Strange things are happening

Even the most ill-informed people are beginning to realise that strange things are happening in the world today. Unusual levels of civil unrest and conflict, earthquakes, volcanoes, extreme weather as well as wars and rumours of wars. There also seems to be a large shift in morality with declining standards in many countries. Even stranger is the fact that thousands of years ago these things were predicted by Biblical prophets. People with little or no knowledge of religion are starting to wonder what is happening and whether the religious claims might be correct and if so which religions.

We tend to judge religions by the most vociferous and obnoxious adherents to each faith. Noisy chanting Muslims calling for the death of infidels and the conquest of western society, wanting to turn the west into violent dysfunctional nations like those from which they escaped; militant atheists opposing, verbalising and attacking any who disagree with their particular view and many people who are simply frightened into believing the worst about others. We need to stop judging religions by their most bigoted followers. Most people only see the differences between religions and are unaware just how closely aligned the major religions are and how similar their early beginnings; the differences are all the result of human interpretations or points of view.

The festivals of Easter and Passover generally occur at the same time each year, part of this is because Jesus was crucified at the time of the Passover but also because the pagan festival of Ishtar which the early Christian church adopted to celebrate Easter is a lunar celebration and so coincides with dates on the Hebrew lunar calendar; except in leap years like 2016 because the Hebrew calendar adds a month and the Gregorian calendar only adds one day. The early church transformed many pagan celebrations so that converts would feel that the new church was a continuation of their old customs. I believe the Almighty whose hand controls all things influenced the correlation of Easter and Passover because both contain the same message and that is that God is the master of life and death one of many similarities between these two faiths.

The miraculous victory of the Jewish Maccabees over the mighty Greco-Assyrian army approximately 140 years before Jesus was born ensured that the Temple in Jerusalem remained a temple of God and not one dedicated to the worship of Zeus and other pagan deities. This victory could only have been ensured by divine assistance and ensured that Jesus would teach the laws of Moses in the Temple and not the Hellenistic traditions of Greece. My view is that the victory was ensured so that Jesus would spread God’s word to those who were not descendants of Abraham or Jacob and to those who had not the opportunity to know the Bible.

There are a few differences between Judaism and Christianity the first is that the Israelites were chosen to bring God’s word to the World and to be a nation of priests, teaching the Bible to all mankind and are bound by the commandment “Thou shalt have no other God but me”. The second difference is the Christian concept that Jesus is God. This idea was created at the Council of Nicaea in 325 of the Common Era, prior to which Jesus was seen as simply a Rabbi and a prophet. In his own words Jesus himself stated that he was not God. Jesus said in St Matthew 19:17 “…Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one; that is God...” Jesus exhorted his followers to obey the Torah and when asked to teach us to pray he began his prayer, “Our Father who art in Heaven”. Jesus did not ask people to pray to him or his Mother; there is nothing in the words of Jesus that is different to the teachings of Judaism, Jesus did offer his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Rome elected to adopt Christianity to bolster its failing empire. It was in order to unify the various Christian groups that the Council of Nicaea was formed and a major obstacle was the question of whether Jesus was a man or God. The council eventually elected to say he was both because the various factions could not agree.

In Ezekiel 37:16-19 we are told that that the stick of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the stick of Judah and the children of Israel will be united as one. Biblical students today generally equate Ephraim with the West and Christianity so it appears that Ezekiel predicted the eventual unification of Judaism and Christianity. In Revelation 11:3-4 It mentions two witnesses that are two olive trees and two candlesticks, in Revelation 1:12 when discussing the seven churches they are referred to as seven golden candlesticks so we know that Revelation equates candlesticks to churches. The two are given equal billing, again implying that Judaism and Christianity are God’s two witnesses. This of course posits the question; where does Islam fit into the Biblical context? It is inconceivable that the Bible could predict so many events, from Daniel’s vision of successive empires to the wars and political events predicted by Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Zechariah yet not mention Islam.

We know that when Abraham bound his son upon the altar he bound all his descendants to God for all time. The pledge to Abraham was that the Almighty would be the one God for him and his children and his “seed until all generations”. Historically the descendants of Ishmael are brothers to the descendants of Isaac, who were friends and one family. When Abraham was old his sons Ishmael, Isaac and the sons of Keturah (Abraham’s wife whom he married after the death of Sarah) all assembled with their father to receive his blessing and together the brothers buried their father when he died. The teachings of Abraham are the basis of Judaism and Islam.

So does the Bible predict Muhammad and his teaching? We do not easily recognise the description of Muhammad because it is clouded in allegory and was written hundreds of years prior to Muhammad’s birth. Muhammad adopted the Torah and Gospel and proclaimed himself a prophet. He mentions both Torah and Gospel in conjunction in the Quran (9:111) to increase his credibility but in truth he devised a cult with the intention of conquering the world. Many Muslims accept that the number 666 applies to Muhammad but claim that the Bible was subverted to prevent the infidels from knowing the Quran. Much literature tries to connect Allah and Satan with the 666 prediction but this however confuses Muhammad and Allah. The name Allah is the Arabic pronunciation of the Hebrew Elo meaning God; observant Jews pray twice each day: “Adonai Elo Heinu” – meaning “Lord Our God” and angels were sometimes called “Ben Elo him” meaning “sons of God”. The Bible says of 666 that “it is the number of a man”, it does not refer to God, Allah or Satan; but only to Muhammad.

When Muhammad produced the Quran he banned Muslims from allying themselves with Christians and Jews and commanded his followers to wage war and conquer the world. Those who follow Muhammad have been at war with the world ever since, after being misled by a violent warlord who used Biblical references to create an army of conquest. Only a minority of Muslims have wholeheartedly embraced the violence practiced and preached by Muhammad, but while they continue to follow the Quran Muslims are forbidden to ally themselves with Christians or Jews against their more violent fellows. There appears little hope of a peaceful solution because of the insistence of the Quran that to go against its teachings is a capital offense, and there are many violent Muslims willing to enforce that decree, while many more support it. Muhammad not only created division between Muslims, Christians and Jews he caused Islam to fracture because he did not create an infra structure of succession, the legacy of Muhammad is the violence and conflict we see today; that was never the intention of God or Abraham.

There can be no doubt that there will be a confrontation between, those dedicated to the violent teachings of Muhammad and those who follow the traditions of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. It is only the adherents to the lunacy of Muhammad that can prevent conflict by refusing to accept the concept of violent jihad. Students of scripture can; today see many Biblical prophecies eventuating in our time. It is predicted that during a war involving an invasion of Israel the invading forces will be defeated but “not by the hand of man”. Scripture assures us that we will not see subtle hidden miracles as in the time of Esther, the Maccabees or in the days of Hezekiah when an “angel” killed 185,000 men of the besieging army; we will see a miraculous intervention as in the days of Moses with obvious miracles and plagues. Fire and brimstone from Heaven as in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and darkness and burning hail like the events leading to the redemption from Egypt.

With so many Biblical prophecies apparently fulfilling today there can be little doubt that the predicted end times scenarios are occurring right before our eyes. We are warned that they will come as a flood; meaning altogether in a very short period of time and we will face a much greater trial than anything man can devise. The scriptures tell us that this is necessary so that all people will know that God exists; we are also urged not to panic, the Creator has assured us that this is the work of his hand and that the faithful will be saved.

There are still prophecies yet to be fulfilled but which would be sure indicators that the final days are upon us; it is predicted that there will be a collision with a comet or asteroid, war and invasion of Israel and an Angel, or messenger, from the East. Since the Middle Ages Angels have been portrayed as winged messengers but in Scripture are described as quite ordinary and sometimes people had difficulty recognising them as Angels. Some prophecies say that Elijah will return to herald in the Messiah, according to Jesus he came in the guise of John the Baptist, and he may come again but not be recognised, so we should listen to those urging us to prepare for the final redemption and the resurrection of the dead, particularly those from the East as that is where the message is predicted to originate.

Much of what is promoted today is the opinion of men and although many have studied scripture and interpreted prophecies, the reality may be far different from popular belief. Don’t be taken in by quotations and reciting of scripture, live as though you will face judgement tomorrow. Don’t be swayed by masses and join mobs as they chant their way through towns calling for their own views to be supported. Don’t be against others because that is the popular belief. Remember the words of Zechariah who warned in 13:8-9, “And it shall come to pass said the Lord, that in all the land two thirds will be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire and refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried…..”

The Bible warns that as ye sew so shall ye reap, which is a simple way of saying that the Bible believes in Karma. An example of this principle is demonstrated in the story of Joseph. The entire tribe of Israel was enslaved in Egypt because the sons of Jacob sold their annoying little brother into slavery in that land. Those who today practice violence, deceit and hatred to their fellow man are building their own fate, those who hope for justice, kindness and mercy from the Almighty must demonstrate those traits to others. It has been written that as ye do to the least of God’s creatures so you do to him, if you are acting in violence or hatred to your fellow man that is the way you are acting to the one who will decree your ultimate fate.

There is a period in Jewish tradition commonly known as “the three weeks”, that commemorates the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem (twice) as well as many other calamities that befell the Jewish people; strangely enough these events occur periodically on the same dates, this period occurs late July early August in 2016. In light of many happenings around the world today it is probable that the three weeks in this Jubilee year will see some significant signs. This is all part of the end times scenario that is playing out before our eyes, read a Bible - it's getting really spooky. I anticipate an invasion of Israel, an asteroid collision and the length of a day to be shortened to only 16 hours instead of 24 hours; everything else is in place.

We do live in interesting times but there is more information in my books and website www.prophecyline.org