SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Signs of the Times ... Times of the Signs - Jack Kelley -www.gracethrufaith.comThe Pharisees and Saducees came to Jesus and tested Him by askingHim to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, "When evening comesyou say 'It will be fair weather for the sky is red,' and in themorning, 'Today it will be stormy for the sky is red and overcast.'You know how to interpret the signs of the sky but cannot interpretthe signs of the times." (Matt 16:1-3).Events are moving at such a rapid pace just now that it seemsappropriate to stop again and bring you a summary of the week from aprophetic viewpoint. We should closely watch these "signs of thetimes", because it's becoming more and more obvious that we areliving in the "times of the signs".Run-up To WarGet ready, be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you,and take command of them. After many days you will be called toarms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered fromwar, whose people have been gathered from many nations to themountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. (Ezekiel38:7-38a) Every person alive on the planet (everyone who doesn'thold a high executive or diplomatic office in Israel or one of theWestern Countries, that is) knew exactly what would happen from theday the Israeli government first announced its intention to withdrawfrom Gaza. And it has.Thursday, June 14, 2007, world news and intelligence sourcesreported that Hamas has gained control of Gaza and all of its bordercrossings with Israel and Egypt. Palestinian Authority (PA)President Abbas has dissolved the government and declared a state ofemergency.The west's "voice of moderation" among the Palestinians has beendealt a serious blow. Don't get me wrong, the PA is every bit ascommitted to Israel's demise as Hamas, and its Fatah terrorists areevery bit as deadly. But they've convinced western diplomats thatthey're more open to dialog than Hamas in an effort to keep themoney coming in.And come in it will. In an attempt to put the best face on things,the US has indicated it will now lift the boycott on aid to the PAas a reward for forming a new government without Hamas. And Israelis rejoicing that it has a "peace partner" once again. Nonetheless,Israel now also has a strong neighbor on its southern borderpublicly committed to its total annihilation by any means possible.Additionally this neighbor has the unqualified support of Iran, anation with the expressed intention of wiping Israel off the map.By now it should be clear to everybody that Iran will not stop untilit has Israel completely surrounded. Some on site observers believethat Hamas will be ordered into the West Bank next, where they'llcontinue their fight until they've gained total control of all ofthe Palestinian Territory.At the same time Iran, with help from Syria, will obtain similarcontrol on Israel's Northern border by marginalizing the Lebanesegovernment and treating Hizballah as Lebanon's de-facto military.The next step in this process is to have Hizballah confront the UNforces who've been stationed there to keep them away from Israel'sborders. They're betting that the UN will back down, again. Thatwill give a revived and strengthened Hizballah free reign insouthern Lebanon where 20,000 Russian and Iranian rockets, missilesand tank killing RPG's are stockpiled, many more than before the warlast summer.It's Deja Vu All Over AgainSome days it looks like the run up to WW2 all over again with Iranin the role Germany played then. Just like Germany did, Iran makesits intentions clear, backs them up with action, and the worldstands by debating over what the Iranians really mean. Iran hasthumbed its nose at the US, the UN, the EU, Israel, the IAEA, andjust about every other group you can name, and so far they've allbacked down.And now after a lengthy delay Russian Pres. Putin has decided todeliver nuclear fuel rods to Iran to power up the Bushier reactor.He decided to release them after promising he wouldn't in order topunish the US for announcing plans to build a missile defense systemin Eastern Europe. (This week Pres. Putin made a public display ofoffering the use of an operational Russian radar station inAzerbaijan as an alternative. The problem is, while it could detectany launch by Iran, it couldn't detect one by Russia. Get it?)And the special incentive Iran had to pay to finally get the fuelrods they contracted for? $765 million more in Russian arms had tobe bought and delivered to Syria, for use in the coming war. As youread this, the fuel rods are sitting in a ship off the coast of Iranwaiting for the final payment. So Pres. Putin does only somethinghe's contractually obligated to do, but does it in such a way as toembarrass the US and collect a $765 million bonus check from Iran.That's a good day's work. Several international news sources haveverified and reported all this but it has yet to hit the mainstreamUS media.It's A Done DealIt's not surprising then to find most official voices in the MiddleEast talking about war in the Summer of 2007 as a fore goneconclusion. In their minds the only remaining question is how to getit started in such a way that Israel gets the blame.Now this coming war is not the battle that Ezekiel prophesied 2500years ago, but I believe it will put the finishing touches onsetting the stage for it. Following this war, a time of peace willbe forged, but like each one that came before, it will be built onlies and false promises that will serve only to lull Israel into afalse sense of security, making Ezekiel's Battle possible.And then when the time is right, a Moslem coalition led by Iran andarmed by Russia, and including countries from Central Asia, NorthAfrica and Eastern Europe, will storm into Israel from the northover the Golan Heights (Exe 38:5,6,8). God will use this event toreveal Himself to the world as Israel's protector by decimating theattackers (Eze 39:2-4). In the process it appears that theunthinkable will happen. Nuclear weaponry will be used not only onthe battlefield but also against Russia and at least Europe, andperhaps the US (Eze 39:6, 9-10). And when the dust settles, theworld will also be astonished to find that millions of believers,from just about every nation on Earth, have inexplicably gonemissing without a trace.The Man With A PlanIn the aftermath of these twin disasters a charismatic leader willemerge with a 7 year plan to bring peace to the Middle East andindeed to all the world (Dan 9:27). The provisions of this plan willinclude a Temple for Israel, which the Jewish people will havedemanded after realizing that it was the Lord Who defeated theirenemies. They will renew their (old) covenant relationship with Himand Jews from all over the world will return to Israel (Eze39:28-29). Thinking this leader to be their Messiah, unbelieverswill accept him as the object of their worship, and those who rejecthim will be ostracized from society and even hunted as fugitives(Rev 13:15-18). In the middle of this 7 year period, he will standin the new Jewish Temple and publicly proclaim that he is God (Dan9:27 & 2 Thes 2:4).At this point, 3 1/2 years of the most devastating war ever seenwill commence, threatening to annihilate mankind completely (Matt24:15-22). But before that can happen the Lord will return with HisChurch, (Matt 24:29-31) rid the earth of all unbelievers (Matt 25:31-46), bind Satan (Rev 20:1-3) and begin His 1000 year reign (Rev20:6). It's probably not time to note all this in your day timerjust yet, but it is time to recall the Words of the Lord, "Thereforekeep watch because you do not know the day or hour" (Matt 25:13).These are the times of the signs. You can almost hear the footstepsof the Messiah.