IT ALL STARTED AT THE EUPHRATES AND IT WILL ALL END AT THE EUPHRATES!!
The River Euphrates is very important in Scripture and also in Bible Prophecy! It is mentioned no less than NINETEEN times in the OT by name (there are other refs to it as The Great River or The River), plus there are two in the NT in the Book of Revelation.
Israel was promised by the Lord a land which stretched from the two major rivers in the Middle East – the Nile and the Euphrates (Gen 15: 1-19; Deut 1: 7-8; Deut 11: 22-25; Numbers 34: 1-15), and except for a short time during the reign of King David, this major (AND EVERLASTING) prophecy has never been fulfilled – but it will be soon in THE MILLENNIUM.
Up until the call of Abram in Gen 11 and 12, there were over 2000 years of human history crammed into just 12 chapters of the whole of the Bible? Quite staggering stuff! However, with the call of the Patriarch, things changed and we are given a lot more detail of the next 2000 years from Gen 15 through to Malachi in the remaining 36 and ¾ books of the whole of the O.T.
Abraham is the father of the “seed” which is to be redeemed by Christ in all generations, both Jew and Gentile. And he most certainly is the father of the Jewish race through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob who was re-named ISRAEL by The Almighty.
So where did Abraham (or Abram at the time) come from? Four times Scripture tells us that it was from Ur of The Chaldees (Gen 11: 28; Gen 11:31; Gen 15:7; and Nehemiah 9:7). The Hebrew name is Ur Kasdim, commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldees and archaeological excavators have identified it as Tell el-Muqayyar near Nasirah in Southern Iraq, and ancient Mesopotamia.
Iraq and Mesopotamia is generally thought to be The Cradle (BIRTH) of Humanity by Biblical experts and scholars. Wikipedia describes it as “an historic region in Asia situated
within the Tigris-Euphrates river system, and in modern days roughly corresponding to most of IRAQ (including ancieny Babylon), plus Kuwait, the eastern parts of Syria, South-Eastern Turkey, and regions along the Turkish-Syrian and Iran-Iraq borders! It is quite strange but also significant to realise that Abraham, the father of the Chosen Nation of Israel, was born in Iraq which is now a sworn enemy of the Jewish state!!
So in one sense, and for the purpose of this study, you can say that it ALL STARTED at The Euphrates, the main River in the early world at that time in the Cradle of Human history. And I believe it will also END THERE as we will see in this enquiry through Revelation and other Scriptures! Let us start by reading Genesis 2: 8-14:
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d] and onyx are also there.)13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Perath or better known as the EUPHRATES” (Gen 2: 8-14).
So we see that the “great” River Euphrates occurs as EARLY as the second chapter in the Bible, and it occurs again a further 17 times in the Old Testament. It also occurs twice in the last book of the Bible in Rev 9:14 and Rev 16:12. START AND FINISH OF THE BIBLE – TO ME THIS IS QUITE SIGNIFICANT!!
So the Euphrates is one of the four rivers running in the Original Paradise of Eden. At the time of Abraham, it was the boundary of the Promised Land to the North East. In the ancient history of Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt, many events are recorded in which mention is made of “THE GREAT RIVER” Just as The Nile represented in prophecy the power of Egypt (The King of the South), so The Euphrates represented the Assyrian power, the King of the North (Isa 8:7 and Jer 2:18 for examples).
The Euphrates is by far the largest and most important of all of the rivers of Western Asia. From its source in the Armenian Mountains to the Persian Gulf, where it empties itself, it has a course of about 1700 miles! It has two sources, the first the Frat (or Black River) which rises 25 miles northeast of Erzurum (which is Anatolia in Armenia in AsianTurkey).
The second source is the Muradchai (the River of Desire) which rises near Mount Ararat in modern day Turkey (we will refer to TURKEY a lot in this study), on the border with Armenia. Quite often in Scripture the Euphrates is simply called “The River” (Exod 23:31) or “The Great River” (Deut 1:7). TURKEY plays a large part in Bible prophecy at The End Times, and I believe that this nation is THE KING OF THE NORTH (directly north of Israel) where The Antichrist will spring from, and NOT Russia as is commonly taught.
The Great River Euphrates is an obvious factor re Turkey as it emerges in the Book of Revelation. Also the seven small epistles of Jesus to the seven churches in Rev 2 and 3 are ALL IN MODERN DAY TURKEY!! They are a former ally of Israel but now a sworn enemy of The Jewish State, and worryingly they are forming an unlikely alliance with IRAN (the real ENEMY)!!
Why unlikely? Because Iran is Shi’ite whereas Turkey is Sunni, and they normally hate each other! Saudi Arabia are the leading players in the Sunni world (with Mecca and Medina) and they are sworn enemies of Iran, but Turkey wants to replace them as The Caliphate and the Real Leaders of the Sunni factions, so this latest move is quite astonishing! We will come back to Tukey and its infamous leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan a little later.
Returning to Revelation, let us read Rev 9:13-16 and take note. I believe that these four angels bound at The Euphrates are key players in The End Times. This passage describes the release of these four Satanic creatures including the aftermath where ONE THIRD OF MANKIND is slain by 200 Million Horsemen! These Spirit Beings are most probably Fallen Angels because they have been “bound” there (v14) similar to The Devil when he is “bound” in Rev 20:2-7.
However, I do not think we must confuse these four fallen angels with the other ones recorded in Jude 1:6, and 2 Peter 2:4 because they are held in a special hellish place called Tartarus, which is UNIQUE and only mentioned once in the NT, and that is here in 2 Peter. However the four in Rev 9 seem to have been reserved for this “special time of an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third of mankind” (v16). These four “were prepared” for this time at The Euphrates as opposed to the other angels who fell and have been chained for ever!
I also cannot see how these 200 million horsemen are associated with the Fifth Trumpet Locusts because these horsemen will be capable of killing men, while the locusts specialise in torture and not death! They also appear to be HUMAN and not insects or beings.
Another point worth considering here is that the enormous figure of 200 million warriors seems to most Bible Prophecy buffs to refer to China, Japan, Korea and the other EASTERN countries (Rev 16:12), but I disagree. The Bible is a Middle Eastern Book, and is Israel centric, and we must look for an answer within this confine.
And the armies of the likes of Iran, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Hezbollah, Hamas, Armenia, the Muslim “Stan” states, Chechnya, plus the likes of Jordan, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco and the rest of the Muslim and Arab enemies of Israel could VERY EASILY AMASS this sort of figure in their climatic effort to wipe Israel off the face of the earth in Ezekiel 38/39 and also here in Revelation.
So let us look at Ezek: 38 1-7.
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them (Ezekiel 38:1-7). Read verse 13 also with reference to Sheba and Dedan which is modern day Saudi Arabia.
Changes are coming to the Saudis, as Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, son of the current King Salmon bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Salman who is 81 years old and assumed to step down very soon. There have been reforms, such as allowing women to drive, and changes in economic and security policy, as the Crown Prince has taken an ever larger role in government. But most recently Salmon has been conducting serious purges, arresting high level Princes, ministers, Saudi Military leaders, and Businessmen on charges of corruption.
While possibly confronting some sources of corruption inside the kingdom, these arrests have undeniably neutered many potential foils to the designs of Mohammad bin Salman and his penchant for unilateral decision-making.
There is speculation that these moves of the Crown Prince are a ruthless demonstration of the consolidation of power by an incoming King, and the removal of any possible rivals.
But there are other possibilities in these actions. The Saudis are sensitive to the shifting of political powers around them and of the decreasing stranglehold by which OPEC once held the world's nations, through control of oil prices. They are deathly afraid of the rising power of Iran, their aggressive Shiite Rival.
 |
| Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Turkey's Recep Tayipp Erdogan. |
Saudi Arabia and the gulf states have been fighting an ongoing proxy war with Iran in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. In spite of US and European assistance, the Iranian hegemony has been increasing over the Arabian interests in these proxy wars, keeping Bashir Assad in power, staving off the Isis Caliphate, and making the Arabs impotent to prevail over Houtti rebels (Shiite) in Yemen.
The Iranian Nuclear deal, in which President Obama opened the way for the Ayatollahs to gain a first world Nuclear program, and 150 BILLION American dollars in spite of Iran's avowal that "the destruction of Israel was non-negotiable" is perhaps the most troubling development for the Saudis.
The Crown Prince Salman seems to be trying to make the Desert Kingdom more palatable to western investors, liberalising the strict moral code of the nation, (women will be able to drive as of June 2018), reigning in the heavy supporters and financiers of Al Qaeda, ISIS and other Wahhabi inspired terror groups.
There are even talks with Israel in view of the Iranian threat to the region. In the Ezekiel Passage above we see a coalition, predicted 2500 years ago, which is forming before our very eyes at this time! Gog is a person or a title, he is the head of Magog, which is an anti-God coalition (some consider it to be a reference to the peoples of the Caucuses region, Russia). Meshec and Tubal are in what we now call TURKEY. So also are Gomer and the House of Togarmeh, these are Turkic regions.
Persia is Iran. Biblical Ethiopia encompassed the Somalia and Sudan region, which is currently Islamic. Libya is in North Africa. All of these nations are currently working together, in the Syrian war defending the Alawite President Basher Assad from the Sunni coalition backed by US and EU power.
But there is no mention of the Arabs involved in the Coalition. Instead, we see a passage in the same chapter which tells us that "Sheba and Dedan", along with the Merchants of Tarshish (an ancient reference to westernmost powers), seemingly raise a weak objection to the invasion of Israel by the Magogic Persian/Turkish led coalition.
Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?(Ezekiel 38:13)
NOW LET US LOOK AGAIN AT REV 9: 13-16
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men (Rev 9:13-16)
The command comes from Heaven, to “Loose the four Angels bound at the River Euphrates”. It is important to note this, for everything done in the Revelation, which is destructive, frightening, terrible and even awful in the truest sense, comes to pass at the command of the Holy God
Holy Angels pour out bowls and blow trumpets and loose seals which will cause mankind to howl in pain, to fear, tremble, die, and which will destroy cities, nations, and unprecedented destruction upon the earth. One Angel casts down to the earth a censor which is alit with Holy incense and the accumulated prayers of all of the Saints over the centuries, resulting in plagues, darkness, death and destruction.
Yet these Angels are described as wearing white linen (Rev 15:6), standing before God in absolutely purity, executing His will, which will cause suffering, misery, fear and death on a scale never seen before. In pouring out these bowls of wrath, they are not doing anything sinful or evil at all, they are doing right:
And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. (Revelation 15:6-8)
But these particular Angels in the ninth chapter of Revelation have to be bound. Why would an Angel have to be bound? We must be talking about fallen Angels here.
 |
| THE FALLEN ANGELS OF GENESIS, JUDE AND 2ND PETER |
They have been “bound” for a specific time. Why would Angels have to be bound? We know Angels can be very destructive, as noted above. Perhaps the book of Daniel will give us a clue to this mystery.
Daniel was one of the captives, taken out of the Promised Land, and force marched the 400 plus miles beyond the Euphrates River as a captive to the pagan Babylonian empire. He makes a prayer to God, in Daniel 9 seeking a specific answer which comes to him, three weeks later. None less than the angel Gabriel brings the answer, explaining that he (Gabriel) was dispatched from day one of Daniel’s prayer but was hindered by ‘the Prince of Persia’.
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia (Daniel 10:12-13)
Gabriel, the messenger of God, and of such importance that it was He whom the Most High sent to the virgin Mary and to the Priest Zechariah in the time of the incarnation, was actually hindered in his mission to Daniel, by a Prince? Obviously this was no human Prince, rather this is a Prince of the same order which Jesus and Paul warned of.
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me (John 14:30) – a clear ref to Satan!
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:13)
The “Prince’ was associated with a pagan nation, Persia. Daniel was given a second mysterious glimpse into this world,
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee, and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince (Daniel 10:20-21)
We are only given as much as God wants us to know of this world, for the purpose is not to satisfy a morbid curiosity of the Dark world. But God would have us to see that there is a relationship between Pagan Nations and fallen Princes, and there is a special relationship with the nation of Israel, and an unfallen Prince, Michael.
But consider that subsequent human history reflects the activities of the ‘Princes’ which Daniel was warned of. The World power at the time of Daniel’s vision was Babylon, but soon the pagan Persia gained the ascendency, becoming the World’s superpower for a season. ‘The Prince of Persia’ had come.
But against all human expectations, the gigantic and seemingly invincible Persian Empire was felled by a very unlikely foe. At the time no one could foresee the confederation of Macedonians being a world force.
But under King Philip and then notably his Son Alexander the Great, this budding empire was supercharged by the angelic ’Prince of Grecia’, and they went on to become the next world power of the dispensation. At the end of time, when Israel are in a beleaguered state of siege, finally ‘the Prince of your people’, Michael shall arise, and the great Tribulation shall then commence.
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book (Daniel 12:1)
My point is that there evidently is a relationship between some fallen “princes”, principalities, powers and rulers of the Darkness of this Age…” and some pagan Nations. And history reflects these activities. I believe that Jesus’ teaching on demons and empty houses, was a warning to his nation, Israel. Nations can become Demon possessed just as individuals can.
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first (Luke 11: 24-26)
Israel had been inhabited by God himself, when God descended to dwell within his Holy Temple in Jerusalem. As long as God dwelt in the Temple, Israel could never be demonised. But what if God left the Temple? Hadn’t it happened before? Didn’t Ezekiel see a vision of that very thing?
Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims (Ezekiel 10:18)
What good is a Temple without God dwelling in it? What good is a Holy people without a Holy God? What do Priests do when there is no one to minister to or for? Israel had been cured of crass idolatry in the Babylonian captivity, but what is idolatry? Isn’t it just a form of estrangement from God himself and God replacement? Thus Jesus warned in his final speech to the nation, in the Temple of the LORD and in his capacity as the Messiah of Israel,
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matthew 23:38-39)
If nature abhors a vacuum, more so does the Spirit World. When a national house is left empty, swept and garnished, eventually seven worse spirits come to inhabit it to its own destruction! The same can be said now of Europe, and even the powerful Angela Merkel in Germany is having a struggle to remain at the helm of her government. Germany once gave us the Reformation, Bach and Beethoven!
The Moravians once thrived there sending missionaries across the globe and launching the greatest century of missions the world had ever known. But when higher criticism destroyed many people’s faith in the Bible, Germany became an empty house. One could say that the events which followed World War 2 were nothing less than the demonic transformation of a once civilized Christian nation.
World War 1 wiped out a lot of the faith of much of Europe. Before it most European nations would have characterised themselves as the Christian world. But today, one would be hard pressed to find a self-confessed Christian nation in most of Europe (excepting possibly Poland and Hungary).
The European house has been empty for quite a while but we are currently seeing the spectacle of “seven worse Spirits” flooding into Europe as people flock to the occult, spiritism, pre-christian paganism and yes Islam (Devil worship at its highest expression!).
The great metaphor for the empty house, would be the great Cathedrals of Europe, testament to a faith long since renounced.
Of course nations can be possessed of Evil Spirits.
It just so happens that since the re-formation of the Middle East, crafted by French and English Diplomats after World War One, that there are currently four nations, all thoroughly pagan, which the Euphrates River runs through or borders.
Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran at the Persian Gulf. Consider the horrors and carnage already unleashed upon these places just in the past thirty years or so. Look at the horrifying changes occurring in recently moderate and even modern Muslim nations such as Turkey.
Events are churning very quickly now, the light is dimming and the sky turns dark as the winds pick up. Something terrible is about to be unleashed from the EUPHRATES area which will end in the destruction of at least one third of human beings from the earth. 1948 saw the re-birth of the nation of Israel, but 1948 was also A HINGE OF HISTORY which brought forth the budding of the other nations (i.e. The Fig Tree of Israel but we must not forget ALL OF THE OTHER TREES (as in Luke 21: 29-33).
Instead of the former vast expanses of Assyria, Arabia, Bablyonia, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Iberia, Parthia, Asia, Asia Minor and the like we now have countries that previously did not exist, such as Syria, Iran (as such), Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, etc, but more importantly nations such as the “new countries” we have looked at in Ezek 38 & 39 (Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, etc).
The Bible indicates that there should be seventy nations on the earth in the eyes of the Lord (Gen 10 re the seventy nations and also Deut 32:7 for confirmation). But there are now a staggering 197 sovereign countries according to the United Nations plus a few others which also claim to be real States in the world.
In 1900 there were 53 recognised sovereign countries, by 1948 it had risen to 130, and now it is at least 197, as more and more former empires break up into smaller territories and nations (Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslavakia, Africa, India, and now of course Europe).
And we need to take particular note of the countries which have now emerged in The Middle East, including Gaza (with Hamas), Lebanon and Syria (with Hezbollah), Jordan (which really should be Palestine), and the rest of the nations of Psalm 83 which want to eliminate Israel off the face of the earth:
2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. 4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; 7 Byblos, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre, 8 Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot.
Psalm 83:5-8 list 7 nations that will “form an alliance against Israel”
Vs 4 says, “Come they say, ‘Let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more”
Vs. 5 says “With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you”
1.) Tents of Edom = Modern Day Southern Jordan
2.) The Ishmaelites = Modern Day Saudi Arabia
Moab = Modern Day Central Jordan
3.) The Hagrites = Modern Day Egypt
4.) Byblos = Modern Day Northern Lebanon
Ammon = Modern Day Northern Jordan
Amalek = Modern Day Sinai Penninsula (Egypt and Med Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south)
5.) Philistia = Modern Day Gaza (Hamas)
People of Tyre = Modern Day Southern Lebanon (Hezbollah)
6 & 7.) Assyria = Modern Day Syria and Iraq
Then on top of these enemies of Israel you have the TWO BIGGEST PLAYERS OF THEM ALL – IRAN and TURKEY!!! On the face of it, the tiny little Jewish State stands no chance at all in The Last Days of The End Times. In fact they would be analiated but for the intervention of The Lord Jesus Christ coming back to Israel, to Jerusalem, and to The Mount Of Olives!
So then, the River EUPHRATES is a critical component of The End Times, and something we need to be very aware of in our eschatological studies.
The four countries affected by “The Great River” have all seen monumental changes in the past 69/70 years in general since the HINGE OF HISTORY in 1948, but even more since Israel regained Jerusalem back as their capital in1967.
I guess it all probably re-ignited with the assassination of the pro-western Shah of Iran in 1979 and the resultant and on-going Iranian Muslim Revolution. Things have deteriorated rapidly since then but got even worse in December 2010 with the start of the so-called Arab Spring in Tunisia?
But then it spread like wildfire through Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain (where either the regime was toppled or major uprisings and social violence occurred, including civil wars or insurgencies).
And on top of this, sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Iranian Khuzestan, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Sudan! WHAT AN UNHOLY MESS!!
Before this, of course, we also had Iran basically taking over Iraq following the calamitous American invasion in 2003 leaving the country rife for a takeover in its empty vacuum. Also in 2003 Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to prominence in TURKEY, first of all as Prime Minister then promoting himself to a dictator type PRESIDENT in 2014. Plus of course we have the on-going and equally calamitous Civil War in Syria which started in 2011 and has cost millions of lives!
As I stated previously, I see TURKEY as The King of the North in The End times, and this Erdogan dictator is a very dangerous figure. Some liken him to a “god” already!!
Many of his mesmerised supporters already worship him, particularly through the hologram images he sends out where he portrays himself in a god-like, spiritual, and mystical manner! Even hard-nosed journalists have come out in stance like admirations after meetings with him according to various reports on the internet!
He does not rebuke, refute or ignore worship, and indeed seems to flourish and wallow in it. If it is not Erdogan himself, I can see his successor or the like, being “THE ANTICHRIST” to bring the Sunni and Shi’ite factions together in the much longed for CALIPAHTE, and to attack and attempt to destroy their eternal enemies of ISRAEL!! And of course with the rise of CHRISLAM with Islam, the Catholic Church and the Apostate Church all coming together in a Satanic ecumenical religion, the way is being paved for THE FALSE PROPHET as well!
So in summary, I say that we should watch out for TURKEY in particular, even now, but later if we are still around to witness their rise to even more prominence.
Of course, as pre-tribbers, we hope to be Raptured before this and watch the events on earth develop from our seats in the balconies of the Heavenly Places Far Aboce All. This will include the loosing of the four fallen Angels at The EUPHRATES, where we need to watch out also for Syria (formerly part of Assyria), Iraq (formerly Babylon), and Iran (formerly Persia) ALL ETERNAL ENEMIES OF ISRAEL from the OT days to NOW!!
And with the army of 200 million coming from both the North and the South, which will probably include all of The Muslim (by now Caliphate supporters) of Turkey, Russia, The Muslim “Stan” States, Chechnya, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Eritrea, etc - ONLY JESUS CAN SAVE TINY LITTLE ISRAEL AT HIS TRIUMPHANT RETURN!!
THEN ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED (Rom 11: 25,26).
MARANATHA LORD JESUS, AND PLEASE MAKE IT SOON!!
Maranatha Blessings,
Nev.
The fact that "three days" is used by Hebrew idiom for any part of three days and three nights is not disputed, because it was the common way of reckoning, just as it was in the case of years. Three or any number of years was used inclusively of any part of those years, as may be seen in the reckoning of the reigns of any of the kings of Israel and Judah.
