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Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7  Chapter 8 Chapter 9

Chapter 2

It was clearly documented per the "Medjugorje Highlighter" edition June, 2006, the webmaster of Medjugorje USA felt an urgency that it was time to begin a series of articles on Signs of the Times. It was decided in June the next chapter in the series would be "Wars and Rumors of Wars." Medjugorje USA had no idea at the time that war would soon break out between Israel and Lebanon. What is most interesting is in the "Wars and Rumors of Wars" article which was already stared in early June, it was planned to discuss Biblical Scripture in regard to a great war in Israel.

On July 13, 2006 the world news reported war is breaking out in the Middle East. This some day will be a war of biblical proportion. In other recent current events, North Korea launched a barrage of medium and long range missile tests. Iran, China and others countries continue nuclear endeavors. Free nations continue fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan in the war against terrorism. The scope of unrests around the world today is beyond what this article can effectively address, so this article will focus on the current events taking place. Could the war in Iraq and Lebanon be a warning of the Signs of the Times?

The key words we need consider in reference to the Signs of the Times are located in Matthew 24. The Disciples ask Jesus about the end time and Jesus speaks of events that are quite common such as natural disasters and wars. What is unusual is when Jesus tells the Disciples the Signs of the Times need to be viewed as birth pains. We know when a mother labors, the pangs become closer and closer causing more frequent anguish.  From this we can conclude Signs of the Times are multiple warnings happening one after another. It is like a clock ticking away no longer run in normal time but now running double and triple overtime. Anyone who is willing to spend an hours to watch some news and do a little research will find that experts all agree that worldwide catastrophes are escalating at an alarming rate. Scientists, political figures and signs in nature are all showing a heightened and or grave urgency.  This world as we know it seems to be coming apart at the seams.

In a later chapter I will discuss increased weather patterns, pollution in the air, contamination of the land, sea, oceans, rivers and drinking water. I will also discuss the depletion of ozone; global warning and a number of other topics scientists fully agree are escalating fast and furious, much like a mother with intense birth pangs. For now, this article will discuss wars and rumors there of. The primary focus of this article will be staged from a Middle East prospective. Scriptures will be applied to show the possible seriousness of what may lay ahead.

Mat. 24-15, "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let him who reads understand."" Luke says, Luke 21-20 "And when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by an army, then you know that her desolation is at hand."

Revelation 3-12, Tells us, "...I will write on him the name of my God, (those who refuse to have the mark of the beast) and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven."

It is very possible the Abomination of Desolation is when these armies surround Jerusalem, the holy place. This will lead to the destruction of Jerusalem. (for those who wish to understand the Abomination of Desolation read Daniel chapter 9).  It is a strong possibility considering continued unrest in the Middle East, we are watching Scriptures unfold before our eyes.

The great destruction of Jerusalem shall come that, "...Sin may have an end, iniquity may be abolished, and everlasting justice may be brought and vision and prophecy may be for-filled and the saints of saints may be anointed..." Daniel 9-24. The destruction will take place in the latter days, "But I come to teach you what things shall befall thy people in the latter days." Daniel 10-14.

In Daniel 11-31, we here again of the Abomination of Desolation. In verse 36-37 we find, "A king who will do according to his own will. He will make no account of the God of his fathers: And he shall follow the lust of woman. And he shall not regard any gods. But he will worship the god, Maozim," (the god of forces).

Again in Luke 21-20, "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by an army, then you know that her desolation is at hand." This could easily mean the army of the god called Maozim, the god of forces.

Mat. 24-16-24, "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let him who is on the house top not go down to take anything from his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. But wow to those who are with child, or have infants at the breast in those days. But pray that your flight may not be in winter, or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation such has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor will be. And unless those days have been shortened, no living creature would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days have been shortened. Then if anyone says to you behold here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe it. For false Christ's and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible the elect."

How will we know these false Christ’s, prophets who are like wolves? Deuternomy 13-1-4, "If a prophet arises... and tells you of signs or wonders and if the signs and wonders take place, and he says, 'Let us follow other gods which you have not known and let us worship them.' You must not listen to the words of that prophet... The Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love Him with all your heart, and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow..."

Deuternomy 13-6-7, "If your very own brother, or son or daughter, or the wife that you love, or you closest friend secretly entices you saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods,' gods that neither you or your fathers have known, gods of the people around you whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other, do not yield to him or listen to him..."

2 Thess. 2-12-15, Verse 9 says, "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the works of Satan, displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders..." (only verse 9 has been written here.)

Revelation 13-13-15, "And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men, because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image of the beast for honor. Who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed." Verses 16-18, brings us to the prophecy in which all are forced to receive the mark of the beast, for without the mark no one will be able to buy or sell.

We continue with Mat. 24-25-28, "Behold I have told it to you before hand. So if anyone says there he is in the desert, do not go, or here he is in the inner room, do not believe it. For as lighting comes from east to west, so will be the coming of the son of man, (Jesus). Wherever there is a carcass, there the eagles will be gathered."

Luke tells us in 17-24, "For the son of man in His day will be like lighting, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other," This is how Jesus will come.

Mat. 24-29, "The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light, the rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light." I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless," Isaiah 13-11. "Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger," Isaiah 13-13.

Joel 2-10, "Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and the moon are darkened and the stars no longer shine." Revelation 9-2-3, "When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke of a gigantic furnace. The sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss, and out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth..."

Joel 1-4-6, "What the locust swarm has left, the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten. Wake up you drunkards and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, (Jesus) for it has been snatched from your lips. A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number, it has the teeth of a lion, and fangs of a lioness."

Revelation 9-2-3, Again tells us of the opening of the Abyss in which smoke arises causing the sun and the stars to be darkened and from the smoke locusts came down upon the earth.

The fact that the sun was shining tells us that the Abyss was opened in the daylight. Yet the stars are darkened as well. This tells us that the darkness continues into the night. From the Abyss shall come the locusts.

Joel 1-4-6, Again tells us that the locusts have come because these people (Jews) do not speak of the new wine (Jesus), because Joel tells us, these people are drunk with the old wine, (the old testament.) Joel describes the locusts as a powerful nation who's numbers you can not count. They will invade His land, (God's) and will devour like a lion, and a lioness.

In Chapter two Joel tells us, "Blow the trumpet in Zion, (Jerusalem) sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the great day of the Lord is coming it is close at hand. A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountain a large and mighty army, such as never was of old, nor ever will be in ages to come. Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste, nothing escapes them. They have the appearance of horses; they shall run like horsemen. With noise like that of chariots they leap over mountaintops, like crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. At the sight of them nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.

They shall charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking rank. They rush upon the city;

They run along the walls. They climb into the houses; like thieves through the windows. Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and the moon are darkened and the stars no longer shine."

The prophets of old are giving a very good description of today's nuclear missiles, and warheads. First they come from the Abyss or beneath. Their adversaries can not jostle with them because they plunge through defenses as soldiers who have no fear, or as Scripture says, without breaking ranks. They come like the sound of chariots leaping over mountaintops, which causes trembling in the sky. Before them or before they strike, you know their fire devours. Behind them a flame blazes, or the burning of fuel that powers the missiles. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them or after they have come, desert waste. At the sight of them nations are in anguish, every face is pale. They shall cause the sun to be darkened and the moon not to give her light, (the burning of the land and fallout.) They will climb the walls and enter the windows as a thief, because their power is like the spreading of dawn across the mountain.

Because of these things shall God come against the nations who are one. Zachariah 14-12, "And this shall be the plague which God shall strike all nations that have fought against Jerusalem, the flesh of everyone shall consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth."

Joel tells his people in Chapter 2 to repent, come back to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them. So it is also in Hosea (or Osee) 14-1-4, "Return O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall. Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him forgive us all out sins and receive graciously that we may offer the fruit of our lips (or confess their belief in God's son Jesus.) Assyria can not save us; we will not mount war horses..." Which again suggests that the locusts, or army, or horses, can not be mounted. How will you fight against them if they are nuclear missiles?

I mention the above as one small reference. We need to consider as we learned in Chapter one that Our Lady of Medjugorje in April of 2006 said, “Can’t you see the signs of the times?” This message tells us the Signs of the Times are happening but we are not seeing them. In a much earlier message Our Lady told us we need find the Scripture that are meant for us. This tells is that the apparitions in Medjugorje and events to follow will be found in the Scripture. Our Lady of Medjugorje also appears under the title of “Queen of Peace.”  Our Lady would only appear with such a title if the peace of the world is being taken away.

Medjugorje USA is not trying to play prophet and or bring gloom and doom into our lives, we are only trying to present facts as they are. If I were to offer my personal opinion about this article I would suggest unrest in the Middle East will lead to the BIG ONE as the Scriptures above describe.

Israel and Lebanon were at war for some years which ended in agreement and treaty. In middle 2006 Lebanon and Israel went to war once again. If I were to look at this whole picture through the eyes of many world leaders, my impression would be that Israel felt they were justified in invading Lebanon 2006 not only because Israeli soldiers were abducted by Hezbollah but also by broken treaty. Hezbollah militants were suppose to unarm under treaty with Israel but Lebanon did not disarm Hezbollah as agreed by treaty. In fact in a democratic vote Lebanon's majority voted several Hezbollah militants into political office. The world was quite shocked at Hezbollah appointments to government but in the democratic process they accepted it. I feel when armed Hezbollah militants came into Israel territory abducting Israeli troops, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Regardless of the justification of Hezbollah which are unknown, world nation are in agreement they have broken treaty and trust and viewed this aggression as an act of terrorism. During the G8 summit later that same year even Russian president Valadimir Putin agreed that terrorism is the greatest threat the world faces today.

Since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the U.S. and other nations have sworn terrorists will be hunted down at any cost. The acts of Hezbollah committed against Israel (if they know it or no) was like an open door invitation for nations to continue their march and efforts to wipeout terrorism from the face of the earth. In my opinion if other forces had joined Israel to fight against Hezbollah, this could of easily lead to a continuing war not only with Lebanon but quite possibly with Syria as well. At the very least such a plan would have certainly sent a strong message to Iran, China and North Korea that aggression and act of terrorism will not be tolerated. On the other hand if such escalations ever took place within these regions  nuclear war may be possible. I am personally hopeful world leaders will bring a lasting peace to these regions but I am not convinced that forces at work want peace.

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