WATCH! Volume 1 Issue 1 10/22/01
Thank you for joining me in our very first issue of the WATCH! newsletter.
This is a biweekly newsletter devoted to watching the events of our time through the "eyes" of the prophetic scriptures found in the Bible. I examine the media for information relevant to the fulfilment of end times prophecies. These prophecies must be fulfilled before the LORD Jesus Christ can come back. There are two reasons for this. First, the LORD is giving the lost sufficient time and warning to change their minds about him. Second, He wants his servants (believers) to be watching for him to come. He has given us the fulfillment of scriptures as a kind of road map to his coming. Will you be found ready to immediately open the door for Him when He comes? (Luke 12:35-49, 21:29-31)
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Randy Loudenslager
As found in Acts 17:11 we should be Bereans in seeking out God's wisdom in scripture. Please take the time to follow up on the scriptures provided here. Be sure to listen to what God tells you in these scriptures. We come into end time prophecy with many different notions of what will happen. Let God tell you for himself what will happen.
PEACE IN JERUSALEM?
One of the most startling news articles that I have come across recently had to do with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's comments on the future of the Palestinians. Mr Blair is quoted in the Jerusalem Post Oct.16th as saying it is necessary to establish, "a viable Palestinian state, as part of a negotiated and agreed settlement which guarantees peace and security for Israel." Blair continued, "The end we desire... is a just peace in which Israelis and Palestinians live side by side, each in their own state, secure and able to prosper and develop." This would "end the suffering of the Palestinians living in poverty and without hope, and give them the peace and justice they need." At the same time, it would allow Israelis "to feel confident in their own security, free from terrorism in all its forms." Blair is a very influential member of the 15 nation European Union. Europe is well understood to be pro-Palestinian and vigorously supports a Palestinian State. This article also shows that there are proponents of statehood in this country as well:
In Washington, meanwhile, 28 former senior US officials, primarily ex-envoys to Arab and Muslim countries, have written to President George W. Bush saying Americans will not likely live tranquil lives again until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved and a Palestinian state is born.
"The Israeli-Palestinian problem has festered for too long. It must be solved for many reasons, not least to deny our enemies recruits for the conduct of further atrocities against us," read the letter, sent Friday.
"Engagement of the United States in the effort to help Israelis and Palestinians reverse the escalating violence between them and find a basis for coexistence including a state of Palestine reflects both our highest ideals and our national interest. Until Palestinians and Israelis can live normal lives, confident that they need not fear mass murder, maiming, and grieving, Americans, too, are unlikely to be assured a return to domestic security and tranquility."
The following is from a Jerusalem Post article the very next day (Oct 17th) in which Israel showed her willingness to allow a Palestinian State:
In the wake of increasing calls around the world for a Palestinian state, Sharon repeated his statement of last month that Israel will agree to the establishment of such a state if certain conditions are met.
In a speech to Likud activists in Kiryat Motzkin, Sharon said that the state will only come about through an agreement with Israel and after the Palestinians have fulfilled all the security obligations to which they have committed themselves.
Sharon said that after all this takes place, sometime in the future, the state will have to be demilitarized with a police force; Israel will sit on its external borders; the country will be unable to sign treaties with Israel's enemy states; and Israel will be able to fly in Palestinian airspace.
Sharon said that in the negotiations with the Palestinians there will be a number of red lines, including Jerusalem remaining united under Israeli sovereignty with the Temple Mount at its center, the Golan Heights in Israeli hands because of its strategic importance, and the retention of the Jordan Valley and essential security areas in Judea and Samaria.
And this from the Geostrategy-Direct Intelligence Brief of October 17th:
The pressure began on the eve of the U.S.-led military offensive against Afghanistan. European leaders were calling their counterparts in Israel and urging them to offer gestures to the Palestinians. They also sounded enthusiastic about a new order in the Middle East that would unite against terrorism and bring peace to the region.
What does it all mean?
Will there be a Palestinian State? I believe the scriptures say yes. I believe that the Palestinians will also allow Israel to rebuild the temple (Note: The corner stones for the new temple were laid on October 4th). The areas occupied by the Palestinians are mentioned in Zephaniah 2:4-7 As being occupied by the Philistines and abandoned or destroyed on the last day. Interestingly verses 8-10 follow immediately in the context and speak of the area that is today the nation of Jordan, whose displaced Palestinian population is the vast majority there. This is important because it shows a clear and distinct presence of these people who were never at peace with Israel. To achieve their goal of an independent state they need to promise peace, amongst other things to Israel. We are not there yet, but when peace is actually achieved in Israel it will begin the seven year peace covenant mentioned in Daniel 9:27a. For three and one half years from that point Israel will be lulled into passivity by her sense of safety. The anti-Christ will take advantage of this passivity and his armies will storm across the land. Jerusalem will fall and the anti-Christ will set himself up as God or better known as the abomination that causes desolation - the desolation being the great tribulation. (Daniel 9:27b & Ezekiel 38:7-16) Three and one half years from that point will be the last day - the day of God's wrath upon earth when Jesus Christ comes to establish his kingdom.
SHIPS FROM THE WESTERN COAST LANDS
The title for this article is from Daniel 11:30 and finishes
. . . will oppose him and he will lose heart.
The following is quoted from the October 17 edition of the Debka
Intelligence Files:
. . . military sources report the United States has been massing naval strength, including Marine units aboard an aircraft carrier, in the eastern Mediterranean opposite the Syrian and Lebanese coasts. The Israeli and Turkish armies, air forces and navies are in a state of preparedness.
I don't believe that this is a fulfillment of this scripture because other events have to happen that will coincide with this one.
"At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. Ships of the western coast lands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation" Daniel 11:29-31.
But as we draw closer to those times one has to wonder if this isn't a dress rehearsal and will this be the role of the United States, as Israel's protector, in the end times?
MARK OF THE BEAST
These quotes are from an October 12th article in Computer World sent to me by a reader.
Privacy is dead following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, according to Sun Microsystems Inc. CEO Scott McNealy.
"I'm a huge proponent of a national ID card," McNealy
said, noting that several years ago he had said, "Privacy
is dead, get over it."
McNealy said that to overcome the "efficiency tax" travelers
are facing at airports with long lines, it will make sense to
begin adopting identity cards that are smart-card-enabled. These
can be supplemented by biometric identification such as a thumb
print scanner, all of which can be done more efficiently than
"50 security guards."
McNealy said he envisions the day when parents implant smart chips
behind the ears of their children for identification purposes.
"My dog has a chip [implant], and it's interesting [that]
we treat a dog better than our kids."
McNealy met briefly with reporters and was asked if he seriously
intended to endorse chip implants. He said he does, adding, "We
are going to move to smart cards and chips ... so we feel safe."
What does it all mean?
First of all most people understand what fear does and will play a big part in coercing free peoples to exchange their freedom for security. With that said it is obvious that these quotes suggest a man who has succumbed to his fears and/or understands how to use them to increase corporate revenues and federal power.
Galatians 5:1 states, It is for freedom that Christ has set
us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened
again by a yoke of slavery.
Christ freed us from fear, not from the fear of God, but the fear
that accompanies hopelessness. He told us to watch for the signs
of his coming so that our hearts will not
"be weighed down with . . . the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap." Luke 21:34
He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666. Revelation 13:16-18
Never before has it been possible to mark every person in the world in such a way. As you can read from Scott McNealy's quotes, fear ultimately will make taking this number more palatable to people living in uncertain times. Our Father in heaven knows our needs and can conquer all fear within you - look for his coming.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
COLONIES IN SPACE . . . ONLY HOPE
As a Christian I would consider this following bit of news as idiotic as they come, but for two things. First the man who said these things is none other than Prof Hawking, Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge. Second, his thoughts seem perfectly plausible to a world without hope. The following comes from an interview with the British publication The Telegraph on October 16th.
THE human race is likely to be wiped out by a doomsday virus
before the Millennium is out, unless we set up colonies in space,
Prof Stephen Hawking warns today.
"In the long term, I am more worried about biology. Nuclear
weapons need large facilities, but genetic engineering can be
done in a small lab. You can't regulate every lab in the world.
The danger is that either by accident or design, we create a virus
that destroys us."
"I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand
years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents
that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist.
We will reach out to the stars."
Prof Hawking believes that genetic engineering could be used to
"improve" human beings to meet the challenges of long
duration space travel.
Cyborgs, humans with computers linked to their brains, will be
needed to prevent intelligent computers taking over. "I think
humans will have to learn to live in space," he said.
What does it all mean?
First things first, Prof Hawking needs to understand that there will be no escape for man - even as he ascends into the heavens. You see, God has that one covered as well.
"Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape. Though they dig down to the depths of the grave, from there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens, from there I will bring them down. Though they hide on the top of Carmel, there will I hunt them down and seize them. Though they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, there will I command the serpent to bite them. Amos 9:1-3
Here we see what in Amos's eyes looked impossible and yet, man has walked on the moon and is building a space station. He has gone to the bottom of the sea in his submarines and has dug for himself elaborate bunkers to protect himself from war and nuclear holocaust. All of these things will be useless when the LORD comes again - only those who are found obedient will be passed over by death. Secondly, I cringe at an "optimism" that produces the arrogant belief that we can dismiss one form of annihilation for another, that the plague of microbes will be our undoing over the consuming fire of nuclear holocaust. Doesn't he know that God will unleash both upon the earth?
I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. Ezekiel 38;22
There is so much scripture on this topic that I opted for just one representative verse.