Prophecy Preachers Beating the Drums for Armageddon Scenario

The word on Prophecy Street is that the current events in the Middle East are gradually working up toward that final armegeddon some people fear and others are hoping for (and the rest either don't believe in or have no knowledge of.) The headline on CNN's website is "Israel's bombs cut off Beirut."

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- After bombing the last land routes into Beirut, and effectively cutting off the Lebanese capital from relief supplies, Israel issued a statement saying the attacks were designed to thwart Syrian attempts to arm Hezbollah.

It's sad. Lebanon has recently completed its infrastructure construction, and these bombings have taken out billions of dollars worth of bridges. Bridges that civilians use, and that Lebanon can't afford to replace. The idea, they said, was to prevent arms from coming into Beirut from Syria. For the first couple of weeks, the news here in the States was totally biased toward Israel (so much for "fair and balanced") but recently we've been hearing both sides. It doesn't matter that the US sides with Israel; we should not get that from serious news reporting. But I think perhaps our "trusted" news sources have become propaganda sources. I'm not sure we can even trust the BBC any more. I don't know who we can trust; perhaps our own judgement.

Meanwhile, there are other problems brewing and we shouldn't focus monoptically on the Israel/Lebanon conflict just because the media are focusing us there. There is the Iraq problem, and Iran, and North Korea, and somewhat clandestine agreements between countries that used to be our enemy and probaby still are. I was reading on AlterNet that "[s]ome influential evangelical leaders are lobbying for an attack on Iran. But it's not about geopolitics -- it's about bringing about the End Times." This is what I was thinking about when I began this post. My line of thought was sparked by a post on the Seventh Moon forum by my old friend Danimal that discusses the idea that the US must engage in a war with Iran to kickoff the Endtimes cascade of events that will eventually culminate in the Second Coming. Here's an excerpt from Danimal's post:

Russia, Iran and Syria have entered a defense pact that is in the process of altering the balance of power in the entire Middle East. Russia’s part in the pact has been kept relatively secret for a long time. But the facts reveal a long steady Russian commitment to the Iranian nuclear program and arms supply to Syria. Senior intelligence officials warned the US President that this deployment would not just throw the entire Middle East balance of strength out of kilter, but directly menace American bases as far as West and East Europe and the Central Asian republics, including those located on the shores of the oil-rich Caspian Sea. This puts virtually all of Europe within range of the soon-coming nuclear tipped Iranian missiles — and at the whim of Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Remember him? He is the one who believes Allah has chosen him to fulfill an “end time” Muslim prophecy by starting a world apocalypse in which the long-awaited ‘Mahdi’ (Muslim Messiah) will appear and subject all survivors to Allah. As if this isn’t bad enough news, there is something even more alarming developing within this new axis of evil. Russia is now making moves to protect Syria and its Shehab-3 missile base.

But it wasn't John Hagee who said it; it was Hal Lindsey. Hagee's trying to sell his new book, Jerusalem Countdown, and maybe some pews in his church. Not to say that Lindsey's got nothing to sell. Well, they're both selling salvation, they say. Can you buy a ticket to heaven? Sorry; I digress. Lindsey, in his update on July 24, said:

What is most important is that all this is setting up Ezekiel’s 2600-year-old prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 38. Persia, or modern Iran, is listed a chief among the Muslim nations Russia will lead into an all-out assault against Israel. This is predicted to be the first battle of the war of Armageddon. The one nation that does not seem to be listed is Syria. I believe this is because as a result of actions it is now taking against Israel, Isaiah’s prophecy about Damascus in the last days is going to be soon fulfilled.

Twenty Seven hundred years ago, Isaiah warned, “An oracle concerning Damascus: 'See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins … In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away.'” (Isaiah 17:1, 4 NIV) To establish the time of this event, look at these factors. First, Damascus is one of the oldest continuously populated cities on earth. It has never been totally destroyed – yet.

Second, it is in a context of events that lead up to the catastrophes that precede the Lord Jesus’ Second Coming. Third, it is far enough away from that event that Jacob (Israel) is enduring terrible circumstances. Fourth, Syria and the tribal name of its forefathers are not mentioned in the Russian led Muslim Confederacy that launches Armageddon in the middle of the Tribulation.

All of this leads me to believe that Damascus will be destroyed before the Tribulation begins. I believe that Damascus is about to so threaten Israel’s existence by either launching or furnishing bio-chemical weapons or radioactive dirty bombs, that Israel will nuke them. Israel has sworn that it will implement the Samson-Option against any nation that attacks them with any form of weapons of mass destruction. That means a thermonuclear strike. This may soon happen to Syria.

This in turn will so terrify the world, that it will be ripe to embrace the antichrist when he is unveiled. And that could be very, very soon.

I can be very skeptical about these predictions. There was a time when I felt that the time was very near. I've since felt differently; I've sensed the time retreating into the future. But lately I've been dreaming dreams again. Only God can choose a prophet and I'm not making any such claims, but Revelation does say that we will dream dreams.

On July 31, I had the following dream - and this is my second such dream in as many weeks.

I am at a party with a group of people in a club or a bar; we're listening to music, talking and having fun. Some of the girls see this guy and they want to know who he is. They think he's "dreamy." So I go over to him and look at him, and I could tell buy looking in his eyes who he is. Seems in the dream, I could see right into him and he knew it.

So I go back to my friends and say, "he's Satan. You know who Satan is, don't you?" I wanted to shock them into realizing that just because he's pretty doesn't mean he's a good catch or even something they want to meet.

Knowing that such an evil creature was in the room, I left the party immediately. The scene shifts abruptly and I am driving over to his house to confront him. I don't know why I am doing it or how I got there, I am just suddenly pulling up in his driveway. He has a beautiful, expensive house overlooking the sea. It looks like Santorini or some other Greek island. I get out of the car and I suddenly I snap out of it. I feel like I need to get away from there. I hear a voice say, "get out of here! What are you doing?" I jump back in the car and get the hell out of there fast.

It will be interesting to see how this all works out, what the time frame is. I have no real reason I can think of to dream about demons or Satan, but I have been lately. The things that have changed in my life have changed for the better - except for my illness, but that's a story for another day, and I'm sure has little to do with those dreams. In the dreams, I am always confronting evil or creatures that represent evil. I guess we will see what connections they have—if any.

Your comments are welcome! Please feel free to comment here or on the forum.

"Act of War" -- the end of one era and beginning of another

Israel began an attack on Lebanon this morning, after two Israeli soldiers were captured.

"The Lebanese government is responsible. Lebanon will pay the price," Olmert warned. "This morning's events are not a terror attack but the action of a sovereign state, which attacked Israel without any reason."

"We will take Lebanon 20 years back," Israel's army chief Dan Halutz was quoted as saying by the private Channel 10 television.

"We must stop the restraint and the diplomatic dialogue and move to a serious military move against anyone who is linked and sends these people," said Avigdor Yitzhaki, the leader of Israel's coalition bloc in parliament.

--Middle East Times

An interesting comment on the website, "The Return of the Nephilim," whose motto is "looking for truth in a world of many lies:"

Rumors of War Against Israel: The Hamas Authority Declares War on Israel. Orders security forces to repel IDF incursion. [Wait a minute. How many times are these bastards of Satan going to declare war on Israel? Israel is the one that needs to declare war against them!]

That line was posted Monday. I do consider this website just a tad paranoid, but it's fun to read. And sometimes they get it right (by "right" I mean their opinion agrees with mine!)

In the Jerusalem Post, Yesha rabbis are calling for "extermination of the enemy:"

The Yesha Rabbinical Council blamed the attack on the north on Wednesday morning on a "weakening of our grip on the land of Israel."

The rabbis saw the attack as a "direct continuation of relinquishing [territory] and weakness."

The Council called on the IDF to ignore Christian morals and "exterminate the enemy in the north and the south." They advised that an emergency government be established to "fight the true enemy as is appropriate, and to rescind orders to destroy and evict Jews."

I feel that, while the rhetoric remains the same, this escalation marks the end of an era of posturing and saber-rattling, and the beginning of something else. Something more violent, if that is possible. At least something more direct, the way wars were fought before terrorism took over as the M.O. of the Davids who want to take on the Goliaths.

There are those who have said that bombing terrorist-supporting countries back into the Middle Ages is the way to end terrorism. (And others who said that's a short trip.) I guess we'll see if this assessment is correct.