Syria Under Fire

I find the news headlines absolutely fascinating lately as I have studied Bible prophecy for many years.

In light of Obama saying he wants to take military action against Syria, check this one out:

A prophecy against Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins." Isaiah 17:1

Syria says if we attack them, they will retaliate and the first to be hit would be Israel. These people do not threaten without a complete intent to follow up on their word.
Assuming they do hit Israel, God has something in mind for them and all who ally themselves together against Israel:

1A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

2I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. 3Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake^a in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.  Zechariah 14

 

The scene of war is described even more graphically in Ezekiel 38.

 

I have to wonder how soon Jesus will come back for those who love Him. It has to be during a time of peace, because Jesus said:

 

26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17

 

People are eating and drinking and carrying on with life as if everything were normal.

 

The Feast of Trumpets - the only unfulfilled Jewish holiday - is on September 5 this year. Congress is reconvening on September 9th to consider taking action against Syria. Obama says he may act with or without Congressional approval.

 

All the pieces are in place. I have to wonder whether the table is being set even now for the wedding supper of the Lamb.

 

Hallelujah!!

 

God bless us all,

 

Kathi Linz

At War with Israel

Les asked me this morning what Bible verse talked about Israel being alone against the world.  I thought of one I wanted to look up, and, as so often happens on the internet, I ended up in a whole different place.

The verses I found talked about God bringing all the nations to war with Israel in the Valley of Jezreel at the foot of Mount Megiddo, also know as Haar Megiddo or Armageddon.  But that wasn't what most caught my eye.

I found an article about Zephaniah 2:1-7 which reads like this:

"1 Gather together, gather together, O shameful nation, 2 before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD's wrath comes upon you. 3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's anger.


4 Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted. 5 Woe to you who live by the sea, O Kerethite people; the word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. "I will destroy you, and none will be left." 6 The land by the sea, where the Kerethites dwell, will be a place for shepherds and sheep pens. 7 It will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will find pasture. In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. The LORD their God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes."

Please note the reference to Gaza which hasn't changed its name in thousands of years.  Does anyone remember the day when the Israelis were kicked out of their houses by the Palestinians who were given Gaza as a homeland?  8,600 Israelis were brought out of Gaza escorted by the Israeli military, often under protest.  "But this is our home!  Where will we go?" they cried as they left everything behind.

Gaza was abandoned by the Israelis.  That was seven years ago in 2005.  God loves the number seven. 

Note the rest of the passage - wrath, destruction, the end of the Philistines/Palestinians.  God says He will do it, and the land will return to Judah.

I watch the news and see an almost inevitable war in the Middle East with Egypt, Syria, and any other Arab nation that wants to pile on, attacking Israel.  It won't be their best move.  God is on Israel's side.  Besides the promise to return the land to Judah mentioned above, you might want to note the last few verses of Amos (chapter 9):

¹³ “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
    and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,
¹⁴     and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.^[f]

“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
    They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
    they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
¹⁵ I will plant Israel in their own land,
    never again to be uprooted
    from the land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

NEVER TO BE UPROOTED AGAIN!  Yes, I'm yelling!  No nation, not all the nations together will be able to take Israel out of their homeland again.  God says so.  Allah will not defeat Elohim, El Shaddai, the Great I AM and His people Israel.

Watch the news.  It's fascinating to match current events against prophecy - to see it all take place as if ancient Bible verses are today's headlines.  I don't believe there's much time left for us to talk to our family, friends, and neighbors about Jesus.

By the way, the verse I was originally looking for is Ezekiel 38:13.  If you are aware of end times prophecy at all, you will know this chapter.  It is about Gog and Magog and their cohorts coming to attack Israel, "a land of unwalled villages".

The part I was thinking about is where the "cubs (or merchants) of Tarshish" shake their fingers at the attack but do nothing to stop it.  Tarshish may very well have been part of ancient Spain.  Where did the merchant ships come from that found and founded America? 

And although our nation has a strong history of supporting Israel, do you think the current administration would lift a finger if Russia and the Islamic nations descended on Israel en masse?  I think they would shake their fingers and their heads, leaving Israel to its fate.

And that, my friends, is when God will step in, when Israel has no one to depend on but its God.

I'm watching the news.  The times we live in are a wonder.  I believe this chapter in time is about to come to an end and a new one begin.  What do you think?

May God bless us all.

Kathi