The Most Important Prophetic Event of the 20th Century Leads to the Most Important Prophetic Event of the 21st Century - Revelation 19:11-16!

UPDATE 28 May 2014: I like surprises. Yesterday I was surprised twice. First, I was surprised to find in my 'snail mail' mail box a new book by Dr. David R. Reagan, the cover of which is seen in the image above. The second surprise was to find out moments later that the subject of this Eschatology Today blog entry is not just an article from Lamb & Lion Ministry's Lamplighter magazine, but actually the12-page Chapter 3 from Dr. Reagan's new book "The Jewish People: Rejected or Beloved?".

So, now I am even more than pleased to inform all readers that this is the best new book that you probably have never heard of or did not yet know was published and available that is focused upon "the evil of Replacement Theology and the tragedy of Dual Covenant Theology." Just click the above link and it will take you to the page where you can order this outstanding 231-page paperback resource. Within the pages of this book you will find the Scripture-based answers that Dr. Reagan has provided to these questions:

• Have the Jews ceased to be God’s Chosen People?
• Are they guilty of the unforgivable sin of “killing God”?
• Has God replaced them with the Church?
• Has God transferred their promises to the Church?
• Have they lost all hope as a nation?
• Are they devoid of any role in the end times?
• If God still loves them, how could He allow them to experience the Holocaust?
• Do they have their own way of salvation, separate and apart from Jesus?

As an addition to your end-times library, as an indispensable resource for un-saved loved ones left behind in the wake of the Harpazo, or even as a very timely gift to someone you know you can't go wrong by purchasing this $15.00 paperback book. I can think of no better summer 2014 book, other than the Bible itself, to be reading than this one.

8 May 2014: I am more than pleased to present an article from the May/June 2014 .pdf issue of Lamplighter magazine published yesterday by Dr, David R. Reagan, founder and director of Lamb and Lion Ministries.  After merely reading the interrogative title of Dr. Reagan's article this morning, I found myself transforming it into the declarative title of this blog post because that is precisely what the prophetic re-birth of Israel is - a prophetic declaration in the active process of fulfillment leading to the soon return to this earth of the Lord Jesus Christ in exactly the manner prophetically detailed in Revelation 19:11-16 (as artistically illustrated above):

"Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a shar0 sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS."

Enjoy!

What Was the Most Important Prophetic Development of the 20th Century?

By Dr. David R. Reagan

Founder and Director, Lamb and Lion Ministries

One of the greatest examples of God's continuing love for the Jewish people can be found in the most important prophetic development of the 20th Century.

When I think back on the 20th Century and all its amazing events, I am reminded of some words found in Habakkuk 1:5. They constitute a statement made by God to the prophet:

Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days — You would not believe if you were told.

The 20th Century was full of momentous events that no one could have foreseen in 1900. Looking back on that century, what would you consider to be the most important event from a biblical perspective — particularly from the viewpoint of Bible prophecy?

World Wars I and II?

The Great Depression?

The advent of space travel?

The collapse of Communism?

The reunification of Europe?

The resurgence of Islam?

The answer from a biblical perspective is none of these events. The most important development of the 20th Century — more important than all of these events put together — was the worldwide regathering of the Jewish people to their homeland.

And lest you think I am exaggerating, let me prove it to you.


The Relevant PropheciesThere are many Bible prophecies concerning the regathering of the Jewish people in unbelief. In fact, their regathering in unbelief is the most prolific prophecy in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Jeremiah 16:14-15 — Let's take a look at three of the most important of those prophecies. The first is found in Jeremiah 16. It is mind-boggling. Read it carefully:

14) "Therefore behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be said, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,'

15) but, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.' For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers."

This same prophecy is repeated verbatim in Jeremiah 23:7-8.

You cannot fully appreciate what is said in these verses unless you know something about Judaism. The one event that all Jews consider to be the greatest miracle in their history is the deliverance of their ancestors from Egyptian captivity under the leadership of Moses.

But this scripture passage asserts that a time will come when the Jews will look back on their history and proclaim that their regathering from the four corners of the earth — the event that began in the 1890s and continues to this day — was a greater miracle than their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. In other words the regathering in the 20th Century will eclipse the Exodus!

This means that you and I are privileged to witness one of the greatest miracles of history. And yet, the average Christian has no appreciation for what is happening because he is ignorant of Bible prophecy and he has been taught that God is finished with the Jews. Therefore, the current regathering is simply viewed as an accident of history.

Isaiah 11:10-12 — The second prophecy I want to bring to your attention is found in Isaiah 11:

10) Then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples...

11) Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12) And He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Some have tried to debunk any modern application of this prophecy by claiming that it was fulfilled about 500 years before the time of Jesus by the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity. But that cannot be. The passage refers to a "second" regathering (the return from Babylon being the first). Further, it states this will be a regathering "from the islands of the sea," which is a Hebrew colloquialism for the whole world, as is made clear in verse 12 where it states that the regathering will be "from the four corners of the earth." Also, verse 12 says that "the banished ones" of both Israel and Judah will be regathered. The return from Babylon was a regathering of Jews from Judah.

Ezekiel 37 — The third prophecy is found in Ezekiel 37. This is the famous prophecy of the Valley of the Dry Bones (watch one minute animation). The prophet was placed in a valley full of bones and told to preach to them. As he did so, the bones began to come together, flesh grew back upon them and they came to life, becoming "an exceedingly great army" (Ezekiel 37:1-10). At that point, the Lord explained to Ezekiel what he was witnessing:

11) Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.'

12 "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.'"

This is a symbolic prophecy. The dry bones represent the Jewish people in their end time dispersion, with no hope of ever existing again as a nation. The resurrection from their graves represents their regathering from the nations where they had been dispersed.

We can be assured of this interpretation because it is the one that God Himself provides later in the chapter:

21) "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;

22) and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms.'"

Again, those who are determined to argue that God has no purpose left for the Jewish people, attempt to invalidate these verses as an end time prophecy by arguing that they were fulfilled when the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity. But that simply cannot be.The entire chapter has an end time context. It speaks of a regathering from "the nations," and not just from Babylon (verse 21). It says this regathering will result in a union of Jews from both Israel and Judah (verse 19). And it says that following this regathering, the Jewish people will turn their hearts to God and will become "My people" (verse 23).

At verse 24, the chapter moves into the Millennial Reign of Jesus as it speaks of David (in his glorified body) once again becoming the king of the Jewish people. Further, it states that at that time, "the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel..." (verse 28).

MH370: Former PM Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad Asking the Right Questions

UPDATE 20 May 2013: This verbatim update was just received this morning.

"KUALA LUMPUR – Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister and one of the most influential figures in Malaysia’s ruling party, has said information about flight MH370 is being hidden and the Australian-led search for the plane off Western Australia is a waste of time and money.

The plane’s disappearance on March 8 was most likely not an ordinary crash after fuel was exhausted, he said. “The plane is somewhere, maybe without MAS [Malaysia Airlines] markings,” he said. “It is a waste of time and money to look for debris or oil slick or to listen for pings from the black box,” he said.

Dr Mahathir, 88, who was prime minister for 22 years from 1981, wrote in his personal blog that he could not imagine that the pilots made a soft landing in rough seas and then quietly went down with the aircraft. “Someone is hiding something. It is not fair that MAS and Malaysia should take the blame,” he wrote.

He believed that the Central Intelligence Agency of the US had knowledge of the disappearance of the plane with 239 people on board but was not sharing it with Malaysia. Boeing, the plane’s maker, and certain government agencies, have the ability to remotely take over control of commercial airliners such as the missing Boeing 777, he said.

“For some reason, the media will not print anything that involves Boeing or the CIA,” he said. In another blog last month, Dr Mahathir, who remains a power broker in the ruling United Malays National Organization, questioned whether the plane crashed into the southern Indian Ocean and blamed Boeing for its disappearance.

His comments on MH370 reflect deep suspicion in Malaysia of foreign involvement in the plane’s disappearance despite Prime Minister Najib Razak saying last week that nobody knew what happened on board, or precisely where the plane was, more than two months after it disappeared.

Najib said experts had identified that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean, where the search was focused, discounting dozens of other theories and reported sightings. But Dr Mahathir also wrote that the planes don’t just disappear in presence of all powerful communications systems."

 This military intelligence posting came my way in an email late yesterday (19MAY14), and it is reported here exactly as I received it. The right questions are being asked by Malaysia's former Prime Minister, and he also raises an issue that none have dared to raise before.

"Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday suggested that Boeing and the Central Intelligence Agency should be questioned over the missing Flight MH370.

"Someone is hiding something. It is not fair that Malaysian Airlines (MAS) and Malaysia should take the blame," he said in his blog Chedet.cc.

In his 11-paragraph long post, Mahathir expressed his viewpoints and theories on the situation and stressed that something was out of place and that the media would not post anything about Boeing or CIA.

"They can land safely or they may crash, but airplanes do not just disappear. Certainly not these days with all the powerful communication systems which operate almost indefinitely and possess huge storage capacities,” Mahathir said.

Stating that he believes the tracking system on the plane was intentionally disabled, Mahathir questioned on where was the data of the plane, which was supposed to have been recorded by the satellite.

"MH370 is a Boeing 777 aircraft. It was built and equipped by Boeing, hence all the communications and GPS equipment must have been installed by Boeing. 

"If they failed or have been disabled, Boeing must know how it can be done and surely Boeing would ensure that they cannot be easily disabled as they are vital to the safety and operation of the plane," he said.

He added that in 2006, Boeing received a US patent for a system that, once activated, removes all control from pilots to automatically return a commercial airliner to a pre-determined landing location.

He cited Flightglobal.com article by John Croft dated Dec 1, 2006, stating that the ‘uninterruptible’ autopilot would be activated – either by pilots, on board sensors or even by radio or satellite links by government agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency, if terrorists attempt to gain control of the flight deck.

"Clearly Boeing and certain agencies have the capacity to take over 'uninterruptible control' of commercial airliners of which MH370 is one," he said.

Mahathir said attempts to detect the plane by looking for debris and oil slick was a waste of money, adding that this was not an ordinary crash and that the plane was  somewhere, maybe without MAS’ markings.

"Boeing should explain about this so-called anti-terrorism auto-land system. 

"I cannot imagine the pilots made a soft-landing in rough seas and then quietly drown with the aircraft," he added."

Global SITREP C5-14: An Observation of the Current Situation

13 May 2014:  Until very recently when Russia under the rule of Vladimir Putin commenced its campaign of aggressive westward-oriented territorial enlargement, it had begun to look like NATO was fast becoming an alliance without an adversary. The military drawdown in Afghanistan in 2014 was supposed to herald the end of NATO combat operations that had been in progress in Central Asia for the past thirteen years. Now, thanks to Russian ill-timed military belligerence against its neighbors, all bets are off when it comes to NATO becoming an irrelevant military alliance. The post-Soviet trend that had been in existence from 1991 to April 2014 has suddenly become the thing with R.I.P. freshly engraved on its tombstone.

While the Russian conquest of Crimea will have to stand the test of time in order to become something of a permanent reality, it is the threats against the rest of Ukraine and the whole of Eastern Europe, from Finland to Romania, which now has NATO's undivided attention. As duly noted in Kim Zigfeld's must read article "Putin and the Dogs of War" published today at AmericanThinker.com, what had not been under active consideration a little over 30 days ago is now on the front burner in Finland and Sweden: 

"Those facing Russia at close range have few illusions about what the future holds for them. Two-thirds of Finnish generals and the prime minister believe that Finland, long independent, must now join NATO in order to protect itself from potential Russian aggression."

The United States and Europe's current leadership may be decidedly liberal and openly socialist, but they're not stupid, and most certainly they are not suicidal. They recognize when they have been lied to repeatedly, irregardless of whether the liar is the president of the Russian Federation or the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A "peace at all costs" mindset is not something that has a particularly long life expectancy in the face of blatant military aggression as occurred against Czechoslovakia little more than generation ago, or would survive Iranian Ayatollah Obi Wan Khameini's attempt to wave his hand and say "These are not the Exploding Bridgewire Detonators (EBW) that you're looking for," or "Our nuclear weapons are only for peaceful purposes." 

In this environment I think we should expect that in the coming months a search will begin in earnest among the transatlantic elite for a strong, willful and charismatic leader for the NATO alliance. Someone who can look either Putin or the Iranian wannabe al-Mahdi straight in the eye and make them both blink and swallow hard. Someone to replace the ineffectual leadership at the E3/EU+3 and Iran Talks in Vienna. That's my forward leaning observation of the current situation.

Happy 66th Independence Day Israel!

Watch the 1966 movie "Cast a Giant Shadow" on the internet in commemoration.

6 May 2014: Israel has begun the 66th celebration of its Independence Day, so it seems appropriate to bring this forward once again as a fitting anniversary tribute.

15 May 2011: An American Army officer is recruited by the not-yet-existent State of Israel to help them form an army in the closing days of the British Mandate. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish roots. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors have vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins. Starring: Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Angie Dickenson, Frank Sinatra, Yul Brenner, Senta Berger

The above linked movie is about certain events which literally fulfilled the prophetic Word of God from the prophet Ezekiel, chapters 36 and 37 and Isaiah 66:8 among other prophetic verses. As can be seen historically in the events of of the seven years between 66 and 73 AD where the prophecy of the angel Gabriel to Daniel was literally fulfilled, and how those events became manifest by the actions of men; the armies of Rome and the "kingdoms" of that time, so too were the events of 1948 brought into literal fulfillment by the actions of men, particularly an American military commander by the name of Colonel David Daniel Marcus, a/k/a Aluf Michael Stone, and the returning remnant of Israel from the 1,900-year long global diaspora. Through these events we can see that the coming fulfillment of Bible prophecy will be manifest with the military men and equipment who are alive and existent right now. These then are the tools God will use to bring about the Greater Israel that is to exist after the final battle of Psalm 83, the subsequent War of Gog-Magog and on into the the final seven years of Daniel's 70th Week and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in this generation.

Happy Birthday Israel!

Global SITREP C4-14: Slovyansk in the Crosshairs

Ukrainian army securing an insurgent checkpoint near Slovyansk

UPDATE 5 May 2015: Once again intensifying combat is reportedly raging in and around Slovyansk, and Ukrainian special civil police forces have been deployed to the southern city of Odessa. Another Ukrainian helicopter was shot down today, but the pilot survived the ordeal.  There is also a report of Ukrainian paratroopers jumping into the the Slovyansk battle.

2 MAY 2014: On the start of the 5th day since Ukrainian military forces surrounded Slovyansk and a Russian effort to relieve the city did not materialize as expected, Ukraine launched a full-scale assault early this morning to take the city back from its Russian Spetsnaz and pro-Russian occupiers. Without question the Russian invasion of Ukraine has now entered a far more deadly and destructive phase; it may be only a matter of time at this point until direct full-scale conflict is joined between Russia and Ukraine across a broad front along their mutual border with the Battle of Slovyansk becoming the first contact of this expected war.

Russia has further compromised any possible alibi in this blatant invasion of sovereign Ukrainian territory as its Spetsnaz forces under the command of a GRU Colonel (details below) have met the Ukrainian offensive with top of the line MANPADS (man portable air defense) weapons being used to shoot down two Ukrainian assault helicopters killing a pilot of one and a crew member of another in this morning's first contact.

Mid-Day Update: The Ukrainian offensive in Slovyansk has apparently progressed from the many roadblocks on the outskirts into more urban areas of they city where the Spetznaz and their insurgent allies have taken to using homes and businesses as defensive positions. Some might refer to this tactic as using the general population of Slovyansk as human shields. This appears to have brought the Ukrainian forces to a quick-halt in their counter-insurgency operation as their commanders reassess options in pressing forward into the city center. The Ukrainian president reported many of the opposing forces have been killed or captured.  Facing this onslaught Russia issued the even more bellicose threat of "catastrophic consequences" for the Ukrainian action on its own soil and then promptly called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council.

28 April 2014: Ukrainian Army main battle tanks (MBTs), armored personnel carriers (APCs) and a highly Ukrainian upgraded Mi-24P/V/PM assault helicopter (NATO Name: Hind) are seen in the above image in a high speed combat maneuver near the eastern Ukrainian town of Slovyansk (also spelled: Slavyansk, Slaviansk) within the past couple of days. Slovyansk was seized by Russian Spetsnaz (special forces) and insurgent ethnic Russian militia in recent weeks. 

Ukrainian government demands for the Russian-insurgent forces to stand down have been ignored. The Russian-led forces have recently detained (read: illegally captured as Prisoners Of War) a group of NATO/European military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The lone Swedish officer of this group has been released on medical grounds. The Ukrainian Army, under the command of General Vasily Krutov, has (for the time being) completely surrounded and trapped the Russian Spetsnaz-led insurgents inside Slovyansk with the 120,000 civilian residents.

It is a fair assessment that Vladimir Putin will not allow this situation to continue for very long. Some type of air assault of other Russian Spetsnaz from Rostov-on-Don, Russia may occur in the next few hours to alter the situation in Russia's favor. Slovyansk may well be the initial large-scale contact in the coming war between Ukraine and Russia. It is this generally westward, or other than southern direction of Russian military operations (as in Crimea), that is posited to be the direction from which God will in the near future have turned Gog of Magog around via hooks in his jaws and towards the mountains of Israel as prophesied in Ezekiel 38:4 and 39:2. This is the eschatological basis for keeping a close watch in these unfolding events in Europe.

Ezekiel's Prophecy and Current Reality

Russian RT-2UTTKh Topol-M ICBM (US Army photo)

To my knowledge no one has ever addressed or posed any level of inquiry about why Ezekiel's prophecy on the coming attempt that will be made to sweep down seize a peaceful and secure Israel is, according to the full extent of the text, tantamount to a "one and done" military expedition. Gog of Magog has the Divine khäkh  (i.e. rings, hooks) placed in his jaws thereby drawing his massive but loose confederation of forces to their doom on the mountains and fields of Israel... and that is it, end of story, no further battles, and no prolonged campaign or continuation of war except for the massive amount of plague. blood, and an overflowing rain of  hail, fire and brimstone sent by the Lord upon these invaders on that particular day.

This important prophetic detail may well have its basis in the current state of affairs of Russian military landwarfare forces, particularly since the collapse of the Soviet Union and its feared military machine 23 years ago and the steady deterioration of those forces ever since. Granted, some modest modernization and specific defense systems have continued in their progression, but the basic bulk of the Russian military that used to exist is exactly that - a thoroughly extinct beast. Russian landwarfare forces are capable of one or possibly two strategic strikes or lightning land campaigns as is being threatened in against eastern Ukraine, but that's all they've got. There is no prolonged warfighting capability in Russia due to an acute lack of any sustainment for a long-haul campaign such as would ensue if Vladimir Putin were stupid enough to take NATO on directly with an invasion of the Baltic states.

This is the great, but not-so-well-kept secret behind what is occurring at the present time in the continuing Russian aggression against Ukraine. At most the once mighty Russia has mustered perhaps 40 to 50 thousand troops whose task thus far has been to intimidate and parade their wares on Russian territory. All of the real combat operations have been undertaken by a newly modernized special operations force of perhaps 500 men based at Rostov-on-Don. These men are led by a GRU intelligence officer who operates under the nom de guerre of Igor Strelkov, but whose true identity is 44-year old Colonel Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin.  These facts came to light in a recent Special Operations Forces Report (SOFREP) by a veteran Canadian trooper of 14 years, Jonathan Wade, who saw combat in Afghanistan.

The only thing keeping NATO from going full-tilt in halting Russian aggression is the existing Russian military doctrine which authorizes the immediate first use of weapons like the one in the image above - nuclear-armed strategic missile forces. You may recall I noted a Russian test launch of just such a weapon during the Crimean crisis. This is what Russia has as its trump card, and this is why NATO will only offer token resistance to Russian aggression against an indefensible Ukraine which is also ridden through and through by a 5th Column of pro-Russian Ukrainian traitors and turncoats. Should a major war be forced upon the parties in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, then the military sustainment shortcomings of the Russian forces would all but guarantee a first use of their strategic nuclear forces to "repulse armed aggression, if all other means of resolving the crisis have been exhausted," and "in case of a threat to the existence of the Russian Federation" which would occur in the event of a prolonged NATO versus Russian Federation war breaking out.

I think now we may now begin to more fully come to grips with one of the finer details of Ezekiel's inspired prophecy in chapters 38 and 39; why it will be a "one and done" military adventure for Gog of Magog and his entire military force. They have an appointment with the Lord on the mountains of Israel and not with NATO in Europe.

Marana'tha!