Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Printer Friendly PDF!

September 2012 Issue

The Called and Hated Nation
Sep 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

In eternity past God determined to establish a kingdom. In this kingdom God would be the sovereign ruler. God created two subjects to dwell in His kingdom. He created angels to live in heaven and man to dwell on earth. He created man to have a relationship with Him, to have fellowship with Him, to love Him and to be loved by Him.

Satan coveted God’s kingdom and sought to usurp the rule of God. He viewed the glory of God and majesty of His rule and decided that he would attempt to replace God and rule the kingdom himself. He coveted the glory of God for himself. We read about Satan’s ambition in Isaiah 14:14, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Satan determined to replace God as sovereign Lord of the universe. The only explanation for such folly is the statement in Proverbs that says, “Pride makes a man foolish.”

The stage was set for the conflict of the ages. Evidently, God decided to allow this conflict to continue and it has been going on for about six thousand years, according to Jewish estimates.

Satan made the first move as he persuaded men and some angels to join him in his rebellion against God. On the earth God countered that move by drawing men and women to Himself; those who would in repentance and faith trust and obey Him.

Consequently there are two opposing groups of people on earth. Satan attacks the people of God with the goal of destroying them because they stand in the way of his establishing himself as the sole ruler on earth. This conflict of the ages is still ongoing. One of the methods that Satan has employed against God is to enter into the hearts of men and move them to assist in him his war against God and His people.

AS THIS CONFLICT OF THE AGES PROGRESSED THE LORD CHOSE ONE NATION THROUGH WHICH HE WOULD WORK TO ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM.

That nation is the nation of Israel. The scriptures make it clear that God’s plan is to establish His kingdom on earth through the nation of Israel. We read that Christ will one day rule the world through the nation of Israel, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

Of course Satan can read the Bible and he immediately sought to destroy Israel and thereby defeat the purposes of God. Many times Satan has entered into the hearts of men and moved upon them to attack Israel. Sometimes these men have posed as the friend of Israel. One classic example is Herod, Herod claimed to desire to worship Christ, but when the chance came he ordered the Jewish children of Bethlehem to be killed. Satan was working through Herod to defeat God by attempting to destroy the future king of Israel.  History is filled with men like Herod.

Down over the long centuries Israel and the Jew has been constantly the object of attack. The record is absolutely astounding as over and over men and nations have times without number sought to eliminate Israel and the Jew.

We think of Satan’s men like Stalin and Hitler who vowed to destroy Israel and seemed to have nearly accomplished their goal. Today we have men like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; these men have vowed times without number to wipe Israel off the map. They are tools of Satan.

The following recent news items confirm Iran’s intention of using her nuclear bombs to eliminate Israel. This is a viable threat, the moment Iran gets the bomb; they will, no doubt, set about to accomplish their stated purpose.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that, “He was confident the fake Zionist (regime) will disappear from the landscape of geography,” Iran's Mehr News Agency reported August 15.

Earlier on the same day Brigadier-Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, the head of Iran's Passive (civil) Defense Organization and a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, during a speech ahead of Al-Quds Day, an anti-Israel event initiated by Iran, said, “That in order to liberate Palestine there was no other option but to destroy Israel.”

Many thousands of Iranians shouted "Death to America, death to Israel" during state-organized protests on Friday August 17 and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told them, “There was no place for the Jewish state in a future Middle East. Israel's existence is an ‘insult to all humanity’." 

In other places the same desire to destroy Israel continues. Whether it is in the wider Arab world or the mad men of Iran or some of the leaders of western nations, the goal is ever present. Sometimes it is overt and sometimes it is covert.

In Egypt Professor Gamal Zahran, head of the Department of Political Science at Port Said University, openly acknowledged that promoting hatred of the Jewish state is a primary goal in classes taught by him and other lecturers.

He went on to say, “And while the Arab masses are not yet ready to storm the Zionist entity,” Zahran was confident that "the hope and memory will later turn into action. By next year, Allah willing, Israel will be annihilated."

Debkafile  reported August 16, that at its present rate of enrichment, Iran will have 250 kilograms of 20-percent grade uranium, exactly enough to build its first nuclear bomb, in roughly six weeks, and two-to- four bombs by early 2013, debkafile’s military and intelligence sources report.

On August 31, that report was updated, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported a 31-percent jump in Iran’s 20 percent enriched uranium to 189.4 kilograms from 145 in May.

Potentially, Iran could, within the next 45 days obtain a nuclear bomb and literally wipe Israel off the map. Apart from divine intervention, Israel could literally cease to exist in a matter of weeks.

Obama’s persistent plea to Israel is to wait, next year is soon enough. The first problem is that next year Israel may not be in existence (we know that God will not allow that to happen, but the issue is the actions and attitudes of men and nations, for which they will be judged).

The second problem is that we are told, that after Iran gets the bomb it will be too late to attack Iran. An attack after that time could cause a catastrophic release of radioactive material which would jeopardize the lives of millions in the mid-east and possibly in Europe also.

Delaying a few months could seal Israel’s fate. President Obama full well knows these realities, yet he works to prevent Israel from taking action that could prevent Israel’s destruction. This raises some serious questions:

• Is it possible that Obama could care less about Israel’s Survival? 
• Is it possible that Obama is working as a Muslim sympathizer to prevent Israel’s survival?

We know that Obama has worked to bring down Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and establish the Muslim Brotherhood in his place. He has effectively and deliberately established a violent Islamic anti-Israel state in Egypt. He did the same thing in Libya and is now working to bring the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Syria. We also have watched as Obama made a close alliance with Turkey even as Turkey moves rapidly toward becoming a radical Islamic state, and has become a sworn enemy of Israel.

The question is why does Obama and his administration desire to promote anti-Israeli Islamic Fundamentalism? Islamic Fundamentalism is the sworn enemy of America and has vowed to destroy America or make it a part of a world-wide Islamic Caliphate. Islamic Fundamentalism calls America the great Satan. Could it be that God has allowed the minds of these American leaders to be blinded?

On August 20, debkafile reported Barack Obama’s quarrel with Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak is becoming more intense and personal the closer Israel comes to attacking Iran’s nuclear program before the Nov. 6 US election.
The feud fires up certain opposition political circles at home and fuels their virulent campaign to tie the Netanyahu government’s hands and so push it out of office.

Recently the effort to stop Israel from defending herself has taken on frantic and determined proportions. In recent weeks we have witnessed a determined effort made by Obama and his liberal main line media to prevent Israel from attacking Iran.

On August 17, debkafile reported, “Four separate Israel-based command groups are working overtime to shout down an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. A strident and continuous blast of concentrated public clamor issues from most mainstream media. Much of it overlaps opposition political campaigns to unseat the Netanyahu-Barak government.”

DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s political sources identify those command groups as one American, two Israeli and a fourth Jewish-European. They don’t coordinate on a regular basis, but they do network, monitor each other’s campaigns and often spin off from each other.

The debkafile article continues, “The key command center operates out of the US Embassy building in Tel Aviv. It operates under the direction of the senior political adviser to the ambassador, Robert ‘Bob’ Silverman.”
“As head of a nine-man political section largely responsible for US-Israeli bilateral diplomatic exchanges at the government level, he has developed a large circle of acquaintances among the bureaucrats who matter inside Israeli ministries and agencies and local op-ed writers and TV personalities.”
“His special assignment for the White House and State Department since early this year is to shoot down any Israeli decision to go to war on Iran before the US presidential election on Nov. 6, by enlisting local talent, especially journalists. They are occasionally surprised by phoned briefings from high places in Washington.”

In another frantic attempt to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran, U.S. Army Chief Martin Dempsey, said, “The IDF can't destroy Iran's nuclear program, it can only, at most, delay it.” The irony of this statement is that this conclusion, if true, is the result of the delay that Obama has worked so hard to bring about. This delay, according to Dempsey’s above statement, has been a disaster for Israel, limiting Israel’s potential now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, so why insist on further delays?

Whether Israel has the capacity or not remains the question. IDF Gen. Yitzhak Ben Yisrael rebutted Gen. Dempsey Aug. 16, contending that, "The Americans know we can clobber Iran's nuclear sites like they can...”

INN reports, “Israeli journalists who support U.S. President Barack Obama are waging a full-scale war against the government of Binyamin Netanyahu as Israel prepares to launch a preventive strike against Iran's nuclear Holocaust program.”

"I have been a journalist since 1957," said veteran writer Shlomo Nakdimon on Galei YIsrael Radio Monday morning, "and a reigning government has never been attacked this way." He accused the press of damaging the government's ability to rule.

It has been reported by debkafile that the US has put pressure on Saudi Arabia to announce that if Israeli war planes fly over Saudi territory, going to or from Iran, they will be shot down.

Another factor that has created a sense of urgency for Israel is the report by debkafile on August 1, that Iran is putting much of her nuclear activity under a protective shield. An army of thousands of Iranian military engineers and strong-backed workmen using heavy earth-moving equipment is working around the clock to ‘bury’ the nuclear facilities under mountains of large boulders fortified with steel rods and plates and filled with tons of reinforced concrete.

This advancing mega-fortification project for its nuclear sites, has sent Israel clamoring for an attack to go forward before those nuclear facilities are whisked out of its reach into the burgeoning ‘immunity zones.’ It also raises fears that further delay will put Iran’s nuclear program outside the reach even of US super bunker busters, leaving Washington the single recourse of tactical nuclear weapons for thwarting a nuclear-armed Iran and that is an extremely unlikely scenario.

The US administration must be fully aware of the fact that delay in an attacking Iran is leading to the certain arrival of Iran as nuclear power. They certainly must realize that any further delay could well seal Israel’s fate.

Michael Oren, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States stated, “Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terror. It has supplied more than 70,000 rockets to terrorist organizations deployed on Israel's borders and has tried to murder civilians across five continents and 25 countries, including in the United States. By providing fighters and funds, Iran is enabling Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to massacre his own people.”

In the light of the above well known facts can anyone doubt for one second that Iran will not attempt to use nuclear weapons on Israel when they attain them. Israel has recently informed Washington Iran has already developed a radioactive dirty bomb.

Just when it seemed that Obama had failed to dissuade Israel from an attack and because he is under electoral pressure to make concessions to Israel in this matter, he shifted gears and came up with a new delaying tactic.

Again we go to debkafile for the details. “The White House this week scrambled to reconnect with Jerusalem after the Obama administration was persuaded that Israel was serious about conducting a fall military operation against Iran’s nuclear program before the November 6, US presidential election, notwithstanding the heavy opposition guns firing against it at home and from Washington. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, assisted by their newly-appointed Home Front Defense Minister, were seen deep in practical preparations for this operation and its repercussions, as well an outbreak of hostilities with Syria and Hezbollah.”

“The White House accordingly got in touch with Netanyahu’s office to find out what America must do to convince Israel to back off.” Wednesday, August 15, debkafile revealed exclusively that the Obama and Netanyahu were discussing a one-on-one encounter on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session opening in New York on September 18, in order to resume their military and strategic dialog on the Iranian issue broken off by their polar differences. (Quote) Debkafile now learns that those discussions have moved forward. Handled by National Security Adviser Tom Donilon for the US president and senior adviser Ron Dermer for the prime minister, they focus essentially on a four-point plan embodying Israel’s requirements for delaying an attack.

A four-point plan embodying Israel’s requirements for delaying an attack on Iran:

1. President Obama will formally inform the two houses of congress in writing that he plans to use military force to prevent Iran from arming itself with a nuclear weapon. He will request their endorsement. Aside from this step’s powerful deterrent weight for persuading Iran’s leaders to give up their pursuit of a nuclear bomb, it would also give the US president the freedom to go to war with Iran when he sees fit, without have to seek congressional endorsement.

2. To underscore his commitment, President Obama would pay a visit to Israel in the weeks leading up to election-day and deliver a speech to the Knesset solemnly pledging to use American military force against the Islamic Republic if Tehran still refuses to give up its nuclear weapon program. He will repeat that pledge before various other public forums.

3. In the coming months up until Spring 2013, the United States will upgrade Israel’s military, intelligence and technological capabilities so that if President Obama (whether he is re-elected or replaced by Mitt Romney) decides to back out of this commitment, Israel will by then be in command of the resources necessary for inflicting mortal damage on Iran’s nuclear program with a unilateral strike. Debkafile’s military sources note that an influx of these top-grade US military resources would bridge the gap between American and Israeli ticking clocks for an attack on Iran, and dispel the fear in Jerusalem that delay would give Iran time to bury its key facilities in “zones of immunity” - outside Israel’s reach for serious damage with its present capabilities.

4. If points 1-3 can be covered – and Netanyahu and Barak are convinced the US really means to strike Iran next spring - our Washington and Jerusalem sources report that Jerusalem may be coming around to agreeing to hold back a lone Israeli attack this autumn. (Unquote)

If this delay allows Iran time to develop the bomb, then Israel will have been defeated in its determination to prevent Iran from a nuclear attack.

Word has just come that Obama has now backtracked on this proposal; he is unwilling to make such commitments to Israel. Nevertheless, we see Obama manoeuvring to stop Israel’s efforts to protect herself.

In place of the above proposal a meeting between Obama and Netanyahu has been scheduled for September 27 at the Whitehouse. For Obama it seems the issue is not solving the problem but preventing Israel from defending itself.

In its bluntest message yet, on August 30, the US administration under Barack Obama, declared that Israel is on its own if it decides to go for Iran’s nuclear program with a military operation.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “Sanctions against Iran were having an effect, and they should be given a reasonable opportunity to succeed.” The general’s timing on this assertion was unfortunate. As he spoke, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported a 31-percent jump in Iran’s 20 percent enriched uranium to 189.4 kilograms from 145 in May. It was therefore obvious to the world that Iran has not been deflected by sanctions one whit from its gallop towards a nuclear weapon capacity, a race that will continue so long as nothing effective is done to stop or even delay its progress.

The Jerusalem Post reported on August 31, that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu got into a diplomatic shouting match with US Ambassador Dan Shapiro over US President Barack Obama's handling of Iran's nuclear program, saying "time has run out" for diplomacy.”

A source that participated in the meeting said that a particularly angry and stressed Netanyahu began a tirade against the US president, attacking him for not doing enough on Iran. "Instead of pressuring Iran in an effective way, Obama and his people are pressuring us not to attack the nuclear facilities."

Iran’s leaders must be laughing up their sleeves at America’s futile efforts to isolate them, as they race toward their nuclear goal while showcasing Tehran as the stage for the Non-Aligned Summit attended by dozens of world leaders.

The wider world, by and large, has shown little or no intention of stopping Iran from annihilating Israel with a nuclear bomb. The whole scenario is reminiscent of the world’s response to Adolph Hitler’s actions prior to WW 2. Hitler openly declared that he would eliminate the Jews and the world looked the other way.

If your enemy says he is going to destroy you, you had better believe him. -Benyamin Netanyahu

One cannot help but realize that there are powerful forces that are at work to bring about Israel’s destruction. Down over the long centuries the Jews have been constantly the object of attack. The record is absolutely astounding as over and over men and nations have times without number sought to eliminate the Jews.

What is now taking place is just a replay of that which has been happening for thousands of years. Forces are at work to produce another holocaust. Some are openly avowed enemies of Israel and some are posing as friends of Israel. Those posing as friends while seeking to aid and assist in Israel’s destruction are the most dangerous.

It has been intimated that Israel will use an EMP to shut down all of Iran’s electronics which would leave Iran totally defenceless as Israel moves at will to pulverize Iran’s nuclear program. This could easily be done by an Israeli Jericho missile.

Another suggestion is that Israel could take out (kill) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as the head of the Iranian military. Israel has done such things in the past and is quite capable of doing it again. The argument is that such an approach would possibly avoid war and save many lives now or in the future.

As I have written this article a stream of new information has come in. I apologize that this article is long and rambling. I have tried to update you on this critical situation. Now as I close this article new and shocking news has come in from debkafile intelligence reports which I simply quote below.

[US Gen. Martin Dempsey’s assertion Thursday, Aug. 30 that the US would not be ‘complicit’ in an Israel strike against Iran, together with the drastic reduction in the scale of next month’s joint US-Israeli war game disclosed by TIME, add up to a blunt message from US President Barack Obama to Israel: You are on your own! See how you manage without special US weapons and US military backup, including a shield against missile counter-attack, if you decide to defy us and go through with a military operation against Iran.
Instead of the 5,000 US troops originally assigned for Austere Challenge 12, the annual joint exercise, the Pentagon will send only 1,200 to 1,500 service members. The missile interception systems at the core of the joint exercise will be reduced in number and potency: Patriot anti-missiles will come without crews and maybe one instead of two Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warships, according to the magazine.

Debkafile’s military sources state; The Obama administration has put Israel on harsh notice that an attack on Iran to disrupt or delay its nuclear armament will be refused US missile backup - both in the course of the operation and to cover Israel’s back in the event of a counter-strike widening into a general Middle East conflict.]

It has been revealed that the background to this change on Obama’s part is a deal he has made with Russia’s Putin. Russia would abandon Syria and Iran and Obama would abandon Israel. Russia has just pulled her warships out of Syria and has told Iran and Syria they will supply them with no more weapons.

Debkafile has stated that they (Obama & Putin) understood, despite Obama’s concealment, that the secret US-Russian deal would in fact preserve Iran’s nuclear program at a point at which Iran’s leaders could have a weapon assembled and unsheathed at any moment.

It seems to this writer that the war of Psalm 83 is closer than ever. Obama’s abandonment of Israel is an open invitation for Israel’s enemies to attack her. We do not know exactly which course events will take, we do know from scripture the details of some things that lie ahead?

n We know that Iran will not destroy Israel; God’s program for Israel will be carried forth. We know that the scenario of the war of Psalm 83 is rapidly falling into place; in fact it seems to be almost complete.

n We know that Iran will not be directly involved in the war of Psalm 83. The nations and groups involved in this war are listed in Psalm 83:6-8, and Iran is not listed there.

n We know that the war of Palm 83 will be one of the most devastating wars of history up until its time (See Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, Ezekiel 35-36 and Obadiah 18).  Chemical, biological and nuclear weapons may well be a part of this war. Such weapons are held by some of the nations named in scripture as combatants in this war. We suspect that the impending world-wide economic collapse will be brought on by this war. The loss of resulting availability of oil is enough to push the world to the brink of disaster. This would happen if the war is precipitated by an Israeli attack on Iran.

We suspect that the postwar climate will be the ideal climate for the coming Antichrist to bring about a world-wide peace treaty accompanied with world-wide disarmament which will leave him in control of all the nuclear weapons. The world will evidently yield to him the control of the economy; agriculture; the world courts and possibly the UN. He will proceed to work great miracles to put a broken world back together, at least temporarily. The scriptures tell us of the disaster which will follow this peace treaty and of the chaos that will take place as the tribulation period unfolds.

We cannot be certain as to exactly how the present scenario will unfold. The one thing that you cannot reasonably deny is the fact that the end time events foretold in God’s Word are even now beginning to happen. We are without doubt heading toward some cataclysmic events. The trumpet is soon to sound and God’s people, those in Christ, will be caught up into the presence of God.

MARANATHA, EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS!

This has been a lengthy article, my goal is to sound the alarm, we may be on the threshold of the coming Day of the Lord and I feel compelled to warn. I fully realize that I may be dismissed as a fanatic and an alarmist.

I wonder about that last Sabbath in Jerusalem, before the Babylonians came to destroy Jerusalem and the people. I wonder how many religious leaders preached homilies which proclaimed peace and safety. They said, don’t worry, we are the people of God, God loves us and we will be just fine, don’t listen to that doomsayer Jeremiah.

I wonder about this Sunday, how many evangelical pastors will be giving sweet little homilies. Homilies that will just lull the people into a deeper slumber while the clouds of the coming Day of the Lord are darkening all around us.

I never cease to be amazed at how new evangelicals can read the Word of God and never seem to grasp the message. They read the Bible and yet go on in their uncommitted lives. They never seem to awake to the realization that they are in love with the world and the things of the world. Their un-separated lives never seem to trouble them.

Total commitment to Christ and His Word are the marks of genuine Christianity. Separation from the world and the love of the world are the commands of Christ for His disciples and He has made it clear that His commands are not optional.

I tremble to think of the many evangelicals who give no real evidence of genuine commitment to the Words of Jesus. I am persuaded to throw caution to the winds and shout from the house top, get right with God; Jesus is coming, DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND!

Ezekiel said, “Blow the trumpet and warn the people.” My friends, “THE DAY OF THE LORD IS AT HAND”

A World Arming Against Israel
Sep 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

In the previous article we tried to sound the alarm as to Israel’s precarious position in the Mideast and warn of the soon coming of our Lord. There are other fast-developing, situations which indicate that Israel is becoming a bull’s eye for whole world.

Joel describes such a situation as the setup for the battle of Armageddon. The battle of Armageddon does not take place until the close of the tribulation period. However, we can even now see the environment for it forming, as the nation’s arm themselves and lineup against Israel.

In Joel 3:2 we see the Lord’s response to that which is now forming in the world. “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead (judge) with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.” There is not a nation on earth today that has not stated that the land of Israel should be divided or parted. There is not a nation on earth today that is not calling for half of the Promised Land to be given to Israel’s enemies. They are demanding the land to be given to the Palestinians who have sworn to destroy Israel.

The stage is being set for the Battle of Armageddon, even though that battle is at least seven years away and a number of events must take place first.

We believe the next major attack on Israel will be the war of Psalm 83 which will occur prior to the tribulation period. The scenario surrounding that war is the exact scenario that Israel is now facing. That attack will be thwarted by God himself. The next attack after that will take place early in the tribulation period. It will be the war of Ezekiel 38-39. Again the God of Israel will intervene to destroy those armies also.

Israel’s enemy Satan is relentless and he will persist as long as God permits him to. He will continue his endeavour to destroy Israel. At the mid-tribulation point Satan will be cast down out of heaven. At that point he will use Antichrist to mobilize the world to launch all-out war against Israel. These attacks on Israel will take place in the second half of the tribulation period and will reach a crescendo at the battle of Armageddon.

What we see today in this regard is the preparation for the coming all-out war against Israel by the nations of the world.

Although neither Obama nor Netanyahu have drawn attention to it, both Saudi Arabia and Egypt are on the road to a nuclear weapon. Saudi Arabia has made arrangements with China to supply them with the nuclear capable CSS-5 Dong-Feng 21 MRBM ballistic Missile.

The Chinese also agreed to send over Chinese nuclear engineers and technicians to help Saudi Arabia develop uranium enrichment and other nuclear production capacities. This work is already in progress at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology near Riyadh.

It has been previously reported by Debkafile that the Saudi’s have made arrangements to purchase nuclear weapons from Pakistan.

After less than three months in office and in spite of the fact that Egypt is economically destitute, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is following in Saudi footsteps. He has kicked off his first foreign trips with a visit to Beijing, where he hoped to take a leaf out of the Saudi nuclear book and obtain the same nuclear capable missiles and perhaps financial assistance. He then touched down in Tehran, ostensibly to attend the Non-Aligned Organization’s summit opening there on Sept. 26, but meanwhile to cultivate ties with Tehran for common action in the Middle East.

It is now becoming clear that both Saudi Arabia and Egypt have set their faces toward détente with Iran.

Debkafile reports that Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and China are moving forward vigorously toward their strategic, military and nuclear goals in the Mideast.

The Egyptian Prime Minister has proposed the creation of a new “contact group” composed of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey to disentangle the Syrian conflict.

For the first time we see a looming unity among these powerful Mideast states, a unity never seen before. These states are headed for possession of nuclear weapons and we know too well that these states share a common mad passion to destroy Israel. The handwriting is on the wall; once the Syrian issue is resolved we will see a tremendous coming together of these major Mideast nations. This would include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and whatever entity emerges in Syria. With the issues that divide them out of the way, Israel will become the bull’s eye.

Add to that the fact that India, a nuclear power, has declared that ties with Iran are important to India. The Indian Prime Minister has stated that economic ties to Iran are essential for India. Pakistan is also a nuclear state and in recent days Pakistan is falling out of the US orbit and moving toward Mideast ties. Pakistan is also a possible seller of nuclear weapons.

We also know that both nuclear China and nuclear Russia are waiting in wings to drink up Mideast oil and will support these Mideast countries in whatever venture they decide upon. In fact the scriptures teach that China, with her growing military might, will be a major player in the battle of Armageddon. Armageddon is even now casting its long shadows on our world.

If America were to be removed from the Mideast equation or if America were to hand over Israel to the Arabs, the Israeli situation would be humanly speaking, hopeless.

This whole scenario is but a foreshadowing of the situation that will occur at the close of this age. The nations will assemble in a global alliance to carry out the final solution, the termination of the nation of Israel. There are many events which will happen prior to that time, but the stage is being set, even now.

Jeremiah speaks of the closing days of the tribulation period and it reflects the above scenario. “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Zechariah is describing the battle of Armageddon and the restoration of Israel to the Lord. “In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:8-10).

That is the thrilling climax to the present age. It seems today as if men and nations are in control and that they will have their way, not so, wait for the last chapter of God’s book.

We read about the final reconciliation of Israel to the Lord at that time. “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” (Zechariah 13:9).

Persecution and Martyrdom
Sep 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

Jesus warned His disciples that they would be treated by the world, the way He was treated by the world. History tells us that all of the twelve disciples, with the possible exception of John, were martyred because of their identification with Jesus. Fox, in his, “Book of Martyrs” catalogues the story of the martyrdom of the saints down over the long age of the church.

Trials and tribulations are the constant experience of God’s people. We cannot expect to escape persecution. Jesus warned that if they hated Him they will hate His disciples. We, in our culture, have been an exception for many years now. We have escaped real persecution, however a drastic change has taken place in recent years and the horizon is dark with threats to the one who will stand for Christ.

The Purpose Driven Church and New Evangelicalism have desperately sought to be as much like the world as possible. Their philosophy is, “We must cause the world to like us; we do not want the world to condemn us or reject us”. Those who take this approach will never be persecuted by the world. However, this approach is foreign to the history, purpose and calling of the Church.

The Voice of the Martyrs has estimated that since the death of Christ Jesus 2000 years ago, 43,000,000 Christians have been martyred. Over 50% of these were in the last century alone. More than 200,000,000 Christians face persecution each day, 60% are children. Every day over 300 believers are killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.

Persecution is also on the rise in America as court rulings take away the rights of Christians. It seems to be a mindset that in order to promote multiculturalism, Christianity must be suppressed. It seems that in order to promote the homosexual agenda Christianity must be attacked. In order to permit libertine lifestyles, Christianity must be set aside by whatever means possible. In Canada, the same drive is taking place; the human rights commission is bullying and pressuring men and women into abandoning their moral convictions and their opposition to homosexuality.

A new 140-page report released by the Family Research Council and Liberty Institute reveals a pattern of hostility toward Christians and Christianity in the US.

The report was released earlier this week and includes over 600 incidents over a 10-year period.

The attacks range from rulings from the judiciary branch to an elementary school student who was physically lifted from his seat and reprimanded for praying before eating his lunch.

Around the world it seems that Muslims and Hindus are on a rampage to kill as many Christians as possible. This appears to be the setting of the stage for the great slaughter of tribulation saints during the tribulation period.

We read about this rampage of killing tribulation saints in Revelation 7.

In verse 9 we read, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” This is the scene in heaven as the tribulation period is taking place on the earth. This is a great multitude which no man can number, a tremendous multitude of people.

In verse 13 we have the identity of these people questioned. “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?” The question is raised; Who are these people? Where did they come from?

In verse 14 we have the answer, “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” The answer is that this innumerable host of men and women are those who have been saved during the tribulation period. The persecution and martyrdom of the church age will come to climax during the tribulation period.

For some years now Satan has been moving in the wings while the stage is being set for that final great attempt to eliminate God’s people by putting to death those who identify with God’s Son. We have lived our lives without fear of martyrdom but now that assurance is being stripped away. If the Lord should tarry we may be called upon to give our lives for our identification with Him.

Satan's Ambition
Sep 1st, 2012
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

Satan’s goal is stated in Isaiah 14:13-14 “I will exalt my throne above the stars (angels) of God” … “I will be like the most high.” By the permissive will of God, Satan became the ruler of the world of men, 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Luke 4:6, "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it." John 14:30, "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." But Satan’s opportunity was a limited one, he immediately set out to make his ruler ship permanent and to replace God altogether.

Satan’s first attempt took place on the plains of Shinar in Babylon (Genesis 11:1-4). His goal was to gather the whole world together (Satan is not omnipresent) to establish a world government to consolidate his rule over men. Along with that he sought to establish a world religion to cause men to worship him.

God confounded that attempt, Genesis 11:6-8. Someday, Satan will make his final attempts to consolidate his kingdom by establishing a one world government and a one world religion. These attempts will climax and fail during the tribulation period.

Satan has a three-fold agenda for the future:

1. A world government and a world religion.

2. A Temple on the Temple mount in Jerusalem.

3. To annihilate Israel.

1. A World Government and a World Religion

The Word of God describes how that attempt will unfold. Daniel says there will be a revival of the old Roman Empire. The European Union, today claims that they are the revived Roman Empire. Daniel tells us that this will consist of a federation of ten states. Today the EU, as the result of the threat of economic collapse, is actually in the process in of re-making itself into a union of federated states. Recently ten foreign ministers of ten European nations met to plan how to bring this about.

Both Daniel and John tell us about a coming Antichrist who will rule over the Revived Roman Empire, and transform it into a world-wide kingdom.

The official seal of the EU today pictures a woman riding a beast. This very scenario is foretold Rev 17:3, "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." This symbol predicts the coming union of the kingdom of Antichrist with the coming world-wide church. The ecumenical movement of the last hundred years is now coming to fruition; we are obviously standing on the threshold of a worldwide church.

The European Parliament building in Strasbourg is designed after an artist’s conception of the tower of Babel. The message is clear and it has been clearly stated by EU officials. They have made it known in their plans that they intend to bring the world together in worldwide union.

The EU is actually not the RRE but it is the infrastructure for it. The stage is now set for this program of Satan to unfold.

2. A Rebuilt Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Satan’s goal has always been to be worshipped by the whole world in place of God. The centre of the worship of God has been the Temple in Jerusalem. Satan desires not just to be worshipped, but to be worshipped in place of God and in the very place that God has been worshipped in the past, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Satan’s program to bring that about is a peace treaty between Israel, Islam and the Gentile nations. That coming peace treaty will give Israel possession of the temple mount and the right to rebuild the temple, which unknown to Israel, will be a temple for Anti-Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:4). For several decades the preparations for that temple have been under way, while at the same time the world has been seeking a peace treaty in the mid-east. It appears that some cataclysmic event must take place in the Mideast to facilitate this treaty. We suspect that the war of Psalm 83 will be that event. The stage is set for Antichrist to come and negotiate that treaty, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease....” (Daniel 9:27a). Before that happens, the bride of Christ will be caught up to heaven.

3. The Annihilation of Israel

Satan can read the Bible, and he knows that it prophesies that someday Christ will come and rule on the throne of David, over a redeemed Israel living in the Promised Land (Luke 1:32-33). Satan’s purpose is to drive Israel off the land and annihilate her. Then Christ could not come and rule this world from the throne of David, dethroning Satan as the present god of this world.

There yet lays in the future three attempts by Satan to annihilate Israel. These coming attempts are recorded in Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 35-36.

The scenario for the first attempt is now in place in the world and it seems to be imminent. It is the war of Psalm 83.

The second attempt is the war of Ezekiel 38-39. Today Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, is calling for an alliance of Muslim nations to utterly destroy Israel. He uses the word, annihilate.

Listen to his words, “Israel is a rotten dried tree that will be annihilated in one storm”. Compare that with the words in Ezekiel 38:9 “Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm”. I think the Spirit of God is trying to tell us something about Ahmadinejad. Notice in Ezekiel 38:5 Persia (Iran) is one of the leading nations in the alliance seeking to destroy Israel. More recently he said, "The existence of Israel is an insult to humanity."

The third and final attempt to eliminate Israel will take place at the battle of Armageddon, which will happen at the very close of the tribulation period. Actually, the nations are now making preparations for that event. Israel now stands alone in the world as the nations continue to arm to the teeth.

The stage is now set for the carrying forth of Satan’s three-fold purpose in the tribulation period.

But before all of that can unfold, the trumpet must sound and we will be caught up to be with the Lord forever. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (Rapture) draweth nigh” Luke 21:28.