew Chapters 4 and 27 there are references to the “holy city”. Jerusalem is also frequently referred to in the Bible as “the city of God”. The Lord refers to it as “My city” – Isaiah 45. More often He speaks about it as “My holy mountain”. And because the very name of the city means Peace, we know that in this place God Himself will give peace – Haggai 2.  Psalm 76 informs us that God’s tent is in Salem and his dwelling place in Zion; references to Jerusalem. And finally one day it will become the city of righteousness – Isaiah 1. Jesus Himself will one day rule from Jerusalem in righteousness.

israel 2Presently the Dome of the Rock of Islam, controlled by the Jordanians, stands on this site which is so holy to God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To Islam this site is much less important than the Ka,aba in Mecca, but Islam will fiercely resist any attempts by the Jews to reclaim it for God. God has already rebuked Satan about it and in Zechariah Chapter 3 He makes it quite clear that He, the Lord, chose Jerusalem. Satan will not prevail there forever!

There can be no doubt that Jerusalem belongs to God.

Finally we need to be reminded that Jerusalem was bought by King David over 3.000 years ago. It has never been legally sold so logically it still belongs to the House of David. God will reclaim it for His purposes at the time of His choosing.

What Warnings does the Lord give to nations and individuals? Again there are many warnings in scripture and here we will consider only a few of them. In Genesis 12:3 God said to Abram 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” NIV. Here God makes it clear that those who do not treat Abram and his descendants properly will in turn be severely dealt with by Him.

About Jerusalem the Lord says in Zechariah 12:3: 3On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. (NIV) God is simply telling the nations not to tamper with His holy city. “All the nations” surely refers to the United Nations, a world body which is essentially anti-Israel and ready to approve a settlement along the lines noted above.

And the last scripture we will consider here surely concerns what is presently being proposed by the US, Britain and the EU. It is found in Joel 3:2. “I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.” (NIV)

Are we about to see God’s land divided? If so there will be consequences for those dividing it.

The final arrogance to consider is the date which has been set by which the peace talks are to be wrapped up; that date being 15 April, 2014. For the Jews it is a very important day, having been declared an “appointed time” by the Lord.

Firstly it is the first day of the Jewish religious New Year and, secondly, it is the first day of the Passover celebrations. Passover is a day specifically set aside by the Lord. This is what the Lord says about it in Leviticus 23:4-5.  4 “These are the Lord’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: 5 The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. (NIV) (Remember the Jewish day begins at sunset, here the 14th, and goes through to sunset the next day, here the 15th.)

We do not know how God will react to the deliberations going on at present but, we can be sure that in his own way and own time, He will deal with those who so blatantly disregard His warnings.

It would be wise for all involved in these negotiations to heed Gods Word.

Chris, from our fellowship, has an interest in Bible prophecy and from time to time will share his views with us on current events and how they relate to prophecy in this new series “Bible Prophecy”.


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Bible Prophecy: When Rivers Dry Up

euphratesThe Bible tells us that the Euphrates and the Nile will one day dry up. When that happens, great hardship and suffering will be experienced by those relying on the waters of these rivers.

In Egypt, nearly eighty percent of the population is to be found living within a short distance of the banks of the Nile, relying on its water for commerce and sustenance. While not as devastating, many people in Syria and Iraq would also face extreme hardship should the Euphrates dry up.

In Revelation 16:12 we read:

12The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its waters were dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. (NIV)

In Isaiah we read:

19: 5 -6 5The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry. 6The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither, (NIV)

The following few verses from Isaiah 19 have been added to show the utter devastation that will occur when the Nile dries up.

nile7also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field  along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more, 8The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away. (NIV)

11 :15 The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dry-shod. (NKJV)

Interestingly, the NIV names the river as the Euphrates. Thus in the NIV it seems that both the “gulf of the Egyptian Sea” and the Euphrates are dealt with simultaneously, while in the NKJV it appears to refer only to the Nile. There seems to be some uncertainty as to what is meant by the “tongue of the sea of Egypt” (NKJV) and the “gulf of the Egyptian Sea” (NIV). We ask: “Is it perhaps the Nile Delta with all its canals”?

Nearly ninety percent of the Euphrates’ water has its source in mountains in Turkey. As far back as the 1930’s Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, came up with the idea of utilizing the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris, the latter also having most of its source there, for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes. After a number of delays, the project to dam up the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris began in the 1980’s. The project involved the building of over twenty dams, the largest being the Ataturk dam. Once completed the project was capable of doubling Turkey’s irrigable farmlands. In the late 1980’s when the Ataturk dam was being filled, Turkey stopped the flow of water into the Euphrates for four days, showing how easily they could stop it flowing completely. Syria and Iraq have already raised concerns about the effects of the reduced flows; soil erosion and increased salinity in irrigated areas amongst other problems. Clearly in times of great national need, it would seem that Turkey would not hesitate in diverting all the water towards its own needs.

Egypt faces a similar situation because Ethiopia is currently building a massive dam on the Blue Nile, which accounts for eighty percent of the water flowing into the Nile downstream. The massive Aswan dam is not in contention here, as mapit is fully under Egyptian control, although about 10% to 12% of the annual flow of the Nile is lost to evaporation because of the vast surface area of the dam. The waters of the dam in Ethiopia will be used primarily for electricity generating purposes, although there is talk of making Ethiopia more “water resilient” by using the dam for storage purposes and irrigation schemes. Through this dam, which is due for completion in 2017, Ethiopia will be able to limit the flow of water into the Nile and, as could happen in Turkey, may well completely stop the flow of water from the dam in times of great national need.

As of now, these rivers have never dried up, so these scriptures clearly refer to a future time when, for His purposes, God will cause them to cease flowing. God’s main purpose at that time will be His judgment on mankind, especially upon those who refuse to recognize and worship Him.

It is worth mentioning here that God used Darius to defeat Belshazzar and take Babylon by diverting the flow of the Euphrates, but that was a temporary strategy and the river did not dry up completely. (Daniel 5:30, Isaiah 44:28 – 45:1-4.)

How God will dry up the rivers we do not know, but is it perhaps possible that He will also use man and man-made structures to achieve His purposes? We are told that “With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River” and wonder whether that is a reference to a coming drought which will cause not only a reduction in the water flow, if not a complete drying up of those rivers, but will at the same time entice the countries controlling those dams to look after their own interests by completely stopping water from being released out of them.

Chris, from our fellowship, has an interest in Bible prophecy and from time to time will share his views with us on current events and how they relate to prophecy in this new series “Bible Prophecy”.


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Bible Prophecy: Damascus and Hamath

City of Damascus

In view of current events in Syria, two prophecies are worth considering. (There are other scriptures of interest concerning these cities, but will not be referred to in this short post.)

The two scriptures are:

Jeremiah 49: 23-27 (NIV)

23Concerning Damascus:

“Hamath and Arpad’ are dismayed, for they have heard bad news. They are disheartened, troubled like the restless sea.  Damascus has become feeble, she has turned to flee and panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her, pain like that of a woman in labor.  25Why has the city of renown not been abandoned, the town in which I delight?  26Surely, her young men ° will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,” declares the lord Almighty

27“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad”

Isaiah 17:1 (NIV)

1 An oracle concerning Damascus:

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. . . “

Jeremiah’s prophecy is found in an end section of his book where God tells him of the judgments to come against the Nations, as well as some cities specifically mentioned. Right now Hamath and Damascus are the focus of our interest.

Isaiah’s prophecy is found early on in the book. It too occurs in the section dealing with judgment against the Nations and, in this case, where Damascus is specifically mentioned.

It is not our intention here to go into God’s reasons for His judgment against the Nations or cities, but to consider these scriptures in the light of current events. We certainly do not want to make light of these judgments or to “look forward” to their fulfilment. They are severe and final when they take place but, for us, they are important points on the prophetic path God’s has laid out.

(As a word of caution, when considering God reasons for judgment, be careful not to take a current world view which is that if these Nations, or cities, simply followed a democratic process all would be in order. God does not look at democracy. He looks at the actions of mankind in relation to His commandments. Keep in mind that democracy is a flawed man-made system. It has been said, by Churchill amongst others, that democracy is a bad system but it is the best we have.)

Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and, unlike other cities in the region, including even Jerusalem, it has never been destroyed. In other words, the prophecy in Isaiah has never been fulfilled. Damascus is only a short distance to the north of Israel and is the capital of present-day Syria.

Damascus was part of David’s and Solomon’s kingdom. It was also the city where Paul was headed specifically to persecute Christians. On his way there he was confronted by Jesus and lost his sight. It was in Damascus that Jesus told Ananias to go and lay hands on Paul because Paul was His “chosen instrument” to take the Word to the Gentiles, their kings and the people of Israel. In the house in Straight Street, where Paul was staying, Ananias laid hands on him whereupon his sight was restored and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 9: 1-19) NIV.damascus-pigeons

Straight Street is still there to this day!

So clearly Damascus is a city with an important past, yet God says He will destroy it and it will become “a heap of ruins”.

Hama, which lies some 50 kilometres directly north of Homs, is almost certainly the Biblical city of Hamath, within provincial Hamath. Homs is about 150 kilometres north of Damascus. While Damascus came under David’s and Solomon’s kingdoms, these other two cities did not, although they were both under Solomon’s control. Since at least 1925 Hama has been the source of a number of uprisings, mainly from Islamic fundamentalists.

Currently Syria is in the throes of a violent civil war; the roots of which run deep and which are extremely complicated. We have seen images of the devastation taking place within the country, especially in Homs, Hama and to some extent in Damascus itself. We have heard about the huge numbers killed, well over a hundred thousand now, the two million or more who have fled the country and are living in tents in the desert, often without enough food and other problems. It is a situation so bad that the average person not directly involved is unable to fully comprehend it.

We know that both the Syrian and opposition forces are well armed and have the means to turn Damascus into a “heap of ruins”. Could one or other of these adversaries in a final act of desperation resort to such tactics? And what if Israel is brought into the conflict and needs to defend itself? These are merely possibilities leading to the destruction of Damascus. Certainly there is a lot of pain and suffering going on right now throughout Syria as well as in Damascus, Homs and Hama.

damascusThe question we pose is this: “Is it possible that we are witnessing an aspect of God’s prophetic Word about to be fulfilled”?

A sobering question!

We do not say it is – although we do urge readers to be aware of Bible prophecy and current events in the Middle East and, above all, to keep their focus on Jesus.

 

Chris, from our fellowship, has an interest in Bible prophecy and from time to time will share his views with us on current events and how they relate to prophecy in this new series “Bible Prophecy”.


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Bible Prophecy: We Are Close to Christ’s Return

bible_prophecy1Today we want to consider some well-known and often quoted prophetic verses of scriptures, not so much as a teaching exercise but, as a reminder of how close we are to the return of Jesus.

The verses we refer to are found in Luke 17: 26-28:

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;…”’

There are, in fact, two very different aspects in these three verses.

  • In the first (verses 26 and 27) Jesus tells his disciples that before He comes again it will be like the days of Noah when people were leading carefree lives unaware of the impending disaster about to overtake them. 
  • In the second (verse 27) He tells them it will be the same as it was in Sodom before it was destroyed.

It is interesting to note that in both cases people were eating and drinking, buying, selling and marrying; in other words leading apparently normal and carefree lives. Yet in both cases they were behaving in a manner unacceptable to God. In the days of Noah it was corruption and violence (Gen. 6:11) and in the days of Sodom it was sexual abomination, especially homosexuality (Gen 19). In time each was judged for their, different but, unacceptable behaviour.

But Jesus also says that before His coming again both of these sinful behaviors will be present in the world and He clearly warns of the consequences of such behaviour.

If we look around the world today we see violence and corruption abounds everywhere: we see it between tribes, nations, within societies and even in families. Certainly none of this is a new phenomenon, yet it appears to be on the increase everywhere; frequently confirmed by governments and law enforcement authorities, stating that violence is on the increase and becoming more difficult to deal with. In the light of Jesus’ remarks to His disciples, the question we surely have to now ask ourselves is: “How close are we to the point where God will not tolerate it anymore and step in to deal with the problem”?

Of course homosexuality and general sexual promiscuity is everywhere and also on the increase, being encouraged by the media, also governments, especially in the West. Even Christian denominations are now openly allowing practicing homosexual leaders to minister and teach their congregations; in flagrant violation of God’s Word which explicitly condemns such behaviour. The increase in these evils in recent years has been astounding.

In addition the secular world not only mocks God but denies his very existence. God will not tolerate such behaviour for much longer.

Surely, the world is fast approaching the point of the days of Noah and Sodom, which Jesus warned would happen before His return.  We can only conclude that there cannot be much time left before Jesus returns to correct matters.  As the Lord said to Abraham:

“Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” (Gen 18:20, 21)

Let us ask ourselves: Are WE at this point yet? 

And if not, how close are we…?

Bible believing Christians need to constantly remind themselves of this and not become complacent and allow themselves to be seduced by the ways of the secular world.

It is interesting to note that when Lot tried to warn his two sons-in-law to leave the city because God was about to destroy it, they would not listen because “his sons-in-law thought he was joking”. (NIV Gen: 19:14).

Even now, in our day, we see that many have disregarded the warnings that Jesus is coming soon, even to the point of ridicule.

But those Christians who hear and understand Jesus’ prophetic words of what will take place beforehand – that God will not forever tolerate the gross sin being perpetrated in the world today – must stand firm and persist in warning others of the nearness of His return.

Chris, from our fellowship, has an interest in Bible prophecy and from time to time will share his views with us on current events and how they relate to prophecy in this new series “Bible Prophecy”.


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Bible Prophecy: Why Study It?

bibsAmongst Christians, there seem to be two schools of thought concerning Bible Prophecy. One school of thought, possibly the vast majority of Christians, simply chose to ignore it; while at the other extreme they embrace it to the point of ridicule.

So how should we Christians regard Biblical Prophecy? To answer this question we need to look at a few facts concerning prophecy in the Bible and then ask ourselves a few pertinent questions. Hopefully we will be able to come up with a sensible answer to this apparent dilemma.

Firstly, let us make it very clear that we believe, and know, that the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God.

There are various estimates about how much of the Bible concerns prophecy, but we go along with the view of a number of Bible scholars who have calculated that some 30% of the Bible is prophetic; therefore making bible-cover-pageprophecy a substantial portion of the Bible. They also calculate that 80% of Bible prophecy has been fulfilled; leaving 20% of it unfulfilled.

The Bible contains about 31,000 verses and if we assume one prophecy = one verse, we find that over 9,000 Bible verses are prophetic with nearly 2,000 prophetic Bible verses remaining to be fulfilled.

Since God included so much prophetic insight in His Word, how can we simply ignore it? Primarily prophecy is a message from God, not merely foretelling future events. Of course it goes without saying that we have to be careful not to interpret unfulfilled prophecy to suit our position, whatever that may be. Date setting is one particular example where some Bible scholars have opened themselves up to ridicule, as well as bringing disrepute upon Christians in general and the Bible in particular.

So yes, we believe in the importance of Bible prophecy and the need to study it to try to help us explain some of the events currently taking place or unfolding in the world. Some of these we will look at and discuss from time to time.

We also believe that we need to be aware of the “signs of the times” so that we are not like the people (and religious leaders) of 2,000 years ago who, from prophetic scriptures then known to them, should have known the time of Jesus’ coming.

We don’t want the rebuke they received from Him when he said in Luke 12: 56:

“Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?” NIV

Chris, from our fellowship, has an interest in Bible prophecy and from time to time will share his views with us on current events and how they relate to prophecy in the new series of “Bible Prophecy” on this blog.