A Foretaste (Part II) - UPDATE!

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said political leaders are discussing the idea of closing the world's financial markets while they ``rewrite the rules of international finance.'' (link)



Without a doubt, it is coming! The birthpangs continue, we seem to receive a foretaste daily, it will not be long before all will be in place!

While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:3

A Foretaste (Part II)

IMF Says World Economy Heading for `Major Downturn' (link).


"The United Nations called on Tuesday for tougher regulation of financial markets to deal with the "crisis of a century" and warned the global policy response risked creating a prolonged deflationary downturn." (link)


European Union tested by world economic crisis. (link)


World stock markets continue to plunge. (link)


World economy - is now the time to panic? (link)


Why are we witnessing such a drastic change in the economy on a global scale? Why are we starting to hear cries for a global solution?


We are getting a foretaste of things to come! With the rise of the world system of the antichrist in Revelation 13, we also find a world economic system. Just as we witnessed the birth of a single currency in Europe (the Euro), we are also seeing the trend to other regional currency in the middle east (link) and rumors of a North American currency (link). The present economic crisis, on such a global scale, will usher in the mark!

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Revelation 13:16-18

MAJOR UPDATE:

"We want a new world to come out of this," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a meeting of European leaders concerning the economic crisis. (link)

A Foretaste (Part I)

"Immediately after two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers returned from Venezuela to their base in the Saratov region, a convoy of combat ships from the Northern Fleet set sail for the Caribbean. Why?" (link)


Close to two months after the Russian-Georgian conflict, Russian forces are still in Georgia. There is a tense peace as the world watches to see what Putin and Medvedev will do with an Oct 10 deadline for the Russian forces to pull back (link).


Russia looks to force the west to go it alone in it's contention with Iran on their nuclear program (link), rejecting any new measures (link), saying it was not urgent (link).


The war of words between the U.S and Russia continued when the world community came together at the U.N. General Assembly, with Russia seeming to have the upper hand in the eyes of the world.


Why are we witnessing this sudden chutzpah from the Russian bear?


We are getting a foretaste of things to come! Revelation 13 describes the rise of the antichrist within a world system that has Russia as it's foundation. It will be a group of 'united nations' that no longer has the U.S. as the power broker but will have the EU and Russia at it's center of power.

BIRTHPANGS!!!

"But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs" - Matthew 24:8

Just as the words of Christ indicate in Matthew, the events surrounding the endtime will be like that of the labor pains of a woman. With the intensity we began to see at the beginning of summer, there had been a lull over the last couple of weeks. The candidates had taken center stage, the price of oil and gas had waned, and the economy seemed to be headed up. Well, the 'birth pangs' have once again started - with even greater intensity! At the posting of this blog, Russian forces are moving against Georgian forces in Ossetia. There have been a reported 1000 deaths already. The news outlets continue to report a fear of all out war. We are once again seeing the rise of the Russian bear.


Earlier in the week, with Iran not giving an adequate response to the world community, the UN 5+1 were considering further sanctions. The Jerusalem Post reported that on August 7th the Kuwait Times posted an article that their country had learned that the US was sending two additional naval aircraft carriers to the Gulf and the Red Sea. With this news, the Kuwait government began to finalize their emergency war plans. There are already two U.S. naval battle groups operating in the Persian Gulf. The war drums sure appear to be beating.


A report out on August 8th in the Jerusalem Post has indicated that Israel has issued a warning to Russia. "If Russia goes through with the sale of its most advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Iran, Israel will use an electronic warfare device now under development to neutralize it and as a result present Russia as vulnerable to air infiltrations" stated an Israeli defense official. These are pretty harsh words, especially in light of what is currently going on in Georgia.

What is of prophetic interest that these nations - particularly Russia, Iran, and Israel - will be involved in a war in the last days. Just take a quick read of Ezekiel 38 & 39. Are we witnessing the prelude to the Gog/Magog war? Only time will tell.

"What I say to you I say to all, 'Be on the alert!'" Mark 13:37

It's All Coming Together!

On July 4th, while our nation was celebrating her independence, a special meeting was taking place in Brussels (link 1, link 2). Russian and EU leaders met for the first of three strategic meetings to bring about a stronger pact between the nations. This alliance appears to have already been foretold in the scriptures. If you recall from my first posting "Urgent Initial Message," Russia and the EU were prophesied to arise in the end of days in Daniel 7, along with the United States and what appears to be the United Nations. Revelation 13 shows these "beast nations" forming an alliance at the time of the end, creating the vehicle in which the antichrist would rise to power. This strategic partnership would be part of what Daniel 2 describes as a loosely united group of nation states at the end of days, run by 10 kings. Although the United Nations is not run by kings per se, she does have a Security Council with 5 permanent members (Britain, the U.S., China, France , & Russia). There has been a push, however, to extend that number to 10! Back in January, PM Gordan Brown proposed the expansion of the permanent members to the Security Council to include India, Germany, Japan, Brazil, & an African nation (link). Notice the 10 proposed nations would be split 50-50 in regards to east-west just as Daniel 2 describes. An even more important feature is that when the antichrist (the little horn) in Daniel 7, he uproots 3 kings but when we see the rise of the antichrist beast in Revelation 13, all 10 horns are present. If the 10 permanent member Security Council were to come about as PM Brown has suggested, 3 of those members ("kings") would belong to the European Union and thus could be uprooted and replaced by one individual!

We are much farther along than most realize - it is all coming together - what are you waiting for?


"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:28

Sooner Than Later?

Over the weekend, Iran has vowed to continue their pursuit of uranium enrichment, one day after giving what appeared to be a positive response to the incentives package drawn up by the world powers (link). As of today (6/7/2008) the Telegraph, one of Britain's leading newspapers, has reported that Iran has restarted their work on 'highly sophisticated equipment' that is used primarily for the construction of atomic weapons (link). Also on Sunday, an Iranian military leader has reiterated that they will close the Strait of Hormuz (link) and created blitzkrieg in the Gulf if provoked (link). With the increased sword rattling, and given that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad of Iran has repeatedly threatened the U.S. and Israel with destruction (link), how much longer will it be before someone forcefully reacts??? I believe it may be sooner than later! We need to watch and pray.

What Are You Waiting For?

(My apologies for those of you receiving multiple e-mails for the posting. There has been a slight problem I needed to fix.)

Over 2600 years ago, a Gentile king by the name of Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him. Although he didn't remember the dream, a man called Daniel, one of the king's wisemen and a Jewish prophet, was able to tell the king the dream and the interpretation. Daniel informed Nebuchadnezzar that the God of heaven was making known to the king what would be in the last days (link).

Daniel describe a succession of Gentile kingdoms, starting with Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar, that would rule over the earth until the Lord would return to set up His kingdom. The empires that were being described were Babylon, the Mede-Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman. Daniel even described the split of the Roman empire into two parts - the east and west. All of this, most Bible prophecy teachers will agree. It is the last portion, the feet and toes of iron and clay, that there seems to be discrepancies.

Some will describe this as the Holy Roman Empire while others describe it as a revived Roman Empire. One thing one needs to notice is that this statue that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of was contiguous, one empire/kingdom butted right up against another - there was no break in time from one being in power until the next was in power. Daniel described the split of the Roman empire into east and west then into a complete fragmentation. Out of this break-up we see the rise of nation states.

The nations that arose were also split between the east and west - and they are even til this day. And just how Daniel described in Daniel 2:43 (NASV), "And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery." As the nations came to power, the very iron principles of the Roman Empire (the republic, democracy, code-of-law, taxation, etc) did not mix well with the various cultures and peoples. Daniel described this last empire/kingdom as a loose union of nation states.

Today, we might want to call it a United Nations. The United Nations that we are familiar with a loosely organized of nations that, in it's own right, is a world empire. Of course, Daniel described 10 kings that would be in power. The United Nations is made up of 192 nations. There is, however, a security council that makes the final decisions on how the global body will act. There are 5 permanent members: U.S., Britain, France, China, and Russia. Except for that, we could be witnessing the "empire" that will be in power when the Lord returns!


One last point to ponder. At the start of 2008, British Prime Minster Gordon Brown has called for security council reforms that include taking the number of permanent members to 10 (link). Those 5 new members would be India, Japan Brazil, Germany, and an African nation. This would give a world power, with 10 'kings', that are split evenly between the east and west! We are truly living in the last days! With seeing how late the hour truly is, what are you waiting for?

Now is the Time

Now is the time for prayer!

As I get ready for bed, there is a heavy burden on my heart. Recent news out of Iran only confirms the 'Watch and Pray' heeding of my last posting.

Report: Iran to Hit Israel if Attacked, Control Oil Passageway

Iran says will dig hundreds of thousands of graves of 'invaders'

With the increased sanctions from the EU this past week, which has resulted in an even more defiant Iran, the stage is set for what appears to be military action. With our chief of Naval Operations visiting Israel last week, which was followed by a visit by the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has prompted speculation that Jerusalem and Washington were planning a joint military strike against Iran. With the Israeli air drill in early June, which was thought to be a simulation of an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Iran deploying its long-range Shihab missiles to launching position, war almost appears inevitable (link). Only the coming months will tell. Now is the time for prayer!!!

In the Cause of Christ,
Bro. Hamblin

Rev 22:16

Watch and Pray

Top negotiator for Palestinian Authority says solutions at hand for all core issues, now is time for decision-making. Speaking at conference organized by Peres Center for Peace, Erekat says 'Israeli and Palestinian leaders who reach an agreement will be more important to region's history than Jesus' Israel News, 06.27.08 (emphasis mine)

Although I had planned on a more extensive posting in the coming days, the above article that I read this morning has just continued to burn in my mind. Erekat's words allows those of us who are watching through our "prophetic lenses" to understand how the world will 'wonder after the beast' as spoken of in Revelation 13. The one who can bring peace to the middle east will be considered greater than Jesus himself, as Erekat says. Is it any wonder that this individual will have no problem sitting in the temple of God, declaring himself a god, as Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2?

This article brought to mind the words of another world leader, Paul Henri Spaak, the first president of the United Nations General Assembly. In 1949, he said "We do not want another committee. We have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold allegiance of all people and lift us out of the economic morass in which we are sinking. Send us such a man and be he god or the devil we will receive him." (emphasis mine)

We are truly living in unprecedented times! Erekat's words are only one of the many sign posts that are popping up over the entire globe, warning us the Church is soon to reach her final destination. We need to heed the words of Jesus from Mark 21:37, "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."

In the Cause of Christ,
Bro. Hamblin

Rev 22:16