June 13
The Sanhedrin's Plans for Rebuilding the Temple
The Israeli rabbinical council, the folks who brought us the new Sanhedrin,
are calling upon all groups with interest in Temple Mount research to
prepare architectural plans for the reconstruction of the Holy Temple. The
group hopes to establish a round table of architects and engineers to begin
plans for rebuilding the Temple.
According to one news report, "The Sanhedrin is urging the Jewish people to
contribute toward the acquisition of materials for the purpose of rebuilding
the Temple - including the gathering and preparation of prefabricated,
disassembled portions to be stored and ready for rapid assembly, in the
manner of King David."
During Temple times, the 71 members of the Sanhedrin, the center of Jewish
law, were seated in a semi-circle within a special chamber in the courtyard
of the Temple. The current legal system looks down on the activity of the
new Sanhedrin.
Most Israelis are not interested in supporting the efforts to rebuild the
Temple. The majority of the people in Israel hold to a secular view that
does not see the holy site as a vital interest for their nation.
The Temple Mount is certainly one of the most crucial areas of all end-time
prophecy. The Bible informs us that the tribulation will start when the
Antichrist signs a peace pack with Israel. In the middle of the tribulation
hour, the Beast will end the sacrifice in the Temple.
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst
of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for
the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" (Dan
9:27).
Because Daniel's 70 weeks of years began and with the building of the second Temple, the final 70th week of years will likely begin with building of a third Temple.
To have the Sanhedrin making plans for the rapid building of a new Temple is
huge boost to the case for the nearness of the end times. The Antichrist
will indeed someday make Israel a deal on the Temple Mount, and it is a perfect fit to have a group standing ready with the required architectural plans.
China's Booming Military Budget
While on a trip to Asia, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld publicly
wondered why China is building up its military without being threatened by
any other nation. Rumsfeld noted that China has added hundreds of new
missiles along its coast and it has sharply increasing its military
spending, buying large amounts of sophisticated weapons.
"Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder: Why this growing
investment? Why these continuing large and expanding arms purchases?"
Rumsfeld said at the conference organized by the International Institute of
Strategic Studies. He added that the
Asia giant is not a threat to the United States.
Rumsfeld did get a response to his question from a Chinese official. Cui
Tiankai, the director of the Asia bureau of China's foreign ministry said,
"Since the U.S. is spending a lot more money than China is doing on defense,
the U.S. should understand that every country has its own security concerns
and every country is entitled to spend money necessary for its own defense,"
Cui said.
China's military buildup may have a direct connection to its desire to
reclaim
Taiwan. Because of the threat to Taiwan, Rumsfeld has been urging the
European Union to keep in place its ban on selling weapons to China.
"I just look at the significant rollout of ballistic missiles opposite
Taiwan, and I have to ask the question: If everyone agrees the question of
Taiwan is going to be settled in a peaceful way, why this increase in
ballistic missiles opposite Taiwan?" Rumsfeld said.
The book of Revelation talks about an army of 200 million coming out of
the East. During the time that John made his prediction, the human
population was less than 200 million. It wasn't until the end of the 20th
century that it became numerically possible for such a an army to be
amassed.
In the 1980s, I read a report that showed China had 200 million men of
military age. Although it had the manpower, it wasn't until now that China
began to achieve the economic power to outfit an army of this size.
I'm sure Rumsfeld has a variety of explanations for why China is increasing
its military budget. If he had greater understanding of Bible prophecy, he
might have a deeper understanding of why the Chinese leaders are taking this
course of action.
-- Todd
Triple Tribulation Trouble
Three present day issues threaten to become full-blown Tribulation trouble. We will look at these in ascending order of importance and impact, as I view them.
Universalism is the hottest thing in religion today. The call to put doctrinal issues away –or at least on the back burner-- is the cry of those who want all within Christendom to put aside their differences and join under the universal embrace of “love.” Jesus, after all, prayed that we would all be one, as He and His Father are one, in the priestly prayer of John, chapter 17, is their reasoning.
The death of John Paul II and the subsequent world-wide immersion in the mourning/worship for the late pontiff, and the Catholic system of religion he championed moved the world to reach farther –much farther.
Following up on Pope John Paul II’s own tremendous efforts to strive toward true ecumenism, inclusive of most all religions of the world, even some who have always maintained unshakable adherence to sound Bible truth seem to have jumped into the flow toward a one world church. At least, some of the stalwarts of the faith once delivered, by their praise for the departed pope, seem to say Amen to the growing flood that sweeps us toward the Tribulation hour.
I have been castigated for speaking against those who are my Christian brothers and sisters within the Catholic Church, and who are members of “seeker-friendly, seeker-sensitive” churches, when I’ve pointed out the unsound, unscriptural foundations upon which those organizations are based.
Let me make it clear. I’m not speaking out against those who are Christians within those bodies. I’m speaking out against those systems that are counterproductive to the cause of Jesus Christ, in my view, and I believe, in the view presented by the Word of God.
That said, I do believe that Christians who are willing to put aside sound Bible doctrine in order to gather great numbers of people into the alluring settings that aren’t noticeably different from worldly venues –even if this is ostensibly for the purpose of, hopefully, eventually getting around to presenting the Gospel—are deluded at best, and entrapped by the spirit of Antichrist at worst.
Here is what God has to say about the matter of mixing God’s truth with the world’s influences.
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4).
The “church growth movement” is moving within the world today in a mighty way. Question is: Which church is the vehicle doing the moving? The Church of Matthew 16: 18, or the “church” of Revelation, chapter 17?
The next of the troubling issues that are rushing this generation toward apocalypse is the powerful rearrangements forcing Europe toward becoming the heart of the beast seen first by Daniel the prophet in Daniel, chapter 7, then by John in Revelation, Chapter 13.
Many in recent days have tried to say what it all means, but it is a confusing mixture of geopolitical alchemy no one can understand to any extent. The gyrations and contortions of the reviving Roman Empire will likely not end until Christ calls His Church to be with Him at the Rapture. The great upheaval caused by the sudden disappearance of millions will quite possibly be the catalyst that causes the European continent’s leaders and peoples to settle into an arrangement that will serve as the incubator for Antichrist.
The EU Constitution, for the moment, is a loser. The refusal by the voters of France to approve the document in the recent referendum doomed it to failure. France was the document’s chief initiator, and when the French people expressed their objection to bending to the will of the EU leaders on the matter, the movement toward true European integration died in front of the eyes of the world.
So, what does it mean? Does this mean the track Planet Earth was on toward Bible prophecy fulfillment now points in a different direction? I don’t think so…
The division now so blatantly apparent, to my way of observing, indicates more strongly than ever that the Armageddon train continues on the track that will take the world to the consummation of the age.
The key to this fact is found, I believe, in the following reference.
“And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay” (Dan. 2: 40-43).
In this symbolic, prophetical language, God tells us that the last human government that will aspire to world dominion will be marked by great, brutal strength, but will have a weak infrastructure consisting of many peoples not easily governed because of diverse interests. This seems to fit well within the European milieu while the continent continues to churn in preparation for fulfilling its destiny.
Yet, it remains quite likely that final rearrangements for the last form of the revived Roman Empire won’t take place until a dynamic of some sort forces them. Will this be the Rapture of the Church? I believe that is the likely event that will cause the Europeans to agree to ban together in a strong, though less than totally unified, configuration.
At the top of current issues that push this generation toward the Tribulation era is the world’s pressure on Israel to agree to a peace that is against God’s will. The most chilling point to be made in considering this developing end-time pressure is the fact that U.S. President George W. Bush recently and openly declared that all the initiatives achieved, and in place, involving Israel’s dealing with its enemy neighbors should now be scrapped, and everything returned to pre-1949 conditions.
Prophecy teacher and author Hal Lindsey wrote of this: “President Bush's astonishing and unexpected statement reversed long standing American policy. In his joint statement with Abbas, he declared that any final status changes in the peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians must be mutually agreed to on the basis of the 1949 armistice lines. To my horror, this statement is the greatest betrayal of Israel committed by any American president in history” (WND Exclusive Commentary, "Bush's 3 little words, 1 big betrayal," Posted: June 2, 2005).
In effect, the President’s statement commits the U.S. to backing the proposition that things go back to the way they were right after Israel won its independence. The declaration is both ludicrous and dangerous. Ludicrous because no nation in the history of man should, logically, be expected to voluntarily go back to square one after more than a half-century of hard-won victories, having been the recipient of unending aggression. Dangerous –possibly even fatal—because to voluntarily give such concessions, simply in the smoke-and-mirrors hope that those they are trying to placate won’t continue to send suicide bombers to murder their civilian citizens or attack again once a Palestinian national entity is established, flies in the face of reason when dealing with such murderous fanatics as surrounds Israel.
Those of us who watch for developments that might indicate prophetic significance have long looked at the international community’s growing hostility toward Israel, in favor of Israel’s angry neighbors, suspecting things would eventually boil down to such unreasonable demands in light of Zechariah 12:1-3 and other prophecies. However, we didn’t foresee America as leading the way in pushing God’s chosen nation into the prophesied end-time corner.
I believe that most of us who observe issues and events of our time in light of God’s prophetic Word, agree with Hal Lindsey’s bottom-line assessment in this matter of America’s President putting such pressure on Israel.
“…I have believed for decades that God has protected America despite our growing sin. He has done so because the USA has been a base for world evangelism and we have supported Israel's right to exist in the land God promised them. This betrayal, if followed through, will effectively remove God's protective shield. May God help us” (WND Exclusive Commentary, "Bush's 3 little words, 1 big betrayal," Posted: June 2, 2005).
--Terry
