TURKEY – THE ORIGIN OF THE ANTICHRIST

The following quote is from a nationalist poem used by Recip Tayyip Erdoğan in a famous speech that he gave when he was mayor of Istanbul. The speech landed him in jail for four months in 1999 and banned him from political life in Turkey under the charge of “inciting hatred based on religious differences.” It gives us a peek into the man’s heart and aspirations.

Our minarets are our bayonets, our domes are our helmets, our mosques are our barracks. We will put a final end to ethnic segregation. No one can ever intimidate us. If the skies and the ground were to open against us. If floods and volcanoes were to burst, we will not turn from our mission. My reference is Islam. If I am not able to speak of this, what is the use of living?

Erdogan is the type of person the Antichrist would have to be, the type of leader that most prophetic experts predict – slick, persuasive, able to bridge the Eastern and Western worlds in dress, manner, and understanding, and being well-spoken and fluent in English. It is not a great leap to imagine a Turkish man. Perhaps a good candidate would be Sinan Ogan of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party.

Sinan Ogan is out of the recent presidential race but he has played a pivotal role in the second round as he came out in favor of Erdogan and is now seen as the “kingmaker”. In the aftermath of Turkey’s dramatic elections, a new name is on the lips of political commentators: third-placed presidential contender Sinan Ogan.

In the US, Gog and Magog in biblical prophecy were Russia, reflecting the Cold War lenses that were used at the time to interpret Scripture. However, now many end times Bible scholars believe Gog and Magog represent Turkey.

Turkey is identified by multiple ancient place names/locations that existed within that country’s current borders (i.e., Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Togarmah). This coalition of nations, and the Bible implies many more nations with them, will make an all-out assault on Israel, intending to destroy her. God told Ezekiel that this event would occur in the ‘latter years’ (Ezekiel 38:8). At the last moment it will look like Israel will be wiped out, but God will intervene and … the other nations, including Iran, will suffer a 7-fold judgment from God – a great earthquake, pestilence, bloodshed, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone (Ezekiel 38:19-22). Finally, if the nations of the Middle East mentioned in Ezekiel 38 (i.e., Libya, Iran, Turkey, etc.) are right now coming into alignment with each other before our very eyes, and assuming that the incredible event described above occurs sometime during the Great Tribulation period as most Biblical scholars believe, how much closer are we then to the soon coming return of Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 38, one of the primary End Times passages in God’s Word, “confirms Turkey’s leadership role” due to five of the eight “nations” mentioned are located in Turkey.

Revelation 17 reaffirms Turkey as the host of the Antichrist, with Istanbul as the empire that suffered a fatal wound but will return to stun the world. That blow, many would say, was the AD 1453 capture of the glorious city of Constantinople, a true wonder of the world that was taken over by the Turks.

Another interesting note is Istanbul has long been known as the “city on seven hills,” which has a strange ring when you read this verse in Revelation 17: The seven heads [of the woman on the Beast] are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction (vv. 9-11).

Daniel 9 says the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed by the people of the prince to come (v. 26). The unit of the Roman legion that leveled the Temple in AD 70 was based in Antioch in modern Turkey.

Daniel 11 tells us of a “king of the North” who will be much like the Antichrist (an archetype of him). Most prophecy scholars agree that this was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the ruler of the Seleucid Division of the Greek Empire. Much of that king’s reign was over modern-day Turkey.

Isaiah’s and Micah’s frequent mentions of Assyria’s opposition to Messiah Jesus further underscore the geographical proof of Turkey’s role. The ancient kingdom of Assyria comprised much of modern Turkey.

Zechariah 9 reaffirms Turkey’s role as it says the sons of Zion will be roused against the sons of another kingdom. Verse 13 has often been translated as “sons of Greece,” leading to many interpretations of the End Times centered around a revival of the Greek Empire, or the Western world as exemplified in Greek thought. But more careful, literal translations interpret this verse as “sons of Yavan.” Who was Yavan? A grandson of Noah, whose descendants settled in western Turkey, many in the city of Izmir, a longtime biblical site. Another son of Yavan (or Javan) was Tarshish, now modern-day Tarsus, also in Turkey.

The “throne of Satan” mentioned in Revelation 2 was constructed in Pergamum, a city whose spectacular ruins you can see in Turkey today, along with a reconstruction of that throne. In addition to these seven “biblical proofs,” Walid Shoebat* makes a powerful case for a Turkish Antichrist by noting that any Beast who would be able to dupe the nation of Israel into a peace treaty for three-and-a-half years would have to “have the reputation for being moderate and must possess the trust of the Israelis and the world.” I agree. There will need to be some repair in the Turk-Israeli alliance before this can happen, but these two nations have shown a remarkable willingness to partner in hopes of keeping the rest of the Middle East calm, up until very recently. And despite the political tension between the two, the economic relationship remains strong, with a nearly 40 percent jump in trade reported in 2013.[274] Turkey and Israel have a history of cooperation, unlike Israel with other Middle

Turkey is one of the few Middle Eastern countries that recognized Israel’s right to exist immediately, on March 28, 1949. Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the U.A.E., and Yemen still do not accept Israeli passports, and I don’t see another country of consequence in the region that would be able to lure Israel into a peace treaty.

Shoebat affirms the common scriptural narrative that “the Antichrist will initially appear to be moderate and trustworthy, but he will also eventually show his true colors. And, his success will come through deceit and shrewdness.” He added, “When searching for the Antichrist, one must never look to Ahmadinejads or Usamas of the world, but instead to someone with a moderate mask – at least in the beginning. His sinister, rabid hatred for Jews and Christians will not be revealed until he lures the sheep into his den.”

Anyone able to pull off a peace treaty with Israel and then negotiate his way to global domination will look great, speak well in English, and be comfortable around all sorts of people from the West and East. I don’t think he will wear an Arab dress or be monolingual. I think he will look like a handsome politician and wear a variety of clothing to fit the context; he will be familiar with Western ways of thought, and he will probably have been educated at some point in Europe or the U.S. This fits the profile of many leaders in Turkey who have studied abroad and speak at least passable English. They present themselves and their country as moderate, tolerant, and inclusive, but they are not shy about their faith, either.

The fact is the Turks have either killed or driven out all minority peoples and faiths. The Armenian Genocide in 1914-18 is increasingly recognized, even among Turks, as having occurred. One-and-a-half million Christians were expelled in 1923, and another 150,000 left after anti-Christian riots in Istanbul in 1955, helping to cut the Christian population from two million to a mere four thousand today.[

The author Ralph Stice tells a story that is classical Turkish “tolerance.” At the University he was teaching, he tried to book the room that was designated for religious minorities to meet. On the surface, it looks as if religious minorities will be welcomed to practice their faith as they see fit. In reality, however, Christians were not allowed to meet in the room designated for them in a religious complex. The promise was, in fact, a lie. Perhaps this is why the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Christian Church, Bartholomew, told 60 Minutes, “I feel crucified” living under a Turkish government that “would like to see his nearly 2,000-year-old Patriarchate die out,” as the church’s seminary was shut down and part of its property seized, like a python slowly squeezing a victim to death.[

As the idea that Turkey could be the home of the Antichrist has gained circulation, Turkish imams are fighting back even as they agree to be interviewed by American authors such as Joel Richardson. Adnan Oktar is a renowned Islamic teacher who oversees a popular website bursting with information on al-Mahdi. When challenged; in a soft, calm, reasoning voice, Oktar says that labeling Turkey as the Antichrist “makes the slaying of the Muslim world lawful,” and then says, “It is wrong and illogical to portray Turkey as the Antichrist. It is cruelty … You fail to think the best … You must trust people … You are sowing the seeds of hatred in all Christians’ hearts … You should be demanding warmth and brotherhood … We believe in the same Allah, don’t we?

Summary by Ralph Stice: For the many reasons I’ve stated – from Turkey as the site of the largest Muslim empire in the world and the only country seeking to revive such an empire, to possible scriptural evidence for the “Lost Land of the Bible” being a key country in the End Times – I believe Turkey merits our most careful attention in the years to come. As I lived in Turkey, I found a brand of Islam that I think would play very well in the modern world as a deceptive lure into the religion of Muhammad. There is just enough charm, Sufi-inspired emotion, and emphasis on “love,” “understanding,” and “tolerance” to make a Turk a prime candidate for the Antichrist, someone who appears quite palatable with politically correct people, yet who has a burning desire to spread Islam across the globe. Let me add Sinan Ogan is a good example of such a Turk.

*Walid Shoebat. He used to be a radicalized Muslim willing to die for the cause of Jihad until he converted to Christianity in 1994.
A significant portion of this post was taken from the book by Ralph Stice, Arab Spring, Christian Winter: Islam Unleashed on the Church and the World. ANEKO Press.

WILL SATAN’S THRONE BE MOVED FROM GERMANY BACK TO TURKEY IN 2023?

And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.Revelation 2:13

What is Satan’s Throne? Is it the ancient Altar of Zeus that once stood in Pergamum, the site where those refusing to worship the Emperor were slain? The altar was dedicated by King Eumenes II to Zeus and Athena Nikephoros, and its construction probably took place between 181 and 159 B.C.

The Turkish government agreed, perhaps for money, that the ancient foundation of the Pergamon Altar (Satan’s Throne) which was rediscovered by German archaeologists to become the property of Germany. In 1930 the Pergamon Museum in Berlin was opened to the public.

PERGAMON MUSEUM IN bERLIN

A few years later, the Nazi Party’s chief architect, Albert Speer, was commissioned by the new chancellor, Adolf Hitler, to design the parade grounds for the party rallies in Nuremberg. Speer turned to the Pergamon Altar for inspiration. Using the altar as a model, Speer created a colossal grandstand, known as the Zeppelin tribune. In the following years’ mass rallies, Hitler descended down the steps like a tribune in ancient Rome.

That Altar is now in Berlin, Germany. Copies of it were used by Adolph Hitler and Barack Obama during their political careers but is the real thing returning to Turkey? Erdogan’s government demanded Berlin give up the Altar of Pergamum first in 2017. Will it be returned in 2023? It is the date many believe will initiate the reformation of the Ottoman Empire (Caliphate) as it marks the one-hundredth anniversary of its demise.

Also watch Erdogan vs Israel: Is Gog and Magog Alliance Forming Before Our Eyes? https://youtu.be/A3K_D-dhSYU)

We know from Biblical “end times” prophecy that Turkey (Goat of Daniel 8) reasserts its dominance of the Muslims by re-establishing a revived Ottoman Empire but its existence is short-lived. It is broken up into four nations. We are not told by whom but I would predict it to be the United Nations working with the World Economic Forum. It is out of the four nations that the Antichrist arises. His time is short 3 1/2 years. He is defeated when Jesus returns to earth with the Saints at the battle of Armageddon.

Then the goat (Turkey) became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came a little horn (Antichrist), which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great, even to the host of heaven.Daniel 8:8-10

His (Antichrist) power shall be great—but not by his own power, and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. By his cunning, he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind, he shall become great. Without warning, he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.” Daniel 8:24-26

DANIEL 8 PROPHECY UNFOLDING IN THESE LAST DAYS

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday that Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem still belongs to Turkey.

Turkey’s Erdogan says Jerusalem ‘is our city’
Erdogan lays pre-WW1 Ottoman claim to Israel’s capital, says “it is our city.”

In a speech marking the opening of the fall session of Turkey’s parliament, covered by Turkish media, Erdoğan began with harsh criticism of Armenia for the armed conflict that broke out this week with Azerbaijan and their mutual claims to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. However, his comments shifted closer to home and he made the surprising remark that Jerusalem still belongs to Turkey.

“The Jerusalem issue is not a geopolitical problem for us. Jerusalem is our city, a city from us,” Erdogan said, referring to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War One.

“In this city [Jerusalem] that we had to leave in tears during the first world war, it is still possible to encounter traces of the Ottoman resistance,” Erdogan said. “We accept it an honor on behalf of our country and nation to express the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people on every platform.”

The Ottoman Empire controlled Jerusalem for 400 years until its defeat at the hands of the Western allies who divided up the former empire, with many of its former provinces becoming independent Arab countries. During the war the Ottomans also carried out the Armenian genocide, murdering some 1.5 million Christian Armenians – enmity that remains and led to Erdogan’s condemnation of Armenia.

As I have posted before we are seeing the prophecy of Daniel 8 developing, with Turkey as the goat nation beginning to exert its desire to re-establish the Ottoman Empire. The Ram nation Iran is already pushing west, north, and south exactly as prophesied and it is only a matter of time before Turkey crushes Iran.

“And the goat ( Turkey, Sunni) had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came to the ram (Iran, Shia) with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.” Daniel 8:6-7

So many Biblical prophecies of the end times are manifesting now that it is obvious to most Bible believing Christians that we are living in the last days. Recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus told us that in the “last days” there would be a great falling away (apostasy) in the church. Many of the institutional churches now accept homosexuality, gay marriage and other heresies. Other end times signs such as people will be lovers of self, lawlessness will abound, pestilence, famine and other so called natural disasters are all evident. Jesus said all of these things must take place before He comes to take His church to heaven prior to God pouring out His wrath on a world that totally rejects God the Father and Jesus, His Son.

TURKISH CALIPHATE RISING

Geopolitics, Biblical prophecy and Muslim prophecy and how they intersect in these last days.

Biblical prophecy reveals in Daniel 8 that in the last days Turkey (Sunni) will defeat Iran (Shia) and become the dominant Muslim force but not for long. It will be broken up into four kingdoms and out of one of them the little horn (Antichrist) will come. Only a great power or coalition of nations will be able to break up what would effectively be a revived Ottoman Empire.

Then the goat (Turkey) became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land (Israel).” Daniel 8:8-9

A critical shift is taking place in the Middle East. The Ballistic Missile Program of Iran (Ram) is significant considering its influence in Lebanon with Hezbollah and in Iraq and Syria as well as Hamas, but even more significant is the Turkey Caliphate (Goat) , a revised Ottoman Empire is rising. The Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1923 after 600 years ruling an amazing amount of territory.

Covid 19 Pandemic is providing an opportunity for leaders such as Erdogan. The combination of people’s disillusionment with the Saudi regime as well as Bin Salman’s ambivalence towards Sunni radicalism has led Erdogan to pursue a role as the new political leader of Sunni Islam.

Hagia Sophia from Museum to Mosque

We can see Erdogan’s ambition in a number of actions that he has pursued in the past couple months. The first and most obvious is the reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. This has obvious implications. For centuries, Muslim armies made the capture of Constantinople, the center of the Christian east, their chief goal. Various Muslim Hadiths (sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) predicted the submission of the Byzantine capital to Islam. When the Ottomans finally captured the city on May 29, 1453 and turned the Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, it spelled the end of Christian political power in the Middle East and the beginning of the Ottoman Empire as the center of Sunni Islam. Ataturk converted the mosque into a museum in 1935, uncovering some of the Arabic calligraphy to reveal the centuries-old Christian icons. This move, while imperfect, signalled that Turkey was no longer an Islamic state and that it would pursue secularization.

For years now, Erdogan has been undoing Ataturk’s vision. He has cracked down on the sale of alcoholhalted the teaching of the theory of evolution, and is even suspected of aiding Sunni Jihadist groups in Syria. The reconversion of Hagia Sophia serves as a symbolic reminder that in Turkey Islam reigns supreme and that, while Saudi Arabia shrinks away from its Wahabbist legacy, Sunnis who long for a return to a more muscular Islam can turn to Istanbul instead.

The second ominous sign of Turkey’s ambition is the recent onslaught of anti-Armenian sentiments made by pro-Erdogan figures in Lebanon. Lebanon, which is dominated by the Shia Hezbollah (funded and controlled by Iran), has faced increased criticism by Lebanese citizens for its corruption. Massive protests occurred just last year over endemic political corruption and economic stagnation in the country. This is where Erdogan sees his opening. The Sunni community of Lebanon, which doesn’t have nearly the same level of political representation as Shia Muslims or even Christians, and increasingly fears the domination of Hezbollah over the country, could easily turn to Turkey as a sort of protector. We should not be surprised that the bulk of anti-Armenian sentiment in Lebanon has come from the North, which is heavily Sunni.

Perhaps the most insidious result of this strategy is the propagation of anti-Armenian propaganda at pan-Muslim events in the United States. Just last year, during a Muslim American Society convention, official publications from the Turkish government denying the Armenian Genocide were distributed to visitors. The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, a major American Muslim Advocacy group, has also pushed Turkish propaganda, claiming that the Armenian Genocide of 1915 is taken out of historical context and that Muslim suffering during the same time period is never discussed.

The overall attempt has been to inflect a general Muslim hostility towards Christianity (which has very deep roots in Islam) with a more particular Turkish hatred of Armenians. Such an attempt, if successfully accomplished, would be a massive propaganda victory for Erdogan’s government. This would signal a shift in influence over radical Islam from the Saudis to the Turks.

Armenians should brace for increased hostility not only from the Turks, but also from the Sunni communities that they have lived with peacefully for decades. They are in turmoil right now, and Erdogan may have found them the perfect scapegoat.

SUPPORTIVE EVIDENCE FOR AN ISLAMIC ANTICHRIST

This news story from CBN fits with Biblical prophecy. As many of you know, I believe the best fit from Scripture and from what we see unfolding in history right now is for the coming Antichrist to be a Muslim leader, most likely the Mahdi, which the Muslim world believes; his appearance is imminent. For more information, check out Joel Richardson’s book The Mideast Beast – Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist.

  • Daniel 2 & 7 reveals Medo-Persia and Greek Empires would succeed Nebuchadnezzar but Daniel does not reveal the fourth Empire. However, the description given that the fourth Empire would completely crush the former territories of the previous three Empires, reveals the identity of the only Empire to accomplish this feat. It is an Islamic Caliphate – The Ottoman Empire. Because of circumstances at the time, the early church believed the Antichrist will be the leader of a revived Roman Empire, but in hindsight, we can see that a Roman Empire does not qualify.
  • The Final Empire is a revived but divided fourth Empire – an Islamic Caliphate which the Antichrist will rule, partially overcoming the Sunni/Shia divide as both sects are expecting the Mahdi, who they believe will have all the miracle working power of the Biblical Antichrist. Considering the large numbers of Muslims in most European nations now, imagine their reaction to the Mahdi’s entrance on history’s stage.

Source: CBN News

When the Ottoman Turks tried to invade Europe 500 years ago they were defeated at the Gates of Vienna.  Today Turkey again has designs on Europe, but it’s using a different method.  It’s being called Turkey’s fifth column in Europe, a vast network of radical Islamist’s, working inside Turkish mosques and under the control of Turkey’s ambitious president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  The Austrian government shut down seven mosques and expelled 60 Imams recently because they were being funded illegally by the Turkish government, and because photos from inside the mosques surfaced on the internet showing Turkish children being trained to be martyrs.

Image result for pictures of Erdogan supporters and Kurds fighting on the streets of Belgium

Austria’s move against the mosques infuriated Turkey’s government, and President Erdogan warned of a “coming war between the cross and the crescent.”  The leading expert on Erdogan’s network of mosques, Turkish journalist Abdullah Bozkurt of the Stockholm Centre for Freedom, calls them Erdogan’s fifth column.  He spoke to CBN News from Stockholm, Sweden.  “What we have been seeing in the last couple of years, an increase of activity on the part of the Turkish government to turn the mosques that were financed by the Turkish community and by the Turkish government, or imams that were deployed directly from Turkey, as sort of political operatives,” he said.

There are an estimated five million Turks in Germany and millions more across Europe.  Bozkurt says several Islamic and charitable organisations run by the Turkish government are fronts for political activity.  Shocking images show Erdogan supporters and Kurd’s fighting on the streets in Belgium.  Bozkurt says Erdogan’s network is a proxy force that can cause social unrest on the streets of Europe and keep Muslims there in line.  “This is first and foremost a threat to the Muslims actually living in Europe and other countries because anybody who is not subscribing to this ideology of their own government is deemed a threat, traitors, or even infidels,” he told CBN.

 

PROPHESIED GOG OF MAGOG WAR IN EZEKIEL 38 & 39

The Bible is amazing, unlike any other book it is has proved it is God breathed by fulfilled prophecy. At least 300 prophecies of Jesus first coming were shown to be true, Isaiah 53 is a standout. Do you know there are far more prophecies about Jesus second coming than there were about His first coming? Moreover, if you have been following my blog, you realise we are closing in fast on the “last days” before Jesus returns.

Israel re-established as a nation in 1948 (70 years ago now) was a very significant sign, mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse. Apostasy in the church is another significant sign. False prophets is another. The current Pope and the Catholic church believe that there are other ways to God than Jesus. This is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and a sure “end times” sign. Also, whoever would have believed much of the church would accept gay marriage and homosexual and transgender pastors?

In my last post, I presented evidence for Iran being the ram in Daniel 8 and mentioned the likelihood of Turkey (Magog and a revived Ottoman Empire) being the goat that takes out the ram.

What is unfolding now in the Middle East has been foretold. In this video by Joel Richardson, he speaks of Iran’s invasion of the Middle East outlined in Daniel 8. but he focuses mainly on events in Ezekiel 38 and 39 which talks of the later Gog of Magog war.

Joel does a great job of showing that Gog is one of the names of the Antichrist and Magog is his country, Turkey. Gog is the leader of a Muslim coalition. The primary peoples and tribes (regions) are listed: Meshech, Put, Gomer, Tubal, Persia, Togarmah (all of these are in Turkey) plus other nations, all of them Muslim.

Turkey (Sunni) is using Isis against Assad and Kurds.  Iran (Shiite) is using Assad , Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza in its efforts to control the region. Russia is siding with Iran. USA is trying to oppose Assad so Russia and USA are in conflict.

 

ERDOGAN CALLS FOR ANOTHER EMERGENCY PAN-ISLAMIC MEETING AGAINST ISRAEL AND US ‘TERROR STATES’

“He shall be a wild ass of a man; His hand against everyone, And everyone’s hand against him; He shall dwell alongside of all his kinsmen.” Genesis 16:12 

The descendants of Ishmael are acting exactly as predicted in Biblical prophesy. Erdogan is intent on reestablishing the Ottoman Empire when Turkey ruled all of the surrounding Muslim countries. Moreover, of all the Muslim countries it is the most powerful, with an army of 350,000 active personnel and 360,500 reserve personnel and its Air Power similar in numbers to Israel.

The Turkish president called for an emergency session of of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul to be held on Friday to discuss the situation in Gaza. A massive anti-Israel rally is also scheduled to be held concurrently in Taksim Square in Istanbul.

On Monday, a six week Hamas-led protest-turned-riot culminated with 35,000 Palestinians challenging the security fence and approximately 60 Palestinians killed. Erdogan was quoted in the press as saying that Israel is a “a terror state” that has committed “a genocide.”

“Israel is wreaking state terror,” Erdogan said in a speech to Turkish students in London broadcast by state television. “Israel is a terror state. What Israel has done is a genocide. I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America.”

The Middle East Media Research Institute, released a compilation of videos following Monday’s confrontations that give a much different perspective.

The videos show members of the tire-burning and wire-cutting units saying their highest aspiration is to die for the sake of Allah, to cut the Zionist enemy’s main barbed-wire fence and take it down with “the fingernails of their children.'”

One tribal leader declared that the Palestinian people will liberate its land with blood, women and children.

Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon called this a Palestinian cycle of death. “First, they incite people to violence. Then, they place as many civilians as possible – including women and children – in the line of fire to maximise civilian casualties. Then they blame Israel, and then they come here to complain to the UN,” Danon said.

Also, undaunted, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Erdogan , issuing a statement that “Erdogan is among Hamas’s biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.”

There is only one possible end to the Satanic inspired hatred of the Jews and it is prophesied in God’s Word.

 

 

What is ahead for Christians in 2015?

2015 image 2

Does the Bible give us any clues from prophecy? Of course it does, and like never before, Biblical scholars are studying the prophecy sections in both the Old and New Testaments. What has stimulated this frenzy is of course what is happening in the Middle East and North Africa as Christians are facing unprecedented persecution.

The rise of ISIS and the atrocities (beheading) against Christians in a number of middle eastern countries draws us to the end times prophecy in Matthew 24:7-9  “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you (Christians) up to be afflicted and will kill you. And you will be hated of all nations for My name’s sake.” ISIS gives Christians three choices: 1. Convert to Islam, 2. Remain a Christian and pay an exorbitant tax, 3. Remain a Christian and be beheaded. Option 2 is not a long term option.

It is also significant that Damascus and its demise is central focus of many old testament end time prophecies: Isaiah 17:1, Ezekiel 38 & 39, Amos 1:3-5. Some commentators refer to Syria’s involvement in the 1948, 1967 and 1973 wars as the three sins mentioned in Amos with a fourth still to come in the End Times. Jeremiah 49:23-27 also discusses Damascus downfall with similar language to Amos. Isn’t it interesting the West particularly America is trying to decide what role they should take in Syria as it continues into increasing chaos.

It was thought the overthrow of Morosi’s government in Egypt would help Christians but this has not happened. An outburst of violence against Christians by Morosi supporters in 2013 was not halted by the new government not wanting to offend the Islamists. Seventy four churches were burned or desecrated and a grand total of one person was arrested though ten’s of thousands of Islamists were involved.

The British author and journalist (Daily Telegraph & Prospect) concluded in his outstanding column on the fate of Christians in the Middle East with “The story is not of expansion followed by persecution but of persecution leading to elimination”.

It seems fanciful to see a world where Islam is ruling the nations unless of course the Bible’s prophesy of a one-world leader is true and that leader happens to be the 12th Imam (al Mahdi, the “Rightly Guided One”) that the Muslim world believes in and his appearance is imminent.  A recent survey amongst Muslims revealed 42% of them believe this Islamic superman will appear in their lifetime. When you read what Muslims believe al-Mahdi will achieve, you would think you are reading the Bible’s description of the Ant Christ. Dozens of books have been written about Mahdi by both Sunni and Shiite scholars and both believe he will come to prepare the world for Allah’s judgment. Jerusalem will even be the centre of Imam, al-Mahdi’s Islamic rule according to a hadith from Muhammad. If you want to read more about the similarities between the Bible’s Antichrist and al-Mahdi get the book by Ralph Stice, Arab Spring, Christian Winter: Islam Unleashed on the Church and the World (2014). Ralph says to keep your eye on Turkey (old Ottoman Empire). Joel Richardson’s DVD “The Return is Near” is another valuable resource.

I believe Jonathan Cahn in his best selling book and DVD “The Harbinger” has identified correctly the judgment God is meting out on America starting with 9/11. There is no sign of repentance and turning back to God in this nation. In fact, the opposite is true so more judgment is ahead. Jonathan expects September 13th, 2015 to be a significant day for more economic judgment as it marks the next Shemitah. The last Shemitah 9/29/2008 signaled the collapse of Wall Street – drop of 777 points (7%).

Of interest, I met Jonathan unexpectedly in a hotel in Jerusalem last month. It was no coincidence. I was there for the “Gathering” put on by Watchmen for the Nations. Three and half thousand Christians were meeting in Jerusalem to praise God and pray with and support the Jewish and Arab Christians in Israel. Jonathan had no knowledge of this event or of the group putting it on. I was God’s messenger to connect Jonathan with this group. What really astounded Jonathan was that more than half of the Christians at the Gathering were Chinese. It demonstrated what he knew to be true that just as the economic power has swung from the west to the east, Holy Spirit power has also swung from the west to the east.

Chinese Christians are carrying out God’s call to send evangelists on the three Silk Roads back to Jerusalem. They go as Jesus sent His disciples to spread the Gospel, no two pairs of shoes. It is happening. The book “Back to Jerusalem – Call to Complete the Great Commission” by Three Chinese Church Leaders is a must read to know what God is doing in these last days.

Russia is back in the news. If oil prices remain this low for much longer, the former Soviet Union will face recession. Last week the ruble fell 36% against the dollar. A desperate interest rate increase has reversed the trend for a time but it is known the oil price is below the production cost for the debt ridden state -owned Rosneft. Clearly Putin’s geopolitical ambitions were financed on $100 + oil, but with $60 oil, Russia is fighting to keep itself afloat. Desperate circumstances often bring desperate action.

Debt ridden European Union countries are in crisis. This quote by George Diez in Spiegel Online International says it all. “It is in the nature of this crisis that the longer it continues, the more confusing it gets. It becomes more difficult to follow its twists and turns and to see who is responsible for what. And the whole time, alternatives are disappearing before our very eyes.”

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa poses a catastrophic threat to the region, and could spread further reports The Economist.

As I write famine warnings are being sounded for South Sudan and Somalia.

The world is being shaken as never before and yet God is in control of world events. Jonathan Cahn’s “The Harbinger” reveals the truth that God is in control of world events. The stock market fell 777 points ( 7%) exactly 7 years to the day after 9/11.

The Bible is God’s HISTORY and it reveals how events are going to play out in the not too distant future. Put your trust in our loving heavenly Father and what He has provided for you through His son Jesus.