A few weeks ago I went to hear Avi Lipkin speak about Iran and a possible attack and he said some very interesting things. Mr. Lipkin is an Israeli and he speaks in synagogues and churches all over the country on the Middle East and what is going on. In this article I want to present a few things he said and a few things to watch for. The subject of Iran caught my interest because Iran plays a role in the last days and the Tribulation period and I wanted to hear what he had to say. He said there are five reasons why there will be a war with Iran. President Obama's job is to take out the rogue nations like Iran, North Korea and Israel and so the first reason for war with Iran will be to take out their nuclear threat by overthrowing the current regime then hand over control to a U.N. force. They will not attack the reactors but gain control over them. Secondly, they will liberate the Iranians. They like the west and they want liberty. Third, a war which gains control over the oil in Iran will help the economy and bring down oil prices. They have to come down and this can be done by taking Iran, taking control of the oil and bringing the prices down. To help President Obama, this will have to be done soon to save him in the coming elections. He needs a miracle and a victory in Iran could do it. Fourth, there is the Sunni-Shi'ite struggle within Islam. This goes back centuries. After Mohammed died, Islam was ruled by 3 caliphs who were Sunni moslems. They were seen by many as rich and decadent. A blood descendant from Mohammed arose by the name of Ali and he led the Shi'ite faction and fought the Sunni's over control of Islam and who should guard the Qa'aba, or the black box in Mecca. He had two sons, Hassan and Hussein. He united the poor and downtrodden to fight the apostate Sunni's. So, the Sunni's were the rich, decadent wing and the Shi'ites were more of the poor and downtrodden. This battle still goes on today. The United States is allied with Saudi Arabia, who is Sunni (rich), and they are at odds with Iran, who is Shi'ite ( poor). Obama has 2 tasks. First, eliminate the Shi'ite threat (Iran) and then eliminate the Zionist threat (Israel). There is much evidence, according to Lipkin, to suggest that Obama is a Sunni Moslem and that is why he bowed before the King of Saudi Arabia. The king is considered the religious leader of the Sunni's and is obeyed by all Sunni's and it is possible that they see Obama as the saviour of the Sunni's and has a mandate from his religious leader to use his position to "save the Sunni's." The last reason that there may be a war with Iran is the upcoming elections. Obama must have a miracle to save his political career. The United States will not allow a strike on the reactors in Iran but a ground war against the Shi'ites is possibly being planned right now. A helicopter crashed recently in northern Iran killing 6 Israelis who they think were preparing for just a war. What were Israeli's doing there? They were part of a multi-nation coalition that includes the United States, Great Britain and Russia that will participate in this invasion. By securing Iran, they eliminate the nuclear threat, gain control over the oil and the prices and everybody wins. But this will have to be carried out soon for Obama to benefit and so this will be something to watch. What is interesting is how this fits into Bible prophecy, especially Ezekiel 38 and 39 and the coming Russian invasion of Israel. Well, if Russia participates she will have a foot into Iran, and Iran comes with Russia to invade Israel (Ezek 38.5) so this may be how Russia does it. Anyway, it was a very interesting lecture and there are things going on in the world , all according to the plan of God. As believers, we must be aware of what is going on around us and how world politics will shape up. The heart of the king is in the hands of the Lord and what Mr Lipkin says may or may not happen, but it's always good to hear the informed opinions of others. But, we must be diligent and keep watching the signs of the times.

Do you think the Rapture is imminent? Part 4

This week we will continue with the topic of the imminent return of Yeshua. We left off talking about the fact that the Lord's return will not happen at any second but will return at an appointed time and that time is Yom Teruah, year 6001 from creation. We established that in the last two articles, but what happens next? The next biblical festival is Yom Kippur and that festival occurs on Tishri 10 and it teaches the second coming of the Messiah to the earth after the tribulation. But let's take first things first and let me try and explain. Let's say the Rapture of the believer happens on Tishri 1. That means there are ten days till Yom Kippur. It will be that Yom Kippur that the final countdown to the second coming of Yeshua begins. If Yeshua returns to the earth on Yom Kippur, that means the Tribulation had to start on a Yom Kippur because there are 2,520 days in the Tribulation. Yeshua said he will return on Yom Kippur in Matt 24.31 when He said He returns at the sound of "the Great Trumpet.". Now the Great Trumpet is a Hebrew idiom for Yom Kippur. So, with that established, let's go back to Tishri 1, year 6001. The Tribulation does not start for ten days, so what's going to happen? First, the United States will be devastated because of the Rapture. Our defenses are vulnerable, key people are missing and the nation will be in chaos, as will many other nations, but I want to concentrate on the United States in particular. I have already established that Temple worship and sacrifices will be reestablished in Israel on Tishri 1. Russia will know of the chaos in the United States and will use this as the chance they have been waiting for and will launch a nuclear strike against the United States and this nation will be destroyed in one day. With the United States out of the way, Europe and Israel are next.This attack is prophesied in Jer 50 and 51. There is no other nation that has ever existed that fits that prophecy except the United States. Now, in prophecy certain ancient nations will stand for nations in the latter days. For instance, Israel will be Israel but Europe will be Egypt, Russia will be Assyria and the United States will be the Land of Babylon. Jeremiah describes the destruction of Babylon but it hasn't been fulfilled yet. This Babylon (United States) has certain characteristics. It has many Jews living in it, it is an economic giant and a powerful army with defenses that reach into the heavens. It is a land of "mingled peoples" and the nations stream into it. It sits on many waters. It is called the "hammer" (policeman) of the whole earth and is described as the "last of the great (gentile) nations" in Jer 50.12. The Sages interpreted this verse as the last of the great nations in the latter days. There is no way that I can go into this teaching here, but I have taught it many times in the past and believe me there is no other nation this prophecy could be referring to. Now, the Rapture occurs on Tishri 1 and around Tishri 8 the United States will be attacked by Russia. Anciently, before Assyria could attack Israel they had to remove Babylon and they did. When the United States is destroyed in one day, Europe will panic. The heads of the European Union will call a meeting on Tishri 9 and the False Messiah will be there in that meeting. He will stand up and say he has a plan to save Europe but they must act now and give him war powers. There will be no time to go back and debate this in their parliaments and legislatures. They turn their power to act over to the man who will be revealed as the False Messiah. The next day, Tishri 10 or Yom Kippur he signs an agreement with Israel to protect them also. All United States military personnel out of the country will automatically come under the leadership of European leaders, in particular the False Messiah and he will use that power he will to his evil advantage. On that Tishri 10, the Tribulation will begin. The major players now will be Israel, Europe (Egypt), Russia (Assyria), the Kings of the East (the Orient) and the kings of the South (African confederation). The False Messiah will be fighting Russia for three years and be losing, Russia will attack Israel around Tishri 1-10 at the beginning of the fourth year of the Tribulation and will be destroyed by the Lord Himself. As a result of this deliverance and the preaching of the two witnesses and 144,000, Israel will accept Yeshua as Messiah. A few months later the False Messiah moves into Israel and on Nisan 10 of the fourth year will sit in the rebuilt Temple of God in Jerusalem and declare himself God and killing the two witnesses. They will rise from the dead on Passover, Nisan 14, around noon. But,the Jews will not accept him and they will flee into the Jordanian wilderness for three and a half years and be protected by the Lord. This last three and a half years is called the Great Tribulation and that is another story. I have said all this to show that the coming of the Lord is not something that will happen "at any moment" but it will happen according to an eschatological plan that is well developed and described in the Scriptures. So, I hope this answers your questions about the imminent return of the Lord and gives you some added insight into biblical prophecy.

Do you think the Rapture is imminent? Part 3

In the last two articles we have been dealing with the question as to the timing of the Natzal, or Rapture of the believers and if it will occur "at any moment" or is there a fixed time in the prophetic scenario when this will happen. It has been established that there is a fixed day in the very near future and the Rapture will occur on the biblical festival called Yom Teruah, or Rosh ha Shana as it is commonly known today. But, there are signs we can look for prior to that day that will tell us when it is near and that is what I want to deal with this week. Prior to the catching away of the believer there are certain things that must be in place. First, Israeli politics will be deteriorating and there will be the establishment of two Jewish states, one religious and one civil. There is a concept in the study of prophecy that says that whatever happened before will happen again. Eccl. 1.9 says "That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun." Also, in Eccl. 3.15 it says "That which has been already, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by." All history is unfulfilled prophecy and all prophecy is unfulfilled history. So we can understand prophecy by looking at history. There is a picture of the coming Russian invasion of Israel in the Scriptures when one looks at the Assyrian invasion of Israel. There were two Jewish states at the time and that will happen again. There is talk this week about that very subject in the news. So, When the Rapture occurs there will be a concerted movement towards this. A second thing to look for is a Red Heifer will be raised in Israel. Why is this important? We know that there will be a Temple in Jerusalem (Rev 11) and it will be operational during the first 1260 days of the Tribulation (Dan 9.27; Rev 11.1-3). But, to have a Temple you have to have a priesthood that is ritually clean. In order to have a ritually clean priesthood you have to have a Red Heifer. This cleansing ceremony is described in Num 19 and it must be raised and killed, burned and the ashes mixed with living water. Then this water is sprinkled on the priesthood to cleanse them from ritual impurity, along with the regular consecration ceremony described in the Torah. This has to be done for a Temple and a priesthood to be operational. In Ezra 3.6, after their return from Babylon, sacrifices were begun at the altar on Yom Teruah (Rosh ha Shana) although the Temple had not been built yet and it will be done again. On the Rosh ha Shana, year 6001, the Rapture will occur and simultaneously the sacrifices on the Temple Mount will begin, so that means we will see this coming into fruition prior to the Rapture. But, in order for this to happen you must have a Red Heifer and that has to be killed at least 7 days prior , or Elul 24 on the Jewish calendar. That means we will see this happen, and when we do, we can be looking for the Rapture on the next Tishri 1. In other words, Israel will obtain the site of the former Temple (and the altar site) by Tishri 1 the year that the Rapture will occur. Now, there is debate as to where the former Temple was exactly. Some think it is where the Dome of the Rock is and others think it may be north near what is called the Dome of the Spirits (Rabbi Kaufman), or south of the Dome of the Rock near the Gihon Spring (Ernest Martin), but nevertheless, a site will be established and sacrifices will begin on Tishri 1 just like it was before (Ezra 3.6). Another sign to look for is oil being produced in Israel. There has been much written about this so I won't go into it here, but this will induce Russia, along with some other political reasons, to invade Israel. But this invasion will not happen until Rosh ha Shana, beginning the fourth year of the Tribulation. So, Russian policy towards Israel will get increasingly more aggressive as the time gets closer. All these concepts would take many hours to develop in a teaching setting but these things should be looked for prior to the Rapture. One should watch Jerusalem and the Temple Mount to get a good feel for the timing of these coming events, along with the signs the Lord gave in Matt 24, Mk 13 and Luke 24. Now, the Rapture will occur on Yom Teruah, year 6001 from creation. Ten days later it will be Yom Kippur and that is the day the False Messiah will sign a peace covenant for 7 years with Israel, beginning the Tribulation period. That means the Tribulation will end 2520 days later on a Yom Kippur. Next week we will discuss what happens between Rosh ha Shanna (Rapture) and Yom Kippur when the False Messiah will be revealed, including the role, if any, the United States will play in this end time scenario.

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Do you think the Rapture is imminent? Part 2

This week we are going to continue with the question "Is the return of Yeshua imminent?" We gave a basic definition of imminent and showed that His return is certain but it will be according to a fixed date according to the eschatological plan of God. Now, the definition of eschatology is the study of the Messiah and the redemption. We are dealing especially with the coming of the Lord in what is known as the Rapture, or the Natzal in Hebrew. The point I am trying to establish is that this event cannot happen "at any moment" because it will occur on a particular day called Yom Teruah on the Hebrew calendar and at the beginning of the 6001st year from creation. Let me explain. We saw that there are actually 8 festivals found in Leviticus 23 if you count the Sabbath day. The 7th day Sabbath day is a picture of the last 1000 years called the Millennium. It is also known as the Lord's Day or the Day of the Lord. Each biblical, civil year begins on Tishri 1on the Hebrew calendar and that day is called Yom Teruah or as it is known today "Rosh ha Shana" meaning "head of the year." Now, the seven days of the week correspond to the 7000 year plan of God. We work six days and rest on the seventh. Accordingly, man has 6000 years "to work" but the last 1000 years belongs to the Lord. That 1000 years begins on Tishri 1 on the Jewish calendar and that day is called Yom Teruah (Num 29.1-2). Teruah means "awakening blast" with a shofar and it can also be translated "shout." It is a particular note played on the shofar and it is blown when the people are to be gathered. There are several idioms relating to this festival. It is called the "day no man knows" because it starts the civil year on a new moon and nobody knows for sure when that is until the new moon is sighted. This festival was also the first day of creation, when time began, and no man was there . Once the moon is seen, that starts the month and Yom Teruah is the only biblical festival that is on a new moon. So, to the Hebrews when you said " I'll see you on the day no man knows" they knew you meant Yom Teruah. Another idiom for this festival is "the last trump" and here's why. In Gen 22 Abraham is commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac on a mountain in the land of Moriah (meaning teacher). A ram is substituted for Isaac and it is caught in a thicket (man's sins) by its horns. In Jewish thought, the horns symbolized the two stages of a Jewish wedding, betrothal and full marriage and they were pictures of the redemption of the people. These two stages are also symbolized by two festivals found in Lev 23, Shavuot (Pentecost) and Yom Teruah. God said in Jer 2.2 that He betrothed Himself to Israel in the wilderness. We know they gathered around Sinai on Shavuot to receive the Torah, which was seen as a betrothal document called the Shitre Erusin, so Shavuot was called "the first trump." Remember the ram caught in the thicket? It had two horns and the "first horn(trumpet)" symbolized the betrothal at Sinai. The other horn, or last "trumpet" symbolized the full marriage at Yom Teruah, or Rosh ha Shana. At Sinai a trumpet blew and the people gathered at the mountain and got "engaged." At Yom Teruah, or the last trump, the trump will sound and the people will be gathered to the Lord for the full marriage. When the Apostle Paul was discussing eschatology with the Thessalonians he says the Lord will "descend from heaven with a shout (teruah), with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God" and gather the people to the Lord in what is called the Natzal (to pluck) or rapture. He describes the same event to the Corinthians where he says that in a " moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump (Yom Teruah), for the trumpet will sound and the dead will raised." Now, Paul uses "the last trump" , a Hebrew idiom for Yom Teruah, to discuss the catching away of the believer. That day happens only one time a year and that day is Tishri 1 on the Hebrew calendar. So the coming of the Lord in the Natzal, or rapture, can only happen on Yom Teruah, Tishri1, year 6001 from creation. Since we do not know for sure what year from creation we are we cannot know the "day or hour" exactly but we can know the signs of the times.In Matt 24.36 Yeshua is referring to unbelievers who will not know the day or hour and Paul wrote the same thing to the Thessalonians when he wrote that "as to the times (moedim=appointments, a term used for the festivals in Lev 23) and the epochs (seasons, as in festival seasons), brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you (because he taught them the eschatology of the biblical festivals- 1 Cor 11.1-2;Col 2.16-17). For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord (Yom Teruah is the first day of the last 1000 years called the day of the Lord) will come like a thief in the night. While they (unbeliever) are saying "peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth- pains (Hebrew idiom for the 7 year tribulation) upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. But you (the believer),brethren, are not in darkness (misunderstanding), that the day (Yom Teruah, Natzal, Rapture) should overtake you (the believer) like a thief." So, as you can see, the believer will not be taken by surprise when one knows the "times (festivals) and seasons" (that relate to the festivals). In Lev 23.2 the word "convocation" is used when describing these appointed times. Convocation means "rehearsals" in Hebrew so these festivals are rehearsals for the real thing that will come along in the life of the Messiah and how he accomplishes the redemption of the people. He was crucified on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, rose from the dead on First Fruits, sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Then came a long growing season where the wheat and the tares grew together. The next eschatogical festival is Yom Teruah and that will be on Tishri 1, year 6001 from creation and that is why the coming of the Lord cannot happen "at any moment" and it is on fixed date set by the Lord on His eschatological calendar found in the Scriptures. Next week I will pick up here with what I believe must happen first before the Natzal, or rapture, can occur. Now, all this relates to the timing of the Lord but we will discuss political, geological and religious aspects of what will happen before the Day of the Lord begins.

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Q. Do you think the Rapture is imminent? Part 1

A. That is a controversial and complicated question that I don't think I can settle in this forum, but I will try and give what insight I can. First, let's look at the what imminent means. Imminent means "likely to occur or threatening to occur." In other words, could the rapture occur at "any moment" and that there are no prophesied events that have to happen? No, I don't believe that is true so I do not believe that the rapture is imminent. It seems the teaching of the imminent return goes back to a man named John Darby in the 1800's so this teaching has not been around that long. There are many good people who believe it and many who do not. If you do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture than you don't believe in the imminent return either. Here is why I don't believe that the coming of the Lord in the Rapture is imminent. In the Bible, the redemption is playing out according to a very intricate plan and that means that there are certain times and seasons that the Lord carries out certain aspects of it. We see the blue print of His 7000 year plan in Genesis 1 and the creation week.Yes, that means that the heavens and the earth are less than 6000 years old right now, but that is another story. Later, in Leviticus 23 we have seven festivals given that are very prophetic in the life of the coming Messiah. These festivals of God have fulfillments in the history of Israel but there are deeper meanings. I have covered these in previous articles but I will list them again. Passover has to do with deliverance from Egypt through the blood of the lamb. The next day started Unleavened Bread and that lasted 7 days. During that week First Fruits was celebrated and that dealt with the plucking up of the first ripe barley sheaves and bringing them to the Lord. Fifty days later Shavuot was celebrated. After the summer growing period and on the first day of the seventh month another festival was celebrated called Yom Teruah, or Rosh ha Shanah as it is called today. This started the civil year and it had themes related to weddings, coronation of the king, resurrection and judgment. Ten days later was Yom Kipper and that is where the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of a bull and goat and atoned for the sin of the nation. Five days after that Sukkot was celebrated and this was done to commemorate the years in the wilderness so people made "sukkahs" or booths to live in for a week. This overview is very basic and there are many books one can get that will take you into much more detail but it will suffice for now. Anyway, these festivals had to happen on certain days and they played out in the life of Yeshua as well. The first coming of Yeshua was not imminent and neither will the Rapture or the Second Coming to this earth to reign after the tribulation. All this will play out according to God's timing and plan. Yeshua came along the first time "in the fullness of time" and there was great expectation. He was crucified on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, was resurrected on First Fruits and sent the Holy Spirit on Shavuot. We are at the end of the summer growing period now and if the Lord fulfilled the first four festivals on the very day according to the biblical calendar, then it would be reasonable to believe that the last three will be fulfilled on the very day as well. Next week I will pick up here with a quick overview of the themes and idioms of Yom Teruah, Yom KIppur and Sukkot and try to explain that the coming of the Lord will happen according to a very orchestrated biblical blueprint and that the teaching if "immanency" could not be true. Yeshua's coming is fixed in time and there is no "tarrying" on His part, there is nothing we can do to speed it up or slow it down but that it will occur just like events in His first coming. Everything had to be in place for Him to come including the politics, certain people had to be born, the land, the Temple and so many other factors. Next week we will continue with this theme and show why His coming is not imminent, show how certain events in politics, certain people, the land and the Temple Altar have to be in place and a few other things so hopefully all this will clarify a few things for you.

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Were the food laws in Leviticus 11 and Deut 14 given for health reasons? Part 2

This week we are going to continue with the topic of clean and unclean food and are they for health reasons. Last week we established the fact that God did not give these laws for health reasons. We then talked about what clean and unclean related to, and that was ritual purity as it related to entering the Temple, touching any holy object set apart for Temple worship and what disqualified a priest from serving in the Temple. None of these things was considered sin, but knowing you were unclean and entering the temple, or touching a holy object or serving in the Temple was. The fact is, nobody claiming to keep the food laws of the Bible really does. If you say you keep them, you cannot go into a restaurant and eat and come away a “keeper” of the food laws. If you have gone into someone’s house and eaten you cannot come away a ”keeper” of the food laws. Any stove, utensil, plate, counter-top, table that has had unclean meat touch them contaminates anything else that touches unless it undergoes a ritual immersion (Lev 11.32-35). A stove cannot be immersed but torn down and destroyed if it ever had unclean meat on it. Now, since there is no Temple, holy things or priesthood these laws are simply not in force. So, what Messianic and Christian people do is just ignore the rigorous restrictions because they interfere with their “lifestyle” where they think they are Torah observant. They say that we should follow the list but that ritualistic part about the stove, utensils, pots and so on can be ignored. They say God gave the list for health reasons but there is no evidence for this, even amongst Jewish authorities. As we said last week, how can a person who was contaminated by unclean meat be decontaminated simply by the setting of the sun? They recognize that the Old Testament says nothing about the food laws and health reasons. Some say “unclean” has to do with sanitary reasons but that is not true. Tahor (clean) and tamai (unclean) are never used to designate physical, hygienic cleanliness or not. They are always understood as purity and defilement in a “ceremonial” (as relating to the Temple) sense and ritual acceptability, not moral. The laws in Leviticus 11 and Deut. 14 differ somewhat because conditions/animals in the wilderness will differ from those in the land, that is all. The food laws in the Bible are ritualistic. If not, Paul would have never instructed the Corinthians to “eat whatever was in the meat market” because none of that meat was ritually clean, even if you ate beef, chicken or anything on the clean list. Nothing we buy in the meat markets today is clean, so those who think they are following the Dietary Laws of the Old Testament aren’t really observing them. If you eat in a restaurant or someone’s home, in nearly all the cases the meat is ritually unclean according to the Torah (Lev 11.35). There is so much more to this subject but I hope this clears up a few things for you as far as the food laws for health reasons.

Q. Were the food laws in Leviticus 11 and Deut 14 given for health reasons?

A. No, health has little to do with these laws. Some say this is the reason to follow these laws today but did the Lord actually institute these laws for health reasons? Did He give the dietary laws for hygienic purposes and the unclean animals were never intended for human consumption? What does unclean mean to begin with? All these questions will be answered in the next few articles. But to answer your question, let’s go to Leviticus 11.8 where it says one is not to eat or touch the carcass of these creatures or you would become “unclean.” In v 25 it says that if you touched them you were to wash your clothes (immersion) and be unclean until evening. In v 40 it says if a clean animal died of itself and a person ate it he was told to wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. If hygienic “uncleanliness” were meant, how could a man be hygienically “decontaminated” simply by the setting of the sun? This would mean that he was in an unhealthy state just before the sun went down, but just after the sun set he instantly was in a healthy state. This clearly is not what the Lord was saying in these laws. These laws were given in a ritual, ceremonial sense and has nothing to do with physical. So in answering that question, it brings several other issues that we will begin to deal with. The Bible teaches that all people are sinners, even believers. Anyone who casually studies the Word understands this point. This means that no believer is a “keeper” of biblical law and most people know this. What I have taken issue with is those who say they “keep” the Law and at the same time violate it in other areas. The dietary laws of the Bible are violated by the very people who say they keep them, and that’s what we will talk about. As I have said before, the food laws are found in Lev 11 and Deut 14. God said certain animals with cloven hoofs and chew the cud were “clean” and those that didn’t were “unclean.” All fish with scales and fins were clean and those that didn’t were unclean. Insects of the locust family were clean. Any creature that did not meet the “clean” criteria was considered ”unclean.” These laws came from God and many debate about them even today. Some say they should be kept today and others say we don’t have to because “Jesus set us free from the Law.” Well, what does all this mean? The word “clean” in Hebrew is “tahor” and “unclean” is “tamai” and these words have nothing to do with physical or moral uncleanliness, they are to be understood as ceremonial or ritual. But what does that mean? Something clean and unclean related to three things in the Bible. If one was unclean, they could not go into the sanctuary, touch holy things and if a priest, participate in the services. Uncleanliness was not sin because Yeshua was unclean many times and we know he was without sin. In these food laws, you will not see that being unclean was sin, it’s simply not there. Clean and unclean relate to sanctuary purity. With that said, next week we will pick up there and relate this to the dietary laws and hopefully shed some light on a very misunderstood subject.