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Trend Update: Mosul Offensive Begins? October 2016

Posted in Mosul/Nineveh, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on October 15, 2016 by paulthepoke

Nahum 2:4 The chariots race madly in the streets, they rush wildly in the squares, their appearance is like torches, they dash to and fro like lightning flashes.

Nahum lays out the prophecy concerning the destruction of Nineveh. The book was written around 660 BC. What does this have to do with anything? Mosul, Iraq is the modern day town of ancient Nineveh. As of early October 2016, Mosul is controlled by ISIS.

Nineveh is the city and people in focus in the Book of Jonah. Nineveh was once the largest city in the known world. Today in the early 21st century it is home to 1.3 million people (Wikipedia).

As of October 15, 2016, the Mosul Offensive to retake Mosul from ISIS apparently has begun. Pictures and tweets are emerging on the internet (search Mosul Offensive on Twitter). Reports of United States air strikes are noted.

The following groups have military personnel in the immediate area of Mosul, Iraq. The list includes at least the following: Kurdish Peshmerga, Turkey, Russia, Iraq, United States, ISIS, Iran, and Hezbollah. How in the world is anyone going to determine the battle lines? Political alliances and religious affiliations are clearly blurred. Obviously, there are concerns of the fighting escalating and spreading.

God is not messing around in His description. Nahum 3:5-6 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of hosts, “And I will lift up your skirts over your face, and show to the nations your nakedness and to the kingdoms your disgrace. I will throw filth on you and make you vile, and set you up as a spectacle.” The translation is politically correct. In other words…I will strip you completely naked. I will throw crap on you and put you on a pedestal for all the world to see.

Keep in mind, Mosul is on the Tigris River.

Nahum 1:8 But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened and the palace is dissolved.

Thirty-five (35) miles north of Mosul is the Mosul Dam. The Mosul Dam was built by Saddam Hussein in 1986 on soluble gypsum. The foundation of the dam is in a constant state of repair and maintenance. This dam has been in serious trouble since March 2016.

An estimated 45-70 foot wall of water could flood the river valley if the dam breaks. This could potentially kill up to 150 million people and displace millions more per estimates.

The city of Mosul could be underwater within four hours of a dam break. Within 77 hours, Baghdad could be targeted by flood waters.

https://paulthepoke.com/2016/03/10/trend-update-ninevehmosul-dam-march-2016/

Encouragement is offered to read the Book of Nahum. The prophet is a short read of three chapters and will only take 5-10 minutes. We all have the time.

The short version of the story is this. There will be war, fighting, significant destruction, and massive death. Nahum 3:3 Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears gleaming, many slain, a mass of corpses, and countless dead bodies. They stumble over the dead bodies!

In the end, Mosul/Nineveh will be washed away with a massive flood.

It is October 15, 2016…

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Trend Update: Nineveh/Mosul Dam, March 2016

Posted in Mosul/Nineveh, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , on March 10, 2016 by paulthepoke

Genesis 10:8-12 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

This is the city planning resume of Nimrod. He built cities along the Tigris River over 4,000 years ago. The city furthest south was Babylon (30 miles south of Baghdad). The city furthest north was Nineveh or modern day Mosul, Iraq (220 miles north of Baghdad). All of this could be destroyed in less than a week if the Mosul Dam breaks.

mosuldam

http://paulthepoke.com/2015/03/11/trend-update-assyrian-empirenimrod-march-2015/

Nineveh is the city and people in focus in the Book of Jonah. Nineveh was once the largest city in the known world. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn them of pending judgment. The Assyrian people ultimately listened to Jonah and changed their attitude and actions towards God and others.

The modern day region maintains it ties to the past. Mosul is located in the province of Ninevah (ABC News). Nineveh is located in modern day Mosul, Iraq. ISIS destroyed the tomb of Jonah the prophet in Mosul.

http://paulthepoke.com/2014/07/16/trend-update-assyrian-empireninevehjonah-july-2014/

http://paulthepoke.com/2015/01/14/trend-update-assyrian-empireninevehjonah-january-2015/

The Mosul Dam was built by Saddam Hussein in 1986 on soluble gypsum. Translation, the dam is built on a shifting, poor foundation. The Mosul dam is located 35 miles north of Mosul, Iraq. ISIS previously managed to take control of the Mosul Dam in June 2014. Currently, the Mosul Dam is managed by the Kurdish peshmerga. The issue is ISIS took the maintenance equipment and supplies. And the Kurds are busy fighting back ISIS to maintain control of the dam. As of March 2016, the dam is in serious trouble.

This dam manages the Tigris River in Iraq. An estimated 45-70 foot wall of water could flood the river valley if the dam breaks. This could potentially kill up to 150 million people and displace millions more per estimates.

The city of Mosul could be underwater within four hours of a dam break. Within 77 hours, Baghdad could be targeted.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2016/mar/10/the-mosul-dam-is-crumbling-if-it-bursts-it-would-be-a-disaster-on-a-biblical-scale

Archaeological and cultural sites along the Tigris River could be flushed and destroyed.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/02/29/mosul-dam-breach-karadsheh-lklv.cnn

Fear not, the Iraqi government has a plan…

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Trend Update: Assyrian Empire/Nineveh/Jonah, January 2015

Posted in Gospel, Mosul/Nineveh, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 14, 2015 by paulthepoke

Jonah 3:4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

Jonah 4:11 “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

nineveh

Blowing up the Prophet Jonah’s tomb is not enough for ISIS. They are now proclaiming they are going to blow up the walls of the ancient city Nineveh. The 7.5 mile (one day’s walk) brick wall and rampart surrounds what used to be the ancient city of Nineveh. The majority of the wall is still present and standing. ISIS states the destruction of the wall is necessary because the cultural museum of Nineveh has “distorted” the view of Islam. Works of art and archeology artifacts have been stolen by ISIS from the museum. Nineveh is effectively modern day Mosul, Iraq.

Assyrians claim to be Iraq’s original indigenous people. Their history goes back to 4,750BC. Assyrians are approximately 95% of the country’s Christian population. Close to 200,000 Christians were forced to leave their homes around the Nineveh plain during the summer of 2014 due to ISIS. They are now refugees in the Dohuk and Erbil regions of northern Iraq that border Turkey and Iran. The region is also known as Kurdistan.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2900530/ISIS-plan-destroy-walls-Nineveh-capital-Assyrian-Empire-one-important-archaeological-sites-Iraq.html

http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/27400/isis-planning-to-destroy-ancient-walls-of-nineveh-middle-east/#gmIbPcIweWOJXItV.99

The Book of Jonah is dated roughly in the first half of the eighth century BC. The prophet Jonah travelled to the brutally violent people of Nineveh with a message of judgment if their ways were not changed. For intimidation purposes, the Assyrians would tie people to the stake and filet them. The people of Jonah’s day responded to the message of Jehovah. God cared for Gentiles in the Old Testament too; this is not a New Testament phenomenon.

In the Hebrew language, Jonah’s name means “dove”. In the Bible, the dove is a symbol of peace. The dove is likened to the descent of the Holy Spirit onto Jesus at His baptism. Luke 3:22a and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove…

…there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?” One can tell by the pictures in the articles referenced, the Assyrians were skilled architects, designers, and laborers who built a massive brick wall with towers. Historically, these people were barbaric but they were not stupid. I take it those who do not know the difference between their right and left hands were children. Animals were included in the context of the ignorant. God does not judge the innocent bystanders with guilt by association. Remember the conversation between the Lord and Abraham in Genesis 18. God swore to Abraham He would spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were righteous people remaining in the city. God’s messengers removed the righteous, Lot and family. We know the rest of that story.

The Holy Spirit, like a dove of peace, descends on sinners offering a message of mercy and undeserving forgiveness. Just believe in the sign of Jonah: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 12:39-41).

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Trend Update: Assyrian Empire/Nineveh/Jonah, July 2014

Posted in Mosul/Nineveh, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , on July 25, 2014 by paulthepoke

I guess a sledgehammer did not do enough damage. Jonah’s tomb was blown up.

http://news.yahoo.com/video-shows-isis-blowing-iraqs-tomb-jonah-161117640.html;_ylt=AwrSyCVsitJT_SMAsI_QtDMD

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Trend Update: Assyrian Empire/Nineveh/Jonah, July 2014

Posted in Gospel, Mosul/Nineveh, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2014 by paulthepoke

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2685923/Shocking-moment-ISIS-militants-sledgehammers-Mosul-tomb-Prophet-Jonah-50-blindfolded-bodies-massacred-south-Baghdad.html

To the critic who says Jonah was not a real person, ISIS and Muslims disagree with you. Jonah was a prophet and a real human being in the Old Testament who died. This is what ISIS thinks of Jonah. They are destroying his remains. They want to remove and delete as though he never happened or existed. ISIS militants believe giving special veneration to tombs and relics is against the teachings of Islam. The Book of Jonah is about a prophet who was called to warn a foreign country, an enemy of Israel, of God’s coming judgment. The people of Nineveh responded to the prophet’s call during their day and changed their minds and ways as a nation. God’s judgment was spared on that generation in Nineveh. The Book of Jonah demonstrates God’s mercy and grace to a nation who was behaving in a destructive and brutal nature.

Jesus Himself points to Jonah as a sign or a shadow of His death, burial, and resurrection. Matthew 12:39-41 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREENIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

That “any” includes terrorists. Even terrorists can avoid eternal judgment in Christ. We are all made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26).

What does it mean to repent? It is the Greek word “metanoia”. Per Strong’s Concordance it means: to change one’s mind, compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication, reversal of decision.

Things do not have to continue on their current path. We have the capacity to change our minds as individuals and corporately as humanity.

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