source: Time.com cartoons of the week
A Historical Example of a Political Leader Misleading the Public About His Religious Beliefs For Political Reasons
Yesterday I posted the link to a McClatchy news article that speculated that Barack Obama’s sudden openness to discussing his faith comes as a reaction to a poll which showed that an increasing number of people are unsure about what he believes in or suspect he is not a follower of the Christian faith. Drake University political scientist Dennis Goldford suggested in the article that Obama’s sudden openness is a tactic to show people he’s not out of the mainstream.
What I want to do today is to alert people that it’s not unprecedented for a political leader to lie about their religious beliefs for political reasons (I'm not trying to imply that Obama is lying or not). The political leader I highlight today was a fairly well-known man (okay, that’s an understatement) named Adolf Hitler.
Adolf Hitler publicly was portrayed as a loyal follower of the Catholic faith while in power in Nazi Germany. Hitler was often photographed conversing with Catholic Church officials and often referenced Christianity and God in his political speeches.
- The following quote from 1933 is an example when Hitler referenced Christianity in one of his speeches: “The Government of the Reich, which regards Christianity as the unshakable foundation of the morals and moral code of the nation, attaches the greatest value to friendly relations with the Holy See, and is endeavoring to develop them”.[1]
- Here is a widely-circulated photo of Hitler leaving a church service: Link and a photo of Hitler welcoming a Roman Catholic cardinal at a public event: Link
The typical 1930s German who saw the above photos and listened to Hitler’s words probably thought that Hitler was a devout Catholic. However, the reality was that Hitler was just a Catholic in name only…
Behind the scenes Hitler spoke of his so-called Catholic faith in this manner:
“I’m a Catholic. Certainly that was fated from the beginning, for only a Catholic knows the weakness of the Church…I promise you…that if I wished to, I could destroy the Church in a few years; it is hollow and rotten and false”.[2]
As for Christianity in general, Hitler privately told aides that he wanted to destroy the faith he publicly claimed to be a follower of:
“The peasant will be told what the Church has destroyed for him: the whole of the secret knowledge of nature, of the divine, of the daemonic. The peasant shall learn to hate the Church on that basis…We shall wash off the Christian veneer and bring a religion peculiar to our race”.[3]
Hitler was not a true follower of the Christian faith. Hitler was actuality a major practitioner of the occult (there are dozens of books and several television documentaries that cover the Hitler’s occult background, so there is plenty of material available if you want to learn more about that). However, Hitler could not tell the German public that he truly was not a Christian or was actually a practitioner of the occult because Germany was a predominantly Christian nation at that time (I doubt that any predominantly Christian country would tolerate having a leader who openly told people that he practices the occult back then or today). As a consequence, Hitler had to give the public the illusion that he was a follower of the Catholic faith to prevent Germans from turning against his him for religious reasons.
I am not trying to compare Obama to Adolf Hitler or trying to imply that Obama is lying about his religious beliefs in this article. I even acknowledge that Hitler might have been a fairly extreme example to use in this article because few political leaders in history were like him. However, what I’m trying to show is that it’s not unprecedented for political leaders to mislead people about their religious beliefs when political capital is at stake.
- Some people argue that a political leader’s religious beliefs are irrelevant. For the most part I would agree, but a political leader’s religious beliefs can sometimes influence what social policies they support and oppose. As an example, a staunch Catholic is probably going to oppose legislation that would expand government funding of abortion. Religion sometimes impacts politics whether people like it or not...
No matter how you feel about Obama‘s faith, you’ll probably agree that is fair to critique him as long as he flaunts it to the public. You'll probably even agree that it is fair to critique any political leader who flaunts his or her faith to the public.
References
[1] Hitler, Adolf. “Hitler’s Speech to the Reichstag”. Berlin. 23 Mar. 1933. http://humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/speeches/1933-03-23.html .
[2] Rauschning, Hermann. The Voice of Destruction. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1940 52-53
[3] Ibid. 55
Obama Talks Religion
I have an event to attend shortly so I’ll keep this short…
One of the major headlines today is a story about Barack Obama suddenly being open about his religious faith. McClatchy Newspapers wrote a surprisingly insightful story about Obama’s sudden openness and the potential motivation behind Obama’s sudden openness. The article is very interesting and can be found at this link
Other interesting articles about Obama’s religious beliefs and background include:
- A 2004 Chicago Sun Times Interview where Obama discusses religion: Link
- An excerpt from Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope: Link
I’ll let you judge whether to believe him or not and let you decide what to glean from these articles. I probably missed a lot of other articles that people have found interesting. I apologize in advance for that.
Woops, time for me to go!
Terrorists, Drones and the Eiffel Tower
It seems that a German national and would-be jihadist captured in the Afghanistan/ Pakistan border area, has been talking and giving up details of a massive,credible, coordinated, shoot-em up Mumbai-style attack on London, Paris, and several German cities. American targets just may also be involved. .According to today's Christian Science Monitor:
"Western intelligence officials have reportedly uncovered an Al Qaeda plot to carry out coordinated Mumbai-style terrorist attacks in major cities in Britain, France, Germany, and possibly the United States, according to unnamed counterterrorism and intelligence sources in Western governments.
The would-be attackers reportedly planned to operate in small teams of heavily armed gunmen who would capture and execute Western hostages in Europe, similar to the attacks carried out in Mumbai in 2008 where 10 gunmen killed 166 people and injured more than 300 more."--Christian Science MonitorSo, now you know why drone attacks on the Pakistan border areas have been stepped up and why Paris' Eiffel Tower has been evacuated and shut down twice in the past two weeks and why the entire country of France is now on high alert.
Europe is nervous and for good reason. The threat is still out there and while some sources are saying it has been foiled by the confessions of the captured jihadist, others are not so sure. Just google" terrorist threat, Eiffel Tower"" and you will see what I mean.
It isn't over till it's over, folks. And it looks like the second act may be just about to begin. I am praying that this attack truly has been foiled and that once more we have dodged the bullet. Let's not get so carried away by our own internal wrangling that we forget that we are part of a larger, world community.
Permanent Open Market Operations: A Driver of Stock Market Rallies?
The U.S. stock market rallied about 2% last week arguably without a major, positive headline driving the buying.
- Some people on Wall Street pointed to Tuesday’s Federal Reserve’s statement about how they prefer to see more inflation as the main reason for the stock market’s rally. The problem with this explanation is that stocks ended lower following the Federal Reserve’s announcement on Tuesday. In addition, the Federal Reserve didn’t say anything about how they would go about to create more inflation. The Federal Reserve’s announcement was all talk and little action.
- Some financial media outlets pointed to U.S. home sales figures and durable goods orders as other possible reasons for stocks to rally higher. The problem with this explanation is that both pieces of data were not good and there were financial media outlets completely contradicting each other in their reporting about the nature of the data. For instance, The Financial Times reported that last week’s U.S. durable goods data was better than expected and was thus a driver of higher stock prices. In contrast, the Wall Street Journal reported that stocks went up last Friday despite weaker than expected durable goods data in the U.S. Meanwhile, the home sales data was not only below expectations-it was a complete disaster.
Unsurprisingly, I do not believe that the U.S. stock market’s major move last week was justified based on the nature of the news that was out there. I suspected that something else had to be at work…
To further the controversy/suspicion surrounding the recent movement in the stock market, Rick Santelli, the CNBC financial reporter whose rant against the government last year inspired the rise of America’s Tea Party Movement, implied on Monday morning that September’s stock market rally was “bought and paid for” at 9:37 of the following video.
Zerohedge, a financial website that I follow regularly, reported that there was indeed some suspicious activity going on throughout all last week which may have been responsible for the stock market’s seemingly inexplicable rally. This suspicious activity is what I want to cover in today’s blog post because the average person is highly unlikely going to hear about it when reading a newspaper or a mainstream news website.
Zerohedge reported that the Federal Reserve conducted Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO) virtually every day last week before the U.S. stock market opened. POMO is a procedure where the Federal Reserve either buy or sales securities (U.S. Treasuries) in an effort to affect the amount of reserves in the banking system. The Federal Reserve generally conducts these transactions with its primary dealers, the select banks and security dealers who have a special relationship with the Federal Reserve.
The suspicion that some people who follow the financial markets closely, including those at Zerohedge, is that these primary dealers are taking the proceeds from POMO activities (they’re often selling U.S. Treasuries to the Federal Reserve in the POMO activities that take place) and pouring that money into the stock market (while using extreme leverage) so that stock prices rise artificially.
- A very informative primer on the Federal Reserve’s Permanent Open Market Operations can be found at the following link. The research report found that there were unusually large late-day rallies in the stock market on days when the Federal Reserve conducted POMO activities during its 2009 test period.
Many people who monitor the Fed’s POMO activities believe these activities were the primary driver of the stock market’s rally last week. The following link shows illustrates the impact that the Fed’s POMO activities might have had on the stock market last week. Link
- I suspect the Fed’s POMO activities probably were the primary reason behind last week’s rally because the news was not good enough to push the stock market as high as it moved.
CNBC Europe conducted an interview that they probably wished they never conducted with technical strategist Robin Griffiths on Monday. CNBC Europe wanted Griffiths to provide his views on the future direction of the stock market and bond market based on how stock market and bond market chart patterns look (technical analysis). Instead of immediately providing a technical analysis of various markets, Griffiths spent the first 2:03 of the interview railing against the Federal Reserve’s alleged intervention into the stock market via its POMO activities. The following is the brief interview that CNBC Europe conducted with Griffiths (not sure they’ll invite him back on after his rant) Link
If we assume there is intervention into the stock market, then the question has to be asked: “why does someone want to intervene in the stock market to push prices higher?” I believe there could be several reasons why those in charge may want to intervene to push the stock market higher. Here are three reasons that I’ve thought of quickly off the top of my head… there are probably several more.
- Authorities may want to intervene to push stocks higher so money managers and hedge fund managers can have good performance numbers when people receive their quarterly or annual statements (the end of the quarter is this Thursday). This is important because past selloffs have occurred as a result of people cashing out of their investment after a money manager or hedge fund manger performed poorly for an extended period of time.
- People with influence or people with the potential to have influence (like Alan Greenspan) believe that pushing the stock market higher is the key to getting the U.S. out of the economic trouble that it is right now.
- Perhaps the most probable reason why the authorities may want to intervene to push stocks higher is that they want Americans to feel better about their own financial situation and feel better about the U.S. economy in hopes that American voters’ better feelings makes them less likely to vote against incumbents in November’s election.
I have no idea where the stock market is heading in the next couple of months. If I truly knew where the stock market is heading I’d probably be a millionaire soon. However, as someone who’s interested in making good long-term investments, it’s unsettling to hear that this kind of activity might be going on…
A Peculiar Article About the U.N. Preparing for Alien Contact
I’m currently working on a rather significant article about some suspicious activity going on in the stock market and examining some Bible prophecy chapters that I feel require more study (chapters a lot of people don't cover). In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a link and my thoughts on a rather peculiar article about the U.N. considering naming someone to the role as ambassador of Earth in case aliens contact Earth: Link
For those who are new to this blog, my research indicates that aliens are a real, but they are low-level fallen angels that likely have a role in Satan's attempt to deceive people now and during the End Times. My research also indicates that the U.N. is not exactly an organization that works for Christians so perhaps those who run the U.N. are trying to draw people's attention to the possibility that aliens are real and could possibly contact Earth. Believe it or not, there are some people out there who put faith into the so-called "gravitas" of U.N. so if the U.N. takes the possibility of alien contact seriously perhaps some previous "unbelievers" may begin to take the possibility seriously. This Telegraph story about the U.N. may end up converting a few people into believers of the alien phenomenon, but it also gives a lot of people more reason to view the U.N. as a laughable organization. "Ambassador to Earth" is something I would expect to see in an old, black and white science fiction movie, not in real life... Now we may have one soon according to this article. Yikes
Ahmadinejad and Crazytime at the UN
".. some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy, and its grip on the Middle East, in order to save the Zionist regime."
The " Zionist regeme" would be Israel. And here is another quote from the man who says the holocaust never happened...
“the majority of the American people, as well as most nations and politicians around the world agree that some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks."
At this point in the speech, the American delegation, not surprisingly, walked out, accompanied by the UK and a number of other sane, rational countries.
Now, the really crazy thing about this is that while crazy man was delivering his poisonous, racist, xenophobic rant, American cable news networks were totally ignoring what was going on at the UN and giving tons of pundit pronouncement time to Delaware, tea-party, right wing Republican candidate for governor, Christine O' Donnell. I mean the President of a nation that wants to have a nuclear bomb is at the United Nations trash talking America and America is pre-occupied with a right wing nut job who dabbled in witchcraft as a teenager and is now running for governor of one of the smallest states in the union.
What is up with that? It's not only crazytime at the UN. It's crazytime on cable news. Could we please stop being silly and talk about the real issues? Christine O' Donnell is a narcissistic nobody who is not ready for prime time and Iran's insane, repressive, murderous regime cannot be allowed to have the nuclear weapons they keep denying they are making.
Is anybody paying attention? The possibility of meaningful dialogue between the civilized world and the Iranian regime is becoming more and more remote as Iran gets closer and closer to having nuclear capability. Once we stop talking the bombing will begin and all helll will break loose. It looks like that's what Iran wants. The inmates really are running the asylum. God help us all.
A Major Implication of Isaiah 11:14: Finding When Damascus Gets Destroyed
A few days ago I suggested that the Bible indicates that Israel will attack the Moabites, Edomites, the Ammonties, and Philistines after the Battle of Armageddon. I also wrote that I believe the details of Israel’s attack on Moab, Edom, and Ammon is described in Jeremiah 48 and 49. If each of these claims are factually correct then we may be able to identify the specific time when another major future event takes place: the destruction of Damascus.
The destruction of Damascus is prophesized first in Isaiah 17:1-3. Isaiah 17 prophesizes that Damascus is going to become a “ruinous heap”:
- Isa 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
- Isa 17:2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
- Isa 17:3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.
There is a lot of speculation about how Damascus is going to become a ruinous heap, including who is going to turn the city into that and when it is going to happen.
I believe we may be able to identify the aggressor who destroys Damascus and when Damascus gets destroyed by looking at a few passages that are related with Isaiah 11:14. Immediately after the prophecy of Israel’s future attack on Edom, Jeremiah 49 covers the defeat of Damascus. The prophecy says the following:
- Jer 49:23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
- Jer 49:24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
- Jer 49:25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
- Jer 49:26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Jer 49:27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
I know that labeling chapters and verses is a human creation, but the destruction of Damascus fits within the context of Edom, Moab, and Ammon getting destroyed.
Similarly, the Book of Amos describes the destruction of Damascus within the context of a large-scale judgment of the region, including Philistia (1:6-8), Edom (1:11-12), Ammon (1:13-15), Moab (2:1-3), etc:
- Amo 1:3 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:
- Amo 1:4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.
- Amo 1:5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.
The close link between prophecies that describe the destruction of Damascus and prophecies that describe the destruction of Ammon, Edom, Moab, and Philistia, suggest that all these areas are likely going to be judged at the same time.
- If my theory on Isaiah 11:14 is correct, the aggressor that’ll annihilate each location, including Damascus, is Israel and the annihilation shall take place following the Battle of Armageddon.
The burden of Damascus (also mentioned in Isaiah 17:1) is again mentioned in Zechariah 9:1 as part of a prophecy that speaks of the defeat of several cities, including cities located in Philistia.
- Zec 9:1 The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.
- Zec 9:2 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
- Zec 9:3 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
- Zec 9:4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
- Zec 9:5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
- Zec 9:6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
- Zec 9:7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
Some people believe that Zechariah 9:1-7 refers to the conquest of Alexander the Great. I tend to disagree with that assessment because verse one has a statement that I feel indicates when the passage shall reach its fulfillment. Verse one suggests that Zechariah 9:1-7 will be fulfilled “when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord”:
- Zec 9:1 The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.
The quoted phrase is important because if we can find a time period when the eyes of mankind shall be towards the Lord then we’ll likely have found when the prophecies of Zechariah 9:1-7 and Isaiah 17:1-3 will both be fulfilled. Fortunately, Isaiah 17:4-8 provides us with an idea of when mankind’s eyes shall look towards the Lord.
- Isa 17:4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
- Isa 17:5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
- Isa 17:6 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.
- Isa 17:7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
- Isa 17:8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
The passage suggests that mankind’s eyes shall turn towards the Lord at a time when they no longer worship/respect ungodly creations (verse 8) and when Israel has been reduced to a small remnant after surviving a great purge (verse 5-6). Both of these characteristics are prevalent in the time period immediately after the Battle of Armageddon, especially the development where mankind will no longer worship ungodly creations.
In sum, the verses I’ve presented over the past several days appear to suggest that the destruction of Damascus is likely going to occur after the Battle of Armageddon when Israel annihilates its neighbors. However, like with my first four blog posts on Isaiah 11, what I’ve presented is just preliminary stuff. My thinking on Isaiah 11:14 and on when Damascus gets destroyed can change if someone finds a way to disprove the scenario I’ve laid out or if I find a way to disprove it. Feel free to disprove it if you can.
Isaiah 11:14: Israel Conquers its Enemies Part 2
The majority of the past few blog entries have focused on Isaiah 11:11-16, one of the most important passages in Bible prophecy. Last Thursday’s entry focused on the desert highway that the redeemed, remnant of Israel located in Egypt and Assyria shall travel on as they head back to Israel while last Friday’s entry focused on finding the specific time when the remnant of Israel shall be gathered from around the world. Monday’s blog post began a multi-part series on Isaiah 11:14, perhaps the most important verse of Isaiah 11:11-16. For those who are reading my blog for the first time, here is what Isaiah 11:14 says:
- Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Monday’s blog post specifically covered how the remnant of Israel (“they” in Isaiah 11:14) are likely going to get revenge against the Edomities, Ammonites, and the Moabites following the Battle of Armageddon. Israel shall annihilate these nations and shall take possession of their respective lands. Part 2 of this multipart series of blog posts about Isaiah 11:14 shall focus on the fate of the Philistines.
Recall that Isaiah 11:14 tells us that Israel shall “fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines”. “Fly upon the shoulders” is an expression that does not exactly clarify what Israel shall do to the Philistines by itself. Fortunately, Habakkuk 1:18 and other verses may help us to understand what the expression means. Habakkuk 1:18 describes the image of an aggressor flying upon its enemies like an eagle who swoops down to consume its prey.
- Hab 1:8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
Similarly, Jeremiah 48:40 and Jeremiah 49:22 describe an aggressor (Israel) flying like an eagle to destroy Edom and Moab.
- Jer 48:40 For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.
- Jer 49:22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
With these verses in mind, it’s likely that the expression “fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines” is another way of saying that Israel is going to overwhelm the Philistines with military force. This leads to a key question: “Will Israel attack the Philistines at the same time they attack the Ammonites, the Edomites, and the Moabites?
At this point, I suspect the Philistines will be attacked at the same time Israel will the Ammonites, Edomites, and Moabites because each nation’s impending destruction is listed together quite often. For instance, the grouping of the Philistines with the Ammonites, the Edomites, and the Moabites in Isaiah 11:14 suggest that these nations may get attacked simultaneously.
- Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Another instance is found in Obadiah 1:19, which suggests that Israel shall possess the “plain of the Philistines” at the same time they shall possess the mount of Esau, which is in Bozrah (Edom).
- Oba 1:19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
Similarly, the land of the Philistines is grouped with Moab and Edom in a Psalms passage where the Lord describes His dominance over these peoples.
- Psa 60:6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
- Psa 60:7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
- Psa 60:8 Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
Finally, other verses or chapters that group the Philistines’ destruction along with the destruction of the Ammonites, Edomites, and/or Moabites are Zephaniah 2, Ezekiel 25, and Amos chapters 1 and 2.
Like with my first three blog posts on Isaiah 11, what I’ve presented is just preliminary stuff. My thinking on Isaiah 11:14 can change if someone finds a way to disprove the scenario I’ve laid out or if I find a way to disprove it. Feel free to disprove it if you can.
- Passages that can potentially complicate the theory I’ve laid out are Isaiah 14:28-32 and Jeremiah chapter 47. Each of these passages speak of the Philistines being attacked by a military force coming from the north. These verses may refer to a past Babylonian invasion of the Philistines’ land or refer to the future. If these verses refer to the future it is possible that the aggressor mentioned is Israel since the land of the Philistines is nearby the Gaza Strip.
My Strange Experience Watching the President of Iran Speak 5 Years Ago
I need some more time to reflect on Isaiah 11:14 before I release Part 2 of my series of blog posts on the verse. However, I don’t want to leave you empty-handed today so I’ll share a strange story about something I experienced while I watched the President of Iran address the U.N five years ago.
This week is the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. World leaders usually spend the week meeting with each other and making speeches to a world audience. Incredibly, every world leader is allowed to pontificate about anything they want regardless of how incendiary it is. For instance, the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can question whether the Holocaust actually happened and the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez can imply that George W. Bush is the Devil without being arrested or thrown out the U.N. building. Usually, the annual gathering is something that can be ignored, but something took place five years ago at the gathering which I can never forget...
Five years ago Ahmadinejad addressed the U.N. for the first time as President of Iran. I remember there being a lot of media speculation and hype about what kind of incendiary comments that Ahmadinejad could make. I heard people I respect compare Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler, so I was curious to see him speak on live television.
When I saw Ahmadinejad speak for the first time I noticed that the man was articulate, but he was not nearly at the same level as Hitler in terms of charisma. However, I noticed an eerily similarity between Ahmadinejad and Hitler as Ahmadinejad’s speech continued. I’ve watched a lot of historical documentaries that shown footage of Hitler addressing large crowds of people. When I watch Hitler speak I can actually sense the extreme evil that was inside of him (feeling is hard to describe). I mention this because I felt a similar, evil presence when I watched Ahmadinejad speak…it was extremely strange and something that I could not forget experiencing.
A year or two later I found an article where Ahmadinejad spoke about his 2005 experience at the U.N. Ahmadinejad said that he and his aides saw/felt a strange presence inside the U.N. building as he delivered the speech. An aide told Ahmadinejad that he saw a light shine on him while Ahmadinejad admitted that he sensed something strange as well. Ahmadinejad and his aides apparently viewed the experience as a sign that they were being blessed or protected by a higher power.
When I read the article I realized that it wasn’t just me who felt a presence. There was definitely something at the U.N. when Ahmadinejad spoke. However, I believe the presence was evil rather than something good like what Ahmadinejad and his aides thought.
- I don’t believe the specific evil presence that I felt possesses Ahmadinejad (I'm not denying the possibility he could be possessed by something). I’ve watched Ahmadinejad speak on television a few more times since his first speech, including his 2009 U.N. address, but I’ve failed to sense the presence. What I saw five years ago might have been a one-time event…
Nevertheless, the main message I take from my experience is that the ongoing spiritual warfare definitely affects the world of politics. Spiritual forces can influence world leaders and the decisions they make. To truly understand politics, you need to understand the spiritual context that politics operates under.
Isaiah 11:14: Israel Conquers its Enemies Part 1
The past couple of blog entries have focused on Isaiah 11:11-16, one of the most important passages in Bible prophecy. Thursday’s entry focused on the desert highway that the redeemed, remnant of Israel located in Egypt and Assyria shall travel on as they head back to Israel while Friday’s entry focused on finding the specific time when the remnant of Israel shall be gathered from around the world. Today’s blog post will begin a multipart series on perhaps the most important verse of Isaiah 11:11-16: Isaiah 11:14.
Isaiah 11:14 is perhaps the most important verse of Isaiah 11:11-16 since it provides an overview of what Israel (they) will do to the Edomites, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines in the future.
- Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
I’ve had extreme difficulty understanding Isaiah 11:14 for the past few years because I’ve been unsure when the events described in verse 14 will happen and unsure whether Israel will deal with the Philistines at the same time they will deal with the Edomites, Moabites, and the Ammonites. It’s important to understand these issues because many passages in the Bible deal with the annihilation of the nations listed in Isaiah 11:14. For instance, Zephaniah 2:5-9 promises that the land of the Philistines, Moab, and Ammon will be destroyed by God and that the remnant of Israel will take over their respective territories in the future.
- Zep 2:5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
- Zep 2:6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
- Zep 2:7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
- Zep 2:8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.
- Zep 2:9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
I believe I’ve made enough progress in understanding these issues that I can comfortably share my thoughts with you on them. However, I cannot provide a complete analysis on the fate of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia in just one blog entry because there would be too much to read in one sitting. As a consequence, I’ll cover Edom, Moab, and Ammon in this blog post and save my analysis on the fate of the Philistines in a future blog post (probably the next one).
Israel vs. Edom, Moab, Ammon
The first prophecy regarding what Israel will do to Edom, Moab, and Ammon in the future is found in the Book of Numbers. Numbers 24:17-19 is a Messianic prophecy which predicts that the Messiah (Christ) will lead Israel’s effort to destroy Moab and take possession of Edom.
- Num 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
- Num 24:18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
- Num 24:19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
There is no doubt that Edom, Moab, and Ammon are going to be dealt with harshly in the future. However, a key question is “when will Israel deal with Edom, Moab, and Ammon?”
The search for an answer begins with Ezekiel 35. Ezekiel 35:9, 14-15 pinpoints the ultimate destruction of Edom at the time when the “whole earth rejoiceth”.
- Eze 35:9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
- Eze 35:14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
- Eze 35:15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
I searched throughout the Bible for a passage that hints at the specific time when the world will rejoice. If we can find the time when the “whole earth rejoiceth” we will know when Edom, Moab, and Ammon will be destroyed… I found only one passage that mentions the world rejoicing: Isaiah 14:5-8.
- Isa 14:5 The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
- Isa 14:6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
- Isa 14:7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
- Isa 14:8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
Verse 14:5-8 suggests that the whole earth will “break forth into singing” or rejoice after the “Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the scepter of the rulers”. In other words, the world will rejoice after evil’s defeat at the Battle of Armageddon. The Edomites, the Ammonites, and the Moabites won't rejoice because they will be overwhelmed by the remnant of Israel.
Another way to demonstrate that Israel will deal with Moab, Ammon, and Edom after the Battle of Armageddon is to look at Ezekiel 39:10. Ezekiel 39:10 reveals that Israel is going to “spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them” while they are cleaning up the land from the Battle of Armageddon.
- Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
- Eze 39:9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
- Eze 39:10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
Isaiah 11:14 mentions that Israel shall spoil those located east of them: Edom, Moab, and Ammon.
- Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Where to Find Details of Israel’s Offensive
I believe Israel’s attack on Moab, Edom, and Ammon is described in detail by Jeremiah in chapters 48 and 49. Here is a brief overview of the evidence that supports my belief.
Moab
Verse 48:45-46 provides evidence that Israel is the aggressor against Moab in Jeremiah 48. Verse 48:45-46’s description of the attack on Moab is almost exactly the same description found in Numbers 21:28-29's commemoration of the Israelites’ attack on Moab hundreds of years before Jeremiah 48 was written.
- Jer 48:45 They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
- Jer 48:46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.
- Num 21:28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.
- Num 21:29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
The resemblance is unlikely a mistake…
Ammon
Verse 49:1-2 provides evidence that Israel is the aggressor against Ammon in Jeremiah 49. The passage states that Israel will inherit Ammon immediately after it is destroyed, which is consistent with other verses (like Zephaniah 2:9) that prophesize that Israel will take possession of Ammon.
- Jer 49:1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
- Jer 49:2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
- Zep 2:9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
Edom
Finally, verse 49:8-10 provides evidence that Israel is the aggressor against Edom in Jeremiah 49. Verse 49:8-10’s description of the destruction that the aggressor inflicts on Edom parallels the future destruction of Edom described in Obadiah 1:5-6.
- Jer 49:8 Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.
- Jer 49:9 If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
- Jer 49:10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
- Oba 1:5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
- Oba 1:6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
The aggressor against Edom in Obadiah is Israel.
- Oba 1:18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
Like with my first two blog posts on Isaiah 11, what I’ve presented is just preliminary stuff. My thinking on Isaiah 11:14 can change if someone finds a way to disprove the scenario I’ve laid out or if I find a way to disprove it. Feel free to disprove it if you can.
- Other verses or chapters that likely deal with the destruction of Edom, Moab, and/or Ammon include: Amos 1:11-2:3, Isaiah 63:1-6, Habakkuk chapter 3, Joel 3:19, Obadiah, Malachi chapter 1, Isaiah 34:6-17, Jeremiah 25, Lamentations 4:22, Isaiah 16, and Ezekiel 25.
Obama Cuts Government Waste
Last Thursday President Obama signed a bill which will eliminate $50 billion-- yes that is billion with a "B" of waste from entitlement programs. It is designed to stop all those dead people and jailbirds who are illegally receiving social security, disability, food stamps and other entitlements from getting their monthly checks. Bad payments range from outright fraud to checks issued to the wrong person or for the wrong amount because of a typo
According to President Obama, an estimated $110 billion was wasted just last year through improper payments. To give some perspective, this figure is more than the budgets of the Department of Education and the Small Business Administration combined. That is pretty mind blowing, isn't it? The answer is not to eliminate entitlements, but to eliminate waste and fraud.
Stopping dead people from collecting Social Security seems like a no brainer. I think we should hear more about what the government IS doing and less about what it is NOT doing.
It took eight years of Bush to get us into this mess. Obama is getting us out as fast as he can. Stay with him and don't give up. OK?
The Lord Sets His Hand Again: Thoughts on Isaiah 11:11-12
Yesterday I mentioned my ongoing study of Isaiah 11:11-16. Recall that I mentioned that Isaiah 11:11-16 is an important passage to understand because it summarizes events described in a lot of prophecies in the Bible, including much of the Book of Isaiah and potentially chapters like Jeremiah 48-49.
I’ve always wondered about Isaiah 11:11 and 11:12. I’ve wondered whether verse 11:11 describes a different event than verse 11:12 and wondered about the specific timing that these verses will be fulfilled.
- Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
After making some progress in recent days, I feel confident enough to provide you with my current thinking on these two verses in this blog entry.
Isaiah 11:11 mentions that the “Lord shall set his hand again”. The word “again” implies that the Lord has set His hand before. Many Bible commentators believe that the first time the Lord set His hand to recover the Israelites was when He rescued them from Egypt (as Isaiah 11 was written before the Babylonian captivity). The “second time” the Lord is going to recover the remnant of His people will be during the End Times. The specific time when the Lord is going to set His hand during the End Times is a key question I’ve had.
Isaiah 11:12 mentions that the Lord “shall set up an ensign for the nations” and that the remnant of Israel scattered throughout the world shall be assembled. Isaiah 11:11 mentions specific locations where the remnant of Israel shall return from, so a key question I’ve had is whether Isaiah 11:11 and 11:12 describe the same recovery process/event.
A few days ago I discovered that Isaiah 49:22 mentions that the Lord is going to lift His hand to the Gentiles and set up an ensign in an effort to bring back the remnant of Israel. The nations will respond to the Lord lifting His hand and setting up an ensign (standard) by transporting the remnant of Israel back to their land.
- Isa 49:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
At this moment I feel that Isaiah 49:22 provides enough information to say Isaiah 11:11-12 describe the same recovery process since the verse mentions that the Lord will use His Hand (Isaiah 11:11) and set up an ensign (Isaiah 11:12). Both actions ultimately lead to the recovery of the remnant of Israel from the nations where they were scattered.
- Isa 49:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
- Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Yesterday I mentioned that I expected the ensign to the nations to be given after the nations are defeated at the Battle of Armageddon. Therefore, my current thinking is that the events of Isaiah 11:11-12 describe the events following the Battle of Armageddon. The defeated Gentiles will react to the ensign (and the Lord’s lifted hand) by transporting the Gentiles back to Israel.
- Isa 66:19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
- Isa 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
- Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
- Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
- Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
- Isa 60:4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
- Isa 60:5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
- Isa 60:6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.
- Isa 60:7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
- Isa 60:8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
- Isa 60:9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
Like yesterday, what I’ve presented is just preliminary stuff. My thinking on Isaiah 11:11-12 can change if someone finds a way to disprove the theory I’ve laid out or if I find a way to disprove it. Feel free to disprove it if you can.
A Sample of the Prophecy I’m Studying at the Moment: The Highway of Isaiah 11:16
My primary focus right now in terms of studying Bible prophecy is on Isaiah 11:11-16, which says the following.
- Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
- Isa 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
- Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
- Isa 11:15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
- Isa 11:16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 11:11-16 is an extremely important passage because it summarizes a lot of End Times prophecies concerning the redemption and return of Israel. Many prophecies in the Bible concern the redemption and the return of Israel (especially those of the latter part of the Book of Isaiah) so a good understanding of this passage will enable you to understand a lot of the prophecies of the Bible.
I’ve been trying to figure out the timing of the events described in the above passage for the past several years, but it has not been until recently that I’ve made some significant progress on pinpointing the timing of the events described above. I’m not yet done with my study of the passage above, but I’ll share with you my current thinking on the highway of Isaiah 11:15-16.
Isaiah 11:16 and Isaiah 35:8-10 speak of a “highway of holiness” that’ll be used by Jews located in Egypt and Assyria. These Jews will use the highway to return to Israel following their redemption.
- Isa 11:16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
- Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
- Isa 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
- Isa 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
My current theory on the highway (which has changed from the past) is that will be created following the events of the 7th bowl judgment which basically will knock down every mountain on Earth.
- Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
- Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
- Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
- Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
The main reason why I’m beginning to think that the highway will form following the event of the 7th bowl judgment is that Isaiah 40:1-4 indicates that a desert highway is going to form at a time when every mountain and hill is going to be brought low:
- Isa 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
- Isa 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
- Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
- Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Some argue that the desert highway is just the highway of the Lord with no practical purpose. Isaiah 42:15-16 suggests otherwise… Isaiah 42:15-16 indicates that people are going to use the highway:
- Isa 42:15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
- Isa 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
At this moment, it looks like an indirect consequence of the great earthquake of the 7th bowl is that it will create the desert highway for those in Egypt and Assyria to follow back to Israel.
An apparent indirect indication that the highway will form following the events of the 7th bowl is that the Lord will hiss (whistle) to call back His people, especially those in Assyria and Egypt:
- Isa 7:17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
- Isa 7:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
- Isa 7:19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
- Isa 7:20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
- Zec 10:8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
- Zec 10:9 And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.
- Zec 10:10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.
According to Isaiah 5:26, the Lord is likely going to hiss at the same time He will lift up an ensign to the nations.
- Isa 5:26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
The time when the ensign is given appears to be after the Battle of Armageddon since it appears that the defeated nations will bring the remnant of Israel that’ll be scattered throughout the world at that time back to Israel.
- Isa 49:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
- Isa 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
- Isa 66:17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
- Isa 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
- Isa 66:19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
- Isa 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
There is still one major complication that I have to still work out with regards to this theory. Isaiah 27:12-13 mention that a great trumpet shall be blown around the time that those in Egypt and Assyria are ready to return.
- Isa 27:12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
- Isa 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
I need to figure out if this great trumpet relates to a specific End Times trumpet (like one of the seven trumpets or a prophetic holiday trumpet) or if it is a trumpet that will sound on its own (maybe the sounding of the trumpet is the Lord’s “hiss”).
What I’ve presented is just preliminary stuff. My thinking on when the highway forms can change if someone finds a way to disprove the theory I’ve laid out or if I find a way to disprove it. Feel free to disprove it if you can.
The Papal Progress
Wherever he goes-- Africa, Ireland, Germany, or the Middle East, Pope Benedict XVI manages to give a regal tone to the trip that has not been seen since the days of the late Pius XII. He also usually manages to come off as out of touch and to put his Prada-shod foot squarely in his mouth. It will be interesting to see how his tour of the UK, which begins today, turns out.
So far, so good. He had a cool but cordial welcome from fellow head of church and state, Queen Elizabeth II, and began his "progress" down Princes Street in his new pope-mobile.
Why he decided to start his tour of the UK in Edinburgh, I will never know. I get a picture of dour Calvinists counting their Protestant pennies and not being very interested in buying a ticket to see the pope. Not to worry, there seem to be lots of people lining the route and a crowd of 55,000 is expected at an open air Mass in Birmingham this week-end where the pope will beatify John,Cardinal Newman, an English convert and soon to be saint who is nothing if not a controversial choice for this honor.
In London, slavering secularists are waiting to scream for legal injunctions while survivers of clerical abuse prepare their own briefs. A member of the papal entourage, German Cardinal , Walter Kaspar (a specialist in relations with The Church of England) has already been dropped from the party for observing in an interview with a German magazine that arriving at Heathrow Airport is like "arriving in a third world country" and complaining about "an aggressive new atheism" in Britain.
The sense of hope and reconciliation among Christians that Pope John XXIII held out close to half a century ago is pretty much gone. The Papal Progress that begins today should be an interesting event. It sure is filled with possible pitfalls. So pass the popcorn and let's wait and see what happens when the other red shoe drops.
Creme Makes Outrageous Claim and More: Sept 2010 Share Intl Magazine Review
Pre-Article Disclaimer for Newer Readers: If you are reading this blog for the first time or are not totally familiar with my work, I am a 100% Christian writer who analyzes things from a Christian point of view. I sometimes research into what the spiritual forces of evil are up to in hopes of gleaning information to help us Christians figure out what is going on or to figure out what Satan has planned. You can read more about why I dare consider these unbiblical sources at the following link Now on to the article...
A couple days ago the September 2010 edition of Benjamin Creme’s (the official spokesmen of Maitreya (the leader of the Ascended Masters, a group of spiritual beings mentioned in Ephesians 6:12 as the “spiritual wickedness in high places”) magazine was released online. As I typically do, here is a brief review of the contents of Creme’s latest magazine.
The magazine began with the monthly article that is supposedly authored by the Ascended Master that advises Creme. The author of the article mentioned that there has been an ongoing struggle to win the hearts and the minds of people (a likely reference to the actual spiritual warfare that is taking place). The author claimed that the “forces of light” (which are actually evil in this context) were making progress in this battle.
- They probably are making progress because more Christians are falling away as time progresses.
The most interesting part of each magazine is probably the question and answer section where the readers ask Creme questions about various teachings and ongoing current events. This month’s edition of the Q & A section contained a few tidbits of information or claims.
- For those keeping track, Creme now says that Maitreya has supposedly made 23 appearances on American as of September 7. (If Creme was looking to make some money while trying to prove he’s not making this up he could look into selling a DVD box set of these supposed appearances. Maybe Creme could call the box set: “Maitreya on TV: Season 1” and have Vince from the ShamWow and Slap Chop commercials sell them on late night television infomercials. I don’t think he’ll pursue my suggestion since my idea is probably too capitalist for him).
- Creme claims that the number of direct contacts by aliens has not increased lately. (I don’t keep direct alien contact statistics so I don’t know if Creme’s claim is lie or not).
- The most interesting claim that Creme made was that there are selected people who are brought together in groups. These selected people know the PLAN and will be placed into powerful and influential positions. This is a piece of red meat for people who believe in a one-world government conspiracy to chew on.
- The most outrageous claim that Creme made this month was that Sanat Kumara (Satan) is Jehovah of the BIble. In New Age terminology Sanat Kumara is known as the “lord of the world” which is a term the Bible gives to Satan in John 12:31-32, John 14:29-30, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, and Ephesians 2:1-3. A claim like this gives a pretty clear indication who is ultimately behind all of this stuff…
Beyond that there is not much to report with regards to this month’s magazine. There are some fairly interesting photos of UFOs, but I don’t think it is worth scanning through the contents of the magazine to find the photos.
Bible Prophecy: The Ultimate Puzzle
There is a lot of information out there about Bible prophecy in books and on the Internet. Unfortunately, much of that information is wrong and people put too much faith in so-called “experts” to get their information. Any person can use a piece of scripture to defend their argument on a topic, but a person who truly knows what is going to happen can account for virtually all of scripture to defend their entire End Times point of view.
Learning Bible prophecy is a lot like putting a puzzle together. There is prophecy throughout the Bible and the objective is to put the pieces together to get a clear picture of the future. There are pieces like the Book of Revelation and Matthew 24 that can help us form the outer edge of the puzzle. The difficult part is to utilize verses embedded in the Book of Isaiah, Zechariah, Malachi, Jeremiah, etc to fill in the detail of the End Times puzzle.
- People tend to have different ideas of what the future is going to be like since there are so many puzzle pieces available. For instance, some people believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture based on a certain way they attempt to put certain pieces of the puzzle together while another group of people will disagree about the timing of the Rapture because they attempt to put certain pieces of the puzzle together in a different way.
What makes learning Bible prophecy the ultimate puzzle is that there are so many ways you can put verses together without it being obvious whether the pieces fit or not. When you put together a toy puzzle you can quickly see whether pieces belong together based on how well they fit physically together. It is not so obvious in Bible prophecy since there is a lot of nuisance involved and there are almost countless combinations that you can try to piece certain verses together.
- The more verses you are able to account for the closer you become to completing the puzzle. The closer you come to completing the puzzle the more accurate your description of the future becomes because you are able to identify what verse explain certain future events and, more importantly, which verses are not relevant to explain certain future events.
A major reason why I believe there is a lot of wrong information out there about Bible prophecy is that so-called “experts” often present people with a potential, partial solution to the puzzle and claim that what they present is a completely accurate depiction of the future (like they’ve solved the entire puzzle). An “expert” should be honest with people and include a caveat that warns people that their position on issues can change because there is still more to learn about.
- Daniel 12:4 says “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased”. This verse suggests that gaining knowledge is an ongoing process which involves constant study of the Bible. The more time people spend studying the Bible to see how pieces of the ultimate puzzle can potentially be put together the more they will learn.
I want to be capable of accounting for every prophetic verse in the Bible to defend my view of the End Times. I feel I am capable of accounting for many of the prophetic verses in the Bible, but not all the verses just yet. I’m working feverishly at the moment to account for these verses, and I feel that I’ve made great progress over the past few days (I’ve learned more about these verses I’m studying in the past four days than I’ve tried to learn about these verses in the past four years). However, until I can account for every prophetic verse it is possible that my position on some End Times concepts can change.
Analyzing the Big U.S.-Saudi Arms Deal
The big news today is that Barack Obama has agreed to sell Saudi Arabia $60 billion worth of military weaponry. The deal includes 84 new F-15 fighters, upgrades to 70 existing F-15s that the U.S. has already sold to the Saudis in the past, 70 new Apache Helicopters, 36 Little Birds Helicopters, and 72 Blackhawk Helicopters. The reaction towards this story seems to be overwhelmingly negative based on the comments I’ve read on news websites. I’ll try my best in this blog entry to provide a “fair” analysis of this deal in hopes I can differentiate my reaction to this deal from others’.
Proponents of this deal could make the following points. Whether I agree with them is a different matter…
- Saudi Arabia needs this weaponry because they are terrified of the Iranian regime.
- Saudi Arabia is a U.S. ally so arming them poses little threat to harming direct U.S. interests at the present time.
- Saudi Arabia already possesses these weapons so the U.S. is not really selling the Saudis technology that they do not have or aren’t aware of.
- The deal may preserve U.S. jobs and is good for the U.S. economy.
- The U.S. needs to continue to sell Saudi Arabia items that it wants because they may grow tired of accepting U.S. dollars as the main unit of exchange for oil if the U.S. won’t provide them with items they want for the dollars they hold. The Saudis dropping the U.S. dollar as the main unit of exchange could be a disaster for the U.S.
Although I’ve listed some points that proponents of the deal can make, there are some major problems with this deal.
1. A deal like this could escalate a Middle East arms race. For instance, the Iranian regime could view this deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia as a threat to its security. This could lead to Iran seeking even more weaponry from Russia and China.
2. There is a real possibility that this deal can backfire if the Saudi monarchy is overthrown by a radical group of people (the Saudi monarchy is not exactly a model of stability as a recent analysis of regime fragility around the world ranked Saudi Arabia’s fragility at par with North Korea’s). If a radical regime takes hold in Saudi Arabia this weaponry becomes a problem for the U.S. and for Israel.
3. This arms deal is a slap in the face to Israel. Obama contemplated denying weaponry that Israel needs to combat Iran earlier this year, but he has no problem selling the Saudis weaponry now. Israel could interpret this deal as a sign that Obama favors Saudi Arabia more than them. In addition, I imagine the Israeli government feels a bit uneasy today knowing that the U.S. is arming an adversary with more quality weaponry.
4. This weaponry could be used in the End Times against Israel as the Saudis are likely going to be an enemy of Israel during the End Times.
Overall, I would not have done this deal if I were President of the United States because of the potential, long-term geopolitical ramifications that I’ve listed above. The deal certainly has some short-term benefits like potentially preserving U.S. jobs and providing some business for U.S. companies. However, the potential problems this deal could cause in the long-term outweigh the benefits this deal would provide in the short-term. Sadly, most political decisions are based on how much the decision-maker benefits in the short-term.
Whatever you think about this arms deal it shows that the U.S. is willing to sell just about anything to anyone for the right price. I wonder if the U.S. government would be willing to sell ownership of Boeing or Raytheon to China when it has difficulty repaying China the hundreds of billions of dollars that it owes them in the future…
Look Back on 9/11 But Don't Stare
What is totally not OK, is to demonize a whole religion, including American muslims and to turn the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks into a xenophobic hatefest to unify the far right and build a political power base. I am appalled at the notion of burning Quarans and holding hate rallies like the protest scheduled for ground zero this afternoon. It is dangerous and just plain wrong.
When you start demonizing people, you de- humanize them and make it ok to slaughter them or pop them into ovens and concentration camps. Scapegoating is a dangerous occupation which easily backfires. It has also been observed that what begins with the burning of books often ends with the burning of people.
Listen to what President Obama had to say in his press conference yesterday and think about it. Come on America. Let's look back on 9/11 but not stare.
An Example of How the Value of the Stock Market Does Not Always Reflect Reality
Recall that I wrote about how the Bureau Labor Statistics (BLS) completely made up data regarding the number of Americans who filed for new unemployment benefits. The data showed an “unexpected” decline in new claims filed mostly thanks to the BLS claiming that there were major declines in the number of new claims filed in three of the worst state economies in the U.S.: California, Michigan, and Illinois (no data was reported by these states because of the Labor Day holiday so the BLS made up their own numbers for these states and six other states that also did not report data).
Wall Street and the media cited the data as the reason why the stock market was up on Thursday and cited the data to argue that the U.S.’s unemployment situation was not nearly as bad as people feared. For instance, here is a Bloomberg video where the reporter naively trumpets the faulty jobless claims data as 100% fact and reason for people to remain optimistic about the so-called “economic recovery” in the U.S.
When I saw Wall Street and the media treating this false information as truthful information and saw how this information became an excuse to buy stocks, I realized that there is something wrong with how the stock market is valued.
Many academics argue and teach to students that the stock market is efficient (I have firsthand experience of this because I had to read several tedious academic research articles on the subject in graduate school). An efficient market is a market whose asset values accurately reflect all the information available to the public. Therefore, an efficient stock market is a market whose value accurately reflects all the information available to us. As a consequence, the stock market never becomes overvalued or undervalued if it is an efficient market. Consequently, you cannot consistently make more than the rate of return of the stock market because there is no mispricing that you can exploit in the market.
The news about how the BLS presented phony jobless claims data was not a state secret protected by the CIA. The news was reported by Zero Hedge, which is a major financial news website, and was one of the top headlines on the Drudge Report, which is a news aggregator website that receives over 20 million page views a day on average. Furthermore, my dad told me that Rush Limbaugh, America’s highest-rated radio talk show host, spoke about the faulty numbers on his show. Despite this information being widely-known by the public, the stock market ignored the facts and behaved like the false information presented by the BLS was 100% fact. Essentially, the stock market’s movement yesterday was based on a lie, which means that the stock market is mispriced because its value does not reflect all the information that is available to the public.
The issue is then how often does the stock market move on false information. I suspect it is quite often because the BLS often releases manipulated data about inflation, economic growth, and unemployment. Even if yesterday’s stock market action was an anomaly, it disproves the idea that the stock market is an efficient.
I am not saying that the stock market is a place that people should always avoid. The stock market can sometimes be a place where you can earn a return on your money. I am saying that you should be aware that the stock market’s value does not always represent reality because it sometimes moves on false information and false assumptions about reality. There is practically no such thing as a risk-free investment (some financial advisors will tell you that U.S. government debt is risk-free, but there’s always the risk of the U.S. government repaying the money they owe you with worthless dollars), so beware of the risks when you make an investment decision.
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