We Are Israel!

 The purpose of this organization is to mobilize Christians and other people of faith to support the State of Israel, to encourage prayer among all Americans for the peace of Jerusalem, and to educate the public about the facts regarding the Middle East and Israel's security.  The Bible admonishes us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122:6). With the very survival of Israel threatened, never has there been a more critical time for the church in the United States to stand for Israel.  As a prelude to the day of prayer for Israel, I speak on the Biblical line-up of world powers that may lead our country into war against the enemies of Israel within the next few weeks.

 http://www.standforisrael.org/index.cfm

Prophecy and Interpretation

   Now that Congress has passed a war powers act (10/11/02), it looks as though the United States and Great Britain may declare war on Iraq, the nation that’s known in the Bible as Babylon.  Even the most casual Bible student has heard the phrase “Babylon has fallen.”  Can military action against Babylon be Biblical?  Prophetic?  If so, is the United States in Bible prophecy?  Everybody’s interested in prophecy.  People want to know the signs that point to Jesus’ return and the ‘end of the age.’  Because there’s such curiosity, Christian end-time prophecy, like everything else of interest, has become a multi-billion dollar industry.

   I believe the Bible itself holds the answers to our questions about the future; however, I don’t read much about Bible prophecy.  I’m not interested in what novelists think.  The Bible explains itself well enough!  But there are three sources of information vital for interpreting what the Bible says about the end-times.

   The most important source is the Bible itself, primarily the prophecies of the Old Testament.  Although the Bible is actually a library of seventy books written over many hundreds of years, these books have a common foundation and unity of purpose and direction.  We find the riddles of the end-time solved when we learn the meaning of the Old Testament.

   The second important source is the history book.  We must know the historical context of Scripture if we are to make any sense of it.  It’s only when we understand the Old Testament writings and the historic context that we may apply the third important source: current events.  When current events fit the Bible model like hand in glove, then there’s little question of what will happen next, only of when.  Often, that too, is revealed.  So what does the Bible say about the end-times and how does the current political landscape fit it’s prediction? 

 

Armageddon and Euphrates

   You’ve heard that there’s to be a great and perhaps final battle called “Armageddon,” right?  Armageddon is the name of a place in Israel.  The term means “Hill of Megiddo,” which we presume includes the valley below, thirteen square acres located seventy-five miles northwest of Jerusalem.  Many decisive battles were fought here in ancient times.  The great battle of the future need not occur in this location, because Armageddon also means “hill of suffering,” which could be anyplace.  Scripture tells us that demons will convince world rulers that Israel and all Israelites must be destroyed (Revelation 16:13-14).  A great portion of the world heeds this demonic message and hates Israel.  When this deception goes forth, there will be a sign: the Euphrates river will dry up to allow troop movements from the east to cross westward toward Armageddon (Revelation 9:14; 16:12).  The Euphrates River is located in western Iraq and extends northward to Turkey where the new Ataturk Dam has been built.  This dam is the 9^th largest in the world and is capable of completely drying up the great Euphrates River (Revelation 16:12).  The Ataturk Dam is one of many signs that have come to pass in recent history pointing to the end-time.

 

The European Beast

   Not only is the battle-place and the river to cross mentioned, but also the nations who’ll take part in Armageddon on both sides.  The Bible identifies them so we might locate them even thousands of years later.  Let’s start with Yahweh’s enemies.  Revelation 13 tells us of a beast and beast system that control a vast territory and economy.  Of course, the beast system is the Roman Empire.  Its capital city is named in Revelation 17:9: Rome.   In today’s world we have the European Union, which will add ten new countries this week, including Muslim nations.  Did you know that there’s a resurrected Roman Empire?  Only fifty years has passed since Hitler, and Europe is again united under Germany.  Europe is the beast.

 

The Parthian Empire

   In Bible times, the Roman Empire had one menacing enemy – the Parthians to the east.  Revelation 6:2 tells us that a crowned bowman on a white horse goes forth into the battle.  In those days, everybody knew that this symbol referred to the Parthian Empire.  Parthia was that great mass of land on the easternmost border of the Roman Empire, east of the Euphrates River.  Parthia nipped at the heels of Rome for five hundred years.  Rome actually had a Parthian Emperor at one time.  If Parthia existed today, it would include Syria, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.  These nations are united today under Islam.  The basic tenet of Islam is to make converts by means of the sword.  Constituents of Islam are called Muslims.  Muslims in the Middle East overtly hate Israel, hate Great Britain, hate the United States, and are bent on using any means possible to convert us or destroy us, the people they call, “The Great Satan.”

 

The False Prophet

   Revelation tells us that, besides the devil, there will be three other major powers on his side.  There’s the beast, which we already identified with Europe.  Another major player on the devil’s side the Bible calls “the false prophet.”   In Islam, the motto is, “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.”  However, the Bible, in the original languages, plainly teaches that the only god is Yahweh and Yahshua is his son.”  Many false prophets have come and gone.  Jesus said, “Many will come saying ‘I’m the one’ but don’t believe them” (Matthew 24:5).  The most successful false prophet of all time is Mohammed.  He prophesied fourteen hundred years ago.  Today there are over one billion, one hundred twenty-six million Muslims (Britannica 1997).  Most of these live in Parthia (the Middle East), Asia, Africa and Europe.  One out of every five people in the world is a Muslim. 

 

The Whore of Babylon

   Another of the devil’s players is called “The Whore” in Revelation 17.  She is a religious figure, one that “is seated upon” Rome but ascribes to the religion the Bible calls “Mystery Babylon.”  The Whore can be none other than the Roman Catholic Church and its daughters.  This is not to say that Catholics or Muslims (per se) are necessarily beastly or devilish.  No, but they’re victims of a strong delusion.  So much of church dogma and practice derives directly from the paganism of ancient Babylon.  In the church, the commandments of Yahweh have been discarded, the Babylonian goddess Easter is celebrated, and dead people are worshiped as gods.  Halloween is a Babylonian practice detested by Yahweh.  The church proves its devilish state when it celebrates Halloween while at the same time hating the Biblical holidays Yahweh himself instituted.

 

The Dominion of Darkness

   The church in Rome, though it’s made public apology for persecuting Jews and collaborating with Arabs and Nazis in the Second World War, still stands against Israel.  The Vatican has even offered to take over Jerusalem on behalf of the world earlier this year (April).  As in the times of the crusades, Rome is greedy to get its hands back on Jerusalem.  What if the Vatican wanted Washington, DC?  Would we be willing to hand it over?  I dare say, no.  The Catholics have already made a mess of Boston.

   Could Scripture be plainer?  In the Revelation, the Dominion of Darkness consists of the dragon, the beast, the false prophet and the whore: that is, the devil, the European Union, the Muslim block and the Church.  The political enemies of Yahweh and his Messiah as prophesied in the Bible are lined up like bowling pins ready to fall.  Messiah will soon appear and “strike” them down with the help of his allies.

   Even as the battle lines are forming, horrendous acts of terror are still occurring in Israel daily.  If we do attack the Parthian Empire as Congress now tells us we may, then we’re very likely to see comparable terrorist, suicide and homicide attacks here in retaliation.  Remember, there are seven million Muslims on this side of the globe.

 

We Are Israel

   But why are we even involved in Middle East politics?  We aren’t dependant on Iraq’s oil.  Is the United States mentioned in Bible prophecy?  Glad you asked that question.  Indeed, we are.  In our times, the nation of Israel, at least in Bible terminology, is made of four groups of people corresponding to the twelve ancient tribes of Israel.  The first group of Israelites are the most obvious -- Jews.  Jews are descendants of the tribes of Judah, Levi and Benjamin, religious or not.  People who live in Israel are primarily Jews, about five million.  Did you know there are more Jews in the United States than in Israel?  There are six million here, thirteen million Jews in the entire world.  Which means there aren’t many Jews anyplace else because seven million died in World War II.

   All Jews are Israelites, but it might surprise you that not all Israelites are Jews. Besides the Jews, the tribe of Joseph is mentioned prominently in the Bible.  This tribe is not comprised of Jews.  The Bible says that Yahweh split Joseph into two tribes named for his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (Genesis 35:11; 48:16-19).  Manasseh and Ephraim figure prominently in end-time events.  The Bible says that Ephraim will be the greatest Commonwealth of Nations ever known and Manasseh will be the greatest and richest nation of all time.  Although these two tribes will be in apostasy (that is, they will not be following the way of Yahweh perfectly), Yahweh will have his hand upon them, he being responsible for the greatness they’ve achieved.

   If we knew nothing else about the great nation Manasseh and the great commonwealth Ephraim, if the Bible was otherwise silent about them, if we didn’t know migration patterns and world history, if we had no other clues … ¿Which nation (would we say) is the greatest that the world has ever seen?  The United States is Manasseh.  ¿Which commonwealth would we say has been the greatest of them all?  Great Britain is Ephraim.  The Jews, the people of Ephraim (the British Commonwealth) and the people of Manasseh (the US) constitute Yahweh’s end-time allies.  They will struggle against the devil’s axis of evil: the dragon, the beast, the false prophet and the whore. 

   We’re the tiny nation of Israel’s only allies in the entire world.  In the eyes of Yahweh, we three nations are united as Greater Israel.  Don’t believe me?  Then consider a dazzling proof.  In the United States there are hundreds of thousands of churches.  To what god are these churches dedicated?  The god of Israel.  In the United States, there are tens of millions of serious religious believers.  What god do they worship?  The god of Israel.  What more proof is needed?  We are allied with Israel because, in the site of G-d, we are Israel.

   This is why the dragon, the beast, the false prophet and the whore are so set against us.  Europe has exterminated the Jews; we have six million.   I need not tell you what the Arab world thinks of Israelites; you hear their venom constantly.  The destiny of the United States and Great Britain are entirely wrapped up in the fate of Israel in the end-times.

   Notice what Obadiah 18 tells us about our time:

Then the House of Jacob will be a fire, the House of Joseph a flame, and the House of Esau like stubble.

The House of Jacob refers to the Jews; the House of Joseph refers to the Anglo Saxon and Hispanic peoples and the House of Esau refers to the Muslim Middle East.  In the end, Babylon will not only have fallen, but will be as burnt stubble, unless the Bible is a lie.  This is all very, very regrettable, but war that culminates in Armageddon is bound to break out unless Yahweh changes his mind. 

 

Taking Sides

   A few weeks ago, a major pollster called and wanted to know my views on politics, the war on terror and Israel and Iraq.  It was a 45-minute interview.  I found the results of that survey Thursday.  The survey said 69% (7 out of 10) of Christians in this country favor military action against Baghdad.  Did you know that the old fashioned name for Baghdad is Babylon?  It’s the same place.  Nearly 7 out of 10 Christians also said that they

Shared the same perspective as the Jews when it comes to the issue of Israel and its current struggle against Palestine.*  

Nearly 7 out of 10 back Israel because they feel G-d gave them the land, citing the Bible.  6 out of 10 backed Israel’s democratic values, it’s alliance with the US in the war on terror and the desire to see Israel as a safe haven for all.  Only 1 out of 3 sited their favor of Israel because they knew end-time events.  This downplaying of end-time prophecy is good because its events are violent.  Many will be casualties of the war that leads to Armageddon.

   One expert on US  / Israel relations stated,

'This survey bears out my view that Christians are trustworthy and vital allies [to Israel].  I've seen more positive changes (in Jewish and conservative Christian relations) in the past six months than I have for the past 25 years” (Eckstein of Stand for Israel.). 

Friend!  As Moses once inquired, “Who’s on Yahweh’s side” (Exodus 32:26)?  The fact is, we side with Israel because we are Israel.  Who can deny it?  Israelite friend, “It’s you, me and Yahweh against the world!”

   If what we’re about to experience is the prelude to Armageddon, we can at least say this time with assurance, Yahweh is on our side.  The great shame is that there must be lawlessness and war in the first place.  But if our Scripture is true and this is indeed the time for Armageddon, then we may rest in the assuring promise that when Messiah is drawn in with his host, he will put a sure end to all war not only in our time, but in all time. 

Jackson Snyder October 11, 2002