Look Up Fellowship

"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings to search out a matter." Proverbs 25:2

I can assure you that today's study and subsequent reading will leave you speechless. It will probably also make your head spin, cause you to sit up with glorious anticipation, and also cause you to question if what you just learned from what was revealed to you was accurate. At least, that was my exact response to the following information.

There's just so much going on in my head these days I feel like it might explode! The pieces of this prophetic puzzle for the end times are starting to fall into place. I just hope I can try to put the puzzle together before the devil comes to kick the pieces everywhere. All kidding aside, lately the Lord has been pulling me in a number of different directions and I've been feeling a little overwhelmed that I may not be able to stay on top of so many important developments and report on them here. As always, however, not by my power alone, but by His!

At the same time, I know I must be on to something or at least doing what I'm supposed to be doing with all of this because I'm beginning to notice some rather fierce spiritual attacks from our common enemy. Lord give me the strength to overcome!

The other day we spent some time breaking down the Book of Haggai and discussed its real-world applications for us to seriously consider.

While going over things again, I'm wondering if there's even more we can take from a study of Haggai in relation to other prophetic interpretations for the near future. Specifically, does the Book of Haggai imply anything beyond how our nation might be judged much like Judah was? I believe it does.

What if the Book of Haggai tells us much about the coming Rapture as well as the Gog-Magog War and the rebuilding of the temple? Sit down and buckle your safety-belts kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride because I think we might have something of great importance to us here!


BILL SALUS' DISCOVERY


Personally, I believe there might be something much more important for us to consider when it comes to our study of this two chapter book in the Bible. As previously mentioned, Haggai may have been a "minor" prophet, but he has a major message for us!

Before we can get to that point, we need to first set the stage by taking a look at a recent and remarkable discovery that was made only a few months back that has turned eschatological scholars inside out, because it seems to give us a new perspective on the end times prophecies, but mainly those that deal with the Gog-Magog War.

I wrote about Bill Salus' best-selling new book "Isralestine: The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East" back in early September in which Salus proposes that the war talked about in Haggai and Ezekiel is NOT THE SAME BATTLE as it's commonly thought to be, and that there is instead a prophesied war that will occur in the Middle East PRIOR TO AND IN ADDITION TO the much anticipated Gog-Magog War from Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Salus writes that the stage is not adequately set for the highly publicized Ezekiel 38 and 39 Russian-Iranian nuclear-equipped consortia of nations to invade Israel. He says that there is another war prophesied in Psalm 83 that comes first, and then Ezekiel 38-39 follows on its heels like a Goliath shadow. Thus, there are two distinct invasions of Israel, one building upon the other, with both occurring sequentially in the Middle East.


To sum up his findings, once upon a foretold time the Jewish people were to meet with a holocaust type condition, out from which they would return back to their ancient homeland of Israel. They would begin as refugees, but promptly emerge into an exceedingly great army. That is an important distinction for Salus.

He says that as per Psalm 83, destiny’s design for this great army is a head-to-head confrontation with a formidable Arab confederacy consisting of Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, Jordanians, Saudis, Egyptians, and associated terrorist groups like the Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al-Qaeda.

This Arab coalition has been developing in its fledgling stages since 1948, and will climax and officially confederate in the very near future. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will decisively defeat this offensive, and prove to be the “exceedingly great army” of Ezekiel 37:10. They will expand territorially, become regionally superior, take prisoners of war, and exploit the resources of these conquered Arab nations.

In that condition they will become one of, if not the wealthiest nations on earth. Perhaps the prospects of Zion Oil & Gas will also play an important role in this regard. Either way, it is from that position of empowerment that the Jews will dwell securely in the Middle East. Subsequently, the world stage is then set for the Russian–Iranian led coalition of nations, which will form against Israel as prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Some are openly questioning whether or not the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, India could perhaps be the catalyst that ignites a major military conflict in the region. Others go a step further and wonder about how Israel might become involved unexpectedly and think that the recent news about Indians lashing out against Israel for their comment's about the nation's ineffective response to the crisis could be the beginning of that process (whipping up anti-Israeli sentiment).

Is this how this "Psalm 83 War" that eventually leads to the Gog-Magog War begins? Only God knows the exact answer to that, but He sure is giving us some important clues along the way.


PURE SPECULATION OR SOMETHING BIGGER?


One of the great things about blogging is the license to express yourself freely. With that in mind, I make it no secret that this next part may be pure speculation on my part or it may be something much more profound. Lately, I'm beginning to think it's the latter.

I'm just looking at the nature of my writings in this space over the past few weeks (the last week especially) and how they've all been focused on America and her role in the unfulfilled prophecies. That led me indirectly to one book of the Bible in particular, and now today's conclusion is building off of the fact that my attention has been squarely upon the Book of Haggai as well as Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38 and 39, and the Book of Daniel.

Why is that unless the Lord was trying to get my attention and perhaps tell me something important about how they all might be related? What are we supposed to take from the Book of Haggai besides all the surface stuff (i.e. the dangers of drifting spiritually and focusing on ourselves instead of God)? How do all these threads connect and lead to the same place if at all?

There are some men and women much smarter than me who claim that the prophecy of Haggai is very short yet very important because its primary focus is on the end of the age right before the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. It also speaks at great length about the rebuilding of the temple too. That's one reason why the message of Haggai is also directly tied to Zechariah's prophecy concerning the events that will occur during this same time period. In Zechariah 1:3, God pleads to Israel, "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Return to Me,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'and I will return to you.'" Zechariah's message is very messianic and future-looking, and reveals much about the end times in which we are living.


The events shown in Haggai's prophecy are very compressed, and many of these prophesied events will happen in an extremely short period of time. It is clear that the focal point of Haggai's prophecy is the contemporary nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem in particular (although the same message could be applied to the contemporary United States as well so that it serves a dual purpose). His prophecy also foretells events that will impact not only the Holy Land, but also all other nations on earth.

In order to clearly establish the time period in which the prophetic portions of Haggai's writings will
be fulfilled, it is necessary to review the following 4 topic areas contained in Haggai's writings:

1. All Nations Will be Shaken
2. The Heavens and Earth Will be Shaken
3. The Past and Present Building of the Temple
4. The Instruction to Build the Temple

For a complete and detailed study of these 4 key areas please click here.


NARROWING OUR FOCUS WITH A LASER LIKE PRECISION


In the meantime, I want to focus on two other areas of interest. The first is what I believe is a direct statement about the Rapture. "Is the seed yet in the barn? Yes, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, has not brought forth: from this day will I bless you" (Haggai 2:19 - paraphrased by me).

Symbolically, the word "seed" normally refers to either the Messiah or the elect of God. Because the word "barn" is used in the context of a harvest, and the elect of God are the first of his harvest of humanity that will be collected prior to Christ's return, it is highly likely that this seed refers to the elect of God who are called to salvation, and the barn represents the Family and Kingdom of God. The various trees that are to bring forth fruit seem to symbolize those servants of God who preach the Gospel in the end of the age. See Micah 4:2; Matthew 3:10-12; 13:30-42 for more.

Now, add to this what we already know about "sudden destruction" following the Rapture in the course of events. Are you starting to see it?

In an attempt to tie things together while now turning my attention to the important dates given in this book, I was left wondering if this December 20, 2008 could be a very important date for us. Please hear me out before you write me off as just another kooky date-setter.

Aside from Bill Salus' book in which he closely examined Psalms 83 and Ezekiel 38 and 39, we need to also consider Grant Jeffrey's Armageddon: Appointment With Destiny, one of his most popular books published back in 1988.


Grant Jeffrey is one the most respected prophetic scholars, speakers, and authors of many well-researched prophecy books. He has been teaching for years that we can know THE ACTUAL DAY of the year of the Gog-Magog War. He bases this teaching on Haggai 2, which until recently was thought to also depict this same battle as depicted in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Again, he does not say that we can know the ACTUAL YEAR, but only the ACTUAL DAY of the year.

When the Lord mentions the SAME DAY not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES IN ONE CHAPTER, we might want to take note because it is highly probable that it is an extremely significant day. In Haggai 2, in verse 10, in verse 18, and in verse 20, He gives us the very SAME DAY! Again, not the year, but the day of the year. The day of the year mentioned three times in Haggai 2 (remember that this book is only two chapters long and this specific date is given by the Lord three times in one of those two chapters!) is the 24th day of Chisleu, which is on the eve of Hanukkah. This year it falls on December 20, 2008! In light of everything that's been happening all around us these past few months and all that could be about to unfold, is it so hard to believe that this date could be very significant to us and the rest of the world?

For more on the importance of understanding Jewish Holidays in relation to Bible prophecy please click here.

I am now going to quote from Jeffrey's book, Chapter 7, the final three paragraphs:

"Although Scripture does not indicate the exact year in which this invasion and defeat will occur, the prophet Haggai reveals that on the TWENTY-FOURTH DAY OF THE NINTH MONTH of the Jewish calendar (Chisleu), the day before Hanukkah, God will deliver Israel as He did twice before on this anniversary: (1) the defeat of the Syrian army and recapture of the Temple in 165 B.C. and (2) the capture of Jerusalem from the Turks in A.D. 1917.

The prophet Haggai declares: 'The Word of the Lord came unto Haggai in THE FOUR AND TWENTIETH DAY OF THE MONTH (CHISLEU), saying, Speak to Zerubbabell, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother' (Haggai 2: 20-22)

This description and exact language is uncannily like that of Ezekiel 38 and 39, which describe Russia's defeat. The interesting point is that it names THE EXACT DAY of the year on which this will occur. Since so many other prophecies have been so precisely fulfilled to the day, there is a strong likelihood that this event will also occur on its appointed day. 'Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is THE DAY whereof I have spoken' (Ezekiel 39:8). God's appointment with Russia is set; it will be kept."

It is not very often that God mentions the specific dates of events in prophecy by the day, month, and year. However, in BOTH CHAPTERS of Haggai, specific dates are mentioned. Most likely, these same dates are also prophetic and tied to significant events in the end of the age.

There are a number of things that should be considered when trying to understand the specific dates that are noted in Haggai's prophecy. Because Haggai's prophecy has prophetic duality (a past and future fulfillment) and because there are a number of specific days and months actually mentioned, these dates probably have prophetic importance.

When examining Haggai, also notice the authority that is behind these prophecies. The expressions "Then came the word of the Lord" and "This says the Lord" occur 25 times in just two chapters! This alone shows the enormous importance of these prophecies to the fulfillment of God's plan for the salvation of humanity. Haggai also recorded 5 messages about the events that will dramatically affect world events just before the first resurrection and Christ's return to establish his Father's kingdom on earth, and all had to do with the rebuilding of the temple.