(Shofar via Wikipedia)

Happy New Year!

Actually Rosh Hashanah, the Biblical new year began at sundown last night (Wed) and ushered in the beginning of the year 5771 on the Jewish calendar and Judaism’s High Holy Days-  a 10-day period of repentance that culminates on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement –Sept. 18.

Most Christians pretty much ignore this Biblical celebration since it really it isn’t on the traditional church calendar. However many ministers and particularly those called to minister in the prophetic recognize a special significance and work of God related to the Biblical calendar that Jewish folks still go by.

It was during this season that I received my first call to the ministry 44 years ago and later when I was turning 30 had a commissioning experience that still marks my life and ministry today. So usually during this time and particularly on Yom Kippur I take some time to evaluate where I am at and repent of my failures with a look towards being a far more effective witness for the Lord Jesus Christ in the year to come.

It is amazing to me when I look back to see that this time of the year usually marks all of the major changes in my life and ministry. I use to chalk it up to my birthday being in October but now am convinced that changes in my ministry in particular seem to more closely reflect the Biblical calendar. 

I use to think I was alone in this perspective until I ran across several major prophetic ministers who also have experienced significant happenings during this season. Some have come to believe that during this time of the year ministers and ministries come under the rod of the master and are evaluated –some to be promoted, some to decline, and others to stay pretty much the same.

Happy New Year and Blessings to all.

Don’t forget to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the Jewish people particularly during this time of celebration. Also pray for revival in America, we need it.

Related Posts?:

1. Re: Yom Kippur- The Biblical Day of Atonement
2. Dueling Prayers: Changing the Spiritual Climate of America

Earthquakes, Wars, natural catastrophes, signs in the heavens above, rumors of war, the whole earth in confusion, leaders calling for a ‘new world’ order, and everyone seems to be against Israel.

Could we really be in the ‘end times’? I hear this question being posed over and over again by Christian friends lately.

When I was younger I was totally convinced that we were in the ‘end times’ and that Jesus would be coming back very soon. I can remember being especially excited over those prospects after reading Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth in 1973. I was convinced at the time and still am that the reestablishment of the Jewish nation of Israel in 1948 was a major end time sign.

Over the next 15 years I read everything that came off the presses having to do with the End Times and Eschatology. PreMil, PostMil, AMil, PreTrib, PostTrib, MidTrib, and PreWrath—I studied it all with as open a mind as I could without letting my brains fall out. In the process I came away with the realization that I could find something missing and sometimes something down right wrong in every book and every eschatological tradition.

If I was forced to pick I would probably lean toward a PreMil-PreWrath approach but most of the time I like to say that I am PanMil and PanTrib—I am going to wait and see how it all ‘pans out’.

Fact is at the end of time when we look back at the final events, every single scripture and prophecy will be completely fulfilled and it won’t be necessary to stretch a thing when it comes to hermeneutics or Bible interpretation.

The only thing that I have studied more than eschatology is hermeneutics and that is why I am super sensitive to the ways many ‘prophecy’ writers run ruff shod over even basic rules of Biblical interpretation.

I have come to believe (and I have stated it before) that when it comes to the end times every single book printed regardless of the tradition has one thing in common—they are all wrong somewhere and lack something. Not only that—if I wrote a book on this subject I would be wrong also on some point or another.

This doesn’t mean that reading books on this subject is a waste of time. Many are valuable and it is important to become conversant with the basic issues and gain an understanding of the possible end time signs. However, I have come to believe that Lord has made it all somewhat cloudy in the scriptures on purpose except for the basic events. The timing and sequence is where there is the greatest disparity between the different traditional schemas.

I have come to believe that the last will be like the first. The last generation will be caught by surprise and be somewhat unprepared for the way the final events happen just like folks were not ready in the first century for a Messiah that came as a poor baby in a stable and went on to become a sacrificing servant cursed and killed on a Roman cross.

Not one ‘prophecy’ teacher in the first century was looking for that sequence of events and a ‘suffering servant’ Messiah. Also I believe that not one prophecy teacher in the end generation will have it completely nailed down either. I do believe however that the reestablishment of ‘prophetical ministry’ in the church will be helpful in preparing many for the events to come.

So, are we really in the end of the ‘end times’? I don’t know, maybe. It sure seems to be stacking up that way!

Next Post: More on the End Times

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1. -Earthquakes, Prophecy, and Pentecost

The ‘end-time’ teachers are going crazy covering all of the major earthquakes lately falling over themselves noting how the scriptures include the escalation of world-wide earthquakes as one of the signs of the end-times.

Many are expecting to be raptured at any moment. However, I don’t believe that the Lord is finished with humanity quite yet.

If we are entering the final moments of history before the return of Jesus than we can also expect a world-wide harvest that touches every nation. After all, we are commanded to make disciples of all nations and for me the most important end-time sign of all is this one:

“And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end shall come.” –Matt. 24:14

Many looking for a quick rapture typically don’t consider** that there are still places in this world that the Gospel has not reached yet but the pace is picking up at an incredible rate right now. Already there are major revivals going on all over the world particularly in Africa, India, and Asia including a hidden harvests going on in Muslim countries. Over six million Muslims have been secretly coming to Christ every year since 9/11/2001.

Here’s a prophetic message from Cindy Jacobs:

“The Winds of Pentecost”

She believes that major revivals are going to break out at every one of the recent earthquake locations:

On December 31, 2009, the Holy Spirit spoke through me and said: “I’m going to shake the earth. You will begin to see earthquakes—I am going to shake everything that can be shaken. Look where the earthquakes are hitting because God is going to release a wind of Pentecost in those places.”

She also says that the Day of Pentecost this year is particularly important for ushering in a new world-wide revival:

Pentecost this year is May 23, …

God wants His winds of Pentecost to blow at Pentecost. The Lord says: “I want My people to pray in a new Pentecost that will sweep the face of the earth, for I am coming with divine visitation that will touch heaven and earth. Many will be swept into the kingdom of God, and My glory will pour out with signs and wonders both in heaven and [on] the earth!”

<<Read the whole message>>                *Top

**Note:  There is a popular teaching among many that there is nothing that still has to happen before Jesus returns for his church. Some teach that the Gospel reached the entire known world in the first century. But of course this doesn’t consider the millions that lived in the Americas which for me is a major problem for that theory.

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There is even a special 24 hour conference call prayer line.

Ps 122:6-7: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”

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1. Jerusalem: An Interview with Heidi Baker, Part Three
2. Dueling Prayers: Changing the Spiritual Climate of America

The following is part of the Mitchell’s intro to this video:

“What’s God’s Heart for Jerusalem? How does lasting fruitfulness in ministry happen? These are some of the questions Heidi Baker answers…

Heidi’s passion for Jesus rings out as she talks about the joy of spending time with Him.”

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(-Jerusalem via Wikipedia)

There are two articles that I read this last week which address an ‘end-times’ scenario from entirely different perspectives.

The first is an article I found today on WorldNetDaily: "Zero hour approaches" by Hal Lindsey.

Hal does what he is best at identifying how events in the Middle East are quickly progressing towards an end-time scenario. Iran is on the brink of having nuclear weapons and Hal cites the beginning of an Ezekiel end-time coalition with Russia and Iran in the lead against Israel.

Oh by the way, Hal didn’t mention this, but did anyone notice that Iran just this week put its first satellite up in space using its newest rocket? No I didn’t think so! This story should be as big as ‘sputnik’ was in the 50′s, but the news media is downplaying it and the possible implications for weapons delivery.

The Ezekiel 38-39 battle scenario now is beginning to fall in to place and coming at a time when we have a new administration that might blink when it comes to a possible confrontation with a nuclear power like Russia. Hal always does a great job at scaring the heck out of me!

The second article was published a couple of weeks ago but I just got around to reading it yesterday. It is the second part of a prophetic message for 2009 that I posted on in January: "The Last Days Anointing" by Loren Sandford.

The message that Loren Sandford brings is the flip side of the coin. While the world is literally going to hell, it is time for the church to rise up and finish the task–the gospel is to go into every nation with signs and wonders demonstrating the Kingdom of God.

While Lindsey and Sandford present two different perspectives, I find inspiration in both of them. After over 35 years of studying eschatology, all of the scriptures, and reading 100′s of books having to do with the ‘end-times’, I am of the opinion that no one has it completely nailed down.

I can find holes in every traditional approach–amil, postmil, premil: pretrib, midtrib, postrib, I like premil/prewrath probably the most. The point is, if it is published somewhere in some book than I am convinced that it is probably wrong in some way.

There are surprises ahead for the church in the last days, one of the reasons that God is raising up prophets again is to give vision to the church in these chaotic times. I know, what passes for prophecy and prophets today is imperfect and not always edifying. But just wait, a new generation of prophetic ministry is on the horizon.

I believe that the Second Coming will be similar to the first in that every single learned scholarly ‘Messianic’ expectation of the first century was proved to be wrong. The church is entering a new era when we will need to rely more closely on the Lord and it will no longer be good enough to continue doing things the way we have done them in the past.            *Top 

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Image by jmtimages via Flickr

Now the fun begins! Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejab has been talking about an apocalyptic Shia/Islamic scenario for several years now–predicting that ‘the Hidden Imam‘ would soon return as the end-time Mahdi that establishes Islamic rule over the entire world.

Following the election of Barack Obama, some Shities actually believe that Obama could be a possible fulfillment of an end-time Islamic prophecy.

I found the link to this at SmartChristian.com and in an article by Daniel Pipes. Here is a quote from the original article

by Amir Taheri:

According to the tradition, Imam Ali Ibn Abi-Talib (the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law) prophesied that at the End of Times and just before the return of the Mahdi, the Ultimate Saviour, a "tall black man will assume the reins of government in the West." Commanding "the strongest army on earth," the new ruler in the West will carry "a clear sign" from the third imam, whose name was Hussein Ibn Ali. The tradition concludes: "Shiites should have no doubt that he is with us."

In a curious coincidence Obama’s first and second names–Barack Hussein–mean "the blessing of Hussein" in Arabic and Persian. His family name, Obama, written in the Persian alphabet, reads O Ba Ma, which means "he is with us," the magic formula in Majlisi’s tradition.

Mystical reasons aside, the Khomeinist establishment sees Obama’s rise as another sign of the West’s decline and the triumph of Islam. Obama’s promise to seek unconditional talks with the Islamic Republic is cited as a sign that the U.S. is ready to admit defeat. 

Response: This is crazy from a Christian perspective, but it is also scary in its implications. There are indications that Iranian leaders are exploring the possibility and may well plan accordingly. 

If there is a perception that the USA is in decline under Obama’s administration and that he is an actual sign that Islam is about to rise up and dominate, the Iranian leaders might miscalculate and bring about an actual confrontation with Israel, the United States, and the West.

Pres. Ahmadinejab has already threatened Israel’s existence on a number of occasions. The Iranians last week tested some new missiles that could reach Israel and parts of Europe. If and when they actually go nuclear–then this scenario could end up having some serious consequences indeed.

It is doubtful that the Israelis would wait to act until a nuclear missile was actually in the air headed their way. Look for a strike well before the Iranians have that capability. One can only guess what the aftermath would bring–it would not be pretty and it could be apocalyptic.   *Top      (Cross-posted at Apologetica)

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Conference Picture  by Getty Images via Daylife

Beijing, Oct. 25 — Leaders from Asia and Europe called for new rules and a stronger regulated global monetary and financial system at the close of a two-day summit in Beijing.

It was the consensus of the conference that a new controlled world economy needed to be implemented under the supervision of a world body.  Also, the idea of a new world currency was kicked around.

<<Read my complete article>>

Response: Setting up one controlled world economy might be the beginning of an end-time scenario.

One should never over-react to world events but any attempt to completely regulate all world markets, trade, money, and economy should cause us pause to consider. Especially since it is leaders from Europe, China, and the Middle-East that are leading the way.

Throw in a new President that wants to be seen as a cooperative internationalist and we could be facing unprecedented economic and political change, and a complete realignment of World leadership and power.             *Top 

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1. Kingdom Economy: Not business as Usual

This book takes a different tack, a refreshing presentation. The author does not worry about defining the work vis-a-vis any particular eschatological category, nor does he use any of the well-worn scenarios that typify this genre. He leaves that to the reader. The book merely looks forward to the Coming of Jesus, and presents the scriptures which pertain to the events leading up to the Second Coming.

Eschatology is a hobby for me, over the years I have read several hundred books that look at the subject. You ask–is it Amill., Premill., Postmill., Pretrib., Midtrib., Postrib.–which is it? I could offer an opinion, but that would do a disservice to the author. In the Prologue, the author states that he is concerned that ‘pre-conceived notions’ in this area of study, make it difficult for the Holy Spirit to assist us in understanding what the Bible really says about the End-Times and the Second Coming of Christ.

This book will give you a good look at the events and Bible references, without all the usual trappings. I highly recommend it as a fresh look at this important era before us. And guess What! God & his people win in the end, in-between, and all the way through. Satan and his cohorts are going down! Here the Church is portrayed as the ‘overcoming victorious Bride of Christ’.

The book is available through: Forerunner Bookstore

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