(This question is an abbreviation of a much longer, multi-faceted question. The paraphrased question was something like this: ‘How do we know that the prophecy you teach is prophecy and not just propaganda to support your own style of teaching? You take a Scripture and link it to a whole lot of other Scriptures and then claim it’s speaking in support of the first. How do you know it is? Also, you seem to be generating propaganda for the conservative side of politics. This has nothing to do with the Bible!’)

Firstly you have to understand that prophecy is not for private interpretation. This is what Peter said: 2Peter 1:19 – 2:3 "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. ¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³ In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping."

So instead of people arguing over their favourite interpretations of prophecy, they should be seeking the Truth that the prophets have declared through God’s Holy Spirit. God didn’t ever rely on the clever arguments of those who sought to interpret the Scriptures to make them comply with their own fanciful doctrines. His prophets were taught through the Holy Spirit – by Him! And the starting point was the writings of Moses, the servant of God. And God warns to remember this (Mal 4:4).

Secondly, Jesus spoke of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, clearly showing that the information about the Kingdom has been concealed. Matt 13:11-16 "He replied, "The knowledge of the SECRETS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. ¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵ For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." So by this we see that the Secrets of the Kingdom have been hidden from those who don’t have God’s Holy Spirit, and who are still obsessed with the elementary teachings about Christ (which we will deal with in a moment). And contrary to the popular belief that Jesus spoke in parables to make the meaning clearer, He actually spoke in parables so that no one would understand – except those who are guided by God’s Holy Spirit and seek the Truth with all their hearts – just as the prophets of old did.

Thirdly, there is an established protocol for understanding the Bible, and it’s summarized as a little here, a little there, line upon line, precept upon precept (less accurately ‘do and do’ in the NIV version of the Bible), but the point is clear that God’s Word and His intentions are established by a little here and a little there for those who truly desire to know the Truth. Isa 28:9-13 "Who is it He is trying to teach? To whom is He explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? ¹⁰ For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there. ¹¹ Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, ¹² to whom He said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest"; and, "This is the place of repose" – but they would not listen. ¹³ So then, the word of the LORD to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there – so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured." Those who lack the desire to enter God’s Rest will be destroyed by the very principles they rejected! They will fall backward, be injured and snared and captured – and they will finish in captivity and slavery.

Generally today, those who profess to be Christians are learning nothing about God’s message, and their teachings are like that of babies just taken from the breast. The Book of Hebrews confirms this: Heb 5:12 - 6:6 "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves TO DISTINGUISH GOOD FROM EVIL. ¹ Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, ² instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And God permitting, we will do so. ⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God AND THE POWERS OF THE COMING AGE, ⁶ if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and SUBJECTING HIM TO PUBLIC DISGRACE." In view of these verses, you would think that Christians would be seeking the solid food of the mature, and leaving aside the elementary teachings about Christ which are constantly heard on street corners and in the religious tracts handed out.

The ‘resting place’ is the Holy Land and the Kingdom of God. This is where you will find rest once the Kingdom is established by force. And we’ll deal with this later. In the meantime, you will learn nothing if you don’t follow the principles established by God through ‘here a little, there a little’. All Christian nations know who Jesus is; what they don’t know is what He taught, and neither do they understand that He is the Mighty Christ – the Warrior of God. The childlike elementary teachings about Christ have merely subjected Him to public disgrace. Stupid Christians, who teach these elementary teachings over and over again have made Him look like a wimp. Well, such people will soon learn that they never knew the Lord Christ, and believe it or not, He never knew them!

Fourthly, Jesus testified of the Father, and the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev 19:10). As evidence that prophecy comes from the Father, we find that it was God the Father who handed to Jesus the Scroll concerning the Book of Revelation (Rev 1:1). All prophecy is about the coming Kingdom of God and all the events that will lead to its establishment. It was never God’s intention to have unauthorized men giving their own interpretations of the Scriptures and then claiming that it was their own personal intelligence that enabled them to understand. As evidence of just how stupid people can become in regard to prophecy, we have the furor generated by the Da Vinci Bible code. Does anyone seriously believe that God would generate this type of nonsense as prophecy for the understanding about the Kingdom of God? If you want a clear indication of Bible charlatans, the ‘revelations’ of the Da Vinci code is it! Bible prophecy is advance knowledge of future events. But the Da Vinci code ‘prophecies’ are generally about such worthless issues as the assassination of JFK. Do we really need a code like this to tell us that Kennedy is dead? What sort of madness is this? What is so important about Kennedy that God would conceal such details in the Bible? What feeble minds these people have!

Would God entrust His secrets to someone who doesn’t have His Holy Spirit? Perhaps some are not aware of this, but God gives His Holy Spirit only to those who obey Him! Acts 5:32 "We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." If people don’t believe the witness of the Apostles and the Holy Spirit, then it’s no wonder that so many refuse to obey God and His Laws. Most Bible students are aware that Jesus faithfully obeyed God even to giving up His life, secure in the knowledge that God would raise Him from the dead after three days and three nights. And further, He gave the example of Jonah the prophet being in the belly of the great fish for this period. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that through erroneous reasoning, people haven’t believed this sign of His Messiahship. They think He was only in the grave for a day and a half. And this is an example of those, who through faulty reasoning, don’t understand the Scriptures. Through this lack of knowledge and judgment, they imply that Jesus was a fake messiah. He gave this clear sign, but no-one believes Him! Was Jesus the Passover Lamb or not? If He was (and He certainly was!) then He was sacrificed on the Day of Passover. And in 30AD this was a Wednesday. So it’s incumbent upon all those would-be prophets to get some of the basics right concerning their faith before they attempt to try to understand prophecy.

Most prophecy today is pure propaganda! And there is very little difference between the two. Bible prophecy, however, is light-years away from the prophecy that masquerades as prophecy. Bible prophecy is a counterweight to the nonsense spewing now from all quarters including the popular but silly Da Vinci code. Bible prophecy is not necessarily good news for anyone – but it does give assured outcomes. Propaganda takes on many forms, but it is primarily either secular or religious. Secular propaganda is just as insidious as religious propaganda and it’s now rife in what has now become a very dangerous world.

Secularism and religion by their very nature have traditionally been opposing ideologies, especially in Western society. Freedom of religion is not only tolerated but enshrined in law in the U.S., but secularism is the law. Secular law, however, is the poor cousin of God’s Law, and while it reflects certain principles of God’s Law, it is not God’s Law! Today, we see a marked tendency to trample on the religious rights of practicing Christians. There seems to be no such restriction on other religions – only Christianity. The separation of Church and State was designed to encourage religious freedom. The churches and the State would live side by side without interference – as long as lawlessness did not prevail, and the laws of the land were upheld. And for centuries now, the system worked and everyone enjoyed the right to worship as they saw fit, and their right to do this is enshrined in law. It was a harmonious arrangement that has stood the test of time. Any disharmony was generally restricted to Christian religions bickering among themselves about religious principles, while secularists bickered among themselves over political issues, but neither were life or death issues.

Then suddenly this harmonious relationship was shattered when another religion began to gain ascendancy all other the world and began to infiltrate Christian nations. Not content to practice their religion in harmony – they sought to destroy the opposition in a bloodbath that would continue until every ‘infidel’, that is, every Christian and Jew was dead. The warning bells should have rung across the length and breadth of Christian nations to eradicate this curse, but instead they chose to placate.

Immediately after September 11 the rights of this evil religion of Islam were defended, and while it was well known that their stated objectives were to kill ‘infidels’, they were deemed to be ‘a peaceful religion’. Thousands of subsequent terrorist acts by these satanic creatures have failed to reverse the tide of official support for them in Christian nations. Initially, it was just a few phantom terrorists who would have to be hunted down and killed, and then harmony would prevail. It seemed that all nations, and especially a ‘peaceful’ religion like Islam, would support such actions. The West was soon to learn that whole nations of Muslims were hostile and actually shared the terrorist’s views. Terrorist pictures were enshrined as public icons, and a successful suicide bombing was rewarded with cash payments to their family.

Foolishly it was thought that the tolerance of the West would yield dividends as Islam observed this tolerance and realized the error of their ways. The West believed that persuasive talks and heaps of money thrown at them would yield the desired result. Gratitude could be expected as vast hordes of these creatures were liberated and blessed with the abundance that democracy offered. It was expected that in just a short span of time that democracy would prevail, and the killing would stop as the benefits of Western ideals were recognized. The clincher would be the global market, where all nations could share the West’s prosperity. Then everyone could live in harmony without the desire to kill the opposition and peace would prevail. And that was the theory. In practice it has proven to be a failed concept and that has become more evident every day since September 11.

If it were merely prosperity through secularism that was desired, then perhaps the theories might have worked. But when this is combined with the fanaticism of a murderous religion that is sponsored by the arch-rebel of the universe, then there can be no peace while they continue to live. And this is the thrust of God’s Great Plan to bring peace to the world. Any Bible student would know how God dealt with rebel nations from Bible history, and especially those nations that were trampling down His Holy Land. God’s resolve has not changed!

Islam is fanatically fixated to the service of Satan the devil who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. Muslims practiced these very characteristics, and this makes them children of the devil. Jesus had this to say in relation to all those who teach against the Word of God: John 8:43-44 "Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Some may argue that Jesus was speaking to the Scribes and Pharisees, which is only partially true. But like the fanatical and treacherous Muslims today, these Jewish leaders were deceitful and self-righteous liars, and as it turned out, were also murderers. You’ll notice that it was the religious elite of that day and not the common people, and it was the common people that adopted Christianity against the counsel of the Scribes and Pharisees. These fanatical and hypocritical liars were actually possessed by demons to carry out the devil’s work. Jesus’ accusations against them in Matt 23 actually prove that He was addressing the demons when He accused them of killing righteous Abel: Matt 23:35-36 "And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation." This generation existed long before the Jews were born, and they are guilty of the murder of righteous Abel, the son of Adam. So those whom Jesus addressed were not human, and the Scribes and Pharisees had merely become their greedy, conniving protégés, and these were suspicious of everyone who didn’t express admiration for them.

There is certainly a lesson to be learned from Jesus’ words – a lesson that is applicable today. Those who engage in showy extravaganzas in the name of Christianity are lying deceivers whose only objective is to deceive and exploit. Find any place in the Bible where Jesus engaged in this type of blatant showmanship – He never did! In fact, He taught the people to not be like the Scribes and Pharisees, who were expecting the Messiah to appear and make them the religious elite that they so craved. The Apostles and all His followers faithfully adhered to this instruction, and never emulated the Scribes and Pharisees in any way. This is hardly the model chosen by the religious elite in the hallways of Christendom today.

Satan has chosen a different way. There is none of the ceremonial nonsense practiced by Christianity, which, although it provides emotional overtones among Christians to make them feel good, it has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus. Satan has chosen a grassroots fanaticism that appeals to the masses of Muslims who believe they are martyrs for God as long as they plot to kill ‘infidels’. Muslims dress the same to promote the idea of equality and singleness of purpose. And while they have powerful leaders who masquerade as one of the common people, they are the protégés of Satan himself and they motivate his troops. Satan has chosen an age-old strategy: to identify a common enemy. Historically, this has always been the Jews, because Jews traditionally have been at the forefront of obedience to God’s Law, and traditionally have most resembled God’s people. In complete contrast, Christianity has not. Mainstream Christianity has practiced lawlessness, and adopted the attitude that God can take it or leave it. They’ll decide for themselves how they will worship God with no compromises.

Satan is different. He plans to enforce law, but not God’s law! His choice is Sha’ria law that prescribes death to ‘infidels’, and of course, ‘infidels’ are Christians and Jews. It’s hardly surprising that Satan would adopt this strategy. He is well aware that Christians refuse to obey God’s Law and is sneeringly triumphant that his brood obeys his law. Who then, has the most dedicated followers – God or himself? Why, it’s himself – he claims. How many of God’s followers would be prepared to give their lives in God’s honour as Jesus did? Well, Satan claims, he has hundreds of millions of them whom he’s been grooming for centuries, and daily they prove their dedication to him. Satan makes the point that his troops don’t retreat in the face of the enemy, but fight to the death out of dedication to him. His troops have made significant gains against the West, and now he has the West in a siege mentality where they spend billions of dollars to prevent terrorist attacks.

Satan knows he has the numerical advantage. He knows that if each of his brood were to kill ten ‘infidels’ with a suicide bomb, he could wipe out the West and still have a formidable army of followers left. The Israelis have largely thwarted this by profiling suspicious Muslims and killing them. As many as ten attacks a day are thwarted, though this number has diminished because of the strategy of building a wall to keep them out. And how Satan’s agents howled and raged over this! Why should any nation object to another nation building a border wall on their own land? Well, the Whitehouse did, because they thought it would disadvantage the Muslim hordes that surround the Holy Land, and they did everything to stop it. And while these objections were being raised, America actively engaged in building their own border wall to keep out Mexicans. What’s wrong with this picture?

The Israelis built their wall to keep out murderous suicide bombers who were bent on killing innocent men, women and children. The U.S. built their wall to keep out Mexicans whose cheap labor might affect their economy and put Americans out of work. Its funny how out of whack their priorities are and how hypocritical their objections against Israel continue to be.

Okay, so we can concede that America has been very supportive of the Israelis with financial aid and moral support. All of which is admirable. But when is America going to concede that the Israelis live daily in a sea of Islamic hostility, and their enemies are the same enemies of America? America cannot make peace with this enemy, nor can they diminish the hostility by any means, including war, but they insist that Israel must, and through silly ‘roadmaps’ for peace, which entails giving away significant portions of God’s Holy Land.

But let’s be realistic! America has no idea how to make war anymore. And what is more, they made a big mistake in making Israel the whipping-boy for their crazy inability and resolve to confront their enemies. The American way is to promote their enemies to affluence and prosperity and make them an even more formidable foe for little Israel. The U.S. really believes they have friends at the helm of the Iraqi government, but the hostile comments from these leaders concerning the Israeli-Lebanon war, and leveled at the Israelis, was merely double-speak to express their hatred for America and the support of the Israelis. If only America could get it through their thick skulls that they are hated and loathed by all Islamic nations, and with a homicidal fanaticism unlike anything witnessed since the world began. America’s ‘lovers’, to use the Biblical term, hate their guts and will stop at nothing to destroy them all.

So now America faces a new challenge. What to do about Iran? Sanctions? More talk-fests and delaying tactics? Or should they mount yet another war on yet another front? But let me tell you something of what was spoken of by Daniel. Daniel said that wars would continue to the end: Dan 9:26 "….The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." Bible students should be aware that Daniel spoke of three successive empires: the Babylonian Empire that stretched right across the Middle East, the Medo-Persian Empire that took over the same territory and made the city of Babylon its capital. And after this, another king would arise and sweep through the region like a dose of salts and conquer the entire Middle East. This was the Greco-Macedonian Empire, and Alexander the Great made Babylon his capital and actually died there. Through the mesmerism of false prophecy, Christianity has twisted and perverted these prophecies with renditions of their own that don’t in any way resemble Bible Prophecy.

Daniel desired to know the outcome of all this: Dan 10:12 "Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." Then the archangel Gabriel responded to him: Dan 10:20 "So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; ²¹ but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince." After a lengthy explanation, Daniel enquired again of the timing of it all: Dan 12:8-10 "I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, "My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?" He replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand." Although there was an earlier fulfillment of some of these prophecies, all these prophecies are reserved and sealed for the time of the end, and only the wise will understand them. Those described as the wicked will not! So there’s a challenge for you – are you wise or wicked?

How can we be sure of what is meant by the time of the end? Gabriel explains: Dan 12:13 "As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance." Daniel was to sleep in the grave until he arises in the resurrection. The resurrection was explained to him earlier: Dan 12:1 "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. ² Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." The wise are those who understand the words of these prophecies and the wicked are those who don’t. God has a condition that He places on His children: they must believe Him! Unbelievers will have their place in the lake of fire, and will suffer this shame in everlasting contempt by all believers.

So those who spend all their time in sanctimoniously quoting elementary verses to make them feel good and to impress others, will find out something about themselves. They’ll find out that they are wicked, and will have no place with the wise who have believed God. And didn’t Jesus confirm this? Matt 7:19-23 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your Name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" Christianity today don’t want to do the will of the Father, but they do love to ‘prophesy’ in God’s Name, even though they don’t know what they are talking about. In fact, so diminutive is their knowledge that their prophecies are usually confined to prophesying that their followers are going to heaven when they die. Daniel is still dead and awaiting the resurrection, but their followers who have died are already there – according to their diminutive reasoning. Is it prophecy or propaganda? Let the reader decide!

Going back again to something else Gabriel said to Daniel in Dan 12:1 "There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then", we find that Jesus referred to this Himself, a one-time horrific sequence of events that would occur at the time of the end: Matt 24:21-22 "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again. ²² If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened." The elect of course are the 12 Tribes of Israel – the only people God ever chose out of all the families on the face of the earth (Amos 3:1-2). So it’s the Tribes of Israel that will be subjected to this time of slaughter, and except God were to cut short those days, none would survive. Included among the elect are the Churches who do the will of the Father and obey His Laws, although they’re in the extreme minority in the world of Christianity! But God has reserved seven thousand of these Christians to set an example for all the House of Israel – all 12 Tribes, and just as Jesus did, they will do the will of the Father – this entails offering themselves as human sacrifices and going to their deaths as martyrs. Not as the Muslims do, but as sheep to the slaughter. But first they must divest themselves of their false prophecies and start believing God instead of the fabrications of men. This will transform them from wicked to wise. They will find that their deaths are a small price to pay for the contempt they’d previously shown for God’s prophecy – why didn’t they believe God?

These martyrs for God must face the full fury of Satan himself: Rev 12:16-17 "But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷ Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God’s Commandments and hold to the Testimony of Jesus." And the Testimony of Jesus is… Well, it’s the Spirit of Prophecy – a special addition to the downpayment of God’s Holy Spirit. Rev 19:10 "At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." So the importance of prophecy couldn’t be clearer. What is more, it’s found in the Book of Revelation – the very words of God the Father who gave it to Jesus to show His servants what must soon take place (Rev 1:1). It remained unfulfilled at the time John received it, and obviously, it remains unfulfilled at this time of writing. It culminates with Jesus’ return in glory. Though you may realize that Jesus will return before this, just as the angel told His disciples when He departed to the Glory from the Mount of Olives: Acts 1:11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

And how did Jesus go into heaven? Alone, and this is the way He will return. He will appear to His servants the prophets first of all, and when they proclaim to the Jewish people, ‘Here is your God’ (Isa 40:9), He will be riding on a colt as He did once before as He entered Jerusalem. It will be a time of trouble, and the beginning of the Kingdom of God: Zech 9:8-10 "But I will defend my house against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch. Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations (of Israel). His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River (Euphrates) to the ends of the earth." You probably know that in the initial stages, the Holy Land will be expanded from the river of Egypt (the Nile) to the Euphrates River in Babylon (Iraq), but at this time the Lord Christ will proclaim His rule from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. Have you ever noticed who lives in the region from the Nile River to the Euphrates River? It’s Islam! So they’ll be out of there – either dead or alive! And preferably dead! These are the marauding forces described in the above verses, but this should be obvious to the intelligent reader.

But there is a problem! Presently, there is a mighty force holding back these marauding forces and they are restrained from carrying out their assigned role of destruction against Christians and Jews. And who is this mighty power which is holding them back? Everyone knows its America! Only America can be relied upon to take Islam to task for their satanic ways and acts. And it’s America that Islam fears most, and hates most. To a lesser extend, the sea of Muslims also fear the Israelis who have traditionally beaten in several wars.

And believe it or not, the Apostle Paul also knew from his understanding of the Scriptures that Ephraim would become a mighty force in the latter days. He knew that Ephraim, as the son of a prince and a prophet Joseph, would arise to prominence in the last days, though he never attempted to expand on detail – simply because he could not envisage it at that time. But he drew on his knowledge of Daniel and the prophets to speak of it: 2Thess 2:1-12 "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. ³ Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷ For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one (Ephraim) who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God sends them a POWERFUL DELUSION so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." So we see that the reference in Zech 9:8-10 to Ephraim having their ‘chariots’ taken away, and the Israelis, their ‘war-horses’. And the power of the mighty ‘battle-bow will be broken’ so that the Islamic world will no longer feel restrained.

It goes without saying that this man of lawlessness will in fact be a powerful spirit ruler – one of Satan’s rulers of the heavenly realm. He will come in the guise of a man, but the man will be a mere puppet in the manipulating hands of this evil creature. As Paul explains in Eph 6:10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." If only the Churches of God would believe these words written by the Apostle Paul, they would have been further along in their understanding. Perhaps then they wouldn’t have succumbed to the seducing spirits that inspired their foolish ‘prophecies’. All those who refused to love the Truth will be sent strong delusion by God to believe the ultimate lie. And they will only have themselves to blame.

Even today, the Churches of God remain deluded over their fanciful prophecies that have mostly all failed. There’s a crazy Irishman, who styles his church as the Philadelphia Church of God, and who thinks he’s the successor of Herbert W. Armstrong. Even today, with everything that is happening in the world, he still holds to Armstrong’s failed prophecies. He still believes that the poor ol’ Tribe of Simeon (the Germans), who have been a model of decorum since the last world war are going to rise up as the prophesied Beast and kill all Christians and Jews. Simeon is probably the most noble defender of the Israelis out of all the nations of Europe today. But what is even more bizarre is that this man teaches that Germany is to unite ten other European nations (Israelites all!) into a ‘United States of Europe’ and these are going to rush out and conquer the rest of the world and enslave them. Where do they get this nonsense? There is nothing in the Bible to even suggest anything like this! It’s not only blasphemous to claim that God’s people Israel are the Beast power since it utterly refutes everything that God has said, but it also makes God’s real enemies look like the innocent, good guys. There is nothing wise about the guy that runs that church. Those who teach this nonsense are guilty of blasphemy and they will pay the price of their actions! In view of everything that is happening in the world today, they are utterly without excuse!

Such conduct brings to mind a passage in the Book of Zechariah: Zech 13:1-6 "On that day a fountain will be opened to the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. "On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. ³ And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was born, will say to him, ‘You must die, because you have told LIES in the LORD’s name.’ When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him. On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet's garment of hair in order to deceive. ⁵ He will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’ If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ he will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’" Everyone wants to prophesy today, but not from the Bible. They make it up as they go along. God appoints His prophets, and what is more, He teaches them. No true prophet would dare to engage in the type of phoney nonsense of the false prophets, because they know the penalty. And as V3 above says, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the LORD’s name.’ And as indicated, the penalty will be swift.

Leaving aside the wicked sinfulness of the false prophets and returning to the subject of the title, we find that lies and propaganda mark the signs of our times. Cunning, crafty manipulation is rife throughout Western society. Not only do these nations want to mask the truth of the identity of their enemy with ideas of converting them to freedom and democracy, they refuse to recognize them for what they are and what they plan. And what is more, they are prepared for furious rebuttal if anyone should present an opposing view. Political correctness and the pathetic theories of multiculturalism has blinded the West to reality.

Multiculturalism has been deemed desirable and progressive, even though on every continent on earth it has shown to be divisive. It has never worked in the entire history of human existence, and it’s no more working now that at any time in the past. Perhaps it could work in an ideal world, but idealism means different things to different people. One’s ideals don’t necessarily correspond to that of others. Whatever culture or ‘culturalism’ is supposed to mean, it’s clear that opposing cultures never exist harmoniously except for brief periods of time. Sooner or later one or the other attempts to gain the ascendancy! This is the nature of the beast, so to speak.

As in the days of the Crusades a thousand years ago, a cultural war developed between Christianity and Islam. And caught in the middle now as then is Judaism. But standing off as an observer is Zionism! Zionism also means different things to different people. To Islam, Zionism is a Jewish plot to take over the world. In this, they are almost right. What they don’t know is that Zionism will succeed, whereas they will fail – but not before Islam has wreaked havoc on an unsuspecting world. Anyone with any savvy at all knows what Islam’s objectives are. They openly state that their goals are to destroy the Western world – and destroy Christianity and Judaism. They not only want to destroy these faiths, they want to destroy all who practice them. This much is clear from all that they have openly stated! But political correctness forbids anyone to believe it. The mind-numbing ignorance of political leaders has led them to believe that democracy will save the day.

Remember all the propaganda that emerged after September 11? The West attempted to defend the honour of Islam with such stupid statements as ‘Islam is a peaceful religion’. It was the Islamic religion that motivated the terror, and it continues to be only Islam that commits these thousands of subsequent atrocities. But it’s the propaganda of multiculturalism that nurtures the mindless defense of the sadism and evil of Islam, and the hope that Islamic terrorists can be reeducated according the values of Western Christianity. But in this, the West and Islam are worlds apart. The West has done little to learn from the experience of history, and to rectify this deficiency, a good starting place would be the history of the Crusades a thousand years ago, and to familiarize itself with the enemy that existed then. Contrary to the Islamic propaganda movie ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ recently released by Hollywood, the enemy then, as it is today, is Islam – and they have no honour! They are a law to themselves. Hollywood can’t help itself! In that silly movie, Islam was portrayed as honourable, and the bad guys were the Knights Templar.

Today the West can no longer afford to rely on failed mainstream Christian dogma. The world is at war and the forces of evil are building everywhere. True Christianity can no longer afford to be complacent. But can true Christians rise to the occasion and identify the enemy before it’s too late? Some of them have saturated themselves with so much of the falsity of false prophecy, that they are currently blind to reality. The days are gone when they could continue to indulge in picky issues and arguments about the rightness of their particular doctrine. Then it was hardly a life and death issue, but today it is! For the Western nations there will be no last minute rescue – or as some like to frame it: salvation.

For the next generation there will be limited rescue after God’s anger is assuaged and He looks favourably once more upon them. In the meantime, salvation is by the Jews and for the Jews, and the Kingdom of God will develop among them. Then they too, will become a fighting force of the standards set by God. And like the sons of God, they too, will begin to consume the nations that surround them. But not yet! They are too indoctrinated by the propaganda of the West to realize that there will never be peace with Islam. This lesson must be learned the hard way, and one more onslaught must ensue. Then they will see their salvation when their rescuers arrive; violent men who stop at nothing to clear God’s Holy Land of Islamic dogs and to establish the Kingdom of God. Formerly, the Knights Templar shared this idealism, but today God’s servants are called the Sons of Jerusalem. Then you will see the fate of God’s enemies, and you will see them get what they deserve!

Christianity is too ‘righteous’ and too ‘holy’ to condone war – especially against God’s enemies. They think that their future is tied to befriending God’s enemies and cannot see that this is considered to be treason in God’s eyes. Now they must learn the hard way why Islam is the enemy of God. Right now they are positioning themselves for the lesson of their lives – literally!

But they don’t believe it! Surely God can see how righteous they are! Why would He permit such a thing? Read Bible history and you’ll find out! And just a few words of warning…! To the righteous, the truth of Bible prophecy is as sweet as honey in the mouth, but to those disbelieving and cynical it will be bitterness in their belly. Almighty God has forewarned of this and even now this is coming true: Isa 8:19 "When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰ To the Law and to the Testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. ²¹ Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. ²² Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness." There have been many who thought they were ‘spiritual giants’ and knew everything about the Bible, but all they really understood was their own selective doctrine. On hearing the truth and seeing prophecy unfolding as revealed by God through His servants, they became enraged and began to curse God – and they became atheists. And many of them did it publicly on newsgroups, and have actively engaged in enticing others to their hatred of God. What they lack is the vision to see is the horrific death they will face – which is the meaning of ‘thrust into utter darkness’ and which means death. To those who once honoured God through The Law and the Testimony and received God’s Holy Spirit and then turned away, they have yet another trial to face because God is not finished with them yet. At a later date, they will be brought up in a resurrection to face the second death – in a lake of fire.

These evil, detestable creatures should have paid attention to God’s Word and believed it while they had the chance, and a good starting point would have been V13 "The LORD Almighty is the One you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread, and He will be a sanctuary; but for both Houses of Israel He will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem He will be a trap and a snare."

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. This is the lesson such people should have learned and believed. Ps 111:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." It’s so humorous to see foolish people debating against the meaning of verses from the Bible, and trying to put their own spin on them to comply with their own doctrine. It’s a bit like watching a clown act. But in reality its more like bear-baiting, because they are provoking the Almighty God, and He is the One that human beings should fear and dread. Heb 10:26 "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the Blood of the Covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Notice the fate of those who turned away after receiving the knowledge of the Truth! It’s the raging fire for them, and they will join all the enemies of God. What sickos these people are!

There’s no way back for those who turned away – there is no further sacrifice for them. They should have feared God while they had the chance! But what about those from mainstream Christianity who never obeyed the Law and the Testimony and have never acknowledged the Knowledge of the Truth? Well, contrary to all their illusions, they never received God’s Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Grace! God only gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him: Rom 2:12 "All who sin apart from the Law will also perish apart from the Law, and all who sin under the Law will be judged by the Law. ¹³ For it is not those who hear the Law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the Law who will be declared righteous."

Acts 5:29 "Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead – whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

Rev 12:17 "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God's Commandments and hold to the Testimony of Jesus."

It’s beyond belief that anyone should believe that they could have favour with God if they don’t obey His Law or Commandments. What possible interest would God have in anyone who refused to obey Him? Does anyone imagine that God wants His Kingdom filled with the disobedient and lawless? As you will have noticed in Rev 12:17, it’s the dragon that is hostile to those who obey God’s Commandments and hold to the Testimony of Jesus. As all Bible students should know, the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev 19:10).

We are living in perilous times because we are the generation on whom the end of the age has come. And as unconscionable as it is to some, everything that is written in the Scriptures that Christ used, and all the examples thereof, are for us on whom the fulfillment (or end) of the age has come (1Cor 10:11). Jesus frequently spoke of the end of the age (Matt 10:22, 13:39, 49, 24:3, 6, 13, 14). And the reason for this is because this is when everything that is written will culminate to fulfillment – and they will be terrible days: 2Tim 3:1 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days." The Apostle Paul also wrote this prediction: 1Tim 4:1 "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ² Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." And how we’re now seeing the fulfillment of this!

Lying deceivers abound today at all levels; both secular and religious. And all of them are motivated by greed and power. Those in political power are obsessed with placating the people with promises of peace and safety, while ignoring the dangers that are building all over the world. Preventing terror is now their number one goal. But the way to peace they do not know! Rom 3:13-18 "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes."

The Apostle Paul was quoting from the Scriptures Christ used concerning not knowing the way of peace: Isa 59:7-10 "Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways. The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace. So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead."

Why don’t the leaders of the Western nations understand the way to peace? God gives the reason: Justice is far from them! They know the reason why they’ve adopted the siege mentality of trying to prevent terrorist attacks. They know that the enemy is all of Islam and all of Satan’s protégé nations of old – the murderous Gentiles! They know what justice cries out for, and it doesn’t involve ‘winning the hearts and minds’ of God’s enemies! When did God ever send in the ‘Armies of the Living God’ anciently with the instructions to win the hearts and minds of His enemies? The specific instruction to the House of Israel was to go in and fight and to wipe out the enemy, so that neither root nor branch of them would survive. At times, God even ordered the killing of all their animals. So perhaps the reader can begin to understand God’s Way, and begin to understand how different it is today from the way of descendants of the House of Israel. The whole House of Israel is acting in a treasonous manner, and in so doing, they will never again know peace until they are utterly destroyed.

For the first time in 6,000 years Satan knows it. He now knows that the Day of Reckoning is near, and the mightiest nation on earth is about to fall. Satan senses that it’s near. He’s busy alerting his troops and emboldening them. And the bolder they become, the weaker the West becomes.

The solution was all so simple for preventing this from happening, but it was unacceptable to the mindless reasoning of those who don’t know the way to peace. Wars should never be fought with the purpose of preventing collateral damage. Collateral damage is a part of war, and it’s also a part of justice. Any nation that provokes a war should be prepared for the consequences of huge civilian losses. And because this impediment to the proper conduct of war exists in the West, the enemy has used it to advantage. In the Israeli-Lebanese war, the Lebanese bemoaned they had suffered so many civilian casualties. And who were these civilians? They were Hezbollah, and they were dressed in civilian clothes! They lived as civilians with their families but they were still terrorists. It was justice that their families also got whacked because they were using them as human shields to protect themselves. They got what they deserved!

Perhaps the reader is a little sensitive to this kind of talk. But believe me; you will see the horror of the mistakes the West has made – right before your eyes! Now you are blind to reality, but then you will see! But don’t blame God! He has warned His people, the whole 12 Tribes of Israel, but they thought they knew best. They thought they knew the way to peace, but they are not even in the ballpark.

Satan is rallying his troops, and these number 90% of all humanity, and his generals – the rulers of the heavenly realms – are busily preparing them. The Bible is very specific about which nations will provide the first line of attack. It’s his ancient hordes of old – those who surround the Holy Land! And we all know who these are! It’s Islam! So God was right again, and everyone else was wrong! And especially the false prophets in the Churches!

Naturally enough, God has provided a buffer force to combat these hordes – but for one purpose only. And that is to clear the Holy Land and prepare the Kingdom of God. We’ve all heard about the grandiose visions of the false prophets, and their ideas on how the Kingdom of God will be established, but they obviously don’t understand the Scriptures. Jesus said it would begin like a tiny mustard seed and would grow to fill the entire earth. He also said that it would begin right among the Jews in the Holy Land. Didn’t He also say that salvation is of the Jews? Now, if you are a Presbyterian then you wouldn’t believe that, would you? These self-righteous SOB’s hate the Jews and were recently divesting themselves of all stock in Jewish companies as their initial approach to the destruction of the Jews. Their strategy was to weaken Jewish stocks and shares to made it more difficult to support the State of Israel. They favour the Islamic hordes and feel duty-bound to destroy the Jews by any means possible. So in a reverse twist of fate, these Presbyterians will be targeted by the very people they supported, and they will receive the most profoundly brutal treatment imaginable. God plans to make an example of them for their wanton blindness and treachery. And the rulers of the heavenly realms will comply.

There are many other groups that will earn God’s displeasure, and they can expect no mercy either. It really is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God! Right now, a millstone around their necks is their only option: Matt 18:6 "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." You may not know it, but God is a God of vengeance: Heb 10:30 "For we know Him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." It’s no small thing that people don’t fear the Almighty God and realize that He is serious about establishing righteousness forever – based on His Law and His Way of doing things.

So the satanic forces and alive and well, but one thing is certain, their days are numbered as far as living in the Holy Land. But what sort of force would be needed to remove them? God has already begun to establish this force, and it’s not what one might expect. Who would God call to this task? Well, it’s not the Presbyterians obviously, and it’s not those who spent years teaching lying prophecy and refuting Bible prophecy. No, none of these could be trusted. God needed people who had been taught by Him; people who believed Him and listened to Him, and never departed from the Truth for any reason whatsoever. God’s servants had to be of unimpeachable character and resolve. They had to be obedient to God’s Law and faithful to God’s Way or they could never be servants of God. In fact, all those who were taught by God and who understand the Scriptures are actually the sons of God: John 6:43 "It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me." How many Christians today listen to the Father and learn from Him? But to the point, where is this written in the prophets? Isa 54:11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace. In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you." Obviously this is speaking about Jerusalem and her sons. Jerusalem is the afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted. But Jerusalem is about to be comforted: Isa 40:1-5 "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." What a coincidence! These are the very verses where John the Baptist began his ministry. God has proclaimed comfort for her and that her hard service has been completed – very soon! And then after this, a voice says, ‘Cry out’ (V6). The prophet asks, "What should I cry out?" He is told: V6 "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the TOWNS OF JUDAH, "Here is your God!" Well, we know that all men are grass, but do you?

So who is it that prepares the way (or in this case the highway) for our God? And who secures the City of God and speaks tenderly to Jerusalem? And after all this preparation, who lifts up their voices to the TOWNS OF JUDAH to introduce their God: "Here is your God!"? Well, first time around it was John the Baptist, but now there is another in order to fulfill Mal 3:1.

So what is to be expected of the Sons of Jerusalem? The prophet Zechariah makes it very plain: Zech 12:4-9 "On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the House of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. ⁵ Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’ "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place. The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the HONOR of the House of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. ⁸ On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. ⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem." When Judah begins to slaughter the surrounding peoples just like the ‘People of Jerusalem’, God says their HONOUR will be equal to that of the Sons of Jerusalem. So understand what God is saying here! It will be an HONOUR to slaughter the Muslim hordes! So here’s your chance to start believing God! At that time, all the House of Israel will consider it justice, but they will be powerless to execute this justice themselves. They are going to have to rely on salvation from the Jews and from the House of David.

Everyone knows that this has not yet been fulfilled! But soon it will. And when it does, you will know that the Kingdom of God is near – in fact, on the very ground in Jerusalem. The term, ‘the Kingdom of God is near’ was first introduced by John the Baptist: Matt 3:1 "In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea ² and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’" Then Jesus took up the same mantra: Matt 4:17 "From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Christians have traditionally considered the story of John the Baptist to be an interesting anecdote, but one which bears no resemblance to the ‘salvation’ they expect. You may be surprised to know that the term ‘salvation’ was clarified at John’s birth, and that ‘salvation’ was assigned to be carried out and executed by John the Baptist. Under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, John’s father Zechariah (who was both a priest and a prophet) clarified its meaning. Luke 1:67-79 "The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child (John the Baptist) going to be?" For the Lord’s hand was with him. His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the House of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us – to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His Holy Covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which The Rising Sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

‘Guide our feet in the path of peace’ – this is what we were speaking of earlier. If you don’t know that all men are grass and fit only to be burned up like a flaming torch among sheaves, then you don’t know the way to peace. You’ll notice that Zechariah under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit detailed what his son would be. John was everything his father said he would be, but like Jesus, his life was cut short and he never fulfilled all that was written and spoken of him. But that Spirit lives in yet another priest and prophet who is appointed to prepare the way for the Mighty Christ (Mal 3:1), but also to fulfill all that was prophesied of John. And that priest and prophet is called Prophet Levi (or in Hebrew Nevi Levi) in Mal 2:4-8. And he was named and taught by God – though he didn’t know it as he bumped along through most of his life. But God molded and shaped him to be what He wanted him to be. Then at the appointed time, he was given a double-portion of God’s Holy Spirit so that he could understand the Scriptures. It was miraculous, and the Scriptures became crystal clear as to their meaning and purpose.

The ministry of John the Baptist was very similar. Both were commissioned to provide the Knowledge of Salvation – which means ‘to rescue us from the hand of our enemies’. And further, to provide this salvation or rescue ‘through the forgiveness of their sins’. Only those who are truly repentant of their shabby ways of treating God like a fool will enter the Kingdom of God – but they will have to be rescued first. Rescued? From what? Well, soon you will see. By then, you will truly understand the meaning of God’s enemies – or you will be dead by their hand.

And just one other thing to combat the fuzzy logic of so many holier-than-thou Christians who think ‘The Rising Sun’ represents paganism, noticed what is written in the Messenger’s Book: Mal 4:1-4 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. ² But for you who revere my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. ³ Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty." Surely ‘the sun represents paganism’ freaks know that the Christ is to replace the Lightbringer – Satan the devil – and take over all the kingdoms of the world, which were formerly Satan’s kingdoms? Why didn’t they understand what Peter said concerning the new Dawn – the emerging light from the sun? 2Pet 1:19-21 "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." We won’t even go into what is written about those who conjure up their own prophecies! But read it for yourself.

So the New Dawn is very significant, and consider the following few Scriptures as a mini study that should require no explanations: Isa 58:8 "Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the Glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."

Isa 8:20 "To The Law and to the Testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn."

Isa 60:3 "Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn."

Isa 62:1 "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, HER SALVATION LIKE A BLAZING TORCH."

Matt 4:16 "The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

I hope you grasped that anyone who doesn’t live by The Law and the Testimony have no light of dawn!

Going back now to the subject of being rescued from the hands of the enemy, the ministry of Jerusalem, that is, her sons who are also called Zion Ministry, are the advance guard of the ‘Armies of the Living God’. Whereas once the 12 Tribes of Israel were called the ‘Armies of the Living God’ in antiquity, by God’s servant David, now they have been fired as incompetent because they’ve failed to nail God’s enemies with overwhelming and disproportionate force. In other words, they’ve become weaklings and are unworthy of the title of ‘Armies of the Living God’. They don’t consider it an HONOUR to slaughter God’s enemies who surround the Holy Land! Now they are in a quagmire and in the midst of a civil war in Iraq – and all because they wanted to bring peace to God’s enemies as well as their own enemies, but they were too silly to recognize it!

Interestingly enough, the Israelis have just been accused of using disproportionate force in the Israeli-Lebanese war. The UN, the French, Italians, Russia, Syria and Iran leveled this charge against them. Hardly unexpected! But of course, it was not disproportionate force! It’s just that none of these has yet seen disproportionate force, but they will see it, and when they do, they’ll know what it means!

As for Jerusalem, all her sons will be taught by God. These are called The Sons of Jerusalem. As God has said, if anyone were to dare attack, then they would quickly surrender (Isa 54:13-15). But why would they surrender? Because they will meet such overwhelming and disproportionate force that it would be suicide to continue. They will literally be facing the mighty power of God – and the armies of the Living God. And the attackers will be enslaved. If they work hard and break their backs rebuilding the Holy Land, then they may one day be freed under God’s terms of the Law and returned to their originating country. For the faint-hearted, there will be many slaves in the territory of the Kingdom of God. And perhaps you should ponder why God has decreed this. But we won’t go into it now. Just remember during your ponderings that these slaves will be the lucky ones, because they will survive. Those who don’t surrender will be killed.

So much of what one reads of Christian religious articles is pure propaganda. It’s hard to believe that preachers and ministers of religion, who profess to be Bible savvy, could write so much nonsense. Yet it’s even harder to believe that people would believe it – don’t they read their Bibles? It’s now 1980 years since Jesus built His Church, and it only took about 100 years after that most significant event before errors began to creep into the teachings of the scattered Churches. Today the doctrine of mainstream Christianity is pure dribble and meaningless nonsense that ignores the weighty issues of Bible teachings. Sure they realize that Jesus was crucified and raised from the death through a selfless act of obedience to God, and they even realize that this was done for a noble purpose. But Christianity deludes itself in understanding what that noble purpose was. They all realize the stark realism of the prophecies of the Book of Revelation which cannot be reconciled to the pathetic doctrine taught by them. The whole Book of Revelation is addressed to the Christian Church, in fact seven of them in particular. These are seven Churches that will come to prominence in the final days – and in a specific place.

So why do mainstream churches ignore Bible prophecy? The main reason is that they don’t understand it, and there are very good reasons for this. They don’t believe God’s Word! Their Bible prophecy is what they invent themselves and which cannot be proven from the Bible.

Jesus was as innocent as a lamb going to the slaughter. He had done nothing to warrant the extreme accusations against Him by the rulers of the heavenly realm (spoken of by Paul in Eph 6:10-12). But these spirit rulers knew who He was and were determined to kill Him. Satan and his rulers hate the very concept of Christianity, and they hate the very One who inspired it.

Today, Christianity has no idea what God means when He speaks of His enemies (ICor 15:24-25). And you’ll note that this is the very purpose of the Mighty Christ – to make His enemies ashes under His feet. The reason the Christ came was to destroy the devil’s work (1John 3:8). And only those people, who are truly His people, share His view. To those who are Bible savvy, it shouldn’t take long to work out which people are trying to overrun the Holy Land and to eradicate Judah – the keepers of the Book – those entrusted with the very words of God (Rom 3:1-2). And although Christianity is oblivious to it, they must share in the sufferings of Christ if they are to become God’s children: Rom 8:17 "Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may share in His glory."

How many Christians today would be willing to go as sheep to the slaughter – just as Jesus did? Would they be prepared to go to their deaths as martyrs? Probably 99% of Christians would not! And martyrdom is what these Scriptures mean! Rom 8:35 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." As it is written, God makes this very clear: Ps 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." A saint, of course, is someone who has God’s Holy Spirit, and without God’s Holy Spirit you are not His! Neither children nor heirs! What is more, God gives His Holy Spirit only to those who obey Him! (Acts 5:32). It’s very precious to God that His saints are prepared to die as true martyrs; that is, they are prepared to be killed by God’s enemies in order to honour of God – just as Jesus did!

We hear so much about ‘martyrs’ today. Among God’s enemies, a ‘martyr’ is anyone who kills Christians and Jews. And the very antithesis of a ‘martyr’ is someone who supports these satanic killers. These murderous swine believe that their god requires them to kill God’s people Israel. In this they are right. As children of the devil, they are required to kill Christians and Jews, and the Apostle John made it clear who the children of the devil are (1John 3:10). Why is it so difficult for Christians to identify the children of the devil. The Apostle John had no difficulty! But of course, most Christians today are too sanctimonious to accept what is written. In fact, if the price of being God’s children is martyrdom, then they want none of it! They want to believe that Jesus did it all for them, and from here on out, they expect all the rewards for mere lip-service. They don’t want God controlling their lives, and they certainly don’t want to obey Him. As far as they are concerned, the Jews can obey God if they want, but they themselves will live by ‘grace’ – whatever that’s supposed to mean. They’re supposed to live by faith – faith in God – and believe Him!

So what’s the difference between prophecy and propaganda as far as Christianity is concerned? True prophecy details the final outcome of Satan’s mad rage against the people of God – the only people God ever chose of all the human families of the earth (Amos 3:1-2). And although only the Tribe of Judah (the Jews) obey God today, the other Tribes of Israel are still God’s nations. But for their disobedience, the day of reckoning is coming; in fact, it’s here. Most people realize today that the West is locked in a global battle against the forces of evil. Collectively, they are expending hundreds of billions of dollars to counteract this Islamic scourge. And even today, they can’t accept that this scourge is all of Islam (mustn’t accuse ‘good’ Muslims – they believe!) So which are the good Muslims in their view? The men, women and children who danced in the streets and handed out cakes and sweets to celebrate 9/11? Or the ones who attend mosques regularly where they are indoctrinated by hatred for Jews and Christians – infidels, as they call them, and carry placards which read ‘death to Americans and Israelis’?

How naïve the West becomes when they succumb to Islamic propaganda! Identify one instance where any Muslim leader of any Moslem nation has defended Israel’s right to exist. Or identify any Moslem nation that expressed any outrage for 9/11 or even 7/7 in Britain? The only sounds heard on the streets of Islam was rejoicing. Don’t believe it? How many Muslims hit the streets in America to protest the outrage of 9/11? Instead they hit the airwaves defending it. Of course there was plenty of the ‘bait and switch’ routine where Islamic spokesmen condemned it as a terrorist act….but…! And the ‘but’ is that the West has been unaccommodating to Islam and they need to do more. The West, they insist, should do something about Israel, which is at the forefront of Islamic concerns. Furthermore, they insisted that Islam be honoured in America, and they even demanded that Islam be described as a peaceful religion and not be judged in any way for whatever happens. Dutifully the West complied. There were sickening statements made in support of Islam by Western leaders that were pure propaganda. And then ‘political correctness’ took over, and Islam became honourable – and even respectable, while at the same time, Christianity came under condemnation for their beliefs. Across America, any reference to the Christian religion was removed from all public places. Oddly enough, the thrust of this satanic campaign was to remove symbols of the Ten Commandments from court buildings and public places. And it’s odd that this symbol was chosen, because the Ten Commandments are the very Law that Christianity refuses to obey – especially the Fourth Commandment, which identifies God’s people. Eze 20:10 "Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the desert. ¹¹ I gave them my decrees and made known to them my Laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. ¹² Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy."

It seems reasonable to believe that what God made holy, and which is a sign to His people Israel, would be honoured today for what God made it – a Holy Day, but no! Any other day can be holy, including Friday or Sunday, but not the Seventh!

It’s obvious that the origins of this mad campaign were satanic when one considers the many other pagan symbols that could have been removed. The removal of Buddha’s and other pagan idols might have been a good start in a Christian nation, but no! This satanic targeting only applies to Christians and Jews. Any religion, regardless of how pagan it might be, has a right to practice without restriction in America – but not Christianity! Christianity must be censured at all times.

Once a nation adopts the siege mentality, then they have already lost the war. It’s commonly stated today that the security agencies must prevent dozens of attempted terrorist attacks to succeed, but the terrorists only have to succeed once.

The predictions of Bible prophecy couldn’t be clearer today, because we are seeing it unfold right before out eyes. The fault is not with God’s Word, but the slovenly way that people have treated it, and the ongoing delusion that masquerades as doctrine and prophecy. The Churches of God taught a brand of prophecy that was not only shallow and elementary, it was also foolishly conceived and fraught with faulty interpretations. Most of it was not even based on the Bible, but based on recent history and a gymnastic imagination. It’s the remnant of the Church of God that has a major role to play in the fulfilment of Bible Prophecy, which is made very clear in the Book of Revelation and which is addressed specifically to the Churches – seven in all. We might have been left to wonder which Churches this is referring to. The prophet Zechariah was told to act out a parable about a man who would be called by God to be a shepherd over His flock. And this man was destined to appear at the time of the end. This parable was very specific about identifying this man. He was to be blind in his right eye and his name had to be arm-strong to fulfil the prediction. The account is found in Zech 11:15-17. Just as God predicted, this man arose to become a shepherd; at first a foolish one, and later a worthless one. But as so many have said, the legacy of his ministry was that he taught and established the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath rest, and the Holy Days of God, and got the Church of God off to a good start. Some few have maintained these teachings of obedience to God and continue to do so today. But where Herbert Armstrong became a worthless shepherd was when he ventured to interpret the Scriptures to support his many – what turned out to be – failed prophecies.

Then a great falling away occurred and people left in droves – never to return. Some few chose to continue their obedience to God in their own personal lives without the structure of a regulating organization of the many offshoots of the Worldwide Church of God. These people were wise enough to know that the fault was not with God – but with men. Certain concepts taught by Jesus came into focus, and one of these was the warning not to adopt the ways of the Gentiles. The account is found in Matt 20:24-28 "When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." But Herbert Armstrong wanted to be like the Gentiles and lord it over everyone, and he demanded honour and respect out of all proportion to normal standards. All of which defied Jesus’ very specific instructions! Gentile Christianity milks this for all its worth, but Jesus said, ‘Not so with you’. And of course, ‘ordained’ ministers in the Church pulled the same stunt in defiance of Jesus’ instructions. Those who were ‘ordained’ were usually those who hungered for the approbation of men, and these naturally gravitated to dictatorial behaviour – just like Gentiles!

If Jesus words were not enough, then Jude was even more scathing in what he wrote: Jude 1:12 "These men are blemishes at your love Feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm – shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted – twice dead. ¹³ They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever." In view of this, one might have expected that these ‘ordained’ ones might have been more circumspect over Jesus’ instructions concerning the ways of the Gentiles and made some effort to curb their avarice. Instead, they been proclaimed ‘twice dead’ and ‘for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever’, but they certainly had no qualms about their conduct. Yes, they may have been considered shepherds, but they were worthless ones! There may have been some who repented and turned from their wicked ways, but this is not evident in the majority of them. Their craving for recognition still dominates their every thought and action. And all because they succumbed to the teachings of the worthless shepherd – Herbert Armstrong.

I know that some will object and go on believing that their ministers were different. Their Mr. Such-and-such was not like that at all. But was he like Mr. Jesus? Or was only your minister deserving of a formal title, but Jesus isn’t? At times there was a question of ‘Why am I calling this young guy ‘Mister’ when he’s supposed to be my brother in the Lord? Have we all gone mad?’ The formal title was used so that no-one would fail to recognize their authority or their right to lord it over others. Today, the Churches of God and their various offshoots are merely shells of what they should be.

And just to put into perspective what Jude was saying, he was warning of the last days: Jude 1:17 "But, dear friends, remember what the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. ¹⁸ They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." ¹⁹ These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. ²¹ Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. ²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." ‘These are men who divide you’ – and they have certainly succeeded in doing this in the Churches of God. They weren’t interested in the welfare of the congregation but only their respective organizations.

The political correctness towards Muslims has emboldened them. Not only do they see it as insipid weakness, they use it to maximum advantage. Yet if everyone realized that all terrorists are Muslims, and acted appropriately against them at all levels, they would soon start to realize that they are fooling no-one except those who have gone mad from the implementation of political correctness.

People all over the world know that it’s the Islamic religion that is driving the terror phenomena, but outside of the Tribes of Israel, those nations sympathize to some degree with the terrorists as long as they direct their venom against America and little Israel. Those at the forefront of political correctness lunacy are the Americans! And the monitoring and implementation of political correctness is the brain-child of the Democrat left-wing loonies, who go out of their way to protect and abate the guilt of Islam. The only people who can be persecuted without restriction are white Americans – and especially those who are Christians and Jews. Racial epiphets can be directed only at white Americans, and only white Americans are required to act responsibly; blacks and Hispanics and all Muslims are exempt from any restrictions to accuse and abuse. The point is that all those with a lively conscience are aware that something is wrong with the affirmative action on behalf of Islam, blacks and Hispanics.

And what motivates all of this? It could be cowardice in the face of the enemy – and the enemy to any rational observer, is Islam. While there are certainly elements of this among professional appeasers like the Democrats, the depth of this overt appeasement of Islam is something greater than cowardice.

The term ‘diplomacy’ has become the laughing stock of the Islamic world. When did they ever yield to diplomacy. They consider it hilarious that the cowardly West would be offering inducements to get them to stop killing Western civilians. Who invented the rule that Cubans must be allowed to stay in America if they can get their feet onto American soil even though they arrive illegally? All it does is to give them a legal option for arriving illegally! And why Cubans? What is it about Cubans that makes them any different from anyone else? It wasn’t too many decades ago that the Cubans were hosting Soviet nuclear weapons for the destruction of the U.S. Even today, the Cubans have a love affair going with other despots in the region, as well as the present global despot – Ahmadinejab of Iran. Hasn’t America got enough enemies within their shores without inviting more – either legally or illegally? It’s time to shut the door on all of them.

Almighty God is a very practical – largely because He created all life and knows how they will react in different circumstances. There is hope for the future for all the House of Israel and all those who desire to live by the Laws of God regardless of their ethnicity. Yet God is not prepared to accept rejects who first rejected Him. There is no surer way for former Christians to find eternal death than to turn away from God and repudiate Him. Oddly enough, this also applies to those who reject God’s servants, but we won’t go into that now. Naturally enough, God’s servants who serve Him in the end of this age, which is now in progress, are prophets, and they have the ability to understand the Scriptures. Some not perfectly, but they are growing in grace and knowledge. Some of these were once in the Worldwide Church of God, while others were able to recognize God’s Truth from what we teach. In many ways, the latter have the advantage of not having to unlearn some of the nonsense they were formerly taught. For example, God’s message to the Seven Churches speaks of the future role they will play in establishing God’s Kingdom and expanding the borders: Rev 2:26-29 "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations – he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery – just as I have received from my Father. ⁸ I will also give him the Morning Star. ²⁹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." This is a decree from the Father, but the Churches must overcome to the end if they are to be given this authority.

There is a lot of overcoming to do. We previously quoted Zech 9:10 about taking away Ephraim’s power and replacing this power with God’s power in the hands of His servants: Here is the whole passage: Zech 9:10-17 "I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. ¹¹ As for you, because of the Blood of my Covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. ¹² Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. ¹³ I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior's sword. ¹⁴ Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; He will march in the storms of the south, ¹⁵ and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar. ¹⁶ The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. ¹⁷ How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women."

The sons of Zion [Jerusalem] will be like a warrior’s sword, and they will attack the King of Greece. This actually gives us the time setting for this battle. The King of Greece arrives on the scene following his conquest of the Persian Empire. He pounds ten Islamic nations into submission and then sets his goals on the conquest of the Holy Land. The whole scenario is far more complicated than this, but suffice it to say that the ‘Warrior’s Sword’ – the Sons of Zion – will violently oppose him. The whole explanation is better given in a separate ar