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Messiah's on the wayReader comment on item: Thinking about Kurdistan Submitted by Michael S (United States), Dec 26, 2014 at 07:20 Hi, Tovey. I always am most happy to hear from you. You said,
You were a little vague here, about what you mean by "this description". Ambitious leaders are a continual fixture of history. Daniel is very specific, however, in describing an end-time coalition of ten world powers ("toes", in ch. 2 and "horns" in ch. 7). Such a coalition has never arisen until modern times, when it manifested as the ten Colonial Powers (Britain, France, Netherlands, etc.). That era ended with the collapse of those world empires after World War II. In Daniel's prophecy, this was followed by the reign of the "little horn"; and in history, this was followed by the worldwide domination by the United States. This sort of thing has never happened before. You said,
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 placed the largest US banks into partnership with the US government -- a partnership in which Congress gives the Fed a general mandate, and the Fed (which actually consists of private banks, not of any arm of the government), in turn, significantly steers the US economy. The purpose of the Fed was, supposedly, to prevent or mitigate great lurches in the American financial world. They obviously didn't do a very good job in preventing the Great Depression, which ought to have brought this reliance on the big banks into serious question. It didn't. The Fed Act was followed by even more draconian measures, this time on a worldwide scale. The Bretton Woods accords, crafted in secret at the end of World War II, were a milestone event. The collusion with Saudi Arabia to create the "petrodollar", essentially making the US dollar the world's reserve currency, has also had tremendous impact on the way the world does business. As I said, the Fed Act didn't prevent the Great Depression, and may have contributed to its severity. Having said that, I don't look to this Act and other treaties, etc. that followed as a "conspiriacy" to take over the world. Of course, there are a few wealthy individuals who profit from such schemes; but this is not the cause of economic troubles when they come; those troubles come from God and "nature", running its cause-and-effect course. We make those troubles worse, by looking to the rich and powerful (the "beast") to solve them, instead of relying on God. That is the gist of the "beast" prophecies, in Daniel and in Revelation. You went on, "So, what should the initiated be looking for in this age of transformative powers, of minions who would be king and tooting their little horns for power for a season; and as was proffered by Yeshua at the time of the second temple. So, what do we need to understand about the third temple that is central to the issue of the approaching 'end times?" I haven't been "initiated" into any "mysteries". Mysteries and initiations are purely pagan, and have no place among the people of God. God speaks in parables, to be sure -- "riddles", as someone once called them. Paul said, 1 Cor 1 [19] For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. God's people are looked down upon by the unbelievers, who think they are so wise; and all the while, they go about seeking those who have been "initiated" by education, etc. into the "hidden mysteries" of the universe. Uninitiated people like me, though, just read the scriptures as they're written, then look out the window to see if they're happening yet. They're all very plain, just like Jesus' parables: it requires a sophisticated subtlety of mind, such as the religious teaching of the Jewish leaders of his day, to make them seem confusing; but the sayings themselves are pretty straitforward. Let's see what else you said...
I only brought him up, to say that he was NOT the false prophet or whoever. You needn't belabor the point. A lot happened under his watch; but there is obviously much more yet to come.
That's a fair question. The Kurds claim to be descended from the Medes. I don't see the Medes havinng any place in end-times prophecies. The PERSIANS, on the other hand, are the dominant people of Iran. They are mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39, as part of a NEAR-end-times event. Turkey is also mentioned in that passage. There's a regular whirlwind of fighting going on, in the several hundred miles of territory between the Iranians, Kurds and Turks, on the one hand, and Israel and the Bedouin on the other. That whirlwind is kicking up a lot of dust, which makes it hard to see things clearly. You went on,
I see the matter much like this. I consider Ezekiel 38-39 a "minor skirmish" as well. The "monster", of course, is the beast; and indeed, it lives in Europe. At the moment, Europe cannot greatly hurt Israel because the US has a veto power in the UN Security Counsel and has an immense say-so in NATO. For this reason, I expect the US to JOIN the nations of Europe in its unholy alliance before the Zechariah 14 attack and consequent worldwide nuclear war. We are planning, right now, to join Europe in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Judging by the time it takes to hash out these deals, and the time after that needed to cement them into an effective international governing body (the "Transatlantic Parliament", or such like), I'd say we have a few years left before the shift hits the fan -- a few years, not many. Yes, Europe is the monster we need to watch out for -- Europe, augmented with the US, Canada and probably some others such as Japan, Australia, etc. This approximates to the "Western World", which, yes, I look at as the "New Roman Empire." From Israel's point of view, the progression seems to be: 1. Dodge those attacks from the perennial enemy, the Arabs. 2. Prepare militarily, technically and politically for an attack by Turkey and Iran in near future, and 3. Get a good, viable Samson option ready, that can strike ANYWHERE in the world. Libya and Ukraine would never have been attacked, if they had kept their nuclear weapons. That lesson ought to be learned by Israel. Israel needs to develop those weapon systems, and USE THEM when the time comes. Otherwise, they're a pushover for a determined world power bent on destroying them. 4. Stand, and look up. Messiah's on the way. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". Reader comments (19) on this item
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