Monday, January 08, 2007
My Voice (12-22-06)
I have been thinking of terminating this blog since the delays are long and the important events infrequent. My wife said it’s your voice people want to hear it. I was not thinking of it from this angle. If there is any truth in this let me know. I can keep my voice flowing. Admittingly details of the case will be slim. We are rapidly approaching the showdown but there is tons of judicial masturbation I must still tolerate. I do think my voice has value to those who need a shot of courage and hope in their trials and to be inspired to say no to the thugs and the retards. I tried to analyze my voice after my wife’s comment and I can say it is like John’s as one crying from the wilderness that salvation is approaching. If you are not growing weary of this proclamation I will continue. If you are convinced I certainly am and we can quietly finish the race set before us. Don’t worry about stating you want it to continue even under this quagmire of ridicule for I have always been serving the few and opposing the moron majority.
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27 comments:
I say keep it coming fo rthe following reasons:
1. "imbigo" needs to know how long to keep purchasing propane for the "crow-b-que".
2. the faithful who believe in your martyr mission are followers, and all followers need leaders, or they gravitate to some other cause.
3. SOP needs a place to post useless conspiracy crap.
4. Where else can people get humor that only "swami" can supply.
5. Mogel puts such a good spin on law as it relates to this case, it makes for good entertainment and ridicule for him when all is said and done.
I say keep it coming, my lord.
can the DG payoff in pesos?
starting today, there is a restruant in dallas, tx that now takes pesos for payment; i think its called "pizza padrone"
how come the medial doesnt pick up on this???
where are you controlled network news?? CNN
this country is toast.
3. SOP needs a place to post useless conspiracy crap.
how you know its ulesess?
you put it thru the crapalzyer?
son of a prophet said...
starting today, there is a restaurant in dallas, tx that now takes pesos for payment; i think its called "pizza padrone"
SOP it's called "Pesos For Pizza". I don't live too far from one of those places. I'm going to go in there and try and buy a pizza with a Euro. If they don't accept it.........I'm going to sue their ass!!!!!!!!
beside the fact of taking paysos, i thougth it was illegal.
gee, wehre is the ferdal resvere when you need them??
so, why can i pay fo my pizza with monpoly money then?
ok, enuf nonsinse, bact to the importatn stuff.....
Will the Antichrist Be From the Tribe of Dan?
"The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan" (Jeremiah 8:16).
In the seventh chapter of Revelation, twelve thousand are chosen from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. From the list of Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manassah, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph and Benjamin, the tribe of Dan is glaringly omitted.
Because of this and other reasons, to be discussed later, many Christians have concluded that the Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan. This, they say, stands to reason, because his Hebrew tribal connection would make him more acceptable to the Jews.
Others, however, have emphatically pointed out that the Antichrist is presented in Scripture as a Gentile. In the Scripture passage quoted below, the prophet Daniel identifies him as being of Roman descent. Because of this, they insist that he cannot be a Jew, much less a member of the tribe of Dan.
One point of view declares that the Antichrist is simply a metaphor for an idea or a movement that represents generalized evil, which has been with us in every generation. This we reject on the basis that Scripture portrays him as a real individual, destined to arise sometime in the future. Within the context of unfolding events, he is an identifiable human individual who comes to fulfill specific prophecies, some having to do with Gentiles, some with the Jews.
As it has for centuries, speculation about the identity of the Antichrist rages on. No doubt, it will continue until he is finally revealed, to the horror of the House of David and the myriads who will become Christians during the Tribulation Period. Much has been said about his identity, but he remains the greatest mystery figure of the ages. Since first being mentioned by the prophet Daniel, and later, by the Apostles, there has been a continual effort to identify him, his ancestry, or his genetic lineage.
From Antiochus IV Epiphanes to Nero to Hitler to Ronald Reagan, a voluminous list of Antichrist types and candidates springs forth, exhibiting characteristics that range from the horrific to the humorous. This study is intended to add a little food for thought to those who believe that the Antichrist is a real man who will be revealed in the future as the most abhorrent despot of the last days.
In Daniel’s prophecy he is the "little horn" (Daniel 7:8), who arises from among the ten great horns of the fourth beast empire. In the same verse, he is called, "a mouth speaking great things." Horns symbolize political powers, so he must be seen as a leading political figure of this day, and an orator of great skill.
In the ninth chapter of his prophecy, Daniel makes a statement about the Antichrist’s lineage. It pointedly asserts that he will be a Gentile of Roman descent:
"And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" (Daniel 9:26,27).
Here, we have a prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. It was fulfilled in A.D. 70, when the Romans under Vespasian and Titus attacked the city. These Romans are the "people" (genetic progenitors) of the "prince that shall come," who is also mentioned in the following verse: "… he shall confirm the covenant."
Without a doubt, this emerging prince is the one whom John refers to in the New Testament as the "antichrist," here called "he" who "shall confirm the covenant."
Daniel asserts that he will be a direct descendant of the conquering Flavian Dynasty. Its emperors were Vespasian (Reign: A.D. 69-79), Titus (Reign: A.D. 79-81) and Domitian (Reign: 81-96). They came from upper-class Italian landholders. You can hardly be any more Gentile than that.
But that doesn’t end the question. Being descended from the Roman bloodline of the Flavian dynasty does not exclude the possibility that their ancient family tree may contain a branch from the tribe of Dan. As we shall see, it is quite within the realm of possibility that he carries both the Flavian bloodline of Rome and that of the ancient tribe of Dan.
At this point, we shall raise a key question: How likely is it that the Antichrist will be a Danite, and still be a Gentile?
The Wandering Dan
Dan’s destiny is dark and foreboding. An ancient prophecy – unfulfilled to this day – marks the Danite pathway through time in a most unusual way:
"Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
"Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward" (Genesis 49:16,17).
The name Dan comes from din [ihs], the root word for judgment. But from the very first, the house of Dan is cast in a negative light. This presents a riddle: How can a tribe that we now view as vacillating, weak and faithless ever act in any way to judge the tribes of Israel? Yet this is his role, designed by God in ages past to be played out at some future time.
Has Dan ever judged his people? Certainly not in the ultimate way predicted in Scripture. Samson, for example, was a Danite judge, but his weak-willed and vacillating ways never brought judgment upon national Israel.
Being in a position to judge someone else implies superiority and control. From the beginning, the tribe of Dan was cast as the hapless victim. The tribes received their land inheritances by lot. Dan’s lot was the seventh.
His territory lay along the Mediterranean coast, from Joppa southward about twenty miles, then inland perhaps ten to fifteen miles, bordering Benjamin and Ephraim on the east. It was a small parcel of land, contested by the Philistines. In the end, instead of fighting them, Dan departed northward to Laish in the territory of today’s southern Lebanon. There, they found a peaceful, undefended city, an easy target in a beautiful land. In the following Scripture, Laish is called Leshem:
"And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father" (Joshua 19:47).
The book of Judges gives the details of Dan’s northern migration. First, they ventured northward into the land of Judah and the village of Kirjath-jearim. Then they went into north-central Israel and the territory around mount Ephraim.
Finally, they came to Laish. On their way, they stole religious objects belonging to Micah, the Ephraimite, which they intended to use for themselves. They hadn’t found the will to defend their given territory against the Philistines, but here in Laish, they found a peaceful people who were too weak to defend themselves:
"And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
"And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.
"And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
"And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land" (Judges 18:27-30).
On the basis of its small size and indefensibility, Dan had abandoned its original land grant and had sought a better place. Now, they lived in the north. Their residence there apparently continued to the days of David and Solomon.
When the first biblical book of the Chronicles was composed, the royal historian opened its first eight chapters with a recounting of Israel’s history from the creation of Adam to the settling of the tribes. Dating from around 1056 B.C., the book of First Chronicles leaves out the tribe of Dan. It seems that the Danite disappearance had already begun, though some still remained in the general area for several years.
As Solomon prepared to build the Temple, he made a request of Hiram (also called Huram), King of Tyre. This ancient King was in the import-export trade, and had access not only to building materials, but also to skilled artisans of every description. He answered Solomon’s request, and in the process, gave us a clue about Dan:
"And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s,
"The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father" (II Chronicles 2:13,14).
This Scripture tells us that at the turn of the tenth century, B.C., the Danites were still a presence in the territory of Tyre (modern Lebanon). They were obviously well known to Hiram, and had probably begun to blend in with Hiram’s Phoenician society. Like the men of Tyre, the Danites were known as sailors. In a verse from the Song of Deborah and Barak, they are depicted as such:
"Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches" (Judges 5:17).
Given their past history of migration, they would have easily adapted to Mediterranean travel. Furthermore, they drifted into infamous idolatry. Dan is referenced again in the ninth century B.C., this time in connection with the worst sort of idol worship, during the reign of king Jehu:
"Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan" (II Kings 10:29).
During this period, the ten northern tribes of Israel lived in peace and grew in wealth. Unfortunately, this had the effect of progressively turning them away from God. They grew fat, lazy and rich by trading in the marketplaces brought to them through the trade routes to the north.
They did business with the Assyrians, too. But after a time, the Assyrian kings saw them as easy prey for conquest. In 722 B.C., under king Shalmaneser and later, Sargon, the northern kingdom of Israel was overthrown. The Israelites were deported to regions in the north and northwest. The "Ten Lost Tribes" merged into the populations of the territories today known as Turkey, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and the surrounding regions.
From there, they disappeared from the pages of history. Only Judah, Benjamin and Levi continued to populate Israel. Today, representatives from all of these tribes have returned to Israel, but Dan seems to have completely disappeared as a discrete and identifiable tribe.
Greek Jews?
Were it not for a quirk of history, we would have absolutely no clue about their whereabouts during this tumultuous period. In the textual collection called The Apocrypha, The First Book of the Maccabees gives the history of Jewish struggles against the Grecian Seleucid dynasty, which includes the reign of the house of Antiochus. Seleucus I was one of the four generals under Alexander the Great.
His son, Antiochus I, called "Soter," began his reign in Syrian territory about 293 B.C. His goal and that of his successors was to progressively Hellenize the region under a system of Graeco-Roman cults and idols, and to bring Greek culture to its maximum in the region.
This Seleucid Greek dynasty rose to its maximum level of despotism during the reign of the infamous Antiochus IV, called "Epiphanes," meaning "the great." This evil man sought to eradicate Jewish worship and culture once and for all. Of course, he is known as the great type of the Antichrist. The heroic Maccabean Jews overthrew him in 164 B.C.
Years of war followed, as the Seleucids and the Romans conspired in one way or another to take the territory of the Jews and complete the work of destroying their religion. In 152 B.C., Jonathan Maccabeus assumed rule in Jerusalem, as monarch and high priest. He continued the battle against the Seleucids, using their continual political infighting against them.
Of utmost importance, he managed to promote peaceful relations with Rome, as well as the Spartan Greeks. This historic fact is preserved in First Maccabees in an exchange of letters with the Spartans. And here, we learn something quite important about these Greeks. The narrative begins in First Maccabees 12:1:
"Jonathan now saw his opportunity and sent picked men on a mission to Rome to confirm and renew the treaty of friendship with that city. He sent letters to the same effect to Sparta and to other places. The envoys traveled to Rome and went to the Senate House to deliver their message: ‘Jonathan the High Priest and the Jewish people have sent us to renew their former pact of friendship and alliance.’ The Romans gave them letters requiring the authorities in each place to give them safe conduct to Judea.
"Here follows a transcript of the letter which Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:
"Jonathan the High Priest, the Senate of the Jews, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people, to our brothers of Sparta, greeting.
"On a previous occasion a letter was sent to Onias the High Priest from Arius your king, acknowledging our kinship; a copy is given below. Onias welcomed your envoy with full honours and received the letter in which the terms of the alliance and friendship were set forth. We do not regard ourselves as needing such alliances, since our support is the holy books in our possessions. Nevertheless, we now venture to send and renew our pact of brotherhood and friendship with you, so that we may not become estranged, for it is many years since you wrote to us. We never lose any opportunity, on festal and other appropriate days, of remembering you at our sacrifices and in our prayers, as it is right and proper to remember kinsmen; and we rejoice at your fame. We ourselves have been under the pressure of hostile attacks on every side; all the surrounding kings have made war upon us. In the course of these wars we had no wish to trouble you or the rest of our allies and friends: we have the aid of Heaven to support us, and so we have been saved from our enemies, and they have been humbled. Accordingly, we chose Numenius son of Antiochus, and Antipater son of Jason, and have sent them to the Romans to renew our former friendship and alliance with them. We instructed them to go to you also with our greetings, and to deliver this letter about the renewal of our pact of brotherhood. And now we pray you to send us a reply to this letter.
"This is a copy of the letter sent by the Spartans to Onias:
"Arius, King of Sparta, to Onias the High Priest, greeting.
"A document has come to light which shows that Spartans and Jews are kinsmen, descended alike from Abraham. Now that we have learnt this, we beg you to write and tell us how your affairs prosper. The message we return to you is, ‘What is yours, your cattle and every kind of property, is ours, and what is ours is yours,’ and we have therefore instructed our envoys to report to you in these terms" (First Maccabees 12:1-23). [Above quotes from The New English Bible, Oxford Univ. Press, 1961, 1970, pp. 238, 239]
Writing in the second century before Christ, the king of Sparta proclaims to the leaders of the Jews in Israel that he has a document proving that the Spartans are Jews. This document — now long lost — was probably some sort of genealogy. It implies that the Spartans could be one of the "lost tribes" of Israel. But which one?
A record in Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews gives perspective to this letter. It reads as follows:
"AREUS, KING OF THE LACEDEMONIANS, TO ONIAS, SENDETH GREETING
"We have met with a certain writing, whereby we have discovered that both the Jews and the Lacedemonians are of one stock, and are derived from the kindred of Abraham. It is but just, therefore, that you, who are our brethren, should send to us about any of your concerns as you please. We will also do the same thing, and esteem your concerns as our own, and will look upon our concerns as in common with yours. Demotoles, who brings you this letter, will bring your answer back to us. This letter is four-square; and the seal is an eagle, with a dragon in his claws." [Boldfacing added. Antiquities, XII, iv, 10]
Here, the Spartans are called Lacedemonians, the place name of their habitation in the southern Peloponnesian Peninsula. Even the ancient Greeks regarded these people as mysterious in their origins. They, themselves, said they were of the stock of Abraham.
Note the concluding sentence in the above quote. It is a statement of validation, noting the shape of the document, lest someone should try to alter it by trimming off a section. Also, it is sealed with the signet of the Spartans/Lacedemonians. This seal is an eagle with a dragon in its claws.
The following quote from Unger’s Bible Dictionary is truly stunning in its implications: "Dan’s position in the journey was on the north of the Tabernacle, with Asher and Naphtali. The standard of the tribe was of white and red, and the crest upon it, an eagle, the great foe to serpents, which had been chosen by the leader instead of a serpent, because Jacob had compared Dan to a serpent. Ahiezer substituted the eagle, the destroyer of serpents, as he shrank from carrying the adder upon his flag."
This seal is exactly that of the mysterious Spartans/Lacedemonians! History tells us that by the mid-sixth century B.C., the southern tip of the Peloponnesian Peninsula was held by the Spartans. This would have been about fifty to seventy-five years after the Assyrian invasion of Israel that scattered the ten northern tribes. In all likelihood, the Danites fled eastward to ancient Greece and established a firm presence there.
Homer’s Iliad refers to the Spartans as Danaans, and that they helped win the war against Troy around 1250 B.C. Greek history tells of two origins for the Danaans. One report says that Danaus, king of the Danaans, had come from Egypt, while another says that he arrived by ship from Phoenecia. This corresponds with the history of the migrating Danites. They left Egypt with Moses, spent 40 years in the wilderness, helped conquer the Promised Land, then settled in the Phoenician city of Laish. From there, being sailors, they soon disappeared as a viable and recognizable Israelite tribe.
In an apocryphal writing entitled, "The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs," each of the sons of Jacob supposedly give prophecies to their children from their deathbeds, as their father, Jacob, did in Genesis 49. It is recorded that the dying Dan told his children, "I know that in the last days you will defect from the Lord …. I read in the Book of Enoch the Righteous that your prince is Satan" (James Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, p. 809).
History also reveals the name Sparta was attached to the Danaans around 950 B.C., when they united four villages into a single government. By about 550 B.C. the vigorous and efficient Spartan way of life brought victory on the battlefield and toughness to their society. The Spartans were somewhat isolated and individualistic, even speaking their own Doric dialect of Greek. Finally, they were wholly given over to the worship of pagan gods and goddesses.
In 1876, Heinrich Schliemann, the excavator of Troy, made an incredible discovery at Mycenae, ancient capital of the Spartans, located some 35 miles southwest of Athens. He found the royal tombs of the Spartan kings. There were long shafts leading to vaulted ceilings built at the foot of a mountain that has the shape of a pyramid. The tombs contained a treasure trove of swords and Egyptian gold. Among the tombstones were three with engravings that looked like Pharaoh’s army being drowned in the Red Sea!
The Greek/Roman Connection
Following the death of Alexander the Great, there was a great battle for control of the Middle East. The Greek houses of Seleucus and Ptolemy were both in close contact with the leaders of the Roman Empire. The Seleucid dynasty controlled Syria, ranging at times into Israel, especially in the days of Antiochus IV. Its latter rulers – extending to Antiochus XIII – were finally absorbed into the Roman Empire.
In those days, Greek blood merged with Roman blood. On the basis of the history quoted in this study, we believe that the roots of their Grecian genealogy carry the bloodline of the tribe of Dan. Thus, the Flavian house of A.D. 70 could be said to have a Danite genealogy.
There are many evidences for the close relationships between Seleucid Greeks and Roman royalty. One can be found in The Histories of Tacitus, himself a servant of the Flavian dynasty. As he recounts a Roman battle, we discover a Seleucid Greek:
"There was a small wood close by, too. From this they ventured to stage a counter-attack, and in so doing managed to kill the most eager of the praetorian troopers. Among the wounded was Prince Epiphanes (Antiochus IV, King of Commagene), who was eagerly leading his men into battle on Otho’s side."
Otho became a Roman emperor in A.D. 69, the year before Vespasian took the throne. He was the first husband of Nero’s wife Poppaea. Here, Otho and Antiochus were close confederates.
It is a historical fact that the children of the Seleucid Greeks merged into the royal houses of Rome. Josephus documents this in several ways, one of which follows:
"As to ourselves, although we have had many wars that have compassed us around, by reason of the covetousness of our neighbors, yet did not we determine to be troublesome either to you or to others that were related to us; but since we have now overcome our enemies, and have occasion to send Numenius, the son of Antiochus, and Antipater, the son of Jason, who are both honorable men belonging to our senate, to the Romans, we gave them this epistle to you also, that they might renew that friendship which is between us" (Antiquities, XIII, v. 8).
This "Numenius" was a Seleucid who preceded Antiochus IV, King of Commagene. He was also a member of the Roman senate. Again, this demonstrates the close relationships that existed between the Seleucids and the Romans.
The Model of the Beast
In the first and second centuries, there was much speculation about the identity of the Antichrist. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that about a year after Nero’s death in A.D. 69, the Emperor Vespasian brought stability back to Rome. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, there arose a clamor in Greece and Asia Minor that Nero was still alive.
Tacitus writes, "About this time Achaia and Asia were upset by a false alarm. It was rumored that Nero was on his way to them. There had been conflicting stories about his death, and so numbers of people imagined – and believed – that he was alive."
With this incident, there began the first of many Antichrist myths among Christian communities. As time went by, this belief in the so-called "Nero redivivus" propagated the false belief that Nero would somehow return to fulfill the Apostolic teachings about the "man of sin."
In the fifth century, Augustine commented on these reports about Nero: "Some think that the Apostle Paul referred to the Roman empire, and that he was unwilling to use language more explicit, lest he should incur the calumnious charge of wishing ill to the empire which it was hoped would be eternal; so that in saying, ‘For the mystery of iniquity doth already work,’ he alluded to Nero, whose deeds already seemed to be as the deeds of Antichrist. And hence some suppose that he shall rise again and be Antichrist. Others, again, suppose that he is not even dead, but that he was concealed that he might be supposed to have been killed, and that he now lives in concealment in the vigor of that same age which he had reached when he was believed to have perished, and will live until he is revealed in his own time and restored to his kingdom" (Augustine, City of God, ch. 19).
Hayyim Schauss, author of The Jewish Festivals (1938) wrote a chapter on Tisha B’Av, in which he reported that students in Jewish schools are told that Nero was "a fine and gentle individual who abandoned his army near Jerusalem, escaped, and became a convert to Judaism. Not only that, but the great teacher, Rabbi Meir, was a descendant of his" (p. 103). No wonder rumors persisted that Nero faked his death. It would certainly be a bizarre turn of events if the Roman emperor who had the Apostle Paul beheaded should convert to Judaism!
In the First and Second epistles of John, the term "antichrist" is mentioned four times. He is presented as a prophetic personage. Of course, John also wrote about his political exploits in Revelation 13, where he is called, "the beast."
Even in the first century, there was much conjecture that the Antichrist would come from Roman royalty.
The Assertions of Irenaeus
For the purposes of this study — that the blood of Dan may flow through the veins of the Antichrist — we shall now look at the teaching of Irenaeus. He was born sometime between A.D. 115-130 and died in 202. He was a disciple of Polycarp who was, in turn, a disciple of John the Revelator and bishop of Ephesus. The teachings of Irenaeus are considered among the most important of early Christianity.
In his classic Against Heresies, he devotes a section to a discussion of Antichrist’s name. Bearing in mind that he received his instruction from a man taught by John himself, his thoughts on the identity of the Antichrist are most important.
At one point, Irenaeus spends some time dealing with the number of Antichrist’s name, asserting that the Apostle John probably knew his name, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit, it was obscured until the time for its revealing was right.
In terms of our present study, his concluding remarks about the Antichrist are stunningly significant:
"These men, therefore, ought to learn [what really is the state of the case], and go back to the true number of the name, that they be not reckoned among false prophets. But, knowing the sure number declared by Scripture, that is, six hundred sixty and six, let them await, in the first place, the division of the kingdom into ten; then, in the next place, when these kings are reigning, and beginning to set their affairs in order, and advance their kingdom, [let them learn] to acknowledge that he who shall come claiming the kingdom for himself, and shall terrify those men of whom we have been speaking, having a name containing the aforesaid number, is truly the abomination of desolation. This, too, the apostle affirms: ‘When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction shall come upon them.’ And Jeremiah does not merely point out his sudden coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he shall come, where he says, ‘We shall hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan; the whole earth shall be moved by the voice of the neighing of his galloping horses: he shall also come and devour the earth, and the fullness thereof, the city also, and they that dwell therein.’ This, too, is the reason that this tribe is not reckoned in the Apocalypse along with those which are saved." [Irenaeus Against Heresies, Book V, p. 1117]
Here, to support his view of the Antichrist, Irenaeus quotes Jesus, Paul and Jeremiah. The astounding nature of these statements, given in an almost conversational manner, must be considered in the light of the man who made them.
Dan’s Wild Horses
For this reason, we cannot overstate the importance of the fact that Irenaeus studied under Polycarp who, himself, had been personally discipled by the Apostle John, writer of the book of Revelation. He had been born only about 20 years after John’s death, when Polycarp was in the prime of his ministry.
As a young man, Irenaeus was personally tutored by Polycarp. How many anecdotes and personal stories they must have shared, as they talked about John’s life and beliefs! John’s very personality must have been made real to Irenaeus.
Polycarp lived to the ripe old age of 85, so there was plenty of time for the young Irenaeus to have absorbed John’s doctrine through him. Both men were fervently devoted to combating the several theological heresies that arose in the second century.
In the above statement about the Antichrist, Irenaeus quotes a portion of First Thessalonians 5:3, a verse usually connected with the unveiling of the Tribulation, not the coming of the Antichrist. In other words, he links the idea of "sudden destruction" with the Antichrist in a way that is not common today.
Then, he does something completely surprising, quoting a prophecy from Jeremiah as indicating the Israelite tribe from which the Antichrist will come:
"For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
"I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
"Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
"We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
"The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.
"For, behold, I will send serpents, cock-atrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 8:11-17).
The context of this section of Jeremiah prophesies the impending judgment of Judah in the time preoccupied with peace and security, when there is none. Certainly, his prophecy is set in the dark days of the Babylonian captivity. But it is also set in a global, latter-day background. How else are we to interpret the horses of Dan and the accompanying hoard of poisonous serpents?
As we have said, Irenaeus’ own interpretation of this Scripture must have come from his conversations with Polycarp and perhaps others who had personally received their doctrinal training from John. He has no difficulty linking Paul’s warning about the swift onset of the Tribulation with the "abomination of desolation" (Matthew 24:15) and the horses of Dan. He sees Dan as the progenitor of the Antichrist.
He follows this train of logic with the assertion that Dan is not listed among the tribes of Israel because his tribe is the one that brings forth the Antichrist. Thus, we see that this belief dates back to the earliest days of the church!
Dan the Judge
Jeremiah’s picture of horses accompanied by serpents is not only the symbol of Dan, it is a view of the Apocalypse, which opens with four rampant horsemen. The first of them – the white horse – is commonly presented as the Antichrist:
"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer" (Revelation 6:1,2).
In rapid order, the red horse of war, the black horse of famine and the pale horse of death accompany him on a divinely ordained mission. They are the leaders of a horrifying procession of calamities that are brought upon the world in the seals, trumpets and vials of Revelation.
But their real purpose is judgment … judgment of Israel and of the nations. Earlier in this article we raised the question about the prophecy that Dan would, in time, rise to judge national Israel. We observed that the wandering tribe that never claimed its original land allotment, then fled to parts unknown, seems an unlikely judge.
One of the chief reasons for the Tribulation is the judgment of Israel. And the Antichrist is the leading element of this judgment. In the end, Israel will be brought down from religious arrogance to true faith. The prophet Daniel (A prince of Judah whose name means "God is my judge.") receives this particular truth at the end of his vision:
"Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
"And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
"And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished" (Daniel 12:5-7).
Here, the word "scatter," is from the Hebrew nefetz [.pb], which means, "to shatter, break or destroy, as with a hammer or war club."
The "holy people" is Israel, which has always been characterized as "stiffnecked," proud, and given to apostasy. The events of the Tribulation will bring them close to destruction. At its midpoint, the "abomination of desolation," mentioned by Christ and quoted by Irenaeus, brings forth the Antichrist as the instrument of God’s judgment.
If he is descended from Dan (as we believe he is), then truly, "Dan shall judge his people."
John’s powerful doctrine was preserved by Polycarp and Irenaeus, then handed down to another powerful figure of the early church.
The Testimony of Hippolytus
Hippolytus, a student and disciple of Irenaeus, lived from A.D. 170 to 236. He was a Roman citizen of Greek extraction who carried the words of his teacher forward to coming generations. His words powerfully echo those of his master.
In the following passage, his words bring together a number of symbols and ideas in support of the Danite background of the Antichrist:
"Thus did the Scriptures preach before-time of this lion and lion’s whelp. And in like manner also we find it written regarding Antichrist. For Moses speaks thus: ‘Dan is a lion’s whelp, and he shall leap from Bashan.’ But that no one may err by supposing that this is said of the Savior, let him attend carefully to the matter. ‘Dan,’ he says, ‘is a lion’s whelp’; and in naming the tribe of Dan, he declared clearly the tribe from which Antichrist is destined to spring. For as Christ springs from the tribe of Judah, so Antichrist is to spring from the tribe of Dan. And that the case stands thus, we see also from the words of Jacob: ‘Let Dan be a serpent, lying upon the ground, biting the horse’s heel.’ What, then, is meant by the serpent, but Antichrist, that deceiver who is mentioned in Genesis, who deceived Eve and supplanted Adam …? But since it is necessary to prove this assertion by sufficient testimony, we shall not shrink from the task. That it is in reality out of the tribe of Dan, then, that that tyrant and king, that dread judge, that son of the devil, is destined to spring and arise, the prophet testifies when he says, ‘Dan shall judge his people, as (he is) also one tribe in Israel.’ But some one may say that this refers to Samson, who sprang from the tribe of Dan, and judged the people twenty years. Well, the prophecy had its partial fulfillment in Samson, but its complete fulfillment is reserved for Antichrist. For Jeremiah also speaks to this effect: ‘From Dan we are to hear the sound of the swiftness of his horses: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing, of the driving of his horses’" (Hippolytus, The Extant Works and Fragments, Part 2, Paragraph 14).
Note that Hippolytus links the serpent in Dan’s prophecy with the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and thereby connects the Antichrist with the Old Serpent, Satan. He will fulfill the prophecy concerning the "seed" of the serpent (Gen. 3:15).
The Bashan Prophecy
This brings us to a final subject of utmost importance. As a way of emphasizing the tribal origin of the Antichrist, Hippolytus quotes Moses’ prophecy depicting Dan as a "lion’s whelp."
His point is well taken, but he didn’t comment upon the ethnic and territorial importance of historical Bashan.
The prophecy he quotes comes from Moses’ blessing of the twelve tribes, prior to his departure for Mount Nebo. In the context of the Antichrist’s genealogy, the portion of the prophecy devoted to Dan is absolutely staggering:
"And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan" (Deuteronomy 33:22).
When we think of a lion, our first thought is of Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He came to Israel, but was rejected. The prophet Hosea quoted the Lord in this way:
"For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him" (Hosea 5:14).
Jesus sprang from the tribe of Judah. But another lion is coming, this time from Dan. He will be a pretender to the messianic throne who will claim to fight for Judah and Jerusalem.
This lion – the Antichrist – will spring from Bashan, the fertile territory east of the Sea of Galilee, and northward to Mount Hermon and Damascus. Our study has established that during the period of Greek rule, this was the territory of Seleucid Syria!
Bashan is the territory of Seleucid Syria! Through this prophecy, Moses affirms that the Antichrist will leap from the dynasty of the Seleucids. Here, we find further biblical documentation that the genealogy of Dan lives on in the blood of those descended from Graeco-Roman royalty.
We must conclude by stressing that these disclosures are only the tip of a very large iceberg. There are hundreds of additional references in Greek and Roman history that throw light on this subject. Needless to say, our studies will continue!
why they had big snowstrom in DANver?
and a alvanche?
and the bruncos football palyer?
Criminal Lending?
A decision in Australia doesn't mean anything here - yet. But there's a fair amount of discussion going on about whether there should be criminal penalties for real estate agents who pimp sub-prime loans knowing that they are effectively burying people who will never be able to make ends meet.
whataboutjere said...
SoP, you're an asshole!
MAY YOU FIND THE HS IN YOU TIMES OF TROUBLE....
(seem like you gong to nedd it)
I for one find the inputs a valuable daily input of hope for me. In the past few years I have lost my 2 year old child and father in a car accident, my wife to cancer and the ability to play music because of an accident with a power saw. I have little hope left in my life and this blog is the only string to a positive future that I have to hang onto. Without it I might be lost since I am so close to it now. I check the blog several times a day to look for new info. Some of you out there might think I am just a weakling that the world does not need anyway and maybe you are right, I can only wish that the things that have happened to me do not happen to you. I have read the Bible five times and tried for years to have a relationship with GOD. As a result of the deaths in my life I no longer believe in GOD but understand many of you do and that is okay, of course. Kurt, Please do not stop the blog, please.
Jim
"Kurt, I'd say shut it down. Sick of SoP posts, religious rants, rhetoric, and you saying that it's all over when it wasn't all along. Tell your dad not to send out an updated as they are NOT a source of hope, but rather a source of non-relevant information"
sound like you want to hihack it yoself..
what trib you came form????
dan- the ac?
Do not let the morons keep you from encouraging the rest of us. STAY THE COURSE!
R&P
whataboutjere said...
But I won't back down from SoP being an asshole. A weak minded one at that who believes everything he reads on the internet as gospel and cuts-n-pastes it here.
it you that should get a life. stop crying about you DG money.
no money will pay out until wanta get his first. what, you dumb?
why dun you write wanta about you DG money?
i don have a IQ 162 like yo, but even i can read that k said there is no furhter info at this time, so why not yo wak up?!
call wanta an tell 'em that you wanta you money. see wht he say abt it....
tell him yo wanta cut a deal...and get paid now.
now, more good stuff....
Wanted: A Gideon To Rise Up Against Islamic Fascism
"They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance" (Psalm 83:4).
Of late, the term "Islamo-Fascism" has come into vogue. In the international war against terrorism, some have pointed out that we have entered into a new and ominous phase of global warfare. Now, in addition to the old twentieth-century model of "nation against nation," we seem to have entered into the era of "kingdom against kingdom." In the past, nations fielded armies wearing recognizable uniforms, against which clear battle lines were drawn. Governments warred against governments. Germany, Italy, Japan and others waged "world war."
Today, tribal factions have the power and wealth to field clandestine armies, posing as anything from tourists to religious clerics. They eagerly work through underground weapons markets to acquire the latest superweapons. Portable canisters may carry anything from nerve gas to nuclear waste … even nuclear bombs! They lie, cheat and steal to plant themselves deeply into society, awaiting the signal to strike. They have not only surrounded Israel, they have infiltrated the beloved Land.
But as Solomon said, "There is nothing new under the sun." There is a major incident in the Bible that bears a surprisingly close resemblance to Israel’s current plight. It is the story of Gideon, the fifth in a series of Judges over Israel. He literally saved Israel from complete destruction by defeating a coalition of tribal kingdoms – led by the Midianites – who had laid siege to Israel, even as they crept into its interior. These evil immigrants were on the verge of reducing Israel to a tragic memory, and there was no force capable of resisting them.
But Gideon defeated them. And his story carries a striking message for today.
When Jesus spoke of the latter-day battles that would precede the Great Tribulation, He evoked two different descriptions of what would transpire:
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (Matt. 24:7).
We commonly think of a nation as having borders, a recognizable government, with institutions and infrastructure. Today’s Iran is such a nation, seeking to make itself a world power, complete with weapons of mass destruction.
But Iran also actively sponsors legions of spies, insurgent armies outside its borders (Hamas and Hezbollah) and extra-national terrorism. Armies without borders or uniforms are the latest development in world war. In the morning, these "soldiers" may be in the Middle East; that afternoon, they might have flown to Europe or the U.S.
Hamas and Hezbollah are not nations, but they would definitely qualify as kingdoms. Their "kings" are the mullahs, sheikhs and clerics of Islam. These men don’t separate their religion from their aspirations to power.
Caliphs and Kings
In fact, they are actively seeking to establish new caliphates. These would be territories rigidly controlled by caliphs. This title comes from the Arabic word khalifah, meaning "representative." In the seventh and eighth centuries, following Mohammed’s death, powerful Arabs established themselves as virtual kings. They called themselves sheikhs, sultans and emirs and had absolute authority, transferring wealth and issuing death sentences at the snap of their fingers.
The last caliphate was brought to an end by the Turkish Republic in 1924, with elimination of the Ottoman Caliphate. Today, Islamic clerics boast that they are about to establish new caliphates, operated under the authority of men who stand as literal substitutes for Mohammed. Their role is to act as protectors of Islam and political ministers of the Islamic faith.
Thus, the would-be caliphs of Islam operate as kings, as they order revolutionary armies to do their bidding. They dream of establishing caliphate kingdoms. Various sects of Islam are currently warring internally, as they decide how they will slice up the political pie after they come to power.
The point is this: When Jesus spoke of "kingdom against kingdom," He foresaw the latter-day growth of factions that would battle for supremacy. Today, Islam is deeply divided between many sects. Everyone has heard of Shi’ites and Sunnis. Daily, they kill each other in Iraq, as they seek preeminence.
There are other sects, like Wahabis, Sufis and Kahrijites. There are the Ismailis and Zaidis. Another faction is called the Nizari … the assassins.
But they all share the dream of world domination under their coming messiah figure, the so-called "twelfth imam." It is only a dream. It will never happen. Today we truly see both nations and kingdoms vying for power on the world stage.
What Is Fascism?
Usually, when we hear the word "fascist," the fanatical movements of World War II pop into our minds. At the top of the list would be the "Fascisti" of Benito Mussolini. This party emerged as a strong national movement that promised to bring Italy into prominence as a global power. Mussolini’s braggadocio and fierce pride came to symbolize everything we think about when we envision a fascist movement. And of course, Adolph Hitler also fits into the same mold. His National Socialist Party perfectly defines fascism.
Today’s Islamic clerics exude the same swaggering conceit that marks fascist movements the world over. In character and operation, they closely resemble the villains of World War II. In addition to Hitler and Mussolini, Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan, Juan Peron of Argentina, Francisco Franco of Spain and many others share a bold and aggressive mindset that marks them as supernationalists.
But one cannot define fascism as purely political. It is always empowered by a strong religious or mystical overtone. Some have concluded that the ultimate fascist was Adolph Hitler, himself. Like Mussolini, and Franco, he was fiercely nationalistic. But it is not generally recognized that he was also a religious fanatic. In fact, he was brought to power by religious occultists who felt that he was the forerunner who would bring the "new man" to power, using the mystical powers of the old Nordic mythology. Fanatical religious zeal is always somewhere to be found in fascist movements.
As defined by the Merriam-Webster New 3rd International Dictionary, fascism is: "1: … the movement or governmental regime embodying their principles. 2 a: any program for setting up a centralized autocratic national regime with severely nationalistic policies, exercising regimentation of industry, commerce, and finance, rigid censorship, and forcible suppression of opposition b: any tendency toward or actual exercises of severe autocratic or dictatorial control (as over others within an organization) …"
Additionally there is the commingling of religion with governmental bureaucracy. Religious terminology is often used to force adherence to state doctrine. Fascist speech is sprinkled with references to faith, purpose and identity.
Fascism is always centered upon some sense of involvement in a historic mission. It is militant and nationalistic, using violence without hesitation. It is usually a cult of personality, revolving around a charismatic leader. (Think of Osama bin Laden, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, or the late Yasser Arafat.)
It is not reliant upon a civil constitution or an electorate, claiming a higher calling. It makes a scapegoat of "modernism" and the decline of public morality. It offers a romantic calling to the common people, offering them a sense of historic mission. It places itself above capitalism, socialism or Western democracy.
Collectively, modern Islam meets all the criteria of fascism. It is driven by an admixture of political and religious fanaticism and a belief in the doctrinal superiority of Mohammed and his ordained followers. It envisions itself in possession of the whole world.
Zionism
The First Zionist Congress of 1897, sent rumblings of future change throughout the world. Zionism, declaring the sanctity of the Temple Mount, Jerusalem and their holy land, is engraved upon the heart and soul of remnant Israel.
But Zionism is not new. For centuries, each year at the close of every annual Passover ceremony, the following words are declared:
"O Pure One, Who dwells on high, raise up the countless congregation, soon – guide the offshoots of Your plants redeemed, to Zion with glad song. Next year in Jerusalem!" (From Bondage to Freedom, Brooklyn, N.Y., Shaar Press, 1995, p. 197).
Passover celebrants remember Zion as they shout in jubilation at the prospect of their return to the Holy Land. Zion and Jerusalem are central to the Passover and its fervent hope of returning to Israel. Since A.D. 135, the Zionist hope has burned in isolated Jewish communities around the world.
In 1948, the replanted shoots of the fig tree began to bear their fruit. The United Nations had declared the sovereign right of national Israel to exist once again. But only a few years later, under the fierce opposition of Islamic zealots, the same body issued a poisonous document.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 concludes with the following words:
"TAKING NOTE ALSO of the Political Declaration and Strategy to Strengthen International Peace and Security and to Intensify Solidarity and Mutual Assistance among Non-Aligned Countries, adopted at the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries held at Lima from 25 to 30 August 1975, which most severely condemned Zionism as a threat to world peace and security and called upon all countries to oppose this racist and imperialist ideolog.
"DETERMINES that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.
"2400th plenary meeting - 10 November 1975" ...
On that dark date, Zionism was officially cursed by the nations. Since then, Israel has borne the weight of increasing hatred, even as its enemies received carte blanche authority to follow the lead of the U.N.
Not only has Zionism been declared "racism," but also the very name of Israel has been blotted out by an Islamic epithet. (They call it "the Zionist entity," refusing to use the word "Israel.") Furthermore, they call Jerusalem "Al Quds."
An Israeli source called GlobalSecurity.org quotes an ancient Moslem parable:
"The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, ‘O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ Only the Gharked tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."
Throughout the twentieth century, Jews planted trees in Israel, replacing those ripped up over the centuries by the Arabs. The Arabs fantasize that even their beloved trees will one day turn against them. Their passionate public declarations continually reveal a fascistic compulsion.
In December of 2000, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini said, "Iran’s stance has always been clear on this ugly phenomenon (Israel). We have repeatedly said that his cancerous tumor of a state should be removed from the region."
Also in 2000, Iran’s purportedly moderate President Mohammad Khatami called Israel an "illegal state."
On October 26, 2005, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at a meeting called "A world Without Zionism. He said, "God willing with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism." Long before Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had said, "As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map."
These quotes are from Iranian leaders, who are the chief supporters of tribal factions around the globe. We could mention a thousand more quotes like the ones above, but they all say the same thing: "Death to Israel … death to America."
An Ancient Fascism
While it does not mention Islam by name as a religious movement, the Bible is nonetheless open and detailed about the philosophy and motivation of those who follow Islam. It mentions the ancient Middle Eastern Tribes, which have coalesced into today’s Islamic aggressors. And it does this in the context of an ancient battle that destroyed a coalition of forces that sought to destroy Israel.
As mentioned earlier, that battle was led by Gideon. Its essence and its consequences are captured in a prophetic psalm that was penned by Asaph. It expressed the passion of a coalition that desires a world without Israel – without Zionism.
In the past, we have discussed portions of it, with specific reference to the tribes it mentions. In its essence, this psalm is a prayer for the destruction of those who would destroy Israel. But it opens with an indictment against these antagonists. Its first eight verses follow:
"Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
"For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
"They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
"They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
"For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
"The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
"Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
"Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah. (Psalm 83:1-8).
Here, we are given the names of eleven groups of people. Some of them are the specific names of characters in the Bible. Others are place names or tribal names. Taken together, they present us with a rogue’s gallery of factions who have tried to eradicate Israel over the past three thousand years. Their descendants are still trying to this day.
We shall comment upon them in the order that they are mentioned. The first is "Edom," the nation originated by Esau, the proud hunter who thought so little of his birthright that he sold it to his twin brother Jacob for a bowl of stew. Perennial adversaries, Jacob and Esau began their feud in the womb. Today, it continues in their offspring. Jacob, the patriarch of Israel, fathered the twelve tribes.
Esau (the federal head of Edom), raised up a household that included many chieftains who later opposed Israel. The most infamous of these was Amalek, the king who was such a reprobate that God ordered King Saul to eliminate his tribe forever.
Among the Edom’s offspring were the Idumeans – the infamous Herodians of the first century. Herod the Great and his sons were the enemies of Jesus and the infant Apostolic church. As we have pointed out many times, this evil generation intermarried with the Caesars, becoming part the bloodline that will give birth to the Antichrist. In the last days, he will make one final, Herculean effort to destroy the Jews. Like those before him, he will not succeed. Jewish teaching in this matter is simple. Without evasion or hesitation, it declares simply, "Edom is Rome!" No wonder this name stands at the top of the list of the eleven conspirators.
Next, we find "the tabernacles of Edom and the Ishmaelites."
In this psalm, Edom and Ishmael are seen together in tents. These tents are commonly thought to symbolize first, a military campaign, and second, a mobile, transient existence. Indeed, the peoples of the desert are known for their transitory existence. The migrations of the Bedouins are legendary, roaming the deserts from the Dead Sea to the Persian Gulf and northward to the Euphrates and the ancient trade routes that run from Rome to India. The sons of Ishmael were the twelve sons who became the patriarchs of the Arab tribes.
Next, we find "Moab and the Hagarenes." Moab’s dishonorable origin came when Lot’s eldest daughter plied him with wine. In his drunken state, she achieved an incestuous union that resulted in the birth of a son. His name – Moab – means "from my father," forever stamping him and his nation with the stigma of illegitimacy. The Moabites worshiped Astarte, the mother goddess, and Chemosh, the god who demanded infant sacrifice.
Their territory lay on the east side of the Dead Sea. Among their most infamous acts was the attempt by their king, Balak, to procure the services of Balaam, the Mesopotamian prophet for hire. He paid Balaam to curse Israel as Moses led the tribes northward on their way to enter the Promised Land. Balaam was unable to effect a curse, but he advised King Balak to corrupt Israel by seducing them with a flood of young Moabite and Midianite women. For all this, Moses was instructed by the Lord to place a curse upon Moab.
The "Hagarenes" are the descendants of Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid of Abraham. Jewish history says that she married another man after leaving his household. From their union came other Arabian tribes. Some Jewish historians have suggested that Abraham’s concubine, Keturah ("perfumed one") might be Hagar under another name. In this case, Midian, Sheba and Dedan would be the tribes referenced here.
Next, we find "Gebal, Ammon and Amalek." Gebal (meaning "boundary") is a city of ancient Phoenicia. It is mentioned in the Amarna Letters, where the king of Gebal pledged allegiance with Ramses II, against the Hebrews. Gebal was considered a border fortress.
Ammon was brother to Moab, conceived when Lot’s second daughter repeated the sinful incestuous act of her older sister. In this way, the drunken Lot fathered another illegitimate son:
"And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day" (Genesis 19:38)
Together, these two patriarchs launched a corrupt progeny that became the scourge of Israel. The territory of Ammon was situated adjacent to Moab, on the east side of the Jordan at the north end of the Dead Sea. Present-day Amman, capital of Jordan, would lie at the center of this ancient territory. In the days of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, these two forces came against the Jews:
"It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
"Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.
"And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." (II Chron. 20:1-3).
As a result of their appeal to the Lord, the Jews defeated these forces, but their descendants have lived on to this day, and are still possessed by the idea of forever defeating Israel.
Next in the list is "Philistia." The Philistines were called "sea people." Their territory was situated on the Mediterranean shore. Their continual battles with the Jews occupy much Scripture. In the days of David and Solomon, they were finally defeated, and faded into obscurity. A thousand years after that, the Romans conquered the Jews in 135 A.D. As a final insult, the Romans used the Latin form of Philistine – Palestina – to brand the land of Israel with the name of the ancient interloper. To this day, the arch foes of Israel still regard Palestine as the proper name of the land.
Philistia is listed "with the inhabitants of Tyre." These, too, were people of the sea … the ancient Phoenician traders. They were worshipers of Baal and experts in managing the commerce of the ancient world. Their collective warehouses were the riches of the ancients. They typify Gentile world trade.
Assyria, the ancient land of Nimrod, is called "Assur," in verse 8 of this psalm. Its greatness in the centuries following the great Flood of Noah is shown in the following Scripture:
"And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
"He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
"And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
"Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
"And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city" (Gen. 10:8-12).
Assyria remained great even to the time of King David, when its trade brought wealth to the northern tribes of Israel. In 722 B.C., the Assyrians wiped out the ten northern tribes, dispersing them throughout the Gentile world. Later, in the days of king Hezekiah, Assyria laid siege to Judah. Their forces – 185,000 soldiers – were annihilated by the angel of the Lord.
In this Psalm 83, Assyria is said to have joined with the sons of Lot – Moab and Ammon – to wage war against Israel.
An Open Conspiracy
At this point, it is important to note that the eleven powers of this psalm are shown to be acting in concert ("They have taken crafty counsel against thy people…"). There was never a time in the ancient world when such a thing happened. Indeed it could not have happened in those days, since these nations and tribes individually rose to the heights of their power at different times and in different places.
The psalm presents them as rioting together with a single purpose toward Israel, to "…cut them off from being a nation." They are described as being "confederate." But there was never a time in the world of the Old Testament when all eleven of these powers acted together to wipe out Israel.
Today, however, it is a different story. It is important to keep in mind that offspring of all eleven live on to the present moment. Only the Lord knows exactly who they are, but they must, of necessity, be those who have lived in the area since the days of Abraham, and before. Today’s Arabians, Jordanians, Syrians, Iraqis, Persians, Turks, Afghanis and Pakistanis are descended from the ancient patriarchs. They have a single goal, namely, "A World Without Zionism."
Here, it is appropriate to return to the original idea of fascism, as being the correct descriptive term for what is happening among Islamic factions in the contemporary Middle East. Fascism as a descriptive term comes from the Latin fascio, meaning "to bundle together and fasten as a single unit."
In ancient Rome, it was symbolized by a battle-axe with many handles, each representing a faction of the Roman empire. Interlaced and tied together with a single ribbon, they were bound tight as a unit. Such fasces, as they were called, became the traditional symbol of Roman unity, carried by magistrates and rulers before the august gatherings of ancient Rome.
Today, the binding force of Islam has brought together Arab tribes in a way similar to the gathering of disparate forces in the ancient Roman Empire. Formerly warring factions are now bound together under the banner of Islam. Like the fascists under Mussolini and Hitler, they are violently committed to a totalitarian form of political and social dominion. They pledge to give their very lives for the cause.
Tiny Israel, lost in the throes of political corruption, and constrained by international diplomacy, is militarily paralyzed. They want peace, but are pressed on all sides.
Once, in the days of Gideon, there was a similar threat to Israel. Superior numbers of their deepest enemies gathered at their borders. More than that, they penetrated into Israel in such numbers that they threatened to completely obliterate the tiny country.
The Strategy of Gideon
This brings us to the second half of Psalm 83, and verses nine through eighteen. Here, we find a significant incident in the life of ancient Israel that takes place under conditions that closely resemble the current status of Israel. The Jews were forced into battle against overwhelming forces.
In this psalm, Asaph recalls Israel’s miraculous victory in a series of emotional images. Acting through Gideon and his men, the Lord acted to save Israel from the onslaught of these forces.
The psalm is a mighty plea, a prayer that summons up this remarkable historical victory and implores the Lord to judge its present enemies, just as He did in the past:
"Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:
"Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.
"Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:
"Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
"O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
"As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
"So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
"Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
"Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
"That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth" (Psalm 83:9-18).
These verses, the concluding ten verses of Asaph’s prophetic psalm recall one of the greatest moments in Israel’s history. Together, they call for a repeat of that great event. The psalmist reasons that, just as the Lord miraculously saved them in the past, they can be saved at the present moment. In a series of rhetorical supplications, he asks the Lord repeat an event that literally saved ancient Israel from destruction.
Referring to a historical event that took place in the thirteenth century B.C., he recalls an amazing story that took place during the life of Gideon, a humble man who rose to become the fifth judge of Israel in approximately 1233 B.C. His story is given to us in the sixth, seventh and eighth chapters of the book of Judges.
Israel was plagued by the Midianites and other mixed tribes from the east. They had come in great numbers and looted the Israelites’ crops and herds. Finally, as they began to settle throughout the land, it became clear that their ultimate goal was to dispossess Israel entirely. Without some act of incredible bravery and leadership, the twelve tribes were doomed.
Enter Gideon, a common man who lived in the village of Ophrah in central Israel. When he is first introduced to us, it is as a fearful and defeated man. His timidity is illustrated when he is shown threshing grain in secret lest the enemy discover him and steal it. Then he is visited by an angel of the Lord, and everything changes:
"And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
"And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles, which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
"And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
"And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
"And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man" (Judges 6:11-16).
Remarkably, the angel sees Gideon as already having won an impossibly difficult battle against the Midianite hoards. He is called a "mighty man of valor." Though far from convinced, Gideon (whose name means "one who hews, or cuts down") prepared an offering for the Lord and calls the place, "Jehovah Shalom," or, the Lord is peace.
With that, Gideon was called to a daunting work. The Lord knew that he possessed the qualities of a dynamic leader. He had no personal desire for power, nor did he think of himself as a man with military ability. And military ability was exactly what was required. The militant Midianites were the ringleaders of the assault against Israel, and they had been joined by others:
"Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
"But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.
"And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them" (Judges 6:33-35).
Gideon does the logical thing. He calls for help. For the reasons mentioned above, Gideon sought proof that his calling was genuine. He tested the Lord’s promise by laying out a fleece of lamb’s wool on two different nights. On the first night, he asks that it be filled with dew while the ground remains dry. His petition is granted. Then, on the second night, he asks that it remain dry while the ground is wet with dew. Again, his request is granted. He is now ready to pull together a force for battle.
Note that the scene of the battle is to be the valley of Jezreel, scene of Israel’s end-time encounter with the nations. The Midianites mass for battle in the place that is both the symbol and the actual location of the final great battle in Israel’s future. As the prophet Hosea wrote, "… for great shall be the day of Jezreel" (Hosea 1:11).
Gideon realized that this would be no small feat, since the invading hoards greatly outnumbered Israel:
"And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude" (Judges 7:12).
In response to his call for assistance, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali responded with over thirty thousand men. Those who were fearful, he allowed to go home. Ten thousand remained. But for the Lord’s work, there were still too many. After another test, his army was pared down to only three hundred men.
Using an ingenious strategy, Gideon’s men attacked the huge force at night, concealing torches in clay pitchers. At midnight, upon his command, they broke the pitchers, revealing flaming torches throughout the enemy camp. At the same time, each of the three hundred blew sounds of alarm on ram’s-horn trumpets. Awakened from slumber, the Midianites were tricked into believing that they had been attacked by a huge Israelite force.
"And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
"And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath.
"And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites" (Judges 7:21-23).
The strategy worked when the warriors of the enemy camp, roused from slumber, were confused into attacking each other. In their dazed condition, and filled with a mixture of blood lust and fear, they destroyed their own troops. In the darkness, they could not tell friend from foe. In all, a hundred and twenty thousand of them fell.
Their leaders – two Midianite princes names Oreb and Zeeb were slain. Then Gideon pursued two Midianite kings across the Jordan:
" Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks" (Judges 8:21).
Aftermath
The momentous battle of Gideon and his three hundred soldiers took place about 32 centuries ago. Now, at this moment in history, we find ourselves looking at a similar situation in the Middle East. Tiny Israel has once again been surrounded and infiltrated by hoards from the east who have pledged to destroy the hated nation.
For the reasons discussed earlier in this article, we have come to call this ragtag collection of tribes and kingdoms Islamo-fascists. But the current situation is really no different from the incident that developed during the life of Gideon.
For this reason, Asaph’s psalm 83 is a prophecy. First, it describes an enemy force that has come to full maturity in the twenty-first century. It is an alliance of men bound together in the fascist manner. Their operating principle is destruction … destruction of Israel, America and the Western nations
Ultimately, their alliance will grow to include a huge force that includes Russia, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, the Germanic nations and the nations of southeastern Europe. Students of the Bible have evoked the imagery of the battle of Gog more times than can be recalled. The bottom line: The entire invading force will not only be slain, but allowed to rot in the sun. Israel will require seven months to bury them all. Dismantling the weapons of war will taken seven years! Gog’s dishonorable defeat will be monumental.
The same was true of the Midianite and Amalakite forces. The hundred and twenty thousand were strewn about the Israelite battlefield and left to decay in the bright light of day. After Gideon and his men dispatched their leaders, they returned to take the spoils of battle:
"Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
"And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
"And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
"And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
"And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
"And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
"Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon" (Judges 8:22-28).
Note the recurring prophetic pattern:
First, there is the obsessive desire to eliminate Israel. The enemy coalesces with militant passion and a historic sense of religious mission. (We call it fascism.)
Next, there is a gradual increase in the number and proximity of the enemy, to the point that they seem overwhelming. The enemy masses until a critical point is reached.
Finally, the inevitable war breaks out, and Israel miraculously defeats an overwhelming foe. The assets of the enemy force are taken by Israel. The people are ecstatic.
Gideon refused to rule as king, even though the people begged him. Throughout the entire experience, He never desired autocratic power, even though it could have been his.
There is, however, a dark footnote to this event. It is both historic and prophetic. Gideon took the Midianites’ gold and precious stones. With these, he formed a golden ephod, which is, of course, the outer garment of the high priest. The ephod is the sleeveless tunic that went from the high priest’s shoulders to his knees. Upon it, rested the breastplate with the twelve precious stones and the Urim and Thummim.
Somehow, Gideon melted down the gold and used it to construct the form of a golden ephod. One thousand, seven hundred shekels of gold would weigh at least eighty-five pounds! That’s quite enough to make a life-sized ephod, perhaps mounted upon a human form of some sort. The result was an idol, formed to look like Israel’s high priest.
It became an idolatrous emblem of the true Aaronic priesthood. Israel used it to worship a false symbol, instead of the living God. This adds the final prophetic note to Gideon’s experience. It seems to foreshadow the outcome that Scripture tells us looms in Israel’s future. Following the massive and miraculous defeat of the overwhelming enemy, Israel will believe that it has achieved peace at last. Sadly, it will then accept the rule of one who presents himself as their messiah. The antichrist will inhabit a temple, but it will not be the true Millennial Temple. Rather, it will be the infamous Tribulation Temple, so often seen in prophecy.
The acts of Gideon foreshadow the great battle that is still in Israel’s future. Round one of that battle is currently being fielded by the Islamo-fascists and their allies. Scripture tells us that a tiny Israeli force will use the help of the Lord and superior tactics to smash a numerically greater power. Like the Midianite army, its bodies will rot in the sun to be marked for later burial.
Sadly, following that victory, Israel will fall into a period of hideous idolatry.
maybe the wanta/dg money will be gettin relesed shotly afer all...
just got an email form a cntact who big bux inwested in southern belle privat bank.
he say that next week the bnak will open.
good fo him. he put in 50K in porvate bank, say it will pay off 12-1
12 x 50K = $600000.
good for him.
good lunck!
hipe it not a scam!
swami,
by the way, the pizza joint in dallsa is called "pizza patron"
frickin' 'tards
oops. Did I say that out loud?
:-)
Kurt.I appreciate your sacrafice and steadfastness to the truth. I have gotten to know you well here.Besides if you were gone, selective justice 7 and Neo would have no place to display their ignorance.
First off let me respond to Kurt's light hearted kick start of posting:
Nice One! I'm in full grin at how the simplest thing's can cause a juggernutt a rolliin rollin rollin. With that said, WHY STAY THE COURSE is a must with out a doubt my good man! With out a doubt,it must be kept open.
Where else less a bag of popcorn can you get such a diverse out poring of info all in one place. Certainly not at that site of NEO's what was the name of it again? I keep forgeting, Oh well know matter I would'nt think there much interest in it anyway.
Now I would like to make a little injection of my two cent O.P. as it was in the direction of the one called SOP.
With all do cinceridy (s) I woud lik too say ths abot your long winded postings tht have becom mor and more.... How can I say this with out seeming as if Im trying to tail you whatin to do? What I might have it! ENOUGHT ALL READY! O.K. I mean I as good as the next guy for a little inputtin of the gosssup anmd tidbits that abond on thisen here intrennetm but your striten to look alittle like that cusin thats' just a slice shy of a loaf anmd know one wants to invite to fittles u know wahten I mean there CUZZZZ?
So lighten up a tad bit's on all the postings. Oh and hey if I want to go back to bible scholllll I know where to find it alll by myself so if you don't mind could you keep those post to a min-you-um plesz and if you do find the your self have to post a long topic could you try the 'refer' with it so that anyone wanting to read all of it can do so in their own 'good time' You know what I sayin?
Now I'm sure that's enough said about that. I will add one more thing in this regard though just so's you don't get all bad attention about your post's and that is there aretimes when some of your posting are a good read and contain stuff that I might have otherwise have mist on my travels througt this iterneteium space of world domination and free pic's let's not for get the free pic's to. as with all things good and bad to much onewat or another and it can end up bad more than good.
Last I would like to coment on the post from Mogel and I have pasted a little below as a reminder.
mogel said...
Property Tax: Why You Pay and How to Opt Out
This article might be of interest to you or some you know. It is
public record. I do not know the author.
For those who may be interested...This is great info. You may want to
SAVE it and/or print it out.
Property Tax: Why You Pay and How to Opt Out
by Brent Johnson
Paying property tax is one of those things that most Americans have
accepted as if it was a way of life. However, most people are
unaware as to why they pay property tax in the first place. this I will have to get to laatter got to ru.
see ya1
Confusionus Say:
"He who stands on toilet is high on pot."
http://www.frontiernet.net
/~jimdandy/specials/friend
/friend.html
yah, last year i wnet to the recoders office and told them i wantd to get me one of dem "allegorical titles"
they laught and siad thae never herd of it.
i told them that mabey they should get themselfs a cmputer, then they wood no what i talking about.
at taht time, there was no one doing this kind of work. maybe now there is, so maybe i will think about getting one of those colloidal titiles.....maybe a silver one.....
Keep the Faith Kurt:) We're prayin for you....This is our year!!!
I would simply like to ask kurt for some type of timeline. This process has been a lengthy one and I, not to mention others, would like to see some validity to the process. While faith and hope are admirable qualities the fool continues to beat the dead horse!
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