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.
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
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