John 15:18-19

7-13-18, * -- Some proclaim just believing in Jesus we'll have a better life; but Jesus told His disciples the world will hate them and they will suffer persecution. Jesus did not just die so we'd have a better life here on earth. We are here to share the good news of Jesus gift of eternal life. He told His disciples they'd suffer persecution and spiritual warfare. Let’s be mindful of how we speak when it comes to our savior Jesus’s life, death and miraculous resurrection. His purpose on earth was to save sinners [1].  And born again believers mandate is to go preach the Lord's Good News:

Go PREACH in all the world for a witness unto all nations 
Matthew 10:7, 24:14; Mark 16:15; Luke 9:60 

The Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8

7-16-18, Tour boat hit with big lava rock crashing through roof ... many passengers injured - one with broken leg. The molten rock is coming from the Kilauea volcano, that's been erupting continuously for the past 35 years. In May 2018, its eruption entered a new phase when it began spurting lava through newly formed fissures in a residential neighborhood destroying 700 homes. The only other serious injury over the past two months was to a man who was hit by flying lava that broke his leg. 

Hawaii Coast Guard revoked all special permits allowing tour boats to sail close to lava flows. Boat operators are required to remain 984 feet from the lava. Monday's explosion sent big lava rocks and debris into the air, landing on a tour boat off the coast of Kapoho, Hawaii.  Shane Turpin, the owner and captain of Hot Shot, operated by Lava Ocean Tours said he never saw the explosion that rained molten rocks down on top of his boat. He and his tour group had been in the area for about 20 minutes making passes of the ocean entry about 1600 feet offshore. "As we were exiting the zone, all of a sudden everything around us exploded, it was everywhere. It was immense. I had no idea. We didn't see it.”

The tour boat holds 49 passengers; unknown how many were on the boat.The injuries range in severity with four taken by ambulance and the worst being a fractured femur, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said. Most of the injuries were superficial and treated on arrival at the harbor.

The captain has been navigating lava tour boats for many years and has lived on the Big Island since 1983. More here

Genesis 1:1-4

7-9-18, Henry Morris, PhD -- Initially, the created cosmos was in darkness—a darkness that God Himself had to create (“I form the light, and create darkness”—Isaiah 45:7). But then the dark cosmos was energized by the Spirit’s moving, and God’s light appeared. The darkness was not dispelled, however, but only divided from the light, and the day/night sequence began, which has continued ever since.

This sequence of events in the physical creation is a beautiful type of the spiritual creation, “a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Each individual is born in spiritual darkness, but “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). We are now “partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,” because He “hath delivered us from the power of darkness” (Colossians 1:12-13). We are born again in Christ. John 3:3, 7

However, the light in the primeval darkness resulted only in a division of night and day. The night still comes, but God has promised that in the coming Holy City, “there shall be no night there” (Revelation 22:5).

Just so, even though we have been given a new nature of Light, the old nature of darkness is still striving within, and we have to be exhorted:

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).

Nevertheless, “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).

When we reach that city of everlasting light, all spiritual darkness will vanish as well, for “there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth” (Revelation 21:27), and we shall be like Christ. Source

​Giant predatory worms invading France and threatening good worms and small creatures
May 2018, How the monster 15 inch [known to grow to 39 inches] hammerhead worms have managed to take up residence in France ... scientists are baffled.  The giant predatory worms from tropical parts of Asia have stealthily invaded French gardens pose a threat to local wildlife, scientists are warning. The voracious creatures have infiltrated gardens across the country and also French territories. A new study has collected reports of the unusual creatures. All of these flatworms are predators, which means the pose a serious threat to other small creatures that inhabit the soil, as well as ecological processes in general.Though the researchers did not conduct a full evaluation of the threat posed by these animals – a process which requires costly and complex ecological surveys – Professor Justine pointed to the example of the New Zealand flatworm in the UK. More here

LiveScience.com -- Flatworms may not look that exciting, but they have an astonishing superpower: regeneration. When bits of them are amputated, these bits can regrow into complete worms — even from snipped-off fragments that represent 1/300th of the worm's body. In one case, a flatworm sent into space grew a second head after its tail was cut off. And in another study, researchers tweaked worms' regeneration so that after the animals' heads were amputated, they regrew heads and brains resembling those of different species.

God's Judgment? Jeremiah 29:18; Ezekiel 5:12; Matthew 24:7

J.D. Farag, Jul 15, 2018, Pastor J.D. talks about a great earthquake in Israel at the time of Ezekiel 38’s fulfillment: 34 minute Video here

Ezekiel 38:18-19 "And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog [Turkey] shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking [earthquakes?] in the land of Israel;"

Recent Earthquakes in Israel, Warm-Up for Pre-Gog Global ...
7-5-18, Eighty years ago a prediction that major earthquakes in Israel would precede the War of Gog and Magog, preceeding the coming of the Messiah.​

Israel airstrikes as more than 100 Hamas rockets fired across border
7-15-18, Israeli military said some 100 rockets were launched from the Islamic terror group Hamas in Gaza at southern Israel, …

Turkey leader Tayyip Erdogan is threatening Israel with sanctions - while Turkish ...
Erdogan Is Threatening Israel With Sanctions ... Nevertheless, this relative boom is being threatened by the policies of the president, ...​

​Turkey says Israel's Gaza offensive threatens rapprochement ...
Turkey says Israel's Gaza offensive threatens rapprochement "We cannot normalize (relations). First, this cruelty must end," Erdogan said during a speech in the central Turkish city of Yozgat late on Thursday.

Leviticus 20:24; Deuteronomy 26:15; Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5; Numbers 13:27;  14:8; Ezekiel 20:6; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5

​7-10-18, NatlGeographics -- According to a release from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ... a mosaic scene, depicting two men carrying a pole laden with grapes, was recently discovered at Huqoq, the site of the synagogue excavation. An inscription in Hebrew above the men reads “a pole between two”—a reference to the biblical passage Numbers 13:23.

Following the forty years the Hebrews spent in Egypt as slaves, we read in the Book of Numbers 13:1-23 that God told Moses to send out twelve scouts into the land of Canaan. The spies returned with tales of an abundant land of milk and honey—with bunches of grapes so large they required two men to carry. 

Archaeologist Jodi Magness, director of the Huqoq excavations said that the “unparalleled” 1500 yr old mosaic finds at Huqoq contradict the idea that Jewish settlements in Galilee suffered as the influence of Christianity grew in the region. Not only is the artwork in the synagogue of exceptional quality, but it also highlights a rich visual culture at a time when Jewish art is believed to have shunned images. 
​
The Huqoq mosaics, which have been excavated with support from the National Geographic Society, even contain a nonbiblical scene that Magness believes represents a fabled visit to the region by Alexander the Great. More ancient mosaics from Huqoq here

More here: www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/biblical-spies-revealed-in-1500-year-old-mosaic.aspx
and here www.christianpost.com/news/mosaic-of-moses-spies-who-explored-canaan-discovered-in-israel-225939/

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

7-10-18, * --  The gift of discerning spirits is dispensed by the Holy Spirit to born again believers in Christ for service according to the sovereignty of God and in accordance with His plan to edify the body of Christ. Every believer has a certain amount of discernment, which increases as the believer matures in the Spirit; to discern good from evil. Hebrews 5:13-14; Acts 17:11
 
We know that Satan takes a bit of truth and twists it with his lies.  The discernment from God distinguishes truth from lies. We are admonished to study the Scriptures to keep us safe to recognize a lie from truth. [2 Timothy 3:16-17; see also Ephesians 4:14]
 
Some prosperity preachers proclaim that Christians should never be sick or in poverty. Is this true? No it is not. We read in the Book of Acts that the Apostles were jailed, tortured and ultimately killed, except for John who lived through being boiled in oil. All through history believers have suffered as Jesus warned us we’d have tribulation. John 16:33; Luke 14:27; Revelation 21:4
 
Many babes in Christ ‘have itching ears’ (2 Tim 4:3-4) eager to hear that we’ll be prosperous. I have discerned that the “prosperity” preachers are frauds; that “name it and claim it” that they proclaim is not Scriptural. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
 
Many think they lack discernment; it could be caused from lack of reading God’s Word. The more we learn about God’s love, commands and gifts the stronger will be our love, obedience, peace and discernment. Only then can we clearly see and discern who are true representatives and disciples of Christ. Then we can identify who are actually preaching God’s truths or a different gospel of empty deceitful words.
 
*Excerpted and adapted full original message from Geri Ungurean here:
https://grandmageri422.me/2018/07/10/discernment-why-we-desperately-need-it-in-these-last-days/

7-10-18, Fox News -- Recently a public school in Illinois sent a cease and desist letter to someone who was giving children a copy of the Holy Bible on a public street. The Freedom From Religion Foundation [FFRF], a Wisconsin-based group of atheists, agnostics and free-thinkers, filed complaints with the Illinois school district regarding religion at La Harpe Elementary School. The school assured the FFRF that:

“This individual [handing out free Bibles] was warned that law enforcement would be called should he or any affiliated persons come onto the School District campus for the purpose of distributing Bibles to students.” 

First time it just involved flyers that Principal Lila McKeown reportly distributed to teachers at staff meetings referencing Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas and included Bible passages.

Note: Clearly more and more we see fear and trepidation at the mere mention of God's holy Word. Hmm, would they have reacted this way should the books being freely given were the Islamic Koran?  More here

6-20-18, Henry Morris, PhD -- This sharp rebuke by the Lord Jesus Christ to the legalists of His day should also be taken seriously by us today. [7 woes condemning Pharisees Matthew 23:14-31

Although we're saved by grace alone, there are many things we ought to do, not as a matter of credit toward salvation, but as gratitude for our salvation.

Surely judgment, mercy and faithfulness are high on the a list. Other “oughts” of the born-again Christian life would include the following incomplete listing:

1. Prayer: “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
2. Obedience to God as Priority: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
3. Working and Sharing: “So labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
4. Gracious in Speech: “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6).
5. Walking with God: “As ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1).
6. Heeding God’s Word: “We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Hebrews 2:1).
7. Sanctified Behavior: “What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11).

7-5-18, * -- Earlier this year, a university student was responding to my lecture on God’s love for the LGBT community during a time of Q&A. He tried to undermine the authority of the Scriptures and accused me of using violent language to him. Apparently, as a professed atheist, any form of justice or judgment was considered inherently violent and he would have none of it. [Ten Commandments here] Matthew  6:20, 12:36-37; 
Romans 2:5-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15

Today people don’t want to hear warnings; we only want positive words. Words that make us feel better about ourselves increasing our self-esteem enhancing our self-image. However, truth is needed; although obedience to God and repentance for sin (Luke 13:3) is considered negative and is often rejected out of hand. Many now demand that we:

• Don’t tell me I’m on the wrong path.
• Don’t tell me there’s danger ahead.
• By all means, do not warn!

Of course we should encourage, lift up, preach with love, compassion, mercy and longsuffering. But we should strongly warn our hearers and viewers of the consequences of rejecting the love, compassion, mercy and longsuffering of our Savior Jesus Christ. (Romans 11:22). Unfortunately today's accepted message is: 

• Everybody wins there can be no losers.
• Every path is valid and every perception has truth.
• Correction is a micro-aggression.
• Reproof is for our grandparents’ generation.
• Rebuke is tantamount to assault.

That’s the current world and it's not only in the secular, non-religious society ... it's also in the Church. Few preachers warn anymore. I've receive angry hate filled comments about our video “Can You Be Gay and Christian?” [1] The belligerent rebellious sinner doesn't accept that we share God's good news because we love them and don't want any to spend eternity in Hell (Revelation 20:15). Christian musician and singer Keith Green (who passed into eternity in 1982) said, “I'd rather have people hate me with the knowledge that I tried to save them.” Decades ago, George Orwell famously wrote, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” 

Our eternal destiny is not just by chance; it's decided by our own choice to reject God or personal repentance and faith. If we, born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t do it, who will? We are the 'watchmen' it's our duty to try to warn those in danger. Ezekiel 33:6; Luke 19:10

*Excerpted and adapted full original message from Dr Brown here
[1] Good six minute video whether a rebellious homosexual person is accepted by God and is a Christian here

Proverbs 10:6; 29:2
​
"BLESSINGS ARE ON THE HEAD OF THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT VIOLENCE COVERS THE MOUTH OF THE WICKED. THE MOUTH OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS A WELL OF LIFE, BUT VIOLENCE COVERS THE MOUTH OF THE WICKED. WISDOM IS FOUND ON THE LIPS OF HIM WHO HAS UNDERSTANDING, BUT A ROD IS FOR THE BACK OF HIM WHO IS DEVOID OF UNDERSTANDING. WISE PEOPLE STORE UP KNOWLEDGE, BUT THE MOUTH OF THE FOOLISH IS NEAR DESTRUCTION. IN THE MULTITUDE OF WORDS SIN IS NOT LACKING, BUT HE WHO RESTRAINS HIS LIPS IS WISE. THE LIPS OF THE RIGHTEOUS FEED MANY, BUT FOOLS DIE FOR LACK OF WISDOM." 
​PROVERBS 10:6,11,13-14,19,21

MANY VERSES IN PROVERBS SPEAK OF THE TONGUE AND HOW TO USE IT AS A POSITIVE INFLUENCE. LEADERS WHO USE WORDS SKILLFULLY INCREASE THEIR INFLUENCE. LEADERS WHO UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF THEIR WORDS ACCOMPLISH THE FOLLOWING:
​

• THEY PROCLAIM JUSTICE AND ARE BLESSED
• THEY SPEAK HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, BECOMING A FOUNTAIN OF LIFE TO OTHERS
• THEY SPEAK FORTH WISDOM AND SAVE OTHERS FROM RUIN
• THEY KNOW WHEN SILENCE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN WORDS
• THEIR WORDS FEED AND NOURISH MANY OTHERS

EXCERPT FROM THE MAXWELL LEADERSHIP BIBLE

7-8-18, JPost -- Over the years, excavators have discovered in Bethsaida many remains from various periods. The recent excavations are conducted in the Jordan Park area, northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Archaeologists said the size, wealth and impressive fortifications indicate that Zer was a major city. “There are not many gates in this country from this period. Bethsaida was the name of the city during the Second Temple period, but during the First Temple period it was the city of Zer,” Arav said, pointing to Joshua 19:35, which says: “The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth.”

The most significant finding was a coin dated to 35 BC, which was minted in Acre on the occasion of the arrival of Cleopatra and Marc Antony. There is a total of 12 of these coins. 

Another finding made in the past two weeks was discovered underneath what was seemingly the floor of a Roman temple built by Herod’s son Philip, which he dedicated to Julia, the daughter of Augustus.
There archaeologists found coins, beads, jugs and house keys as well as a shield that apparently belonged to a Roman soldier.

Arav began carrying out excavations of et-Tell on behalf of the University of Nebraska USA nearly 30 years ago. In these excavations, he identified the ancient city of Bethsaida [aka Zer] John 12:21, and following his excavations and discoveries, masses of Christian pilgrims visited the site because of its great importance to Christianity. More here

Ecclesiastes 1:18

Job 12:12
***
​I think God keeps us here to pray for others.
​We’re not useless as long as we can still pray.
Acts 26:18; 1 Timothy 2:1-4

2 Chronicles 19:2

5-8-18, Henry Morris, PhD -- Jehoshaphat was a godly king of Judah who faithfully served the Lord, but he made the tragic mistake of forming an alliance with ungodly king Ahab of Israel in fighting against their common enemy Syria. After all, he reasoned, they were “brothers,” both descended from Abraham, so they could join together in battling the Syrians.

Although God continued to bless Jehoshaphat during his lifetime, this compromise eventually resulted in great tragedy in his family when his son and successor, Jehoram, married Ahab’s wicked daughter Athaliah and killing all his own brothers; soon he himself died of a loathsome disease. (2 Chronicles 21:4, 6, 19)

The road of compromise eventually ends on a precipice, especially in matters regarding the integrity of God’s Word and His saving gospel. The timeless principle for Christians today is given in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? . . . or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?”

This warning and command is at least as greatly needed today as it was in Paul’s day. Currently spiritual, moral and religious compromise seem to be endemic in the Christian realm, both in doctrine and practice. God warns us 'to come out from among them!' 2 Corinthians 6:17 Source

Related: 
www.bibleodyssey.org/en/tools/bible-basics/how-was-the-bible-written-and-transmitted
www.christianpost.com/news/worlds-oldest-bible-scripture-scientists-claim-1st-century-gospel-of-mark-found-in-ancient-mummys-mask-132925/

Romans 13:1-3

​7-4-18, * -- Evangelist Billy Sunday said, "Christianity and Patriotism are synonymous terms, and hell and traitors are synonymous."
 
Many Christians see God's goals and the country's goals as one and the same. Therefore, it is not just a civic duty to love and support America, it is also a Christian duty. The Apostle Paul's explained our relationship to civil government in Acts 13:1-3, 7.
 
Evangelist Billy Graham explained during the historic Los Angeles crusade that the only way America could oppose communism was if it first experienced spiritual revival.
 
Some may feel that Jesus' ministry was primarily a model of resistance to the values and aspirations of the Roman Empire.  Well, Jesus' commands to "turn the other cheek" and "go the extra mile" were given in the context of Roman occupation. He encouraged nonviolent resistance to the powers that be.  Yes, to be a good Christian is to work for social justice, equality, liberty and resisting abuses as we obey Christ.
 
We must commit to pray for our leaders (1 Tim. 2:1-2) wisdom, insight and courage as they guide the nation "for our good."
 
Happy Independence Day, America!
 
*Excerpted and adapted full original message from Brandon O'Brien here: https://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/articles/spiritualformation/patriotismchristian.html?start=3

7-3-18, Conclusion: Daniel's lion, bear and leopard kingdom "beasts" discussed represent the successive kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece reappear together in scripture only once more in Revelation 13:1-2; combined they represent a single composite "beast"/kingdom.
 
Revelation 13:1 "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."
 
Seven heads are the seven successive kingdoms that ruled John's whole "world" through time. The ten horns could be the ten Islamic caliphates.   (Daniel's beasts are assigned the masculine gender as "his.")
 
The reverse order was perhaps because Daniel's prophecy was forward looking at these kingdoms to come, while John's prophecy was in part a review of history and their fulfillment.
 
It's necessary to understand that in the context of the times during which John was writing - looking through his eyes at his world - to apply this ethnographic hermeneutic; terms like "whole world" are not about Peoria, Illinois in the USA.  The verse "that deceiveth the whole world" - Strong's explains: 3625 oikoumene {oy-kou-men'-ay}
​
1) the inhabited earth
1a) the portion of the earth inhabited by the Greeks, in distinction from the lands of the barbarians
1b) the Roman empire, all the subjects of the empire
 
Thus John's "whole world" is virtually entirely Islamic, with the exception of Israel, and small percentages of persecuted Christians in a few other countries in the area. See Ezekiel 38:5-6; Daniel 7:8, 11; Revelation 17:9-13

On May 16, 2018 Turkey's leader, Tayyip Erdogan called for Islamic nations to
form a coalition to go against the Jewish State of Israel. Here
 
Some Muslims claim the Bible was corrupted to demonize Islam, but this would have been an impossibility since it had been copied thousands of times and translated into many languages over hundreds of years before Muhammad was ever born [580 AD]. By the 2nd century AD, Jewish groups called the Bible the "scriptures" and the apostle John was inspired by God to pen the Book of Revelation between 43-47 AD. The oldest extant copy of a complete Bible is an early 4th-century parchment book preserved in the Vatican Library, and it is known as the Codex Vaticanus.

Oldest Most Complete Illustrated Bible On Earth in Ethiopia here 
 
Excerpted full original report from archives of Ellis Skolfield here:
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/the_beast.htm

-2-18, God’s plan as recorded in scripture embraces many writing styles: prose as well as poetry, some literal and some figurative. Some is written in a non-literal way [in figurative language] achieving an effect beyond the range of ordinary language.

HOW CAN WE KNOW WHEN SCRIPTURE SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD
LITERALLY OR FIGURATIVELY?
 
We can know how to understand the intent of scripture by the ‘sign posts’ that tell us they are figurative or not; words such as:

• ‘I was in the spirit’ Revelation 1:10
• God's feathers: "He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge..." Psalm 91:4
• The kingdom of Heaven is ‘like or like unto’ hidden treasure in a field Matthew 13:44
• “as” a wedding feast: "And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son" Matthew 22:1-2
• a mustard seed, a pearl of great price Matthew 17:20
• Paul's thorn in his flesh, 2 Corinthians 12:7
• as it were voice of many waters Revelation 19:6-9

 
Now surely God doesn't have feathers, the kingdom of heaven is not actually treasure hidden in a field or a wedding feast and Paul didn't actually have a thorn in his flesh they're only figuratively likened unto one. Only a small portion of the Bible is figurative, but it’s important to interpret it as such. Every end-time prophecy of scripture is figurative in nature. No scripture should be interpreted apart from its context. Source

Revelation 13:2; 17:15
***
History shows this Lion beast to be a figurative picture of Islamic nations ...​Revelation 13:2 "And the beast which I saw was like unto a Leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a Bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Source

15 Famous Metaphors in The Bible - Literary Devices
Metaphor and the Bible: A metaphor is a comparison made between two or more things using figurative or descriptive language.​ John 15:5 Jesus said, I am the vine ... Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp.

6-30-18, With textual and mathematical confirmation, in conjunction with the evening news, placing Islam in the center of eschatology, if our current chosen end-time understanding concludes otherwise are we really to expect that:
 
Yet a different billion and a half people will also be specifically antichrist as the most important fundamental ("shirk") of an as yet unknown European religion. And a different billion and a half people will also follow a different, as yet unknown, European false prophet [Mohammad]. A different religion [Islam] will also "wear out the saints" by murdering Jews and Christians (Dan 7:25) - and by beheading (Revelation 20:4). Also this different religion will change the times - by creating its own calendar and laws. (Daniel 7:25) It/they will ignore the Sabbath as well as imposing Islamic Sharia law throughout the world in the place of legitimate laws of sovereign nations. (Daniel 7:25)  See "Time, Times and a Half"
 
Yet a different religion will also build yet another abomination on the Temple Mount that will:
1) Blaspheme God The Most High - for 1300 years with mosaic inscriptions inside and out that read "Far be it from God's glory that he  should have a Son".
2) Blaspheme God's name - blaspheme Yahweh by calling their god Allah.
3) Blaspheme God's tabernacle - by building the Dome of the Rock, with blasphemy written all over it, within 300 feet of where the Holy of Holies was kept.

Yet a different religion will also be marked with the number 666 = Bismillah = "in the name of Allah". Also Yahoo search - quran 666 - and find the "submission" sect that says the "Quran is the 666".
 
Yet a different religion will establish in a few years, what took Islam almost 1400 years to establish.
 
Are we really to believe that the 1.5 billion antichrist Muslims in antichrist Islam today, will all convert to a different as yet unknown European anti-Christ religion, operated by some as yet unknown anti-Christ charismatic European leader and this in a period of just a few years? [Consider the current European Muslim migrant invasion (1). - Ed.]
 
John specifically indicated that the 8th beast has nothing to do with the Roman Empire, because that was the beast that "is", (Revelation 13:11-14) as he penned Revelation.  He wrote that the 8th beast "is not" - that is to John - who was writing about the things that were, are and shall be - at the time of his writing.  [See John's Eight Beasts page.]
 
"God is truth, so how well a person serves the Lord is not dependent on how artfully he can defend his doctrines,  but on his willingness to seek out and follow the truth." - Ellis Skolfield

Not to be confused with C.I. Scofield of the Scofield annotated Bible.* Source
​​Ellis Skolfield teaching Leopard,Lion,Bear 9 min video here
​[1] Free Download 'False Prophet' and other books here

6-29-18, THE 360 DAY YEAR PROPHETIC CALENDAR
 
The Jews kept various mostly lunar/solar calendars over the ages, so how could we decide which calendar the Lord meant for us to use in Old Testament prophecy?  
 
The 360 day calendar that was applied to the math in this study, is a component of this "language" of prophecy.  Just as a day never literally equals "a year," it is unlikely that anyone kept a continuous 360 day calendar without periodic adjustment, or winter would have switched with summer in the calendar year, about every 35 years.  One early calendar, for example, was adjusted by adding a 30-day month every six years to compensate for the discrepancy. Scripture offers few clues regarding days, months and years to suggest a "language" for prophetic years, but one is found in the account of the flood in Genesis:
 
"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.  v24  And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. 8:4  And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." Genesis 7:11, 24, 8:4
 
In the above verses we find a period of 5 months that total 150 days constituting 30 day months that may suggest a 360 day year. In order to convert these prophetic "years" to the solar years of our historical record we divide 360 by 365.24 to arrive at a multiplier of .9857.
 
Only by applying this calendar uniformly and having the several Old Testament problems that span from 480 to 1335 years repeatedly confirm this "language", may we conclude that our understanding from Genesis is likely correct. Certainly the odds against the several problems conspiring with this kind of mathematical precision, to be an accident, are astronomical. It's readily apparent that this calendar could not log 150 days over any 5 consecutive month period, as our 360 day prophetic year calendar in the account of the flood in Genesis does. 
 
WHY NOW?  Why can we only just now begin to see this whole picture?
THE BOOK WAS SEALED!

Daniel 12:4, 9  God told Daniel, "...shut up the words and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. v9 Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end." 
 
It wasn't until after the events of 1948 and 1967 had passed that we could check both ends of most of the prophetic math problems assigned to us through prophecy.  So how reliable are the doctrines that professed to understand the book of Daniel before this "time of the end"? [not very!] Another seal Daniel may have applied is the bifidic and chiasmic forms of Hebrew poetry.
 
NEWTON AND HENRY ON DANIEL'S "TIME OF THE END:"

• Sir Isaac Newton expressed it thus: "This Prophecy is called the Revelation, with respect to the scripture of truth, which Daniel was commanded to shut up and seal, till the time of the end. Daniel sealed it until the time of the end; [Daniel 12:4, 9] and until that time comes, the Lamb is opening the seals:.... All which is as much as to say, that these Prophecies of Daniel and John should not be understood till the time of the end: .... But in the very end, the Prophecy should be so far interpreted as to convince many." (Part II. Observations Upon the Apocalypse of St. John. Chap 1) 
• Matthew Henry expressed it: "That this prophecy of those times, though sealed up now, would be of great use to those that should live then... Hos. 6:3. Those that would have their knowledge increased must take pains, must not sit still in slothfulness and bare wishes but run to and fro, must make use of all the means of knowledge...Those things of God which are now dark and obscure will hereafter be made clear and easy to be understood. Truth is the daughter of time. Scripture prophecies will be expounded by the accomplishment of them; therefore they are given... and reserved."

Where does your eschatological doctrine date from?  Source

6-28-18, "DANIEL'S MESSIAH IN THE CRITIC’S DEN" is a website that discusses the mathematical probabilities of just one single component, of just one of the problems above - Daniel's 69 weeks - coming out to within even a couple of years of being correct. 

• "Section 4.3 - Summary - There are several reasonable interpretations of the Daniel 9:25 prophecy that are successful predictions for pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. Since it is not known whether the crucifixion of Jesus occurred in 30AD or 33 AD, in order to be conservative, the highest probability reported by Section 4.1 or 4.2 which is 0.0071 will be considered as the conservative estimate for the probability of the Daniel 9:25 prophecy occurring. Within these unknowns is the possibility that the prediction was essentially exact because one comparison matches to the day."

THE MATH MULTIPLIERS: The following methods were used to arrive at the multipliers.  The average number of days in a solar year is 365.24.  Dividing this number by 12 we get 30.436666... days in a month.  Rounding this number off we can arrive at the 30.44 average days in a month that we used uniformly above, and also a perfectly acceptable solution to average days in a month.
 
In regard to the multiplier to convert the Old Testament 360 day prophetic year "language", to the Solar year units of our historical record, we divide it by the same 365.24 average days in a solar year, we get .9856532.  Rounding this number shorter we arrive at .9857 which is the multiplier we used uniformly above to convert Daniel's Hebrew year language to the solar years of our historical record. [360 day calendar]

ZERO YEAR: For those suggesting that Daniel's "times" problems miss because of "zero year", historians allow a 2-3 year leeway in dating of this Babylonian period.  Interestingly, many of the same critics don't hesitate to consider at least 69 of Daniel's 70 weeks, as weeks of days as years fulfilled at the Cross, even though there may be as much as a 2 to 3 year ambiguity in historical dating at both ends of that problem.  That possible error of 5 years in 500, would be proportionate to an error of 25 years in 2500.  Yet Daniel's "times" problems are date certain on the 1948 and 1967 ends, and within historically acceptable limits on the other.  They also confirm  each other by working together in parallel over this period of 2500 years.  

If one thought Daniel missed by such a narrow margin, even though these problems work textually as well ("for a long time" - "end of the shattering the strength of the holy people"), then one would be stuck having to believe that it is a mathematical and textual coincidence, the odds against which, are somewhat beyond astronomical.  Even an honest atheist would have difficulty making, let alone supporting, that claim.  Might the Lord have allowed for these problems to be correct when calculated simply and without adjustment in the first place?
 
DAY-YEAR "LANGUAGE" OF PROPHECY: The use of prophetic day=year language is certainly nothing new.  Indeed the interpretations in the church today are what are new, especially those from within the last hundred to few hundred years or so (futurism/preterism).  As mentioned earlier, Scripture instructs us:  Job 8:8  For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:  9  (For we [are but of] yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth [are] a shadow:)

• Quoting from book, "The False Prophet": "In 1569, the great Anabaptist theologian, Thieleman van Braght, wrote the following in Martyrs Mirror, a thousand two hundred and threescore days, which reckoned according to prophetic language means as many years… let it be reckoned as it may, say we, as a very long period of time.'  [Pgs 21-24]
• Two hundred years later, Matthew Henry, in his 'Commentary of the Whole Bible', came to the same conclusion (Vol VI, page 1157 column 1, para. 2):  "….if the beginning of that interval could be ascertained, this number of prophetic days, taking a day for a year, would give us a prospect of when the end might be."
• Isaac Newton - "She is nourished by the merchants of the earth, three times or years and an half, or 42 months, or 1260 days: and in these Prophecies days are put for years." - Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St.a John - Chapter 3
• Also Jamison, Faucett & Brown commentary - "..... in the wilderness 'a thousand two hundred and threescore days.' In the wider sense, we may either adopt the year-day theory of 1260 years..."
  • Ezekiel 4:5-6  For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
  • Numbers 14:34  After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, [even] forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, [even] forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
  • Genesis 29:27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.

 Additionally Exodus alludes to a week of days as years:

• Exodus 23:10-11  And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh [year] thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, [and] with thy oliveyard. [To be cont'd]

Source
​​Ellis Skolfield teaching Leopard,Lion,Bear 9 min video here
​[1] Free Download 'False Prophet' and other books here

6-27-18, This next problem uses prophetic "weeks" of days as years, and includes 3 consecutive events spanning 483 years in prophecy, that were all in Daniel's future - and came to pass just as he prophesied - proving that Jesus is the Messiah. [Link to a video of this problem.]
 
Daniel 9:24-26: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.  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."

Quoting from book, "The False prophet":  "Almost 100 years after Gabriel spoke to Daniel, a special decree was granted by Artaxerxes I to Nehemiah (444-445 BC).  This is the ONLY decree recorded in the Bible that gave the Jews permission to 'restore Jerusalem and rebuild its walls'.  The Messiah, Jesus, was "cut off" or crucified in 32 or 33AD."

Much of Christianity understands these 69 weeks to be 69 sevens of years.  So we have 69 x 7 or 483 prophetic 'years'."  Again, uniformly using our multiplier of .9857 to reconcile this 360-day year "language" (per Genesis) with the solar year units of our modern historical record, yields: 483 x .9857 = 476 solar years.  Artaxerxes' decree in 444 BC + 476 years = 32 AD, the cross right to the year!
 
But what about those six points that were supposed to be fulfilled during these 70 weeks? Ah-ha! All but one were fulfilled at the cross; didn't Jesus:

1. finish transgression eternally?
2. make an end of sin,(John 1:29)?
3. make reconciliation for iniquity?
4. bring in everlasting righteousness?
5. anoint the Most holy with His own precious blood?  

However left out was 'Seal up vision and prophecy;' this is where those peculiar seven and sixty-two weeks come in: 7 x 7 years in prophecy = 48.3 Solar years. 444 BC - 48.3 = 395.7 BC

In the Old Testament the Prophet Malachi was inspired to write the last book of the Old Testament. The Scripture to the Jews was complete, and no more was written until the New Testament era! So Old Testament vision and prophecy were indeed 'sealed up'. (Romans 11:8, 2 Corinthians 3:15)."  
 
However, in this time of the end apparently God is increasingly lifting the scales from the eyes and ears of the Jews; wisdom is increasing more and more are recognizing Jesus as their Messiah, as God takes "the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand." Ezekiel 37:19
 
Calculating the above 3 date pins in Daniel's 70 weeks was accomplished using the exact same mathematical method employed in Daniel's 1290 and 1335 days in problem 2 and 4 above!  All confirmed textually as well.

Another 1260 "days" problem from Revelation regarding the Two Witnesses 
The Bible defines the two witnesses as the Jewish and Christian church.  

Revelation 11:3:  And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.  
These two witnesses are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 1948 - 1260 = 688 .... the Dome of the Rock.  

These were religiously exiled from the Holy Land by Islam, and sent into the world, marked symbolically, specifically, and repeatedly above, by the Dome of the Rock - the abomination of desolation.  Mark 13:14

Employing the scriptural adjacency rule of hermeneutics we learn: Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Romans 11:24 For if thou [the Gentiles] wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree [the Jews]: how much more shall these [the Jews], which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
 
Jamieson Faucett and Brown  "... I think the twofold Church, Jewish and Gentile, may be meant by the two candlesticks represented by the two witnesses ... "
 
To explore the two witnesses further, read the chapter of that title from the False Prophet at this link.  [I highly recommend, however, that you start the book from the beginning; it's a free download.]
 
The book of Daniel was sealed, until this "time of the end" and we can see that it wasn't until the years of 1948 and 1967 had passed, that we could fully understand the textual and mathematical solutions to the problems in Revelation when knowledge increased, to relate back to Daniel, for the full picture to come into view. 
 
The mathematics combined with the application of sound hermeneutic principles confirm these conclusions textually.  It is clear that this study is not about some "Bible code" but rather about solutions to the day, week, and month, math problems, that were assigned to us by prophecy.  ​

 6-26-18, Stunningly, the two math problems from Daniel launch from the shared beginning date of 583 BC and nail God's symbolic pin date for the Islamic Dome of the Rock - the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION - and then go on to pin the year of the zenith of, and death knell of, the Islamic First Jihad conquering of nearly the whole known world!  At the same time the above problems unite the books of Revelation and Daniel with mathematical and textual precision. Blessedly we don't have to depend on only the six math problems above.  There are over a dozen such problems explored in my free ebook you can download: The False Prophet [1].  If the above peaked your interest it would be best to start that book from the beginning, to keep them in context, because The False Prophet is a sound, hermeneutic, brick by brick, empirical argument.  

Let's study another 42 "months" problem from John in Revelation, prefaced with a related verse:

Revelation 13:2, 5 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his [Daniel's beast is "his"] feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. v5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [and] two months.

Again using the average of 30.44 days in a month, multiplied by 42 months = 1278.5 days (as years).  Subtracting this from 1967 we arrive again at 688.5. The founding year of the Islamic Dome of the Rock edifice erected on Jerusalem's Temple Mount.

The political and religious control (through jizya - that is - humiliation taxes of the enslaved, etc.) of the Islamic LBL beast, of Revelation 13 "continued" in Jerusalem until the Israelis retook the Holy City in 1967 - Islam being marked symbolically by the founding year of the Dome of the Rock 688 AD.

Daniel defined what a beast is, when the figurative language of a dream or vision is used in Scripture, and he did it in the context of the lion, bear, leopard and fourth "terrible" beast:  Daniel 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth... And so we learn that in the figurative language of a dream or vision in prophecy, beast = kingdom.

Islamic conquest resulted in the exile of Jews and Christians from the Holy Land, and subsequent spiritual desolation of the region.  By the 1800's it was a physically desolated, deserted wasteland.   
In "A History of the Jews" page 321 Paul Johnson writes:  "Between 1827 and 1839, largely through British efforts, the population of Jerusalem rose from 550 to 5,500 and in all Palestine it topped 10,000 - the real beginning of the Jewish return to the Promised Land. In 1838 Palmerston appointed the first western vice-consul in Jerusalem, W.T. Young, and told him 'to afford protection to the Jews generally'."

We can see from Revelation 13:2, that the dragon, Satan, gives the beast the power that is mentioned in Revelation 13:5, that is manifest in Islamic control of this empire. Daniel's successive kingdom beasts of lion, bear and leopard, which Bible scholars recognize as Babylon, Medo-Persia, and ancient Greece, form the composite leopard-bear-lion - beast / kingdom - we find in Revelation 13:2.  This same geographical region is today occupied by Iraq, Iran, and Syria/Lebanon.   While some Islamic sects have national autonomy, and different sects of Islam are at war against each other, they are all perfectly united behind their false prophet Mohammed, and united in the spirit of antichrist.  These modern day realities perfectly compliment this sound hermeneutic, textual and mathematical study.