Saturday, November 22, 2008

11 Straight Years of Global Cooling

Neuroscientist and physicist, Dr. Gregory Young, writes in the latest online edition of The American Thinker:

We're dismayed over the fact that the Global Warming fiasco has become politically popular and expedient to those left-wing politicians and power-brokers whose sole aim is to literally tax everything with a carbon footprint and give them control over all life, hidden within their PC guileful pretence to save the planet. They wish to save no one but themselves.


His piece is, by far, the most succinct explanation I have seen to date debunking the religion of Manmade Global Warming.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Is Obama the Antichrist?

I don’t claim to be an expert in very many things but regarding Bible prophecy, I have about 35 years of study under my belt. I have seen claims of "This guy is the the Antichrist" or "that guy's the Antichrist", over the last many decades. I think it is important for our side to know a little about the matter of Bible prophesy so that we can deal with the question: “Is Obama the Anti-Christ?”.

Now I know you may not necessarily be a Bible believer but grant for just a moment that there IS specific Biblical teaching on the matter of the antichrist (a term, BTW, that is rarely used in the Bible - instead, terms like The Man of Sin [2Thessalonians 2:3] The Son of Perdition [2Thessalonians 2:3] and The Lawless One [2Thessalonians 2:8] are more common). According to the Scriptures, Obama ain’t him.

Here are a few things to bear in mind:

A. The Lawless One (LO from here on out) does not need to, indeed, WILL NOT make an appearance until all relevant prophecies about the reestablishment of Israel and the Magog Invasion have been fulfilled. These include: Israel being reborn as a nation (1948), Jerusalem being reclaimed as the nation of Israel’s capital (1969) and most importantly, the move by Iran and Russia against Israel. While Satan may have some Lawless One waiting in the wings at any given moment, he has not had to have such a person ready until after the events of 1969.

B. Hitler could NOT have been the LO. Why? Setting aside for a moment that Hitler was the opposite of a friend of the Jews, none of the above three Last Days prophecies had been fulfilled at the time Hitler was alive. All one had to do to tell if Adolf was the Lawless One would be to check to see if Israel was a nation yet: checking… Nope, not yet. Must not be him after all.

C. Is Obama the LO? We know that Scripture says the LO will arise out of a reformulated Roman Empire. Obama is neither a Western nor an Eastern/South Eastern European (remember, there were two legs of the original Roman Empire referenced in Daniel, the second one was ruled from Constantinople and lasted for centuries beyond the Empire of the Caesars - so we don’t really know which of these two areas will birth the LO). But regardless, Obama is not a candidate because Scripture says the LO will be from some part of the Roman Empire (east or west we're not able to tell from Scripture).

D. The United States (and all other nations) has to COMPLETELY abandon Israel in order to make smooth the path for the LO to arise. As long as we protect Israel the LO won’t be revealed because he will not be needed by Israel. The Scripture is VERY clear that the Israelies make a treaty with the LO (who evidently will be a charismatic, apparently honorable, respectable, and powerful leader - someone the Jews will intrinsically trust as being their true Messiah) as their political and military savior. Again, no way that the Jews would perceive Obama to be such a man, even if he were European. This protection treaty will be signed after a pivotal war with Russia, Iran, Turkey, and allied nations as referenced in the prophecy found in Ezekiel 38:1-7:

A message came to me from the Lord. He said, "Son of man, turn your attention to Gog. He is from the land of Magog. He is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him.

"Tell him, 'The Lord and King says, "Gog, I am against you. You are the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. But I will turn you around. I will put hooks in your jaws. I will bring you out of your land along with your whole army. Your horses will come with you. Your horsemen will be completely armed. Your huge army will carry large and small shields. All of them will be ready to use their swords.

"The men of Persia, Cush and Put will march out with them. All of them will have shields and helmets. Gomer and all of its troops will be there too. Beth Togarmah from the far north will also come with all of its troops. Many nations will help you.

"Get ready. Be prepared. Take command of the huge armies that are gathered around you.


These three countries and their allied armies are vanquished. It is critically important to note two things about this prophesy:

a. According to Ezekiel’s prophecy, Iran, Russia, and Turkey apparently have cart blanche to make their move against Israel without fear of reprisal. They apparently believe that NO ONE will stand up to protect her and thus, they have no doubt that Israel is ripe for the taking.

b. Iran, Russia, Turkey, and those with them LOSE this war, not because of Israel’s military might, but rather, due to some unexplained "natural" disaster (if one can call brimstone from heaven "natural") that destroys their invading force.

What this means to prophecy geeks like me is that the US is either unwilling or unable to come to the aid of Israel and has either been neutered somehow or has telegraphed that we intend to stay out of future conflicts in the Middle East (maybe we turn their protection over to the UN?). As we all know, as long as a Bush, Reagan, or even a Clinton was in the White House, there is simply no way that this prophecy could have been fulfilled. All of these presidents and their Israel supporting predecessors have been unwittingly forestalling the Last Days with their foreign policy posture vis a vis Israel. In other words, as long as the US stands by Israel, Russia and Iran will not attempt to invade Israel as prophesied by Ezekiel.

The core principle I am getting at is that, while there is considerable debate over the timing of this prophesy, it seems to me that it is easier to simply look at the logical steps required for the LO to make his appearance on behalf of Israel.

Let’s put the pieces together.

1. Israel IS a nation and DOES have Jerusalem restored to them. Two of the three major “Lawless One revealed” prophecies fulfilled.
2. Israel is still protected by the US so no invasion from an Iran or Russia seems likely at this point.
3. The US is becoming more socialist and its citizenry more sheep-like. This can only result in eventually cutting the troublesome Israel lose from our foreign policy. I also believe that such a policy would not be possible as long as the Christian Church is active in America. However, if the Church is removed in the Harpazo* (commonly called the "Rapture") then such a foreign policy seems inevitable.
4. Once Israel is outside the military penumbra of the US, she is vulnerable to an attack from the nations that hate her most. This invasion MUST occur prior to Israel making a treaty with the LO. I maintain that this attack is what precipitates the need for Israel to make the treaty with the LO in the first place.
5. Israel is attacked and then spared through, what should be and is intended to be, an obvious intervention by God Himself. The reason for this military drama seems to be that God intends to send a message to the Jews that THEY DO NOT NEED THE UNITED STATES OR ANYONE ELSE TO PROTECT THEM as long as they rely on Him. But will they?

Sadly, no.

The Bible goes on to say that they wipe the sweat off their collective brows and thank their lucky stars that some mysterious natural disaster wiped out the invading armies. Whew! saved in the nick of time. They then decide that, given the US is no longer able to protect them, and given that they almost were wiped off the face of the planet by their mortal enemies to the north, they believe they need someone new to protect them. Thus, they make the fateful pact with the Lawless One, believing him to be the long awaited Messiah.

So how does Obama figure in this? A couple of things come to mind:

1. Obama's rise to power proves that many people in these latter days will abandon all logic and rational thought in their longing for someone to save them from the chaos of this world (something the Bible does predict as well). "Hope and Change" are obviously not policy positions but apparently, many do not care. As flawed as Obama is, he gives hope (false as it may be) to millions. But just imagine if a guy came on the scene with Obama’s charisma but without all his baggage? Someone who DOES have the foreign policy cred, the experiential bona fides, the political gravitas required to dupe EVERYONE.

2. Obama may end up being The One who fulfills a foundational prerequisite to the Last Day prophecies. HE very well could be the one that abandons Israel, unwittingly making way for the events that culminate in the coming war between Iran/Russia/Turkey and Israel. If he, or one of his like minded successors do that, at that point, it will be an inexorable march toward the end.

By the way, I am as sure that something like I describe above will take place as I am of my own existence. It was predicted and it is coming to pass just as the Bible has said it would. It makes obvious sense based on the events of the last 70 years.

Hang on, its going to be an amazing and bumpy ride.

*The Harpazo (Greek for “the snatching away”) is what we call the Rapture of Believers. The Bible is clear that the Harpazo happens prior to the Lawless One being revealed. What this means to me is that, it is likely that Bible-believing Christians will not be on earth (at least be visible on Earth) to see the Jews make their treaty with this European superstar. Only non-believers who still have their heads on straight will realize what is going on. However, I don’t suggest that such people hang around to find out.