December 10, 2005

ElBaradei's Comments Seen As Warning To Israel Not To Bomb Iran
Iran's supreme ruler came out in support of his maligned president on Saturday, who created an international storm by demanding Israel be moved to Europe and casting doubt on whether the Holocaust happened.

"The unusual sensitivity of Zionists and their American supporters toward Iran's stance over the Zionist state reveals their increased weakness and fear about the level of attention given by Islamic nations to the Palestinian issue," state-run Iranian radio quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.

Israel Demands Better Border Security
Navhind Times Sat, 10 Dec 2005 7:21 AM PST
AP Jerusalem Dec 10: Israel threatened yesterday to restrict trade across its frontier with Gaza if the Palestinians fail to address its security concerns at the newly opened border crossing between Gaza and Egypt within two days. The restrictions, if carried out, would further choke Gaza's already shaky economy and damage hopes for renewed cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians following

Iran Reveals Plans To Produce Nuclear Fuel
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's top nuclear official said Saturday that his country will enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel despite the U.S.-led international campaign to persuade it to abandon such ambitions. 

Is Israeli Heading Toward Showdown With US Over Gaza Crossings And Convoys?
Citing security considerations, Israel said it has no intention of allowing bus convoys between Gaza and the West Bank until "better times." The US disagrees.

Waiting For The End Of The World
The man charged with avoiding nuclear apocalypse acknowledges that he is growingly incapable of doing so.

Comments
"Nobel peace laureate and UN nuclear watchdog agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei appeared to warn Israel not to bomb Iranian atomic facilities in a newspaper interview published Saturday." http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/655943.html  I believe it is only a matter of time before this mission is carried out.

If you haven't read the article titled Waiting For The End Of The World you should.  But before the end comes there are still certain things that must take place.  No, I didn't say these things must take place before the rapture occurs.  The rapture can take place at any time.  Here is a list of some of the more obvious occurrences that must take place before the end comes.

Temple Rebuilt: Between now and before the middle of the tribulation period the Bible foretells that the the temple must be rebuilt (Revelation 11:1&2).  This is to fulfill the prophecy that the antichrist would one day (during the tribulation period) walk into the temple and declare himself to be God (Matthew 24:15).  At this point, there is no temple in Jerusalem, but one day soon it will be rebuilt.  Just the other day, the blue robe that the High Priest will one day wear was finished and will go on displace very shortly.  

From time to time I will have a reader write me who will say that Christians are either going through the tribulation period in full (pre-mill) or partially (mid-trib, pre-wrath, 7th trumpet).  I respect their belief, but unless we witness the Jerusalem temple being re-built these theories will never be anything more than that.  I won't even begin to believe Christians are going through the tribulation until I see this.  Even then, it will have to be coupled with the next occurrence on the list.

Signing Of A Seven Year Peace Treaty With Israel: The tribulation period can't start without the signing of a seven-year peace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:25-27).  This treaty signing will mark day one of the tribulation period and will be broken midway through.  Some believe that this treaty maybe the upcoming ENPI treaty that the E.U. is signing with many nations including Israel.  This will be a seven year treaty and will start January 1, 2007.

This is another sticking point for those who believe Christians will go through the tribulation period.  Until we (Christians) witness the signing of such a seven year peace treaty followed by (or preceded by) the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple (within 3 1/2 years) it's still just a theory.

Two Witnesses In Jerusalem: The Bible says that during the tribulation period two supernatural witnesses will preach in Jerusalem and perform spectacular wonders (Revelation 11:3-12).  They will be able to control the weather (stop the rain, cause lightning to strike) and kill anyone who tries to kill them.  They will also be indestructible for 3 1/2 years.  Some believe they will come on the scene at the beginning of the tribulation period while others feel they will appear midway through.

The Death Of One-Quarter Of The World's Population:  The biggest war death toll in world history to date is between fifty and sixty million which happened during World War II.  The Bible says that during the tribulation period one-quarter of the world's population will be lost to war followed by starvation and disease.  With a present world population of around six billion that means at least 1.5 billion will die in a very short time (Revelation 6:1-8).

The Desecration Of The Temple:  As stated earlier, midway through the tribulation period the antichrist will go into the Jerusalem temple, shout profanities toward God, and then declare that he is indeed the Messiah (Matthew 24:15-21).  

Certainly, this has not happened and cannot happen until the (future) temple is built.

Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl Judgments: Twenty-one judgments are listed to take place during the tribulation period.  Most believe they will be carried out in chronological order leaving the world devastated and broken.  The first seal judgment will bring forth the antichrist.  Whether or not his true identity will be revealed to the world at this time is unknown.

False Prophet:  About halfway through the tribulation period satan's false prophet will be revealed and perform many astonishing wonders.  One of his feats will be to erect a statue and cause it to speak (Revelation 13).

All these things must come to pass and they may come sooner than you think.  

Regarding whether Christians will go through the tribulation period there is no Biblical evidence to lead us to believe this.  There is evidence, however, that many will come to the Lord during the tribulation period.  This will be due to the preaching of the two special witnesses and 144,000 sealed witnesses.  But either way God left us here to build His kingdom under all circumstances and that includes tribulation if He so wills.  

Are you ready to meet the Lord?  If not your time is running out!

Pastor Malone