November | 2014 | Paul the Poke

Archive for November, 2014

Antichrist, Peace Treaty, Part 1

Posted in Antichrist/Beast, Gospel, Prophecy with tags 1 Thessalonians 5, Antichrist, Apostle Paul, Constantinople, Daniel 9, Gospel, Iraq, jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Mark 13, Matthew 24, Messiah, Prince, Roman Empire, Rome, Syria, Temple, Turkey on November 30, 2014 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:26-27 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

Compare two people mentioned in the original Hebrew, “Messiah” and “prince”. In the Hebrew, the term for “Messiah” is mashiyach. Per Strong’s Concordance it means: anointed, anointed one, of the Messiah, Messianic prince, of the king of Israel, of the high priest of Israel. This describes Jesus, He is a king and a priest of the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7).

In the Hebrew, the term for “prince” is nagiyd. It means: leader, ruler, captain, or prince.

There is clearly a difference in prominence and prestige.

Messiah will be cut off… At the time of the writing of Daniel (approximately 606 BC to 539 BC), the idea of the Messiah being on the scene was prophetic. Messiah had yet to appear to Israel. Messiah Jesus Christ was 500-600 years away. This had to be confusing to readers, a Messiah who was going to be killed and have nothing to show.

This verse says the Messiah will be “cut off” or karath in the Hebrew. According to Strong’s Concordance karath means: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, or kill. Cut a covenant. This is exactly what Jesus did with His death on the cross. He was eliminated and killed at that time. With His death, He cut a blood covenant for the sins of the world.

the prince who is to come… Who are the people of this prince? In 70 AD, the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem and completely leveled the city. Many think the antichrist will come from a revived Roman Empire. In the western world, many assume this person will come from Europe. Look at a map of the Roman Empire. It is a large area of land. There is more to the Roman Empire than Italy. There is an eastern leg to the Roman Empire. The capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople, a city patterned after Rome. This eastern area included modern day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

This geographic area also provides for the antichrist being Jewish. Early church writers including Irenaeus and Hippolytus looked to a Jewish antichrist and backed their positions with Scripture (The Truth Behind Left Behind, Hitchcock and Ice).

There is another coming in the future of today’s time (November 2014) who will take Jerusalem again. Who is this guy going to be? Where will he come from?

will destroy the city and the sanctuary… The Hebrew grammar is clear. The false prince will be the agent of destruction and ruin Jerusalem. This verse also implies there will be a future Temple in Jerusalem. It is called the qodesh in the Hebrew. Translated, the “holy”. In the New Testament, Jesus confirms the “holy place” in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14.

And its end will come with a flood… SUDDENLY! The Apostle Paul makes reference to the suddenness of the destruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

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Trend Update: Climate Change, November 2014

Posted in Prophecy with tags Al Gore, Amos 5, Climate change, cold, global warming, Isaiah 13, Job 38, Mark 13, Matthew 24, Psalm 147, Revelation 8, Revelation 9, Snow, trend update, Tribulation, weather on November 25, 2014 by paulthepoke

Job 38:22-23 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle?”

The context of the verses above is God talking to Job. God is explaining to Job He is in charge of the weather. In Chapter 38 of Job, God is explaining He created the heavens and earth. God gives a brief lesson in astrophysics. He created the animals. He rules the geography of planet Earth.

The timeline is the midpoint of the Tribulation (Matthew 24). The antichrist has claimed to be the Messiah in the Temple. Jesus gives a hint of the possible weather and prayer request in Matthew 24:20. “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.” See also Mark 13:14-18.

Look at the progressive phenomena in Revelation that takes place in regards to the intensity of the sun.

Revelation 8:12 The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

Revelation 9:2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.

More smoke is released in Revelation 9:18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.

The net result of more smoke being released is the sun’s rays will be blocked further. What happens if the sun is blocked? It is going to get colder. This is what happened when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. Mount Pinatubo (1991) in the Philippines produced ten times as much ash as Mount St. Helens. The result of all of the ash, steam, and chemicals being released into the air was global cooling.

Sulfur compounds in the atmosphere block out the light of the sun, cooling the Earth slightly. If sulfur compounds reach the stratosphere and are carried around the globe by winds, an eruption can mean violent and abrupt changes in the weather worldwide. (http://www.pbs.org/saf/1505/features/climatevolcano.htm)

Amos 5:20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?

Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light.

Today, we have been conditioned by the media, politicians, and scientists to believe we are causing and changing the weather. The Bible has something different to say. Psalm 147:16-17 He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth His ice as fragments; who can stand before His cold? According to the Bible, the trend during the course of the Tribulation is colder weather.

If you believe we are trending toward the Tribulation, you have a choice to consider. The issue is the weather. Man, led by Al Gore, says we are in a period of global warning and it is going to get worse. God says things are going to cool off during the Tribulation.

Who do you believe?

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White Horseman of the Apocalypse, Who Is It?

Posted in Gospel, Prophecy with tags 1 Peter 1, Antichrist, Apocalypse, crown, Ephesians 1, Gospel, Jesus Christ, John, Lamb of God, predestination, Revelation 13, Revelation 5, Revelation 6, Seals of Revelation, White Horseman on November 23, 2014 by paulthepoke

Revelation 6:1-2 Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Who is the rider on the white horse? This is a source of controversy. Some say it is Jesus. Some say it is the antichrist. The verses above show there are two people involved. One is the Lamb. The second is the rider of the white horse. Notice, the rider of the white horse is obedient to the command of the Lamb. The Lamb says “come” and the rider on the white horse is on his way.

The Lamb is the One who opens the seals to all four riders of the colored horses. The seals are opened in Heaven. Revelation 6:3 When He (Lamb) broke the second seal…

Revelation 6:5 When He (Lamb) broke the third seal…

Revelation 6:7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal…

The Lamb is in Heaven the entire time the seals are being broken. The Lamb is the One breaking the seals. The rider of the white horse is sent to Earth.

Who is the Lamb? Scripture says it is none other than Jesus. The point of Revelation 5 is defining Jesus as the Lamb. Revelation 5:12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God. John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus has been called the Lamb of God before the creation of the world. His death on the cross was planned before the Earth was formed. Believers in Christ were chosen before the world was made. Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

1 Peter 1:20a For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world…

Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love…

The rider of the white horse has a bow, but no arrows. The modern day equivalent would be having a gun but no bullets. Think of the symbolism of the white horse and the bow. He is a man of peace who gives conquest without war. We know initially in the tribulation there is no bloodshed because that comes with the next horseman in Revelation 6:3, the red horse. The wars and rumors of wars will initially be avoided. He will probably win the Nobel Peace Prize.

There is a hint in the type of crown the rider wears in Revelation 6:2. The rider of the white horse wears one crown. In the original Greek, the term is stephanos. Per Strong’s Concordance it is defined as: a mark of royal or (in general) exalted rank, the wreath or garland which was given as a prize to victors in public games, that which is an ornament and honor to one.

Compare this to the crowns (plural, as compared to single crown) worn by Christ in Revelation 19:12b …and on His head are many diadems. In the original Greek, the term is diadema. Per Strong’s Concordance it is defined as: the kingly ornament for the head, the crown. This type of crown is for a king.

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Trend Update: Assyrian Empire/Damascus, November 2014

Posted in Prophecy with tags Al Qaeda, Assad, Assyrian Empire, currency, Damascus, Isaiah 10, ISIS, Israel, jerusalem, Syria on November 20, 2014 by paulthepoke

ISIS and Al Qaeda have agreed to play nice and stop fighting each other, allegedly. Both parties want to take out the President Assad of Syria. Both parties want control of Syria and specifically Damascus. They have agreed in part to unite against their enemies. That would also include the United States and Israel.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-and-alqaida-agree-to-end-fighting-and-join-against-their-opponents-9859999.html

If one does not think ISIS is serious about Damascus, consider this. ISIS has announced they are going to start minting coins of gold, silver, and copper. The coins worth will be backed by the physical properties of the coin itself. Their money will be actually worth something other than the good word of any particular government.

Granted, they have to accumulate the precious metals for this undertaking. The plan is to have seven different coins. One of the gold coins implies world domination. One of the silver coins has the white minaret of Damascus. See the link below for the design of the coins.

http://mashable.com/2014/11/13/isis-currency-design/

Remember, there is an end times figure the Bible refers to as the Assyrian. He launches an invasion of Israel from the north in Damascus. Isaiah 10:28-32 describes an invasion of Judah from the north to the south. These verses describe the Assyrian advance toward Jerusalem. All the cities named are within a three-hour march of Jerusalem (Ryrie Study Notes). He is stopped short and north of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 10:28-32 He has come against Aiath, he has passed through Migron; at Michmash he deposited his baggage. They have gone through the pass, saying, “Geba will be our lodging place.” Ramah is terrified, and Gibeah of Saul has fled away. Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah and wretched Anathoth! Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge. Yet today he will halt at Nob; He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

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Trend Update: Jerusalem/Temple Mount, November 2014

Posted in Prophecy, Temple, Trend Update with tags Abbas, Israel, jerusalem, Netanyahu, Palestinians, synagogue, Temple Mount, Terrorism, Zechariah 12 on November 18, 2014 by paulthepoke

Zechariah 12:2-3 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Palestinian cousins armed with meat cleavers and a gun stormed a Jerusalem synagogue during morning prayers Tuesday, killing four people in the city’s bloodiest attack in years. Police killed the attackers in a shootout.

The attack ratcheted up fears of sustained violence in a city already on edge amid soaring tensions over its most contested holy site.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “respond harshly,” describing the attack as a “cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by despicable murderers.” He immediately ordered the demolition of the attackers’ homes, as well as homes of Palestinians who carried out several other recent attacks…

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20141118/ml–israel-palestinians-491df47377.html

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The Antichrist

Posted in Antichrist/Beast, Prophecy with tags 1 John, 2 John, Antichrist, deception, false teachers, Jesus Christ, lies, Prophecy, Revelation, satan on November 16, 2014 by paulthepoke

The term Antichrist is penned by one author in the Bible, John. 1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. In the original Greek, the word for antichrist is antichristos. Per Strong’s Concordance it is defined as the adversary of the Messiah.

John’s language regarding the antichrist is straight forward and not complicated. 1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

The spirit of the antichrist is at work today (November 2014) and has been the case since the first century. This is hard to deny or argue when one looks at the condition of the world today. 1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

In general, the issue is deception. There are and will be those who deny that Jesus lived in bodily form on Earth. People deny the physical reality of Christ. 2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. John is talking about false teachers.

It makes sense the antichrist will be a liar. He is under the authority of Satan. Here is what Jesus had to say about Satan. The context of these verses is Jesus talking to some Jewish folks. John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The antichrist is a counterfeit to the real deal, Jesus. Hitchcock and Ice provide a comparison and overview in their book. Jesus is the truth; the antichrist is the lie. Christ is the Holy One; the antichrist is the lawless one. Jesus is a man of sorrows; His counterpart is a man of sins. Jesus is the Son of God; the antichrist is the son of destruction. Christ cleansed the Temple; the antichrist will desecrate the Temple. Jesus is the Lamb of God; the antichrist is the beast (The Truth Behind Left Behind by Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice).

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Sabbatical Year/Shemitah, Part 5

Posted in Prophecy with tags Exodus 23, Farmers, hydroponics, Israel, Land, Leviticus 25, Rest, Sabbatical year, Shemitah on November 9, 2014 by paulthepoke

Leviticus 25:1-7 The Lord then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying,“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a Sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop,but during the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. All of you shall have the Sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.

Exodus 23:10-11 You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield,but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

So there is the law. Read it for yourself. What does modern day Israel think of this? What is going on today? Do farmers comply? 21^st century responses are interesting. There are approximately 6,700 farms in Israel today (November, 2014). According to the Israeli government, about 50 farms did not comply with the statute. Roughly 450 farmers left their land for the year.

Last month the government sold the fields to a non-Jewish Israeli, a 25-year-old Russian immigrant named George. Because the fields are not Jewish owned, farmers can continue to work the land during the Sabbatical year. The farms will be returned to the original landowners after the Sabbatical year is over next fall. Technically, a farmer can continue to market their produce to Orthodox Jewish customers. Just a little bit of legal manipulation…

It is the spirit of the law that matters.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/arts_life/spiritual_life/israeli-farmers-observe-seventh-year-sabbatical-with-a-wink/article_388f2ac0-25d6-539b-bea0-cd674ee1f2d8.html

One particular farmer employs the practice of hydroponics. He grows plants in water instead of the soil. Technically, he is not working the ground. The vegetables are grown on platforms separate and apart from the land. Therefore, he is not breaking the law of God…so goes the thinking. Gilad Fine states, “We observe the Shemitah every year.”

http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2014/10/28/new-shmittah-app-helps-jews-avoid-sin-during-sabbatical-year/

Even your smart phone can help navigate the observance of the Sabbatical year. An app has been developed and can be downloaded. The app answers questions about the Shemitah year. The app has a list and map of land exclusions and exceptions to the Sabbitical land rest. The app comes with a list of Shemitah terms and definitions, a list of produce with explanations as to what rules of Shemitah apply, and two e books (one four pages long and the other 80 pages). The app is free and is only available for Android devices at this time.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-28/how-keep-farming-when-god-says-stop

Seems to be some skirting of the law…

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Trend Update: Temple Mount, November 2014

Posted in Prophecy, Temple, Trend Update with tags Chaim Richman, Islam, Israel, jerusalem, Jordan, Matthew 24, Temple Mount, Temple Mount Heritage Foundation, Temple Mount Institute, Waqf, Western Wall, Yehuda Glick on November 5, 2014 by paulthepoke

Matthew 24:15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)… -Jesus

The holy place Jesus is referring to is the Temple. This is a future event where the antichrist will claim to be God in the Jewish Temple. Currently, there is no Temple. There is no antichrist on the scene. The Temple is a key piece to the end times scenario of the Bible.

Currently (November 2014), activity and passion are increasing on the real estate known as the Temple Mount. The politics of the Temple Mount are interesting. The nation of Jordan and the Muslim Waqf allow Jews to pray at the Western Wall, but not on top of the mount. Tensions are running high. Access to the mount was briefly closed for a day or two. Politicians are pleading for restraint and calm after Fatah called for “A day of rage”.

On October 29, 2014, Yehuda Glick was shot three times by an Islamic radical. Yehuda Glick is the chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation. Glick is a man who supports the idea of Jews being able to pray on top of the Temple Mount. Muslims are obviously opposed. They call this an act of war.

Glick also has another idea. He has a vision of three faiths (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) sharing the Temple Mount. This idea has been slowly gaining traction among Jews in Israel. Some believe it could be the key to a future solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

At this point, Glick has survived the shooting.

Momentum is gaining for the rebuilding of the third Jewish Temple. “Everyone now understands, in a brand new way, what we have been teaching for years – that the Temple Mount is the key to everything. That the destiny of the Jewish people is totally bound up with the Temple Mount and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple.” –Rabbi Chaim Richman, Temple Mount Institute

One can see how a peace deal can be brokered, Palestinian nation in exchange for Jewish Temple.

http://www.wnd.com/2014/11/muslim-internet-list-targets-temple-mount-activists/#P11omQjDZDSvp4di.99

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Sabbatical Year/Shemitah, Part 4

Posted in Prophecy with tags 2 Chronicles 36, 70, Exodus 23, farmer, God, Harvest, Israel, judgment, Leviticus 26, Moses, Mount Sinai, Sabbatical year, Shemitah on November 2, 2014 by paulthepoke

Exodus 23:10-11 You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

So what is the big deal? Does God really care if this law is followed? After all, farmers have to make money. We all have to eat. How can we survive during the seventh year if food is not grown? Is God being unreasonable? Is this practical? Does God know what He is doing?

Are there consequences for Israel not keeping the Sabbatical or Shemitah year? God’s response is straight forward. He told Moses and nation Israel at Mount Sinai. If you do not keep the commandments, I will kick you out of the land and disperse you. There will be pain and suffering. See Leviticus 26:14-39 for Israel’s complete consequences of disobedience. Specifically, these are the issues related to the disobedience of the Sabbatical or Shemitah year.

Leviticus 26:34-35 Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it.

Leviticus 26:43 For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes.

Eventually, Israel disobeyed God and His commandments. God counted 70 Sabbatical or Shemitah years Israel had not kept. Judgment came via the Babylonians. Jews of all ages were slaughtered. The temple was raided. The articles for worship and service were stolen and taken to Babylon. The temple was burned. The walls of the city were destroyed. Buildings and resources were plundered. Those who survived were taken into captivity in Babylon. And why did these events take place? 2 Chronicles 36:21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete. And when 70 years were completed, a decree went from Cyrus. Israel went back to their land (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

This is what happened to Israel historically. The Jews were kicked out of the land again in 70 AD and scattered throughout the globe…Israel became a nation again in 1948. For whatever reason, there is an element of the Jewish people who are interested in giving the land its rest this Sabbatical year. The Shemitah started in the Fall of 2014 and ends September 15, 2015 on the Gregorian calendar.