Israel - America - Isaiah & God's Judgment Pt 3- The Curse… Sycamores and Cedars

 In my last article I mention that God is not a respecter of persons.

In the book of Acts we read…

Act 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

Even though we know that God is not a respecter of persons, we also learn that he is does in fact respect an office with which a person holds.

For example we are told to fear God and to honor the King.

1 Peter 2:17b …Fear God. Honour the king.

Another example is in regards to pastors who watch for our souls.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

In Ephesians we are told to obey our father and mother.

Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

We are told to obey those whom we work for, the supervisors, bosses and such.

Eph 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

All of these as well as others mentioned in scripture are in positions of responsibility and not an individual. With these positions come certain "powers" given to those in leadership positions based on the office being held by the individual.

So knowing that with the office or position comes a responsibility and power. This is given by God, for the sake of the office.

Leaders have a special position in the eyes of God, therefore when they proclaim or speak on behalf of their position, God takes it seriously and hears the prayers, supplications, request s of that office. It is then up to God to act based on the request in accordance to His will.

I say all of this because our leaders spoke on behalf of this nation, not knowing that what they were doing was actually "prophesying / cursing" our nation without their full understanding with what they were actually doing.

It is recorded in the Congressional Record, 107th Congress that on the day after 9/11 Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle (D, South Dakota) in his Floor Statement on a 'Joint Resolution of Condemnation for the September 11, 2001 stated the following…

"Mr. President, it is with pain, sorrow, anger, and resolve that I stand before this Senate, a symbol for 212 years of the strength of our democracy, and say that America will emerge from this tragedy, as we have emerged from all adversity, united and strong. ... The world should know that the Members of both parties in both Houses stand united.

The full resources of our Government will be brought to bear in aiding the search and rescue and in hunting down those responsible and those who may have aided or harbored them. Nothing, nothing can replace the losses that have been suffered. I know there is only the smallest measure of inspiration that can be taken from this devastation.

But there is a passage in the Bible from Isaiah that I think speaks to all of us at times such as this:

'The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.'

That is what we will do. We will rebuild and we will recover.

The people of America will stand strong together because the people of America have always stood together. And those of us privileged to serve this great Nation will stand with you.”

What the Senate Majority Leader was referencing was actually a curse and an act of defiance in the face of God.

The scripture that Senator Daschle was referencing was Isaiah 9:10.

Here is the reference in context from the King James Authorized version…

Isaiah 9:8-14 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;

12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.

14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

Because of the office of power which Tom Daschle holds, it is my opinion that he spoke a curse or a " "prophetic Word of judgment" upon this nation.

But Senator Daschle was not the only one.

Three years later on September 11, 2004, Democratic Candidate for Vice President John Edwards (D, North Carolina) spoke the same curse upon America using the same verse. He did this while speaking at the prayer breakfast for the Congressional Black Caucus

Here is what he said…

"Good morning. Today, on this day of remembrance and mourning, we have the Lord’s word to get us through. 'The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.' ... And let me show you how we are building and putting cedars in those three hallowed places - the footprints of the Towers, the Pentagon, and the field in Pennsylvania. ... Walk with me through this day.

And you will see that while those bricks fell and the sycamores cut down, our people are making those cedars rise. ... Each time that bell tolls, it calls us to a greater purpose. It calls us to never forget.

It calls us to do the Lord’s work here on earth. And it calls on us to always remember that when we walk through this day together - the cedars will rise, the stones will go up, and this season of hope will endure." (1)

As with Senator Daschle, I believe that Senator Edwards spoke a curse or a " "prophetic Word of judgment" upon this nation.

The Sycamores Are Cut Down

What the two senators spoke were not words humbling a nation. They spoke a rally cry on behalf of a nation.

A cry of proud defiance… against God.

See, the events of 9-11 was what I believed to be a clear warning from God. Just as Israel of old, the only other nation dedicated to God, they did not heed God's warning. America the only other nation dedicated to God in its infancy, also has not heeded what I believe to be a warning from God.

9-11 was an event that should have caused our nation to take stock in itself. Instead of humbling ourselves before God, we spoke in defiance.

Daschle and Edwards, both holding high offices of power proclaimed Isaiah 9:10 proudly stating "Hewn Stones for Bricks and Cedars for Sycamores!"

From those utterances amazing parallels between the events of 9/11 and Isaiah 9:10 were realized.

As we have learned, Assyria was the originator and founders of terrorism. They were blood thirsty savages attacking their enemies with utter demoralizing destruction. When Assyria attacked Israel they not only destroyed the cities and communities, they also cut down much of their forest which slowed the people of Israel from rebuilding.

What they cut down was Israel's sycamore trees. The common tree of that period.

Fast forward to today and we see something amazing. What many people do not know is out of the destruction of 9-11, there was only one building that did not suffer any damage.

Can you guess which building it was?

That one building that was not damaged at Ground Zero was St. Paul's Chapel. The very same chapel where our nation was dedicated to God.

How can this building, which is facing Ground Zero not be harmed?

The answer, A sycamore, that was planted about 120 years prior saved the chapel.

The days after 9-11 it was discovered that a falling steel beam from the North Tower flew across Ground Zero heading straight for St. Paul's Chapel.

It was that sycamore that was planted at the northwest corner that saved and protected the very spot where George Washington prayed a prayer dedicating our nation to God.

Now did you notice in the Senator's speech his reference "212 years of the strength of our democracy"?

Many people often look at July 4th 1776 as the date our nation actually became a nation. But if you do the math 2001 minus 212 years, what date do you come up with?

1789, the year our nation actually became a nation. Senator Daschle was pointing to when our nation was dedicated to God.

It was on April 30, 1789, that George Washington prayed that prayer dedicating our nation to God in the very chapel, St. Paul's, that was saved by a sycamore that was cut down by a steel beam.

When the workers were surveying the surrounding damage, it was honestly expected to find St.Paul's to be pile of stone and rubble, but nothing was damaged at St. Pauls. In fact the only damage that was found out of all the destruction caused by 9-11 was a single cracked window.

Today the remains of the fallen sycamore has been specially treated and it is on displayed at the northeast corner of the graveyard behind Saint Paul's Chapel .

What is ironic is that the sycamore's roots were taken and cast in bronze (a symbol of judgment) by a sculptor named Steve Tobin. These bronze roots are also on display but in in front of the Trinity Church, which is near to St.Pauls Chapel.

But We Will Change Them Into Cedars

On November 22, 2003 a 21 foot tall Norway Spruce, named "the Tree of Hope," was air lifted into the very same spot which the sycamore that saved St.Paul's Chapel once stood. That being the northwest corner of the Saint Paul's chapel near the grave yard.

In Isaiah 9:10 it states that "We will put "Cedars" in their place." The type of tree spoken of here in Isaiah is that of a pine type cedar tree. In fact both the pine tree and the cedar tree come from the same biological family, that being "Plantae." Within the family class of "Plantae" is the family of trees that fall under what is called the "pinophyta" class. The tree spoken of in Isaiah is a "Pinaceae."

The hebrew word used in Isaiah 9:10 is the word "arez" which means cedar. This refers to a conifer type of tree, the same type of trees as the cedars of Lebanon.

Now I know all this scientific Latin does not make sense, but the "Tree of Hope" falls under the same species spoken of in Isaiah - "Picea abies"   - an arez tree.

But why a Cedar tree? Why not replace the sycamore with another sycamore?

Why? Because the Scripture says "We Will Put Cedars in Their Place."

These were the words proclaimed by our leaders in office.

"the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."

The tree that was lowered was an arez tree.

The same type spoken of in Isaiah9:10.

During the ceremony of The Tree of Hope, a clergyman, who's name I still cannot identify, stated the following…

"We are gathered here today on holy ground. Ground hallowed by its witness to the dust, and death and destruction of September 11th. The ground is sanctified by our presence here as we dedicate this Tree of Hope in witness the divine within each of us."

I believe that this statement was occultic in nature. So much so, that I believe that the enemy, through this "clergyman", was making a claim.

I say this because there is no such thing as "the divine within each of us." That is like saying "The "god" in each of us."

This is a statement of pride and arrogance in the face of God.

Pride is a signature of Lucifer - Helel Ben Sahar.

So two years after 9-11 and still leaders in positions of power continue to maintain a stance of defiance, thus perpetuating the curse.

A few days later this cedar (arez) tree was decorated for Christmas. Now I know that many do not see the harm in having a Christmas tree, but we all know that it is a pagan symbol.

I am reminded of the following in Jeremiah…

Jeremiah 10:2-4 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

I am one who does not believe in pure luck, or happening by accident, or by coincidence, or chance.

I believe that things happen by the Will of God and everything that takes place is allowed or willed by Him.

God's power is omnipotent, that of unlimited power.

Scripture says…

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

This is why I do not believe in coincidence. God is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, and He is everywhere in control of everything.

He is God.

It isn't by chance that a tree saved the very building our nation was dedicated in.

It wasn’t by chance that the very tree that saved that chapel was a sycamore.

And it wasn't by chance that the tree that replaced the sycamore was a cedar.

What people need to realize is that these and even more events which I will write about in following articles are God's way of trying to get our attention.

These and other things are in a sense a signature of God showing us mere humans that He is judging this nation in hopes that we will finally wake up and realize that we are a sinful nation. We need to wake up to the fact that God is calling us to repentance.

We are a nation that has lost its way, but God in His mercy is calling us back to Him.

He is proving to us that He is doing this, not by coincidence, but by the very providence of Jehovah God Almighty.

We are a nation dedicated to God, by both a king and our first president. Only one other nation has been dedicated to God and that is Israel.

We know that Israel is God's chosen people and Israel his chosen land.

But I also believe that it is through divine providence that our nation was conceived and we have been a blessed nation because we have stood for Jehovah God.

Alexis de Tocqueville stated the following… “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

We as a nation has ceased to be good and because of that we have lost our greatness.

What is the answer?

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

We needto repent and that repentance starts with those of us, we who are called God's people.

By Ray Gano

Endnotes

1 - http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=84922#axzz1oGavy24z

Israel - America - Isaiah & Judgement

Over the past week or so I have been reading Isaiah.
To be honest I am blown away at the similarities mentioned about Israel and then looking at modern day America.
I am not promoting some replacement theology idea or anything like that; but I do believe that when people or nations turn their backs on God, the laws of nature, God's Law, comes into play.
I am one who firmly believes that our nation was brought about by divine providence. King James, the very same king who put his name to the only Authorized version of the bible, also sent people to "the new world" to spread the Gospel and claim the land for God in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the basic tenants of the James Town Charter claiming America for His Glory.
We are not God's chosen people and in no way replace Israel, but I believe we have a special place in God's plan and because we have remained a Christian nation up until about 40 years ago, God has blessed us immensely.
Our nation has done more to further the gospel, protect the innocent, stood for what was right, and against what was wrong than any other nation. We have defended the weak, opposed tyranny and tyrants.
On July 4th 1776 we declared our freedom beginning with these words…
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
At the base of the Statue of Liberty it states,
"Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"
We are a nation built upon the principals of God and His Word.
But somewhere on this journey, our great republic strayed and instead of being good, we have chosen the path of evil.
I look around at what is taking place here in the US as well as globally and I see man working towards his own demise through the pleasures of the world and of the flesh.
Instead of exporting the Gospel, we export pornography.
Instead of saving the innocent, we kill millions of our children through abortion.
Instead of standing for God, we work to eradicate His existence from our lives, our monuments and our schools.
Instead of the holy matrimony between husband and wife we have sodomites, pedophiles, hedonism, practitioners of bestiality and necrophilia, all becoming the norm.
Instead of caring for our fellow man, greed and selfishness are what has taken its place. The natural affection of man is gone, brutality is its replacement.
Many people ask is America in Bible Prophecy? I do not see her directly there, but recently I have been studying Isaiah 5 again and as I mentioned I have noticed some very interesting correlations in God judging Judah and where we are in America today.
Please, take the time to read this….

Isaiah 5:8  Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

Isaiah 5:9  In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.

Isaiah 5:10  Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.

Isaiah 5:11  Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

Isaiah 5:12  And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.

Isaiah 5:13  Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

Isaiah 5:14  Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

Isaiah 5:15  And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:

Isaiah 5:16  But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

Isaiah 5:17  Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

Isaiah 5:18  Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

Isaiah 5:19  That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

Isaiah 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:21  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Isaiah 5:22  Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:

Isaiah 5:23  Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

In this chapter God shows His people their sins as well as the judgment’s to be brought up them for their sins.
There Are Six Woes That God Proclaims
1. verses 8-10 – This is the first crime, the covetousness and financial greed which shall be punished by famine.
2. verses 11-12 – This is the second crime, living for rioting, reveling and drunkenness which shall be punished by captivity.
3. verses 18-19 –This is the third crime, ultimately defying God and His justice. They parade their sins around for all to see and also defy God to hurry up and hasten his work of judgment.
4. verse 20 –This is the fourth crime, calling evil good and good evil. We know the effects of this, it is prevalent today.
5.  verse 21 - This is the fifth crime specified. It refers to those who are inflated with a false opinion of their own knowledge, and who are, therefore, self-confident and vain.
6. verses 22-23 – Again drunkenness but also due to their drunkenness they pervert justice rewarding the wicked and punishing the righteous.
God has allowed us to prosper as shown in the parable of the vineyard found in Isaiah 5, and we have turned against Him and taken His blessings for granted.
We no longer serve Him and we have become a pagan nation worshiping mammon and a multitude of false gods.
Think about this for a moment. When we lived within God’s economy, business was done on a handshake and a man’s word was a man’s word. Today we live in mammon’s economy with all its clutter, confusion, trappings and ability to steal all with a stroke of a pen.
Today we need contracts that are 20+ pages long and what the big print giveth the small print taketh away.
Read what Isaiah says in Chapter 5, verse 8, this very issue is addressed.

Isaiah 5:8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible explain this verse the best.

Isaiah 5:8 - Woe unto them ... - The prophet now proceeds to “specify” some of the crimes to which he had referred in the parable of the vineyard, of which the Jews had been guilty. The first is “avarice.”

That join house to house - That seek to possess many houses; or perhaps that seek to live in large and magnificent palaces. A similar denunciation of this sin is recorded in Mic_2:2; Neh_5:1-8. This, together with what follows, was contrary to the law of Moses. He provided that when the children of Israel should enter the land of Canaan, the land should be equitably divided; and in order to prevent avarice, he ordained the “jubilee,” occurring once in fifty years, by which every man and every family should be restored to their former possession; Lev. 25. Perhaps there could have been no law so well framed to prevent the existence, and avoid the evils of covetousness. Yet, in defiance of the obvious requirements and spirit of that law, the people in the time of Isaiah had become generally covetous.

That lay field to field - That purchase one farm after another. The words ‘that lay,’ mean “to cause to approach;” that is, they “join” on one farm after another.

Till there be no place - Until they reach the “outer limit” of the land; until they possess all.

That they may be placed alone - That they may displace all others; that they may drive off from their lands all others, and take possession of them themselves.

In the midst of the earth - Or rather, in the midst of the “land.” They seek to obtain the whole of it, and to expel all the present owners. Never was there a more correct description of avarice. It is satisfied with no present possessions, and would be satisfied only if all the earth were in its possession. Nor would the covetous man be satisfied then. He would sit down and weep that there was nothing more which he could desire. How different this from that “contentment” which is produced by religion, and the love of the happiness of others!

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary states basically the same thing too.
Does this not describe corporate greed and the serving of mammon today?
But that is not all.
It seems that which gender one is having sex with is now more important in the halls of congress than the wholesomeness and protecting the family unit. We care more for this world and justify its shallow perspectives more than the things of God and His eternal perspective.
Do you know that there is an epidemic of teachers accused or convicted of having sex with their students? Hundreds of them, mostly female too (1).   Has this come to the forefront of national and international news in recent years? No.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

I read many articles where so many of these child predators are just given a slap on the wrist. Where liberal judges reward the evils and yet lock up those who are righteous. A prime example of this is the 2 border guard agents who spent time in jail for doing their job and yet a drug smuggler is on the loose coming and going in and out of our country.
Sins of the flesh are being taken to a new high. At a past Sundance Film Festival not only did we have a movie where the main highlight was the raping of a 12 year old girl, OH YEA…but it was all in the name of “ART.”
But get this…
There was also a film called “Zoo” which primary focus was sex with animals.

Leviticus 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

But that is not all. More and more television shows are portraying homosexuality in a very positive light. Showtime was touting their hot show “ The “L” Word” It is a show that glorifies and is about life as a lesbian (2).

Romans 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

But here in Isaiah 5:18 it talks about this very thing which the Lord deplores.

Isaiah 5:18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

Here in the US, we not only openly revel in our homosexual sin, but we parade our sins to God shoving it in His face. I am reminded of a literal example of this, the Gay Pride Parades with the floats and people all reveling. Here is an abomination to God and proudly it is displayed and celebrated.
But, if you are in the world, of the world or even one toe in the world, much of this sounds fine to you, you are “tolerant” of these things and when the day is finally over, and one guesses it is all ok.
But what no one is addressing, with all these things taking place, no one is talking about what to do if the Lord tarries.

Luke 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

Very few are occupying. ...
Do you see this too? When did we stop living for God and His economy and allowed ourselves to enter mammon’s and flesh’s debauchery?
But you know what; the scary thing is how God corrects and judges these things.
In reading Isaiah and how God deals with a sinning nation, a nation that was dedicated to Him, His Glory and The Proclaiming of the Gospel, He has no choice but to judge the nation and chastise it in hopes that they will turn from their wicked ways and return to God.
For a while people have been saying that God will judge our nation and believing judgment is coming.
I am sorry, I do not believe this.
Why?
Because I believe Judgment is already here and has begun to take place.
What have we done as a nation?
The very same thing that Israel did, they stood in defiance against God, instead of humbling themselves and seeking forgiveness.
God Warns First, Hoping For Repentance, IF NOT…Then
In Isaiah we see God do the same thing over and over again. He warns, then hopes for repentance, He warns, then hopes for repentance.
Finally God has to act and what is the first thing He does in judgment?

Isaiah 5:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:

He lifts His hand / hedge of protection.
In doing this, it is His enemies that then come in and start to destroy.
I believe that God has lifted His hand of protection. I believe that we have been given a chance and we have ignored it.
Our hedge of protection has been breached and the enemies of God have come in.
When did this take place?
Think about it.
Never in our history have we been attacked, never has the enemy landed upon our soil, never has the enemy breached our walls.
Why?
Because we have always had His divine protection.
But that changed and now our hedge of protection has been breached.
When did that take place?
September11th, 2001.
On that date the hedge of protection around our nation was breached.
This is why I say that judgment is not coming, it is already here.
Learning From Isaiah
Over and over again we see in Isaiah how God judges the nation.

Isaiah 5:26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

Isaiah 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

Isaiah 5:28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hooves shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

Isaiah 5:29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

The nation in Isaiah 5 was judged by an enemy; an enemy with purpose, drive and motivation. An enemy who does not seek sleep, is not weary, and always ready for the attack. Their weapons are at their side and at they are ready to be used at a moment's notice.
Here is the interesting part. In the case of Israel it was Assyria. Today we know much of this land to be modern day Iraq.  Do you know that today we are effected by one of Assyria's greatest invention?
Do you know that it is the Assyrians who are given the credit for inventing terrorism?
Assyrians were one of the most warlike people in history, lovers of the violence of the war and hunt. Amongst the people of the ancient Middle East, they were famous for their cruelty. At the peak of its power, Assyria stretched from Egypt to Persian Gulf. Their aggressiveness was partially attributed to their location: Assyria was in northern Mesopotamia, north of Babylon. As no natural bounders like shores or mountains were found there, they were vulnerable to attacks from any direction. This required the presence of a strong and mobile army. (3)
Who in today's modern world maintains such a hate that they would not sleep, have high motivation and just waiting for the attack?
I believe that the same enemies that were part of divine providence then, have risen again today. They are the very ancestors of the enemies of Israel, the worshipers of Baal / Moloch / Ashur. He is the war god, cruel with the enemies and merciful with his believers.
What is interesting is that his symbol was that of a disk or ornament as identified by strong's…

H7720

sah-har-one'

From the same as H5469; a round pendant for the neck: - ornament like the moon.

H5469

Sahar

sah'-har

From an unused root meaning to be round; roundness: - round.

Today these enemies still worship the same god, his name is Helel Ben Sahar, literally meaning crescent moon / Morning Star. הילל בן־שׁחר
This is the very same name we find in scripture, in fact in Isaiah. But in English we call him Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Who attacked and breached our hedge of protection? The ancestors of the enemies of Israel, the worshipers of the enemy named Helel Ben Sahar.
We have the final words from the black box found at the wreckage of flight 93, the flight that did not hit its target.
What were those final words? They were a declaration - a war cry. The words were " Allahu Akbar."

Allahu Akbar (Arabic: الله أكبر) is a phrase, called Takbir in Arabic, meaning "God is greater" or "God is [the] greatest" (4)

What is this god's symbol?
The crescent moon / morning star.
Due to the fact that we are a nation who have turned her back upon God, His divine hedge of protection has been breached by the very same enemies that attacked ancient Israel. The terrorist ancestors mentioned in Isaiah, the ones who invented terrorism the worshipers of the enemy of Jehovah God.
Do you see it?
But That is Not All
9-11 was a warning and I believe a major call to repentance.
But what has our nation done?
Instead of repenting, we have stood with our heels dug in.
Instead of being humble, we have become proud.
Instead of turning to Him, we have stood in defiance of Him.
Out of 9-11 we have said that we will rebuild, become stronger, stand in defiance against the terrorists.
But more than that, we stand in defiance against God Himself because we have rejected His warning.
That warning was the breach in the hedge of protection.
And something that people have also forgotten, the breach is still there.
What should we have done?
The proper course should have been to humble ourselves, seek His face and sought out forgiveness.
If we would have done that, God would have healed our land as promised in 2 Chronicles 7:14

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

But we haven't done that.
Judgment isn't coming, it is already here. Most of the nation missed it or did not get the warning.
3000+ people died, one of our great cities was crippled, our nation wept and was brought to her knees for a season.
But we have stood again in defiance against God and the enemies of God. Our pride has gotten the best of us.
In reading Isaiah God used the same enemies to not only wreak havoc the first time, but when He pulled the hedge of protection completely; it exposed all of the nation of Israel to attacks, destruction, economic downfall and eventually bound and enslaved to the enemies who brought the destruction.
I am not a prophet. I am a watchman, a student of bible prophecy as well as a student of history.
Isaiah is one of the greatest prophetic books and historical books of the bible and I believe that what happened to Israel is coming to pass again here in America.
Why?
Because we are a nation founded upon God, His Word, dedicated and ordained to sharing the hope of His Son to all the world. We have stopped Occupying Till He Returns. We have forgotten to " always be ready to share the hope that is within us." (1 peter 3:15)
Judgment is not coming, it is here and to be honest I fear what is to come in the next phase of His chastisement.
What do I believe is coming?
That is another article based upon Isaiah in light of ancient Israel and America today.
More to come …


By Ray Gano






Endnotes
1 - http://www.wnd.com/2006/09/38108/
2 - http://www.sho.com/site/lword/home.do
3 - http://news.softpedia.com/news/Assyrians-the-Lords-of-the-Massacres-77262.shtml
4 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allahu_Akbar_%28disambiguation%29

The Effects of Another Middle East War

Folks, today the news is teaming with information that makes it really appear that the Middle East is ramping up for war.

Can you imagine the effects of another Middle East war? Think about what will be effected globally.

In fact do you know we are still feeling the effects of the Six Day War?

The Six-Day War

(Hebrew: מלחמת ששת הימים, Milhemet Sheshet Ha Yamim - Arabic: حرب الأيام الستة, ħarb al ayyam as sitta ;), also known as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the Third Arab-Israeli War, Six Days' War, an Naksah (The Setback), or the June War, was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbours Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Algeria also contributed troops and arms to the Arab forces. In the months before June 1967, Egypt expelled the United Nations Emergency Force from the Sinai Peninsula, increased its military activity near the border, blockaded the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships, and called for unified Arab action against Israel. In June 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive attack on Egypt's airforce fearing an imminent invasion by Egypt. Jordan then attacked the Israeli cities of Jerusalem and Netanya., At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. The results of the war affect the geopolitics of the region to this day. (1)

The Yom Kippur War

Ramadan War or October War (Hebrew: מלחמת יום הכיפורים; transliterated: Milkhemet Yom HaKipurim or מלחמת יום כיפור, Milkhemet Yom Kipur; Arabic: حرب أكتوبر; transliterated: ħarb October or حرب تشرين, ħarb Tishrin), also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to October 26, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. The war began with a surprise joint attack by Egypt and Syria on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Egypt and Syria crossed the cease-fire lines in the Sinai and Golan Heights, respectively, which had been captured by Israel in 1967 during the Six-Day War.

The Egyptians and Syrians advanced during the first 24–48 hours, after which momentum began to swing in Israel's favor. By the second week of the war, the Syrians had been pushed entirely out of the Golan Heights. In the Sinai to the south, the Israelis struck at the "seam" between two invading Egyptian armies, crossed the Suez Canal (where the old ceasefire line had been), and cut off the Egyptian third army just as a United Nations cease-fire came into effect. (2)

If you remember back in the 1970’s the US as well as any other country that supported Israel, suffered the OPEC Oil Embargo. At the time, gas prices jumped, gas was then rationed and you could only fill up your car on “odd” or “even” days based upon your license plate number.

Here it the US, we went to a year round day light savings time pushing all of the clocks one hour a head.

US automakers were jumping through hoops to make a better more fuel efficient car. Oil companies and energy providers were searching out alternative fuel and energy sources.

The “Central Banks” (Aka Fed Reserve) decided to sharply cut interest rates to encourage growth, deciding that inflation was a secondary concern. This was a horrible decision because it whip lashed the economy into some of the largest interest rates ever. Remember the outrageous interest rates just for home loans?

Now reflect on the 2006 Lebanon War, what did we see from that? Are we still suffering the consequences of that war?

I know one thing is that gas prices skyrocketed and never came down.

Fast forward to today, we are now looking at $3.19 a gallon. That is pricing here in Texas, in other areas it is more. Do you really think that we will see these prices ever go down? I bet there are some of you saying right now as you read this, “Well it will go down to $2.50 - $2.75 a gallon again.” Do you realize what that is costing us?

Folks, I was paying .99 cents a gallon in 2000.

And all these Sunday Morning financial good ol boys say there is no inflation?

The snowball is going to start rolling down hill here very soon. With it will be the inflation of much of what we consume daily.

Why are you pointing all of these things out; and what does it have to do with Bible Prophecy?

Revelation 6:5-6 (KJV) And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

I have stated many times that the antichrist’s kingdom will not pop up over night. The foundations need to be laid and systems put in place.

I point out all of this because things are bad and will not be getting any better. We know this based upon God’s Word and the study of Bible Prophecy. Again, read Revelations 6.

Presented with the facts of today we can clearly see that the Middle East is preparing for war. Iran, Turkey, Egypt are really posturing. Just look at Iran's war games in the straits of Hormuz and what a "buzz" that is causing.

It is not a matter of “IF” but a matter of “WHEN”

I personally think that the “when” will be a lot sooner. Man’s nature is towards greed, power and sin. The islamofascists have their fingers on the trigger and they are doing all that they can to hold themselves back.

If Iran gets nukes, which most likely she will have very soon if she does not have already, it isn't Israel that Iran will hit.

Iran is going to bomb Saudi Arabia.

I mean think about this for a moment. First of all, nowhere in scripture do we see Iran nuking Israel or any middle east country for that fact.

Do you know that Iran and much of the Middle East hates Saudi Arabia more than they hate Israel?

This is a hard fact and this is one reason why the US is sending arms and equipment to Saudi Arabia.

This is also why Saudi Arabia has been seeking Israel's help through back channel meetings.

Saudi Arabia is scared to death that Iran is going to wipe them off the face of the earth.

And Iran is more than willing to do it too, all in the name of bringing forth the Maudi, Islam's Messiah. The same person who I believe will be the Antichrist.

Let's look at this for a moment.

Iran has three sworn enemies.

• Israel
• America
• Saudi Arabia

They hate Israel because their Koran tells them to do this.

They hate America because we side with Israel and they see us as Christians. The Koran also tells them to war with Christians, kill us, enslave us, persecute us.

But they also hate Saudi Arabia because of all the debauchery and shame the Saudi famiily has brought upon Islam.

It is in Saudi Arabia where Mecca and Medina are located and according to much of the Middle East, Islam's holiest places need to be freed from the sin and shame Saudi Arabia has presented all these years.

Now here is the key point I want to make.

Iran and much of the Middle East knows that if they take out Saudi Arabia, the US will fall as well.

By taking out Saudi Arabia, they are getting what I a call a "two-fer" deal. They are taking out the scorge of the Middle East and the Great Satan all with one blow.

About 25% of the US's oil comes from Saudi Arabia. That is why she is so critical to our security.

If Saudi Arabia falls, we will fall as well.

Think gas prices are bad now, imagine if 25% of our oil supply was taken out. It would literally bring this nation to a standstill and throw this nation into major chaos.

But there is more.

Enter The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

We as bible believing Christians are in the minority. Problems are coming down the road and yes, we as Christians will be the ones blamed for all the worlds’ woes too.

It is already taking place and what is horrifying is the recent passing of the ‘Indefinite Detention’ Bill (NDAA), it has opened up the military detaining US Citizens with our or the procedures given to us by the constitution.

Simply put, the doors of the Gulag are now open thanks to both Republicans, Democrats and our illustrious President. So please do not feed me garbage on how much Republicans love this country when many of them voted to create these prison camps.

Sure this has been put in place for "Domestic terrorists" but clearly the Dept of Homeland Security views conservative bible believing Christians who also stand on bible prophecy as potential domestic terrorists. Add former military vets, preppers/survivalists, and those who believe and stand upon the constitution.

People and nations are becoming more tolerant towards Islam, new age, paganism and eastern practices. They are also becoming adamantly against Christianity. In fact they hate us just for who we are and who we serve. This in and of itself is bible prophecy coming to pass.

Very soon another Middle East war will take place. It will grind our nation as well as much of the west to a halt. Odds are that Christians will be blamed for all of this.

Now in the middle of all this chaos, the great thing is that we as Christians will have a chance to share the gospel. People will still turn to God in times of trouble no matter what.

How many people will see the truth in God’s Word and then come to the saving grace of His salvation?

Here is the key question.

How many of us are prepared and positioned to share the gospel in a time such as that?

A Middle East war involving Syria, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia will have global ramifications in many sectors. Trade and commerce will come to a drastic slow down due to cause and effect of such an event.

Can you fully realize the global cause and effects that comes into play if the Middle East goes to war with Saudi Arabia?

Even if the destruction of Damascus takes place as many think, Iran is still going to take out Saudi Arabia because with one strike Iran can do away with her enemies, Israel, the US and Saudia Arabia, thus freeing Islam's holiest areas Mecca & Medina.

I ask again, how many of us are prepared and positioned to share the gospel in events such as this?

But here is a question more horrifying…

How many out there still have their head buried in the sand and are not positioned to survive the coming storm?

More to come soon…

By Ray Gano

Endnotes

1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War

2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wi

One World Currency - Step By Step

By Ray Gano

Last week I wrote an article titled " USPS Now Converting US Dollars To Global SDRs."  Needless to say I have been generating a lot of questions out there. The primary one is "Will there be a one world currency?"

My answer, not only is there going to be a one world currency, it is already here and in the works.

As I showed in my previous article the US Post Office is already trading in what is called SDRs, or Special Drawing Rights. SDRs are becoming the defacto Global Currency Reserve.

But this is not the final solution.

We as Students of bible prophecy know and understand that the Antichrist will create a one world currency that will envelope legal, political, religious and social aspects.

I am one that believes that things do not take place over night. Man needs time to adjust and adapt to change. Otherwise chaos ensues and "the herd" is dispersed.

Background on The Enemy

You and I know the enemy. His name is Lucifer AKA Heylel Ben-Shachar

In the Bible, the Hebraic text in Isaiah 14:2 refers to Helel Ben Shachar or Heylel Ben-Shachar (היללבן שחר). Helel Ben-Schachar is translated into English as “O shining star, son of the dawn!" The name Lucifer is a translation of Helel Ben-Shachar into Latin by St. Jerome in the fourth century. Lucifer derives from two Latin words, lux (light) and fero (to bear–to bring), meaning light-bearer, light-bringer. The Bible identifies Lucifer as Devil, Satan, serpent, dragon, dweller of hell and other names. (1)

Knowing that the enemy is driven by pride and ego, he always shows his hand in a secret way announcing his intentions.

The enemies move to shift the world from multiple currencies to that of a single global one world currency was recently announced. And like many of the announcements of the enemy, it went unnoticed by many.

 Back in April of this year (2010) a paper was released by the Strategy, Policy and Review Department of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) titled  “Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability”

In this document the IMF recommends that the world adopts a global currency called the "Bancor." But that is not all, what is also proposed is a single global central bank be created to administer the currency.

Folks, this is not conspiracy talk, black helicopters, or little green men.  The IMF, through this document is telling the world of its intentions of running the world's economy. Let me say very clearly, what the IMF wants, the IMF will eventually get.

The Bancor is coming… step by step.

 

Survivor Mall

http://survivormall.com

 About The Bancor

The following is what Wikipedia states about the Bancor.

The Bancor was a World Currency Unit of clearing that was proposed by John Maynard Keynes, as leader of the British delegation and chairman of the World Bank commission, in the negotiations that established the Bretton Woods system, but has not been implemented.[2]There are some suggestions from the IMF of the possibility of its use in future.[3][4]

It was to be initially fixed in terms of 30 commodities, of which one would be gold. It would stabilize the average prices of commodities, and with them the international medium of exchange and a store of value.

In practice, until the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971, gold itself filled this role, with the U.S. dollar fixed to gold and many other currencies fixed to either the U.S. dollar or directly to gold.

There have been variations on the model of the Bancor recently, such as having a currency unit for regional trade organizations such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), etc. In this model the commodities that would be placed into the pool would be limited to a fixed number of the currencies of the partner nations, and this would be done on an annual basis with agreement on prerequisites for withdrawal.

Step By Step - The SDR

As I have said, I do not believe in things happening overnight. To numb the senses of the masses, steps towards the final goal need to be taken. You can move a herd of cattle to the slaughter house very easily as long as it is done slowly and methodically otherwise the cattle go every time.

The same goes for people.

We have been moving towards a single global currency for some time now and a major step in that direction was when the SDR or Special Drawing Rights was established. But it was just a step in the direction that the IMF wants the world to go.

In the IMF document “Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability” the report does say that  SDRs will become the "principal reserve asset" as the world moves towards a single currency.

The report states:

“As a complement to a multi-polar system, or even—more ambitiously—its logical end point, a greater role could be considered for the SDR.”

But  the report also states that SDRs have some serious limitations. What is that limitation? Well currently the SDR is tied to national currencies So with SDRs being tied to national currencies, when said currencies go up, the SDR goes up. When said currencies go down, like what is taking place today, the SDR goes down.

Here is the breakdown of the "basket" of currencies that the SDR is tied too:

*U.S. Dollar (44 percent)

*Euro (34 percent)

*Yen (11 percent)

*Pound (11 percent)

As we all know the dollar is not doing too well and in fact the trust of the people is starting to wain against the dollar. This effects the value of the SDR and the IMF does not like that.

So the IMF needs to move away from the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency and urges the adoption of a currency unit that would be truly international.

But that is not the only reason. The fact is that SDRs are a pain in the rear to use. To obtain SDRs, people need to purchase them in their own currency, then use them, then the person who received the SDRs need to convert them into their own currency.

It is this trading, converting, back and forth that really limits their usefulness according to the IMF report….

“A limitation of the SDR as discussed previously is that it is not a currency. Both the SDR and SDR-denominated instruments need to be converted eventually to a national currency for most payments or interventions in foreign exchange markets, which adds to cumbersome use in transactions. And though an SDR-based system would move away from a dominant national currency, the SDR’s value remains heavily linked to the conditions and performance of the major component countries.”

So what is the answer?

Well, as stated by the IMF report, they believe that the adoption of a true single global currency administered by a central global bank is the answer.

Enter the Bancor

In reading the IMF report the IMF thinks that it would be a great idea that the Bancor be introduced as a stable global currency throughout the entire world.

Like the adoption of the Euro, the Bancor would be accepted everywhere along with that countries own currency. People would naturally gravitate to a stronger more stable currency over that of their own currency.

I have to say that if I was offered a means to protect my assets with a stable method of exchange, AKA currency, I know that I would purchase it. I do not have faith in our dollar. The current as well as past administrations have incurred debt that is impossible to pay off. That is a fact.

Knowing this, eventually the US will default on loans. In the day of digital money that we live in the dollar will go down the tubes in a matter of hours. There will not be enough time to pull money from the bank, inflation will instantly kick in and in a matter of days there will be a national financial emergency. The president will declare a bank holiday and close all the banking institutions.  Chaos will erupt and millions of middle class people will see their life savings wiped out.

That is unless people have thought ahead and maintained their wealth in a solid method of exchange (currency) or better yet a method of wealth (gold, silver, tangible assets)

But I am digressing here.

The IMF thinks it would be a solution to the world's problem if one single currency would be put in place. The IMF report clearly calls out the need for the Bancor to ride along side of nation's currencies.

 “One option is for Bancor to be adopted by fiat as a common currency (like the euro was), an approach that would result immediately in widespread use and eliminate exchange rate volatility among adopters (comparable, for instance, to Cooper 1984, 2006 and the Economist, 1988). A somewhat less ambitious (and more realistic) option would be for Bancor to circulate alongside national currencies, though it would need to be adopted by fiat by at least some (not necessarily systemic) countries in order for an exchange market to develop.”

AND what will naturally be needed is a global central bank to administer this new one world currency.  This central bank is something like the current Federal Reserve today. But what is very troublesome is that it will be completely outside the control of any particular national government….

“A global currency, Bancor, issued by a global central bank (see Supplement 1, section V) would be designed as a stable store of value that is not tied exclusively to the conditions of any particular economy. As trade and finance continue to grow rapidly and global integration increases, the importance of this broader perspective is expected to continue growing.”

In fact, the IMF report makes no bones about it and compares this coming global central bank to the Federal Reserve….

“The global central bank could serve as a lender of last resort, providing needed systemic liquidity in the event of adverse shocks and more automatically than at present. Such liquidity was provided in the most recent crisis mainly by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which however may not always provide such liquidity.”

Folks, just in case you do not know this; the Federal Reserve has nothing to do with the federal government. It is a privately held company whose stock you can purchase from the stock exchange. It is run by a cartel of elite bankers, financiers, businessmen and they are the real power behind the curtain.

In creating a central global bank like the one being proposed, it enables the power of the world to be easily wielded  by one single person, the head of that central bank. The likes of an Allen Greenspan or Ben Bernenke would head this bank up.

As I have said, what the IMF wants, the IMF gets. Knowing this, we will eventually have the Bancor and a central global bank running the show. Power will be given to a group of people headed by a single man.

Now do you see how easy it would be to control the masses by one single man?

Scriptures say…

Revelation 13:16-18 KJV And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Slowly the stage is being set. The enemy in all his pride and egotism is laughing at man  and his ignorance as he makes his plans right before our eyes and no one seems to even be paying attention.

That ol' worm Heylel Ben-Shachar is playing his game and man is falling for it. Eventually he will demand that man take a mark to identify himself as one of his. Those who do not will lose their head as a martyr of our  Lord Jesus Christ.

But for that to take place, there are still some steps that need to be established. We who are here now will face some if not all of this setting of the stage. While we are here we need to be ready always to preach the word, share the gospel and occupy till HE returns.

The time is now to prepare and be ready, not run off to some corner and hide. We have a responsibility to our Lord, it is our reasonable service.

One Final Note

There is today a system already in place. In fact this system envelopes all legal, political, religious and social aspects. It is the system that is spreading like a cancer and it is the Antichrist will use to rise to power. As I stated, the game that our pride filled egotistical enemy likes to play is hiding things right before our eyes. It really is the best place to hide something. This legal, political, religious, and social system many do not want to acknowledge and in fact many are already welcoming and defending its right to be spread;  is Islam and it is right before our eyes. In its system is everything that scripture describes that the Antichrist will use to come to power.

 It is here now and within 20 years it will have established a global government dedicated to its god Allah.

Who by the way is also known as Heylel Ben-Shachar - which literally translated from God's word means Crescent Moon - Morning Star.

END NOTES

Download and read “Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability” at http://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2010/041310.pdf

1 -http://www.helel.com/

2 -http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/18/lord-keynes-international-monetary-fund

3 -http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/08/04/306346/imf-blueprint-for-a-global-currency-yes-really/

4 -http://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2010/041310.pdf

5- http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13382167&CFID=48661507&CFTOKEN=95325844