Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator (Dan. 9:26b-27).
The book of Daniel has many references to end-times prophecy. One of these, found in Daniel 9:26b-27, refers to a special event at the end of days. Before Jesus comes back, there will be a seven-year treaty formed with many nations. This is often called Daniel's 70th week of prophecy. In the middle of this seven-year period, the temple of God will be defiled; sacrifices will be ceased.
Interestingly enough, no temple stands in Israel today. No animal sacrifices are taking place. This means that for the verses in Daniel to come to pass, this temple must be rebuilt. What will surprise you is that the heart of the Jewish people is turning towards the restoration of the Temple.
At the end of 2016, UNESCO ruled that the Temple Mount has no connection to Judaism. This has caused outrage on both sides of the political spectrum in Israel. Last week, some in the Israeli Parliament decided to respond. Leaders in the Likud party put forth a proposal to create a new foundation that would educate people about the powerful connection between the Temple Mount and Judaism. The plan calls for the US equivalent of $550,000 to be directed towards this effort.
The creation of this special foundation is just one of several events that have been preparing the way for the third temple. In 2015, the Temple Institute declared that they reconstructed the Altar of Sacrifice for the Third Temple. Last month, the Sanhedrin announced that they were reinstituting the temple tax of half a shekel of silver found in Exodus 30:11-16. Arrangements have been made for Jewish people across the world to pay the tax. This will allow funds to be set aside for construction of the third temple.
The reconstruction of the third temple is a necessary event for the fulfillment of Daniel's 70th week. This year is particularly special because it is the Jubilee, or 50th year since the Jewish people retook the Temple Mount at the end of the six-day war (June 7, 1967). The efforts to bring awareness to the significance of the Temple Mount are a reminder that we are just that much closer to seeing God's Word come to pass.
Kelly McDonald Jr.is an ordained evangelist at Hungry Hearts Ministries in Jackson, Tennessee. He has written over 40 books and booklets on pursing Christ, Hebrew roots and end-times prophecy. He is currently president of the Bible Sabbath Association (BSA). You can follow him at: kellymcdonaldjr.com.
Leaders are readers! Subscribe now and get 3 magazines for the price of 1. Get Ministry Today, Charisma and SpiritLed Woman all for $24. YES - Sign me up!
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Click Here to draw closer to God!
Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive it by email.
“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is a time of trouble unto Jacob, but out of it shall he be saved.” (Jeremiah 30:7)
From a Biblical perspective, it is possible to see the uptick in anti-Semitism as a sign of the coming Redemption.
In his address to the Israeli Knesset on December 29, Irwin Cotler, a celebrated human rights lawyer, warned that Israel and the Jewish people are suffering from a “new, escalating, global, sophisticated, virulent and even lethal anti-Semitism.”
Cotler characterized this new anti-Semitism as “discrimination against, denial of, assault upon the right of Israel and the Jewish people to live as an equal member of the family of nations, in fact the right even to live, with Israel emerging as the collective Jew among the nations – the targeted collective Jew among the nations.”
The prophet Daniel, writing about the End of Days, warned that we would witness “a time of trouble, such as never was”:
“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” (Daniel 12:1)
The angel Michael historically stands to defend the Jewish people in Heaven. The “time of trouble” is understood by the Jewish sages to refer to the oppression of the Jewish people at the hands of the descendents of Ishmael at the End of Days. In other words, “the time of trouble” is a reference to the Arab terrorism of today, and the associated attempts to erase the very existence of Israel from the world.
An example of this trend of delegitimizing Israel can be seen in a recent op-ed, published by Forbes, in response to Kuwait Airlines’ recent decision to stop flying between New York and London. As a matter of policy, Kuwait Airlines refuses service to travelers with Israeli passports.
Rather than opposing this discrimination against Israelis, author Martin Rivers, an aviation journalist and Middle East politics blogger, calls the legitimacy of Israel into question. His op-ed, titled “It’s Easy To Blame Kuwait Airways For Discrimination Against Israelis – But It’s Wrong”, finds justification for Kuwait’s refusal to recognize Israel “as a legitimate country” and for its national airline to refuse to serve Israeli passengers.
“The tiny Gulf state, like 16 other mostly Arab nations, does not recognize Israel as a legitimate country. As backwards as this may seem, its stance reflects the unique manner in which the Jewish State was founded in 1948,” Rivers writes. “Even Israel’s most ardent supporters will concede that its establishment, or re-establishment, after World War II was cumbersomely managed. Displaced Arabs living in what had hitherto been known as British Mandate Palestine endured grave hardships during the process. Colonial Britain deserves much of the blame.”
Ironically, though Rivers cast aspersions on Britain, a recent report released by the Met Police in Britain indicates that, between November 2014 and November 2015, anti-Semitic crimes in Britain shot up by 61 percent.
Prolific End of Times author Rabbi Pinchas Winston told Breaking Israel News that rising anti-Semitism worldwide is a Biblical clue that it’s time for the Jewish people to return to Israel.
“We learn from the great Patriarch Jacob how anti-Semitism is an important precursor of redemption. It was the libel he heard from his brothers-in-law, and then the worsening of his relationship with his father-in-law, Laban, that alerted Jacob that it was time to leave the Diaspora and return back to Israel,” he explained to Breaking Israel News.
A desecrated Jewish cemetery in Strasbourg, France, in 2010. (Photo: Facebook Page of Natan Sharansky)
“The ‘anti-Semitism’ told him that the Divine protection that had kept Laban at bay until then was ‘moving on,’ and that he should do likewise. He heeded the message and remained safe. It’s when we haven’t [heeded the message] that anti-Semitism has increased, often resulting in the destruction of all that kept us in the Diaspora, and our lives as well.”
Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf, adult Jewish educator and award-winning author of 11 books, told Breaking Israel News that the antidote to today’s anti-Semitism lies with the Jewish people. According to Apisdorf, “[W]hen the entire Jewish people can speak with one clear voice and say from the depths of our collective soul that the land of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people because God gave it to us—that will make all the difference in the world.”
On a more optimistic note, although both prophets Jeremiah and Daniel foretold of the increased anti-Semitism Israel would experience at the End of Days, they also both mentioned that, ultimately, salvation and deliverance would come for the Jewish people. On the verse in the Book of Daniel, Rashi, the foremost Jewish Biblical commentator, specifically assures that, “The kingdom of Gog will be destroyed and Israel will escape.”
My heart yearns for the glory of the Lord Jesus to be revealed in the earth, touching the hearts and souls of men, women and children in each and every nation. As we see the days become darker, we believe that the Lord God of Israel will show Himself strong, and prove that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, as He says He is.
I wrote this book for you who also long to walk in strong faith, courage and commitment to the end, for whatever the Lord has planned and purposed for you and I. Together, as the Body of Christ, and the glorious Bride that we will become, we will one day see His Kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The Gospel, the Good News of salvation, will be declared, and that which is just and good will for all eternity overcome the evil one. I sincerely believe we are living in the end of days, as prophetic words have been rapidly fulfilled since the re-birth of Israel in 1948. Jesus Himself had said that when we see the fig tree budding, we know that the time is near.
This book, my 10th published in the last three years (all between 2013-2015) and before my 61st birthday, is very special to me. I sense it is something the Lord put on my heart to do several months ago, giving it that “urgency of getting it done and out there” feel as I wrote. Originally these chapters were Now Think On This messages.
It was amazing to me how many were done in September and October of 2015 alone, as the Holy Spirit would speak a word or sentence to me, and I would write soon after. I am truly grateful for His impartation, and acknowledge Jesus (Yeshua), my Lord and Savior, above all.
The photos I have included in the book are primarily ones I took (exceptions noted), both to document history and to share another way the Lord also speaks to His Body. Capturing moments of the Holy Spirit action, especially in the two “fire” photos, were exciting. In both cases I wasn’t even aware of it until they were “developed”.
I trust this book will both encourage you and cause you to re-commit yourself - to know the Lord’s will for your life, do all you can to allow Him to direct your steps, and be the light in these dark days we desperately need and have been called upon by the Lord to be. I am with you, arm in arm! Ahava (love in Hebrew) and shalom (peace),
“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.…” (Ezekiel 38:2-3)
The late Rabbi Haim Shvili, a Jewish mystic born in the early 1900s, made many predictions about the messianic era in his book, Heshbonot Hageula (Reckonings of Redemption), which he wrote in 1935. Some of the predictions in this obscure and largely unknown text were shockingly accurate, stating specific dates and names. His final terrifying vision, that of a Russian-led coalition as the prophesied Gog, is unfolding on the front pages of newspapers today. Of course, Rabbi Shvili did what the newspapers can’t: he predicted precisely how it would end.
Shvili wrote that the chronology of the Book of Daniel, along with predictions found in Ezekiel 38 and 39, Joel 4 and Zechariah 14, indicated that a great war would break out during the Sukkot holiday of the Jewish year 5751, which began on October 3, 1990. This was reported in the Jerusalem Post and theLA Times of that year, a few weeks before the holiday. Though a great war did not break out, massive and unprecedented Arab riots exploded on the Temple Mount on Sukkot of that year, resulting in 23 Arab deaths and more than 150 Arabs being injured. This incident had major implications for Israel and resulted in international condemnation.
While Shvili did not predict how long the war would continue, he wrote that this conflict marked the beginning of the messianic process. Shvili believed that after the war Jerusalem would reign supreme and the city would become a center of tourism, pilgrimage and Jewish religious learning – a prophecy that has fully come to fruition.
Based on chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel, Shvili predicted that the major world power involved in the war of Gog and Magog would be Russia. He specified that it would not be England, though at the time of his predictions, England was the more logical choice for Gog, being much more powerful and more active as a global power. England was also directly involved in the Middle East as part of its mandate. This prediction is even more shocking, since at the time when he wrote his predictions, and even later when they were published, Russia had been replaced by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Nonetheless, Shvili specified Russia as being the military leader of a coalition during the messianic wars by explaining the the verse in Ezekiel 38:2, which reads, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal”. Shvili interpreted the word “Rosh” through Kabbalistic techniques to mean Russia. He used the same techniques to interpret the words “Meshech” and “Tubal” to be the Balkan states, which are ruled by Russia.
Shvili emphasized that Gog is referred to as the “land of the North”, and Russia is the northernmost country in Europe. He pointed out that the return of the Jews from the north, as prophesied in Isaiah and Jeremiah, will be an enormous miracle. In fact, for a long period of time, the Soviet Union did not allow Jews to emigrate to Israel. In the late 1980s and 90s, around the time when Shvili predicted the messianic period would begin, in an entirely unexpected move, Mikhail Gorbachev opened the borders, allowing Jews to emigrate. More than 1.6 million Jews left, and almost one million came to Israel in what most thought an unlikely, perhaps even miraculous, occurrence.
The verses in Ezekiel explicitly state that Gog is a Nasi (prince) of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, indicating a republic and not a kingdom. There are presently many countries with a military presence in Syria and Iraq, forming several coalitions. The US is certainly one “prince,” or leader, while Russia is clearly the opposing “prince”.
Shvili predicted that the Russian-led coalition would be opposed by its corresponding counterpart, made up of an army composed of soldiers from all 70 nations. There have already been confrontations with international implications, such as Turkey shooting down a Russian fighter jet, Britain authorizing its air force to shoot down aggressive Russian jets, and face-offs between Russian and Israeli jets. As alliances continue to form, it is becoming clear that the present conflict in Syria will bring many countries into the fray, just as Shvili described.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on June 25, 2012. (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO/Flash90)
Shvili also noted that the War of Gog and Magog would begin in the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which this year began five weeks ago with the holiday of Rosh Hashana, and ended October 12. On September 30th of this year, the 29th of Tishrei, Russia began formal military intervention in Syria, which conforms perfectly with his predictions.
Based on the verses of Ezekiel (39:11), Shvili understood that Russia would come down into Israel via the Golan Heights with the intention of conquering Egypt, but would be vanquished near what is today the Israeli town of Almagor at the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret).
Many people, even those uninclined to Biblical prophecy, are realizing that we live in precarious and unusual times with strong parallels to the messianic process. Though this prospect might be frightening, by witnessing the predictions that have become reality and accepting them as part of a process that has been described, it is possible to take comfort in the end that has been assured. Shvili concludes that after the war of Gog and Magog, the prophecy of world peace, of “beating swords into plowshares” (Isaiah 2:4) will come into effect, centered around Jerusalem as the pinnacle of peace and holiness.
Synopsis Taken into slavery after the fall of Jerusalem in 605 B.C., Daniel (Robert Miano) is forced to serve the most powerful king in the world, King Nebuchadnezzar. Faced with imminent death, Daniel proves himself a trusted Advisor and is placed among the king's wise men. Threatened by death at every turn Daniel never ceases to serve the king until he is forced to choose between serving the king or honoring God. With his life at stake, Daniel has nothing but his faith to stand between him and the lions den.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
