Did Balaam Prophesy Israel's Victory? (Numb. 24)

This morning I was doing my morning devotion and my “read through the Bible in a year,” and I was in 1 Sam. 15.  But a commentary on one of the verses referenced a prophecy that Balaam had made about Israel’s king being greater than Agag, the Amalekite king.  My first read through Numbers this year, I didn’t make such a note, of this prophecy, I was so enthralled with how YHWH was taking this pagan diviner, and using him to bless Israel, much to the chagrin of king Balak.

⁵ How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!  ⁶ "Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside the river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters.  ⁷ "Water will flow from his buckets, And his seed will be by many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.  Numbers 24:5-7   

And then we have a reiteration of the promise that YHWH made to Abraham, to curse those who curse Israel, and bless those who bless Israel, showing that Balaam was really speaking through the mouth of YHWH: Numbers 24:9  ⁹ "He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you."

I know this is a side tangent, but it seems as if the nations of the world, under the leadership of the U.N., are standing against and opposed to the King of All.  They are taking their stands and stance against Israel, the Covenant People of Elohim YHWH. 

Psalm 87:2-3  ² The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.  Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.

The nations of this world, led by the occultism of Helena Blavatsky in The Secret Doctrine, are falling in line with the ruler of this world (1 John 5:19), to bring about his one-world empire (Dan. 7:19), and it is quickly falling into place.

But what about Balaam’s prophecy.  It seems to have foreseen King Saul’s defeat of Agag and the Amalekites in that region, but did his prophecy indeed go beyond to the last days?  Before his departure, Balaam tells king Balak:

Numbers 24:14, 17-19   I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the days to come."… ¹⁷ "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.  ¹⁸ "Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession, while Israel performs valiantly.  ¹⁹ "One from Jacob shall have dominion, And will destroy the remnant from the city."

Num. 24:19 is one messianic prophecy that could be used in disproving Islam, for the Muslims say Muhammed is the final prophet of God.  But clearly here, a pagan diviner predicted that one descended from Jacob, that is, Israel himself, would be the ruler, and would have dominion.

Back to the prophecy, we see hear ancient foes of Israel mentioned, many of whom are closely related to Israel.  And many of these nations mentioned, Moab, the sons of Sheth, Edom and Seir ( a mountain range in the territory of Edom) are also mentioned in Psalm 83, described what most theologians today believe is a final battle to initiate the ultimate signing of the peace treaty prophesied in Daniel 9:27, by this one who confirms the covenant, but in the middle of the seven years, takes his seat in the Temple of God, calling himself God, and requiring all peoples to take the mark of his name and worship him!

The list in Psalm 83 is more expansive, including all of the enemies living around Israel currently in the Middle East:

Psalm 83:4-8  ⁴ They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more."  ⁵ For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant:  ⁶ The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites;  ⁷ Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;  ⁸ Assyria also has joined with them; They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah.

As always, we look with confindence to Almighty God’s Word, because in it He has declared the end from the beginning, and He has revealed to us about Himself, His redemptive purposes and ways.  Let us fear God, for His destruction is coming quickly upon the earth.  Turn from your sinful way of life, and read God’s word, and obey it.  Maranatha!

Current Mid-East Rumblings

image from http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/mid-east-protests-spread-to-libya-15085648.html?action=Popup&gallery=no



As Libya continues to struggle with revolution and freedom from the tyrannical tribal regime of Quadaffi, and Assad, and his forces disperse protestors in Syria... the Islamic revolution continues to line nations up to fulfill Biblical prophecy.

As the powers in Egypt continue to vie for control, it increasingly looks as if Isaiah 19:4 is being fulfilled, and a group of harsh masters will rule over the people.  Could this scripture indeed be referring to the Muslim Brotherhood? 

There are rumors on the news last night, that as NATO struck Quadaffi's conference center, that the ruler has been killed.  Whether or not he is taken out, and another comes to power, scriptures tell us in Ezekiel 38 that Libya (a.k.a. "Put") will align with Russia (a.k.a. "Gog") to wage one of the  greatest attacks in human history against the people living in the tiny nation of Israel.  I like to think of this battle as described by the prophet, as the "Battle to End All Atheism," for YHWH Himself will fight for and defend Israel with terrific and great natural forces not seen since the days Israel first left out of Egypt.

Of course, if my outline of Bible prophecy is correct (and I think it is shared by many), then that battle is going to make for the entrance of the one-world ruler, who will amaze the world with his plan for peace.  But he will ultimately put many to death and oppose the true Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6).

Everything is falling in place for all these prophecies to be fulfilled.  Everything from the apostasy to take place in the last days (is fully underway), to the technological advances required to fit the descriptions of events described, such as the entire world viewing the bodies of the two witness killed in Jerusalem, to the alignment of nations against the people of Israel.

The LORD, speaking of restoring His chosen people in the last days, bringing them back from Egypt, Assyria, Gilead and Lebanon (and we have seen this being fulfilled in our day) says through Zechariah:


11"And they will pass through the sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;
And the pride of Assyria will be brought down
And the scepter of Egypt will depart.
12"And I will strengthen them in the LORD,
And in His name they will walk," declares the LORD.

The present turmoil in the Islamic nations seems to be lining the naitons up in their rage against the tiny nation of Jews living in the Middle-East, to fulfill the prophecy spelled out in Psalm 83, where the author of the Psalm cries out to God to act in justice against all the neighboring lands that are gathering together to destroy Israel, to wipe them off the face of the earth (sound like anyone you know?). 

To borrow the phrase from a great Bible-teacher, Jack Kelley, "You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah."

Will Armageddon be May 15th?

I've had to do some moving around lately, and have been quite busy.  Therefore I took a break from the news, and posting blogs.  And what happens?  We get some of the juiciest news to come out of the grape vine.

Turns out it seems the Palestinians are trying a new ploy.  They have posted on Facebook a call for all Palestinians and the international community to join them to realize a "Right to Return" to "the homeland" of all the Palestinian Muslims.

They are to march into Israel, supposedly unarmed, except for pots and spoons to bang, and a few other supplies to protect agains tear gas and rubber bullets, according to the WND article: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=281293

So will this turn out to be Armageddon?  The prophet Zechariah spoke of a day when the nations of the world would converge on Israel, and that the LORD of hosts [armies], would make Jerusalem [i.e. Zion] a stone to heavy to lift, and all who lifted it would be smashed to pieces (Zech 12:3).

It sounds scary for sure... but I'm not so sure that this battle describes what is happening today in Israel.  In the context of chapters 12-14, this appears to be speaking of the final battle before the millenial reign of Messiah, when the nation of Israel looks on "Me whom they have pierced" (Zech. 12:10; Ps. 22:16). 

There are three battles mentioned in the last days leading up to the return of the promised Jewish deliverer.  They are Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38-39 and Zech. 12-14.  The conflagration of nations marching in against Israel who was restored to her historic land in 1948 by the U.N., seems to be described more by the words in Psalm 83.

4They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,

That the name of Israel be remembered no more."
5For they have conspired together with one mind;
Against You they make a covenant:
6The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites;
7Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8Assyria also has joined with them;
They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah.
9Deal with them as with Midian,
As with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,
10Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became as dung for the ground.
11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb
And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12Who said, "Let us possess for ourselves
The pastures of God."

The nations named here in this passage are the modern equivalents of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.  None of these countries are mentioned in the battle of Magog [Russia] in Ezekiel 38, also leading Muslim allied forces.  It could be that this faceoff, this confrontation results in the destruction of these peoples, and a war of the size and extent that has not been seen yet. 

And this will move the prophetic description in place, of Ezekiel 38, "a people, brought out from among the nations... living in unwalled villages... who are at rest, that live securely... living without walls and... no bars or gates" (Ezek. 38:8,11).

According to the Psalm, it sounds like the results of the war will be catastrophic.  But they are fulfilling the will of the Lord.  "He makes everything for its own purpose, even the wicked, for the day of destruction" Pr. 16:4. 

But the purposes of the LORD, Yhvh, are clear from the last three verses:

16 Fill their faces with dishonor,

That they may seek Your name, O LORD.
17Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever,
And let them be humiliated and perish,
18That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD,
Are the Most High over all the earth.

God's intent is that people turn to Him in repentence, recognizing that He alone is the one true God.  And at the last day, all who rejected His offer of salvation, will stand without excuse.  For all who call on the name of the LORD will be saved.

Have you turned to Him in repentence, making Him LORD of your life?  If you have not, there is still a little time.  Repent today, that you may have life!

Dawing of a New Day in Egypt - The Ummah?

Protests continue to spark admiration and in some cases imitation. leading Muslim governments where this has not broken out in full force, to take measures to ensure it doesn't.  Such is happening to Israel's eastern neighbor, Jordan, full of it's own internal struggles. 
At the Middle East Media Research Institute, they quote Abu Basir Al-Tartusi as saying to the Egyptian people: "'Thanks to Your Jihad and Revolution, a New Day Will Dawn upon Egypt, the People of the Region, and the Entire [Islamic] Ummah'."

It seems Tartusi is looking forward to the near-coming day of a worldwide Islamic Caliphate.  In Islam, the world-wide Caliphate is led by the "Twelth Imam," who is not to appear until a time when Muslims bring about a state of world-wide catastrophe.    Could this indeed by the New Day that Tartusi is envisioning when he makes this statement?  It would seem so, and it would also seem to coincide with the ranting of Iranian Pres. Ahmadinejad, to wipe the Jewish country off the face of the earth.

The world awaits anxiously to see what form of government Egypt is going to emerge with.  We have seen the Egyptians go to war with fellow Egyptians (Is.. 19:2), right in line with what God's holy Word states.  Mubarak has just declared that he is not going to be stepping down.  Will this lead to further fighting among opposing groups of Egyptians?

Two verses later, the Yahweh declares that He gives the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters, and a strong king who will rule (Is. 19:4).  Will this indeed be the Muslim Brotherhood?  It will be interesting to watch as Mubarak says that he will not step down.  Will he enforce new measures over the land in the name of security?  Will something happen to this once American-ally to depose his office?

If Jordan's government is eventually given over to Muslim rule, and the peace treaty with Israel is revoked, then Israel will be surrounded on all borders by hostile Muslim entities.  It appears as if this may well be the scenerio that leads to the war decried in Psalm 83.

Since Yahweh, God of Israel, has brought the Jews back to the land promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Israel, God has been gradually bringing them back, and restoring them, and in our lifetimes a number of prophecies have been fulfilled.  Firstly, Israel was re-instated as a nation after 1,800 years of exile among the nations in fulfillment of Ezek. 36, 37 and Is. 14:1-2 .  Israel has recently made a discovery of riches off-shore in the Med. Sea  (Is. 60:5) and they have made a discovery of oil in their land, a prophecy made by Moses in the Torah (Deut. 33:24).

Exact prophecies are being fulfilled before our eyes.  Eat your heart out Nastrodamus!  The day of our LORD returning in power and glory are quickly approaching, and so are the days that New Agers identify as a "cleansing" of the earth, or an "evacuation" from earth of all those of the wrong vibration.  It just so happens that all "tuned" to this vibrational frequency believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, in the work He did on the cross, dying for our sins, is the only way to be saved (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10).  Hmmm... the Bible predicted such an event thousands of years ago, known today as the rapture (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

quotue cited from: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4979.htm