Alright everyone… Sean Mayfield here bringing you another
edition of the Antipas Audio Journal. Today is Tuesday,
July 18, 2006 and yes I do realize this broadcast is one
day late… but I was very much under the weather yesterday…
to the point that you would not have enjoyed any broadcast
done yesterday… any more than I would have.
Hey listen up… I think we’ve got a pretty good program
on tap for everyone today. I want to talk about the continuing
situation concerning Israel and Lebanon…
and I also want to speak a bit on what all of this means
respective to prophetic events. We also have Part 5 of
Steve’s series on Radical
Islam on tap for today… and isn’t somewhat ironic
that we began this series before all this present action
began? And I say that since the subject matter is very
apropos to what it is going on in the world at the moment.
Look I am not going to beat around the bush today… since
there is a lot I want to go over… so let’s just go ahead
and get things started. And to kick things off I want
to speak a bit about the Two Witnesses… or more specifically…
the two false witnesses.
Just as God has his
two witnesses… the Church and Israel…
it too appears that the god of this world… the god of
force that is… has his two witnesses as well. Not so
coincidentally these two witnesses are also the Church
and Israel.
Yet the Church I speak of here… is the false Church… the
harlot… the apostate woman, which rides the beast
as referenced in Revelation 17.
As for Israel…
can there be any doubt that a huge portion of what we
know as Israel
has indeed fully traded the promises of God… as offered
in the Abrahamic Covenant for a
seat along side the American Beast as it goes
forth conquering and to conquer? Just take a look at
all that is happening in the Middle East right now. In
addition to the continued carnage
in Iraq… we are now watching the Israelis jump
into a dual-front battle in Gaza to the south… and Lebanon
to the North. Civilian
casualties are escalating on both sides and despite
fervent appeals from the international community and even
back-channel calls
for restraint from the US Elite… the Israelis
are plowing ahead (as are Hezbollah and Hamas I might
add) and threatening this thing won’t fully be settled
until Syria and Iran are finally dealt with.
To go back to the idea of those old dry bones of Israel
as it says it says in Ezekiel 37
and the apostate Church, whose seat of power is the US…
to go back to these two though… what is happening here
is that both really and truly think that they can somehow
not only ride the Beast… but control it as well. In concert…
both the American Church and Israel
envision a future in which Iran
and Syria are
going to have to be neutralized. Even the Bush Whitehouse
is not immune from pondering the idea that this may
just be the opportunity to deal with these two
enemies.
Yet what is really happening here is that both of these
“false witnesses” are getting played. Sure… they may
get their war… in fact in the long run I feel this is
a very safe bet. In fact they will both realize much
of what they truly yearn for in this present world. Sadly
though… what they are essentially doing is carrying the
water bucket for the antichrist and the Elite of this
world… and this is why they are both going to be turned
upon and destroyed… just as assuredly as we who are the
true witnesses of God are to be persecuted mercilessly.
At this moment though… both of these entities believe
that they are somehow in control. The Church believes
it can use its power within the state and the fact that
they are at this present moment indispensable to the Elites
as a way to use the economic and military power of the
US to serve their
goal of establishing dominion over ALL the earth. Concurrently…
the Israelis believe they can use their influence with
the Church, the Neocons, and the whole of the ruling party
in Washington to get the US to serve their purposes of
eliminating all threats surrounding them… and to prop
themselves up as nothing short of THE REGIONAL SUPER-POWER
in the Middle East.
Check out what Kaveh L. Afrasiabi said in an article
I found on the Asia
Times website… Afrasiabi said… and I quote:
“As the tide of war intensifies, it is increasingly
obvious that Israel's hidden objective is to inflict such
mortal wounds on the weak nation of Lebanon as to bring
it to its knees and thus take a giant step toward its
grandiose objective of a Pax Israelica.
A big regional superpower, bounded in a small physical
space and bloody, ill-defined borders, Israel's
warmongering is not a result of its absence of policy,
as claimed by The Nation's recent editorial.”
I believe that Afrasiabi is correct here… this is no
accidental turn of events here… the Israelis have not
ended up in this situation due to a lack of policy… Rather,
I honestly think that Israel
somehow believes that it can ride the back of the American
beast as it establishes hegemony… and in the process carve
out a rather nice sphere for itself. Just like the Church
though… the Israelis are in for a rude awakening.
I am not sure how all of this is going to play out in
the short or mid-term. Maybe this war will continue to
escalate and maybe the US
and Israel will
decide to go ahead and take care of all of their enemies
now. Maybe out of this will come some sort of defense
pact between the two. What could also happen though…
is that Israel may just be neutralizing two of their most
pressing security threats before they finally come to
the table with the US… to settle the Palestinian question
once and for all… and of course out of this will come
that above mentioned treaty.
What I am sure of though… is that the Israelis believe
they have a level of long-term control, which they most
assuredly do not have. This is terrible as well… since
the Bible is very, very clear… that Israel’s placing her
trust in the hands of Babylon the Great… and the King
of Babylon… is going to bring a great deal of sorrow and
destruction her way in the future.
And as I also said earlier… this same sort of sorrow
and destruction is going to be visited upon the false
Church as well. They too believe they have the tiger
by the tail… not realizing how foolish this is.
One cannot serve God and make allegiance with the forces
of this world… especially forces that really and truly
are bent upon destroying all things associated with Him…
even those, which falsely take on the name of His Son.
Yet this is the path, which these two false witnesses
have chosen… and for me to call them false witnesses is
100% appropriate, since both believe they are on the side
of God here… and both in their alliance with each and
with the Beast… believe that they are executing His will
upon the earth.
Better to be a resident of Sodom and Gomorrah on the
day of judgment than to fall into this camp my friends… there
is just no other way to put it.
Hey listen… I am just getting warmed up here… but before
I continue… let’s take a short break so can listen to
the following message from those of us here at Antipas
Ministries.com.
--- Message Break ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal. Before the
break I was speaking about how both the American Church…
in other words the false Church… and the Israelis have
hitched their wagons to the power of the US State in order
to essentially remake the world into that which they see
as God’s will. Now in saying this… I do want to be clear
that there are no doubt those within Israel
who are not for this alliance with the US…
and as the
Bible indicates clearly… there will be from Israel
and great number that are sealed and called to testify
as a witness for God in the dark days, which are to come.
The fact that cannot be escaped though… is that presently
Israel is in
the process of forging an alliance with the very beast…
and false Church, which will one day turn on her. And
as for that false Church… well… I have said a great deal
about them over the years… and Steve has said even more…
long story short though… the Bible calls this Church a
whore… and just like even the highest priced call-girl…
eventually the party ends and you have no further need
of her services.
I hate to be so crude there… but the point is that no
one makes a deal with the devil without eventually paying
the price… and so too will the American Church, i.e. the
Woman, which rides the beast.
I made mention earlier of the god of force… which these
guys are serving… and I did not come to that conclusion
solely on my own. In describing the coming Antichrist…
Daniel 11: 38 says of him that:
“But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces”
And can there be any doubt that those who rule the US
honour this god? Along these lines I read a really interesting
piece on the Tom Dispatch website by Tom Engelhardt entitled, Bush's
Faith and the Middle East Aflame… and this
article puts forth the very notion that Bush and the ruling
Elite do indeed kneel at the alter of the god of force.
Engelhardt said:
“The Bush administration came to power as a fundamentalist
regime; and here I'm not referring to the Christian fundamentalist
faith of our President. After all, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld,
and our Vice President seem not to be Christian fundamentalists
any more than were Paul Wolfowitz
or Douglas Feith. Bush's top
officials may not have agreed among themselves on whether
End Time would arrive, or even on the domestic social
issues of most concern to the Christian religious right
in this country, but they were all linked by a singular
belief in the efficacy of force.”
Do you see what Engelhardt
is saying here? When it gets down to brass tacks… these
guys have fully placed their faith in the ability of the
US to use whatever level of force is necessary to accomplish
their goal of empire. They do not care about the end
times… they do not care about gay marriage, abortion,
or any of the other hot-button issues for the American Church. All they care about is money… and to follow through on that… in their
world view… the way to get the most is to use the most
force.
Interestingly though…
what they have also done is presented their vision of
the future to the American Church in such a way as to convince them to stand with them. Of course these
deluded souls believe the US possesses the incredible power, which it does… due
to the fact that God Himself has imbued it… imbued them…
with such strength so that they may accomplish His will
upon the earth.
The simple truth though…
is that they are kneeling down at the alter of this very
same god of force. When the Church starts thinking that
bombs, guns, tanks, and torture are the keys to expanding
God’s kingdom… or to even hold on to that which they have…
then they are no longer serving the same God as you and
I. When they come to believe that the answer to the question
is a large scale execution of violence and destruction…
while claiming to serve the Prince of Peace… then we ought
to realize the prince they serve is another one altogether.
And along these lines… the same holds true for Israel. Rather than trust in God… seek Him out and have the
scales lifted from their eyes… Israel has chosen to align itself with the god of force… and
his agent upon this earth… the United States of America.
On this point the Engelhardt
article says:
“As for the Israelis, at this point they visibly feel
free of all outside restraint or constraint, given the
Bush administration, and so can bomb, blockade, missile,
and attack almost at will -- and, with their eyes on Syria
and Iran,
are threatening to widen this war yet further, setting
the region ablaze.”
And as Engelhardt also says… this whole pathology is
not confined to the beast, the woman, and Israel…
but it has spread to their adversaries as well. What
I mean here is that the same belief that force is the
answer… the same belief that the only way things can be
settled is to wage war until only one side is standing
has infected the Muslim world as well.
What this all means is that we are rapidly headed down
the path to world war. This coming war is one, which
the Bible foresees too. It is the Gog/Magog
War.
O.K. I am still a long way from
wrapping up my thoughts on all of this… before I continue
though… let’s pause so we can listen to another message
from those of us here at Antipas Ministries.com.
--- Message Break ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal. Sean Mayfield
here… before the break I had kind of led up to how all
of this is leading us down the path to the Gog/Magog War…
for now at least… I want to move away from that statement
and go back to what is happening right now.
What is happening right now… in addition to the
present hostilities between the Israelis and Hezbollah…
as well as those between the Israelis and Hamas… is that
there is a battle taking
place in the Muslim world as well. Some might
define this battle as one between Sunnis and Shiites…
and for the most part this is a correct answer. Ultimately
though… this battle is between those who advocate staying
within the present system of Western… meaning US control
over the Middle East… and those who wish to totally and
completely overthrow this system.
In the first camp we find the ruling class of Saudi
Arabia, Qatar,
the United Arab Emirates,
Bahrain, Kuwait,
and the puppet leaders in Iraq.
For the most part these are Sunni Muslims… yet not all
are. Also in this camp we find the ruling elite in Egypt,
Pakistan, Afghanistan,
as well as Turkey…
and lately it even looks like Khadafi in Libya
sides with them. These leaders have gained incredible
wealth and power due to serving as puppets for the US.
They have profited greatly… as individuals… by playing
their role within the pyramid of US
power.
On the other side we find Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas,
the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaida, and that 70 to 80% of
the Muslim street, which either suffers greatly under
the US System… or sees the writing on the wall… insofar
as seeing where being a peon in this system will ultimately
lead them. To those in this camp… the system must be
done away with. The US
must be removed as ruler of the region… Israel
must be eradicated… or at least beaten down into a harmless
state.
Essentially what we are looking at here is something
Steve covered many years ago in his writings about civilization
conflict. In those writings Steve drew upon the work
of Samuel Huntington to explain the dynamics involved.
In this context what we are talking about here is the
old action-reaction
spiral. The Muslim street as well as the fundamentalist
regimes and terrorist/paramilitary groups throughout the
region are already at the stage where they see violence
and warfare as the only true solution to the present conflict.
On the other side we have the ruling elite and wealthy
class who while sympathizing with their brothers that
are suffering under the yoke of US hegemony… are making
way too much money to actually do anything about it, which
would jeopardize their place within the US system.
Well… what is going to happen is these puppets are going
to either be overthrown or they are going to be co-opted
by the radicals… because as this thing continues to progress…
eventually there will be no middle ground… there will
be no place left for those within the Muslim world who
council moderation or half-measures. The radicals within
the Muslim world have seized the initiative and are now
defining the conflict… and it is their definition, which
the masses are buying. As such… time is really drawing
short for those leaders recalcitrant to the idea of doing
more than rattling sabers… to get with the program.
Think about it… just yesterday in a
meeting of regional leaders in Cairo… the Saudi
contingent actually condemned Hezbollah for essentially
creating this present situation. And the other moderates
in attendance were not far behind in their calls for détente,
and a slowing down of hostilities. Meanwhile… those on
the other side seem willing to have this all escalate…even
if that means the present conflict is to spread into a
regional war.
Now let me be clear here… as of yet… the Israelis are
still publicly
denying that they have any plans to hit Syria
and Iran… and while the US is certainly blaming these
two… they also are not saying these threats need to be
dealt with now. Yet on the other side… it looks like
both the Syrians and the Iranians are preparing for an
attack should it come… And unofficially there is a strong
sentiment within both Israel
and the US that
this whole matter needs to be dealt with now. Just look
at what William Kristol of the
Weekly Standard said recently as noted by William Rivers
Pitt in a current article I found on Truthout.org.
According to Pitt… and I quote:
“It is all quite terrifying, but most frightening
of all are the voices being raised in support of widening
this crisis into total war. William Kristol,
editor of the far-right periodical The Weekly Standard,
has openly stated that the crisis should be used as an
opportunity to attack other Middle Eastern nations. "While
Syria
and Iran
are enemies of Israel," wrote Kristol in
an article titled "It's Our War," "they
are also enemies of the United
States. The right response
is renewed strength - in supporting the governments of
Iraq
and Afghanistan,
in standing with Israel,
and in pursuing regime change in Syria
and Iran.
For that matter, we might consider countering this act
of Iranian aggression with a military strike against Iranian
nuclear facilities."”
And let’s be clear here… Kristol
is no fringe player in the right-wing power nexus… His
is a voice, which carries some weight… and he… along with
many, many others are operating in this mindset where
the opportunity for the US
and Israel here…
is to violently pursue regime change in both Syria
and Iran.
This thing is getting crazy isn’t it? If they do follow
through here… what do you think is going to happen to
those voices of moderation in the Muslim world? They
will be silenced no doubt… at a minimum… and eliminated
most probably. All across the board as well… from Libya
and Egypt… as
well as in Turkey
and Pakistan.
Even if the US and Israel do not attack Syria and Iran
at this point… just a continuation of the present course
of action by the Israelis… may
be enough to push things past the brink. Already
the press has come out totally on the side of Israel
here… and whether or not you think that is justifiable
is not the point. The point is that the more the West
paints itself as pro-Israel and anti-Islam… in other words…
the more Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, and Syria are blamed
for the present conflict… the more radicals within the
Muslim world will gain power at the expense of those who
desire to remain within the US system.
Ultimately… what we are looking at is a future where
the whole of the Muslim world will by and large be united
in their hatred of the US
and Israel… to
the point that they are ready to take action… action which
will end up being suicidal. And on the flip side… we
are looking at a future in which the US and Israel will
themselves be willing to follow through with the thought
that the only way to secure US hegemony and an expansion
of Israeli power and security… is by utterly annihilating
their enemies in the region.
Like I said much earlier today… the Church within the
US… certainly wants this… they see Islam as the devil
himself… and such believe it must be destroyed in order
to further establish the
kingdom of Christ upon the earth… concurrently…
the Israelis see this path as their ticket to obtaining
the territory seen as rightfully theirs… and as that which
will lead to the long term security they so deeply desire.
Yet both have sided with the devil here… the god of force.
And as such… will eventually be turned upon by the very
beast of which they seek to hold the reigns. Well… I
suppose at this point that I will turn things over to
Steve… for part 5 of his series on Radical
Islam… and as I mentioned earlier… this series
is really apropos… since this creation of the US ruling
Elite… as a tool to combat socialism… has now fully taken
on a life of its own… and is in the process of leading
the whole of the Muslim world into a final conflict of
sorts with Israel and the US. So hey… let’s go ahead
and turn things over to Steve… but before we do… let’s
take another break so we can listen to another message
from those of us here at Antipas Ministries.com.
--- Message Break --- Segment End ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal… Sean Mayfield
here. I only have a few brief words before we shut things
down for today.
First off… I am also releasing a new ISRP Journal today…
which is in essence the transcript of the July 13th
audio broadcast. I know I am running behind here of late…
but there is a lot going on right now… both in the world
and getting some work done here on the property. So please
forgive my tardiness. Also… I really want to encourage everyone out there who believes
in our message and stands with us… to continue to support
us. We really need all the help we can get.
Things are tight… well… the really and truly are always
tight… but I still have not been able to send anything
to Eugene over in Ghana… and I am asking for some help
from all of you to enable us to do so.
In closing… I also want to say that now more than every…
I hope that people are paying attention to all that is
going on in the world. Who knows how much time we have
before the events of the end of the age are upon us.
It appears that if the US
leadership and their Church have what they desire… that
we will get to this point sooner… rather than later.
As such I truly hope those that are in the US
will act upon God’s call to come out of that nation.
And I also certainly hope that those throughout the world
who love the Lord and desire to serve Him… will lift up
their voices in testimony to Christ and against the evil
being perpetrated in His holy name.
Well… at this point I’ll go ahead and wrap things up
for today… and in closing I’ll leave you with a presentation
of the true gospel message from those of us here at Antipas
Ministries. So until next time… God Bless You All!
--- Segment End --- Program End ---
Alright everyone… welcome to the Antipas Audio Journal.
I am your host… Sean Mayfield. It’s Thursday, July 13,
2006 and we have some really big matters to discuss today.
I am sure everyone is probably aware of what is going
on in Israel
at the moment… and in case you are not… I am referring
to their continued
actions against the Palestinians in Gaza and their
recent retaliation to an attack by Hezbollah from Southern
Lebanon into the Northern part of Israel.
Well… to say the least… things are really heating up over
there… and I believe we need to spend some time talking
about these things today.
I also think we need to look at how all of this fits
into the big picture… and in that respect… I want to take
a little time to speak about the
coming treaty, which Israel
is to sign with Babylon the Great… i.e. the United States
of America… and I also want to talk about how the events
occurring now fit into not just the coming conflict between
the US and Iran… but also a future war… most probably
near future that is… to be fought between the forces of
the US and Israel on the one side… and those of most of
the Muslim World on the other side.
So as you can see… we have some really big things to
discuss today… and hopefully… upon conclusion… we can
make some sense of all the terrible violence, which is
occurring in that corner of the world. Somewhat apropos
to this subject… we also have part 4 of S.R. Shearer’s
series on Radical
Islam on tap today. We will run this segment
once I have wrapped up my portion of today’s show. We
are almost ready to jump into today’s subject matter…
but first I want to make a couple of very brief announcements
related to the training course we are offering.
For starters there are a very few people that were scheduled
to return their first section exams yesterday and did
not get them turned in. Please get those back to us very,
very soon. We are scheduled to begin the first
lesson of Section 2 this coming Saturday… which
is only 2 days away. And finally… for those who have
turned in their exams… it is still our expectation to
get those graded and to let everyone know their results
by the conclusion of this weekend.
As I said at the beginning of today’s show… I really
want to discuss everything that is going on with Israel
today… and I want to look at how all of this stuff fits
into the big picture regarding Biblical prophecy. For
those of you out there who are coming at this from a secular
mindset… and I know of a fair number that are… I hope
these forays into the world of prophecy are not off-putting
to you… yet at the same time… it is not as if I am going
to disregard prophetic factors insofar as what is happening
in this present world is concerned… since in all honesty…a
proper understanding and truthful interpretation of biblical
prophecy, which is what I believe those of us here at
Antipas Ministries have… goes a very long way toward making
sense of the madness, which seems to have stricken the
whole of the world over the past few years.
And I am not just operating from a selective memory sort
of stand point either. In all honesty… can anyone say
the world seemed to be on edge… to this degree even ten
years ago? Think back to those days… Bill Clinton was
President… the Religious Right was still on the outside
looking in… respective to holding the reigns of power
in Washington are concerned. The stock market was strong…
the US economy
was much more stable… though not necessarily in a way,
which benefited the poor of the US
or the world. The Middle East was not in the throes of
violence and destruction that we now see… The Patriot
Act, NSA wiretapping of Americans, torturing of enemy
combatants and other such horrors were not even on the
radar. Look… I am not saying the world was a better place
or anything like that… but it should be clear to everyone…
that the world we are living in today is much more on
edge… much more on the brink of ushering in a dark future…
than days gone by.
So to get back to my point… Everyone out there is looking
for answers right now… in some capacity or another. Everyone
is trying in their own way… to make sense of the craziness
going on in the world. The problem here is that the only
place to find those answers… is in the Word of God… through
the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ… but the problem is that
the false testimony of the apostate Church has so twisted
and misrepresented the Truth... that most people out in
the world want nothing to do with the Bible… insofar as
understanding the world they live in is concerned. And
really… can you blame them? Most non-Christians think
biblical prophecy portrays the sort of future envisioned
by the Tim LaHaye’s and Hal Lindsey’s of this world.
Either that or they think it divulges a future where evil
men like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Kennedy,
James Dobson, or the above mentioned LaHaye will
be reigning with an iron fist over the world.
In this context can you blame non-believers for rejecting
the Bible and biblical prophecy as being a legitimate
source for answers in regards to where this world is headed?
Yeah… me either… Hopefully though… those you out there
coming at this from a secular viewpoint… will hear me
out on these subjects… if only because the Christ we preach
here at Antipas Ministries… the True Jesus Christ… is
One that has love and compassion for the least of all
men. He is the Prince of Peace… the One that calls His
followers to exhibit that same love and compassion… and
calls us to serve Him in the spirit of sacrifice… forsaking
power and the treasures of this world… as well as speaking
out against those who do. Like I said… it is my hope
that you will hear me out… because the truth of what God’s
Word says really does provide the answers to all that
is coming down the pike.
Hey listen… I am just now getting into all this… so now
is as good of a time as any to pause so that we can listen
to the following message from those of us here at Antipas
Ministries.com.
--- Message Break ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal… I am your
host Sean Mayfield. Before the break I was just getting
ready to jump into the heart of things for today’s show…
So let’s go ahead and do that now.
What I want to speak about for starters… is everything
that is going on regarding Israel.
Last week Hamas members in Gaza ambushed Israeli soldiers
killing two and kidnapping one. Since that time the Israelis
have turned up the heat on all Palestinians in Gaza.
They have bombed bridges and roads… They have also bombed
power stations and water treatment facilities. They even
struck a Palestinian government building in Gaza yesterday.
The situation in Gaza is becoming very untenable for the
1.4 million Palestinians there… with the International
Red Cross reporting
earlier today that:
“THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IS PRECARIOUS”
Meanwhile… Israeli Defense Forces… who have redeployed
back into Gaza… say there is no humanitarian crisis.
Now last week I discussed this matter and remarked upon
an article, which put the idea out there that what Israel
is trying to do is depopulate Gaza as much as is possible…
by forcing refugees… so that they can have a safer situation
when they are finally forced to come to terms with the
Palestinians.
As this thing continues to develop… this is looking more
and more like it may be the case. Yet we are not finished
yet… Israel warplanes
also made some very aggressive fly-by’s in Syria…
and their continued offensive in Gaza has also led to
Egypt issuing
a warning to the Israelis, which essentially said the
Israelis should not take their peace treaty with Egypt
for granted… In other words… Egypt
will not just sit there and watch the Israelis destroy
Gaza. And finally… just yesterday… Hezbollah members
in Lebanon launched
an attack into Northern Israel, which killed 8 Israeli
soldiers and saw two more taken captive. Israel
has responded by bombing the Beirut airport… which they
say Hezbollah uses to receive arms shipments and by sending
Israeli troops into Southern Lebanon for the first time
in 6 years. Israel is also considering a blockade of
the port in Lebanon as a further measure to restrict the
flow of arms to Hezbollah… and has been quite open in
saying that they do not see the attack by Hezbollah as
a terrorist attack… but that of the State of Lebanon against
Israel… since Hezbollah is a part of the government in
Lebanon.
Additionally… both Israel
and the United States
have very openly blamed
Iran and Syria as responsible for the actions
by Hezbollah… since Hezbollah is a creation of the fundamentalist
government in Tehran… and continues to receive arms and
financial support from both Damascus and Tehran. Along
these lines… Hamas is also said to be working in partnership
with Hezbollah… and as such the Israelis are prone to
believe they may be essentially fighting the same battle
on two fronts against a united enemy… Palestinian Hamas
forces in Gaza to the south… and Lebanese Hezbollah forces
to the North… both backed and supported by the governments
of Syria and
Iran.
Now listen… it should be very clear that this is a very
serious situation here. What we are potentially talking
about here is what was essentially an internal battle
between Israelis and Palestinians is now morphing into
a regional conflict between Israel, the Palestinians,
Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and maybe even Egypt. The potential
for continued escalation is quite harrowing… and the simple
truth is that the US does not want to fight the all out
war with the Muslim World… which it has planned for the
future… at this time… and on these terms.
Because of this all the official talk coming out of Washington…
and all of the statements made by Bush and his staff have
been to counsel restraint from the Israelis… and a call
for all parties to find a peaceful resolution to this
growing conflict. Now this is where things really get
interesting… because this whole scenario really has the
potential to develop into a situation leading to some
sort of treaty or defense agreement between the US and
Israel.
To put it in plain terms… Without
some sort of guaranteed assurance of protection from the
US… there is no way the Israelis are going to allow themselves
to be placed in a position of vulnerability in Gaza, on
the West Bank, in Southern Lebanon, nor in the Golan Heights,
which stand on the border with Syria. Concurrently… given
the continued belligerence of Tehran toward the Israelis…
and whether or not you feel the Israelis have provoked
this whole situation is not the issue here… but given
their continued belligerence as proven through not just
rhetoric… but also their continued support and arming
of Hezbollah… given this though… there is no way Israel
is going to come to any sort of peace with the Palestinians,
which places them in danger.
I mean think about it… Israel
has enemies in Lebanon
that have proven willing to attack. The same goes for
Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank. Syria
too is seen as a very real threat by the Israelis… as
well as Iran.
Throw in the fact that even Egypt has weighed in harshly
against the Israelis and one should be able to see why
it will take real and tangible assurances from the US
for them to agree to any sort of solution, which places
them in jeopardy on any of these fronts. Now in saying
this… I am not giving the Israelis a pass for their actions…
I am merely stating what I believe their mindset to be…
in the face of what they see as attackers and potential
attackers surrounding them completely.
So what is all of this leading up to? As I said earlier…
the US is already calling for the Israelis to exercise
restraint… and they really want to find some sort
of resolution to this conflict… partly because their allies
in Western Europe are so dead-set upon Israel making peace
with the Palestinians… but also because they do not want
to fight the total war against Islam that those in power
see coming in the future… at this present time. And to
be clear here… without some sort of real agreement… things
could very well escalate to that point. And additionally…
the plans the US
already has for Iran
will be all the more difficult to execute should matters
in Israel still
be as white-hot as they are right now.
So how will they get the Israelis to take part in a real
resolution to the conflict? I think the only way it will
happen is if the US
is willing
to guarantee that it will defend it with the full
force of the US
military in the face of an attack. And what does this
mean? Well… before we answer that question let’s take
another break so we can listen to another message from
those of us here at Antipas Ministries.
--- Message Break ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal… I am your
host… Sean Mayfield. Before the break we were talking
about how the only way I see the Israelis coming to any
sort of final terms with the Palestinians… which include
any sort of concessions on the part of Israel… would be
if the US itself was willing to guarantee that they would
defend Israel in the face of an attack by its enemies.
This is series business… because what we are talking
about here is something, which the Bible talks about.
What we are alluding to here is what is known in Biblical
terms as Israel’s
Treaty with Death and Hell. And what the Bible foresaw
so long ago was a future in which an Israel…
restored to its homeland would make a covenant; you know
an agreement or a treaty… with the Antichrist… and the
nation of which he is king… Babylon the Great.
I want to draw upon the writings of our own S.R. Shearer
in Chapter 6 of his online book, The Antipas Papers to
fully explain what this treaty and its participants are
really all about. The book is available on our homepage
at www.antipasministries.com.
In the Antipas
Papers… Steve says:
“The Bible says:
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many
for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause
the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading
of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until
the consummation, and that determined shall be poured
upon the desolate." (Dan. 9:27a)
The living Bible translates this passage thus:
"This king [Antichrist] will make a seven year
TREATY with the people [Israel], but after half that time,
he will break his pledge and stop the Jews from all their
sacrifices and their offerings; then as a climax to all
his terrible deeds, the enemy [Antichrist] shall utterly
defile the sanctuary of God [which is to say, he shall
commit the Abomination of Desolation]." (Daniel 9:27a
LB)
Concerning this treaty "made with the many for
one week," J. Dwight Pentecost writes:
"According to Daniel 9:26-27 the prince of the
Roman empire (i.e.,
the West, called Babylon) will make a covenant
with Israel
for a seven year period. This covenant evidently ... guarantees
Israel's
integrity [is a defense pact] ... [and] also is a Satanic
imitation of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant
(see chapter 3 - this book) which ... [guaranteed] Israel
title deed to the land. This action is pictured by John
[in the Apocalypse] (Rev. 16:2) as a rider going forth
to conquer [as the first horseman in the Apocalypse] ...
This condition exists for three and one-half years, after
which the covenant is broken by the ... [Antichrist]."15
The treaty will be in the form of a defense pact between
Israel
and Prophetic Babylon and will be directed
against Israel's
enemies - most likely a coalition of Islamic fundamentalist
states in the Middle East. The Scripture
calls this agreement between Israel
and Prophetic Babylon as "YOUR COVENANT
WITH DEATH" and " YOUR AGREEMENT WITH HELL:"
"Wherefore, hear the word of the Lord, ye ...
men that rule this people which is
in Jerusalem.
"Because ye have said, We
have made a COVENANT WITH DEATH, AND WITH HELL (Prophetic
Babylon) are we at agreement; when the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us
...
"(But) ... your COVENANT WITH DEATH shall be
disannulled, and your AGREEMENT WITH HELL shall not stand;
when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then
ye shall be trodden down by it." (Isaiah 28:14-15,
18)
Why does the Bible use such strong language with regard
to this covenant? - because it
is an abomination to God for His people to trust in anything
but the hand of God! It is a fearful thing for the people
of God [be that people Israel
or the church] to trust in gentile world power. God calls
it "harlotry!"
The consummation of this treaty will signify the beginning
of the Seventieth Week - the Tribulation period! Concerning
this matter, Sir Robert Anderson writes:
"... the Seventieth Week [the seven year period
of the Tribulation] will be a definite period of time,
of which the beginning, the middle, and the end are definitely
marked [by certain well defined events (please see chart
#3, last chapter)]. [Just as the beginning of the first
sixty-nine weeks were signified] ... not by the return
of the Jews from Babylon, nor yet by the rebuilding of
their Temple, but by the SIGNING OF THE PERSIAN DECREE
[TREATY] which restored ... [them], so also the beginning
of the Seventieth Week will date not from their restoration
to Judea [May 14, 1948], nor yet from the future rebuilding
of their shrine, but from the SIGNING OF THE [DEFENSE]
TREATY BY THE COMING PRINCE [ANTICHRIST]. “”
--- End Quote ---
So do you see what I am getting at here? The situation
in Israel is
degrading to the point that absent some sort of brokered
agreement… the whole region could essentially go up in
flames. Things are that serious… Just look at things
honestly… 3 weeks ago there was a relative calm over the
region… though even back then both the Israelis and Hamas
were gearing up for where we are now. As I said earlier
though… the US is not ready for this yet… they need to
coerce the Israelis into resolving things with the Palestinians
and with Hezbollah I might add… so that the US Elite can
execute the next stage in their own plans to essentially
conquer and plunder the oil wealth, cut off their rivals,
and secure dollar hegemony.
As such… I think the rhetoric
from the Bush camp will continue along the lines of pushing
the Israelis to the bargaining table… in other words a
continued call for restraint… which is quite hypocritical
since the US
has exercised none itself in its quest for empire. What
is going to be interesting here though… is to see how
the Religious Right in both the US and Israel reacts to
all of this… and I want to discuss that and where this
coming treaty is going to take us after we listen to another
message from those of us here at Antipas Ministries.com.
--- Message Break ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal. I am your
host Sean Mayfield. Before the break I was just getting
ready to discuss how the potential for a coming treaty
between the US
and Israel will
play to the Religious Right on both sides. I already
went to great lengths to explain just what this coming
treaty is really all about… in my reading of what Steve
said concerning this in the Antipas Papers.
The thing is though… any efforts, which the US
has ever made; to pressure the Israelis to give up any
territory has been met with thundering
disapproval from the Religious Right on both sides.
I wonder though… in the environment we are leading up
to… one in which the US will essentially be promising
that it will defend Israel with everything that its got…
I wonder if this will cause the Religious Right within
the US to fall
in line and support this agreement?
Let’s face it… their eschatology is so warped and off-base
that none of them will recognize the treaty to be the
“covenant with death and agreement with hell”, which the
Bible plainly shows it will be. None of them will recognize
that the US as
Babylon the Great… and its ruler as the antichrist… are
essentially setting a trap for the Israelis… I mean come
on… in their eyes the US
is a Christian nation… and its leaders are Christian leaders.
Most US Christians either think they’ll be raptured away
before the end of days starts… or they believe the Church
through the vehicle of the US…
is supposed to conquer the world for Christ and ally with
Israel and protect
until such time as the Jews are converted.
There is no way these guys are going to see what they
are really a part of here. Plus… most of them also are
just itching to do whatever is necessary to bring about
the apocalypse… in spite of what the Bible says in Amos
5: 18, which reads:
“Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to
what end is it for you? the day
of the LORD is darkness, and not light.”
And because these guys are so deluded… and so separated
from the truth in Christ… in spite of the fact that they
call themselves Christians… I really wouldn’t be surprised
to see them by whatever spin is put on this coming treaty…
which will sell it publicly as a quest for lasting peace…
and in the religious channels, which the Elite now have
in American Christianity as an agreement, which signifies
how deeply the US
as a Christian nation is committed to standing with Israel.
Bottom line though… I think they will be able to get
the American Church on board for this coming agreement.
The Israeli Right will be something of a harder sell though.
Back in the time of Christ and the early Church you had
a faction in Israel
known as the Zealots… and they were those who were willing
to attempt a forceful expulsion of their Roman conquerors
from the land, which God had given to them. They wanted
no part of Roman rule… and in many ways were responsible
for the rebellion, which led to Titus’s destruction of
Jerusalem and the Temple back in 70 AD. Well… the hard
right in Israel today is just about as zealous as their
ancestors in this camp were… and it is hard for me to
believe that they would support any agreement… even one
in which the US military underwrites… which calls for
anything less than all of the land. So on this front…
it will be interesting to see how Israel deals with what
will surely be a
huge voice of dissent from this crowd.
Who knows… maybe all of this will lead some of these
guys to realize the truth of what is going on regarding
Israel and the
US and more importantly
regarding their relationship with the American Church…
maybe the light bulb will go on and they will realize
just where things are headed… After all… the Bible does
predict that from the people of Israel
there is to rise
up a Witness on behalf of the Lord during the
end of days. Maybe… just maybe… all of this is working
toward that fulfillment.
To change gears a bit though… what all of this is also
working toward is a great civilization war between the
West… specifically the US… and Israel… against the Islamic
World… specifically those nations, which encompass Israel
to the North… as well as the nations of North Africa,
which flank Israel on the south. Since the coming treaty
between the US
and Israel is
so intertwined with this future war… I think it only fair
that we discuss it a bit as well. Before we get into
that however… let’s take one more break so that we can
listen to another message from those of us here at Antipas
Ministries.com.
--- Message Break ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal. I am your
host Sean Mayfield. Before the break I was just getting
ready to discuss the great war that is essentially going
to be birthed out of this coming treaty or defense pact,
which is going to come to pass between the US, as Babylon
the Great… and Israel.
This coming war of which I speak… is one identified in
Biblical terms as the Gog/Magog
War and it will initiate the great events of the
Seventieth Week, i.e. the Tribulation. In the popular
mind, the Gog/Magog War and Armageddon have more often
than not been confused as one rather than two wars, the
tendency being to merge the Scriptures which detail the
events of the Gog/Magog War with those of Armageddon.
This confusion of the popular mind has been aided and
abetted by pastors and teachers who should know better,
but who, for reasons of timidity, fear, and spiritual
blindness have seen fit to encourage this confusion or
at the very least, to remain aloof from it. The failure
to distinguish between the Gog/Magog War and Armageddon
is not an academic failure, but a failure of spiritual
conviction and courage fraught with repercussions laden
with potential disaster for the American Church specifically
and Christianity as a whole.
Some of the distinctions between Gog/Magog and Armageddon, are as follows:
In the Gog/Magog War, definite allies of Gog
are mentioned as opposing Israel - "Magog,"
"Mescheck," "Tubal,"
"Gomer" (Turkey),
Ethiopia, Libya, (see Ezekiel 38) and Egypt
(see Daniel 11:42], while at Armageddon
all nations are engaged against Jerusalem (Joel
3:2; Zeph. 3:8; Zech. 12:3;
and 14:2).
In the Gog/Magog War, there is a protest against Gog's invasion (Ezek. 38:13), but at Armageddon
there is no such protest because all the nations of the
earth have joined themselves with the Beast in his attack
against Jerusalem.
In the Gog/Magog War, Gog is
overthrown by divine intervention through the convolutions
of nature (Ezek. 38:22), but the armies
at Armageddon are destroyed by the sword, which goes out
of Christ's mouth (Rev. 19:15).
In the Gog/Magog War, the Lord calls for assistance in
executing judgment on Gog (Ezek.
38:21), while at Armageddon He is viewed as treading
the winepress alone (Rev. 19:15; Isaiah 63:3-6).
In the Gog/Magog War, the invasion by Gog
will be sudden and will come with relatively little warning
(Ezek. 38:11), while Armageddon will be
no sudden and unexpected event.
The Gog/Magog War will precede the Tribulation and will
act as a catalyst for the great events of that period,
while Armageddon will bring to a conclusion the events
of the Seventieth Week. A straightforward examination
of the Scriptures dealing with the Gog/Magog War will
yield no other result. Examining passages describing the
Gog/Magog War (Ezek. 37-39) will make it
plain that this prophecy clearly cannot refer to any past
event in Israel's
history. There have been invasions in the past, which
have wrought hardship on the land and the people of Israel,
but none answer to the details given here concerning the
Gog/Magog War. The fact is, no invasion of the past is
sufficient to be the fulfillment of this prophecy - and
this fact is attested to by almost all Orthodox Jewish
scholars (who themselves consider these events to be as
yet unfulfilled).
The events of the Gog/Magog War are described in Ezekiel
38 and 39; Daniel 11:40-45;
Matthew 24:4-21; and Revelation 12.
A clear understanding of the Gog/Magog struggle can only
emerge after all these pieces (the above cited verses)
are fitted properly together.
This much, however, can be gleaned from Ezekiel: the
northern nations of the alliance arrayed against Israel
(i.e., "Magog," "Mesheck,"
"Tubal," "Rosh")
shall descend on Israel
in the "latter days" to "take a spoil."
That the Gog/Magog War will be a massive invasion is clearly
foretold by Ezekiel 38:4. Persia
(the land that is today occupied by modern Iran
and Iraq) will
join in the Gog/Magog War. Ethiopia
and Libya (ancient
lands which today bear these same names and include the
Sudan as well
as the other Muslim states of North Africa) will evidently
coordinate with the northern confederation in an attack
from the south. There will be a protest from Sheba
and Dedan (the ancient names
of the lands of the Arabian Peninsula) as well as from
the merchants of Tarshish (evidently
the Elite of the multinational corporations which essentially
rule the Western world). But, having said this, little
else can be gleaned from Ezekiel concerning
the Gog/Magog War except that Gog
will be almost totally annihilated, but evidently not
by God acting alone:
"And I will call for a sword against him (i.e.,
Gog) throughout all my mountains (the Gentile nations) ..."
(Ezek 38:21)
But what nations? What about
Israel? How will
the Gog/Magog War unfold? These and other questions are
left unanswered by Ezekiel. We must take
up the rest of the Gog/Magog story (where Ezekiel
left off) in Daniel chapter eleven. Daniel
11:36-39 begins the prophecy concerning the Gog/Magog
War with a description of the Antichrist and compares
him with Antiochus Epiphanes,
the Greek (by ethnicity) not Syrian ruler of the ancient
Selussian Empire. It was this
Antiochus Epiphanes who desecrated
the Temple in Jerusalem in the Second Century B.C. (Daniel
11:21-35). Daniel
goes on to say:
"And at the end time the king of the South [the
leader of the southern confederation, i.e., Egypt, Libya,
etc.] will collide with him, and the king of the North
will storm against him [in other words, the Antichrist]
with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and
he [Antichrist] will enter countries, overflow them, and
pass through." He will also enter the Beautiful
Land [i.e., Israel] (3), and many countries will fall;
but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab
and the foremost of the sons of Ammon [i.e., that portion of land east of the river Jordan
which sweeps in a large arc (with the Dead Sea as the
fulcrum) from about 30 miles northeast of the Dead Sea
southward to about 50 miles due south, southeast of the
same sea - a barren and desolate wilderness devoid of
any significant vegetation. Then he will stretch out
his hand against other countries, and the land
of Egypt will not escape." But he will
gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver,
and over all the precious things of Egypt;
and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels."
But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb
him, and he will go forth with
great wrath to destroy and annihilate many." And
he will pitch the tents of his
royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy
Mountain; yet he [Antichrist] will come
to his end, and no one will help him." (And that
passage is found in Daniel 11:40-45)
I am almost finished with all of this… but before I continue
let’s pause so that we can listen to another message from
those of us here at Antipas Ministries.
--- Message Break ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal. Before the
break I read to you the description of the Gog/Magog War
offered in Daniel 11: 40-45. So you see…
as described in those verses, the Gog/Magog War will be
initiated by a "push" by the king of the south
(i.e., the leader of the southern confederation, probably
the leader of Egypt) against the Antichrist, whose forces
are at least partially located in the "glorious land"
[Israel] - probably as a result the coming defense pact
between Israel and Babylon, the nation which he leads.
Shortly thereafter, the king of the north [Gog]
- leading the combined forces of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, etc
- will launch his attack, and between them, the king of
the north and the king of the south will attempt to trap
the combined forces of Israel and Babylon in a giant pincer
movement. The attack of the king of the north [Gog]
has been referred to in Ezekiel 38 and 39.
Now new detail is given. Ezekiel 38 and 39
had mentioned the fact that Ethiopia
and Libya would
join Magog and Iran
in this attack; now a third nation is added - Egypt
as mentioned in Daniel 11:42.
In Ezekiel 38 and 39, the object of Gog's attack in the Gog/Magog War is Israel;
but in Daniel 11 the object of Gog's
attack is the Antichrist. What is this? - the obvious
answer is that the Antichrist [Babylon] and Israel
are apparently in league with each other and therefore
the Gog/Magog War is an attack upon both these allies.
And along these lines we are led right back to this coming
treaty between the US
and Babylon the Great and Israel...
which we have spent so much time discussing today. Because
you see… while this treaty may well indeed cause a brief
respite in the violence now erupting between Israel, the
Palestinians, and Hezbollah… but all in all… eventually
the nations of the Muslim world will see this for what
it is… the final nail in a coffin, which is being made
for them.
Now there are still some questions to be asked concerning
all of this… will the plans, which the US
has to attack Iran
and even Syria
be executed before or after this treaty? In all honesty
I do not know. A few months ago… the situation in Israel
was not one, which made you think the signing of such
a treaty could rapidly come upon us… and the war drums
being beat by the US
made it look like they could start action against Iran
very, very soon.
Well… this still may be true… and in fact… the fact that
Iran and Syria
have been linked as causes of the attacks by Hezbollah
and by association Hamas… may well serve to offer an even
greater excuse for the US
to take action upon the Iranians before any treaty is
signed. Maybe the will bomb the hell out of the Iranians
partly because of their culpability in the recent violence
in Israel and Lebanon… and this will lead to the fall
of the secular governments in Egypt
and Turkey. In this environment maybe the US
will really begin pushing for the Israelis to settle with
the Palestinians in order to stem the flow of revolt to
be further unleashed within the Muslim world.
I realize that we are now delving into the realm of speculation…
so maybe we ought to start shutting this thing down for
today. One thing that should be clear though… is that
these events now happening in Israel
could very well indeed lead us to the edge of the end
of the age… Yet the Bible has shown us all that is to
happen. We have been given this knowledge so that we
can take action upon it. We are called to testify as a
Witness for Christ and the Kingdom to Come. We are called
to bear witness against the kingdom, which Babylon the
Great is establishing upon the earth… and against the
harlot Church… which justifies and feeds upon the spoils
of this empire.
This is serious stuff my friends… and it requires serious
action. Not the least of which… is for those within the
United States to get out of that nation before it is too
late… before you are changed… conformed to the image of
this beast state and its whore of a church… before you
become a partaker in their sins… and receive of the judgments
they are destined to receive… as the ultimate enemies
of the Christ and His kingdom.
Well… at this point I will go ahead and shut things down
for today. I realize this has been a very long program…
but there was a lot to go over… Still though… we’ve got
Part 4 of Steve’s series on Radical
Islam coming up… and once that has concluded I
will come back to ever so briefly wrap things up. Before
we jump into Steve’s segment though let’s pause long enough
to listen to the following message from those of us here
at Antipas Ministries.com.
--- Message Break --- Segment End ---
Welcome back to the Antipas Audio Journal. Before the
message we just heard you were listening to Part 4 of
Steve Shearer’s series on Radical Islam.
Now today’s program has been extremely long… so I am not
going to say much in conclusion.
I just want to once again stress how important it is
that we take action upon this message of truth, which
the Lord has given us. He has not given us knowledge
and understanding so that we can hide it away… but rather
so that we can be further emboldened to act upon His Truth.
This is the bottom line my friends. So I really encourage
everyone out there to have His testimony… a testimony
for Christ and His Kingdom… and against the evil being
perpetrated in His name by the false Church and the beast
upon which it rides.
Additionally… and in closing… please do support
us in our efforts… we do not make many friends
with the sort of message that we preach… so any little
bit you can do to help will go a long way toward furthering
this message.
With that said I’ll wrap things up for today and leave
you with a presentation of the Gospel Message from those
of us here at Antipas Ministries.com… so until next time…
God Bless You All!
--- Segment End --- Program End ---
