Creation and Evolution Blog Started

I have begun updating my other blog, shrewdsnake2.blogspot.com .
I plan to discus recent origins/science related stories, my own thoughts on the evidence for creation and the existence of God, and what the Bible has to say about the matter. Check it out!

Who Would Want to Love the God of the Bible?

<sup>I’ve often heard the God of the Bible described as a jealous, merciless and wrathful God. But have you ever considered that the Bible teaches that the creator of the universe is humble?

God has been accused of being selfish, uncaring, jealous and downright angry. I believe these accusations flow from people who wish to justify their rejection of Him; they cite passages from the Old Testament out of context, ignore others, and try to prosecute God according to what is culturally acceptable by our modern US society.

What does the Bible really say about God? I cannot possibly include everything in one post, but let’s talk about a couple broad aspects to God’s character. What is often considered jealousy in today’s society is the insecure and controlling feelings that arise when someone else is getting what you believe you deserve. When God says he is a jealous God what does that mean? Doesn’t it just feel right when credit goes where credit is due? Shouldn’t the one who created the universe and everyone in it be righteously indignant when his creation purposely rejects the one who loves and provides all things in favor of undeserving, hopeless objects? This arouses God’s righteous jealousy for our hearts.

God’s wrath? We were never meant to endure God’s wrath. He created us to have fellowship with Him, but gave us the choice to do so (back in the Garden and even now). We chose to follow after our own ways and reject His supremacy and desire for us. Our lot is now in with Satan, the one we chose to join and the one for whom God’s wrath is reserved for. But there is hope; God wants to redeem us back to Him. But God wants a certain person, one who has a humble heart and acknowledges their insufficiency without Him.

Haven’t you noticed that people tend to admire famous, wealthy or highly skilled (ie pro athletes, rock stars) people that have a humble tone, don’t boast or expect special treatment, and/or choose to help other people with the surplus they have been given. People like this are admired far more than the ones that don’t think the law applies to them, brag about their ability, or treat others as lesser than them. True humility and selflessness are ideals that are valued universally in human hearts.

John 1 tells us that Jesus being in every way God, created the entire universe. Most people “don’t have a problem with Jesus”. They say he was a good teacher, a good person, even a hippie. But do people really consider that Jesus told us (even insisted) that he is God? Jesus being God is an unveiling of an often ignored aspect of who God truly is! Jesus entered into His world in humility. Literally born in a barn, Jesus was born into a family that was likely condemned for Him being born outside of wedlock. He and his family were refugees to Egypt for years. During Jesus’s ministry he didn’t even have a place to call home, but instead went from place to place to seek and save the lost. He endured the same temptation that he expects us to endure. He took on the same broken and mortal body that we wear. He went hungry; he felt pain, physical and emotional. He, the humble King, came to serve us.</sup>

Mark 10:45

New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

^{Jesus broke social norms by associating with the “sinners”, the down and out, the prostitutes. He broke cultural and racial rules by reaching out across ethnic bounds to those in need. He openly opposed the religious leaders of his day that were prideful, hypocritical, and unloving toward those in need. Read the gospels (again, even) and just see who God in Jesus is!}

What Should We Do?

^{Salvation comes by grace (a free gift) through faith in Jesus to those who acknowledge their sin and insufficiency without Jesus. Faith that He died, was buried and rose again, defeating death once and for all for those who follow Him. How do we follow Him? By seeing what he did and emulating it! Read this awesome (somewhat frightening) passage about Jesus’ return:}

Matthew 25

 (NIV)

 ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

 

^{Now, we can never earn our way to heaven. Salvation comes as a gift to the repentant heart that clings to Jesus as their only hope for being transformed. But once we are forgiven and saved, true heart change takes place. Consider this passage:}

 

Matthew 18:

 (NIV)

²¹Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.<sup>[g]

23</sup> “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold^[h] was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.^[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

 

^{Our humble, merciful God expects us to follow His example and be humble and merciful servants for others. Shouldn’t that be a believer’s natural response? If that isn’t our response then we are nothing more than hypocrites! What is more attractive in a person than true love, humility and selflessness? What is a bigger turnoff to others than judgmental hypocrisy?  The humble and merciful aspects of God’s character should be apparent in a true Christian’s life, testifying to who God is and what He has done for us.}

The Nation of Israel Prophesied

Scattered, Hated, but Back

The world has seen some amazing things come to pass, but perhaps none as improbable as the return of a nation after not existing for almost 2000 years. The Hebrew people went into exile in 132 AD at the hands of the Roman Empire after Emperor Hadrian had enough of the Jew’s violent rebellions. They were scattered throughout the Roman world and beyond. Throughout the Middle Ages the Jews were abused and driven from one place to the next. During this time the Jews maintained their blood lines and a unique culture. Jewish persecution culminated in the holocaust in which 6 million Jews were slaughtered (that is apx 80 Super Bowl stadiums filled to capacity, for perspective). By 1948, 800,000 Jews had returned to Palestine and on May 14 of that year, the State of Israel was restarted. Since then several amazing prophecies were fulfilled and the doors opened for many more to come to pass.     

I will list the entire chapter of Ezekiel 36 below for context, but I will refer to specific verses in the commentary. I highly encourage you to read the entire passage. It truly speaks for itself, and you will gain much more from reading it than you will from reading my comments.

 

Hope for the Mountains of Israel

36 “Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ² This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The enemy said of you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.”’ ³ Therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because they ravaged and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, ⁴ therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you— ⁵ this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’ ⁶ Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. ⁷ Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.

⁸ “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. ⁹ I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, ¹⁰ and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.

¹³ “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,” ¹⁴ therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁵ No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Israel’s Restoration Assured

¹⁶ Again the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight. ¹⁸ So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. ²⁰ And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’ ²¹ I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.

²² “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. ²³ I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

²⁴ “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. ³⁰ I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. ³¹ Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. ³² I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!

³³ “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. ³⁵ They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the Garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” ³⁶ Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’

³⁷ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to Israel’s plea and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, ³⁸ as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

 

In Light of Modern Events

This chapter was written when the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon. There is certainly debate as to whether this portion of scripture is written concerning the Israelites returning from their captivity in Babylon (which obviously happened), or if this is written concerning Israel’s recent return in these last days. The ensuing chapters (37, 38 and 39) lead me to believe this is referring to modern events, as well as the fact that the passage references the Israelites being scattered and gathered from among the nations (not just from Babylon). Regardless, looking at past and present happenings in light of this chapter, it is very hard to deny the incredible fulfillment of this prophecy in our current time.

In plain language the passage says that Israel will be scattered among the nations. They were scattered in unbelief and in rebellion (v17-21).  This certainly happened, beginning in AD 132.

Israel and God Profaned Globally

Throughout this chapter Ezekiel, writing what the Lord spoke to him, speaks of Israel’s enemy’s triumph (verse 1), slander (v3), ridicule (v4), taunts (v15), and scorn (v15) against the Jews after they were scattered. There is even mention of God’s name being profaned among the nations because of Israel (v22, 23). Sadly, this to me is the most obvious fulfilled prophecy in this passage. Throughout the ages the Jews have been hated and discriminated against by all the nations, even by people claiming to be Christians.

Christians should know God’s place and plans and grace for Israel, rebellious as they have been (throughout Biblical history and even recently), and cling to it! We Christians are rebellious and profane God’s name at times through our actions both before and even after being saved. We should be encouraging toward Israel, knowing that if God keeps his promises toward her, He is faithful to keep his promises for us.   

You only had to be on this planet a short time before you realized the anti Semitism that exists. It exists beyond the Middle East. It was obvious after WWII. How many Jew jokes have you heard? Every joke told fulfilled this prophecy.

Still not convinced about the scorn and hate for Israel? Do an experiment. Go to Facebook and in the search box type “hate” then type in some random countries that there may be hate toward. North Korea, Iran, Syria, etc. Then type “hate Israel” and compare the number of pages, groups and the amount of likes for “hate Israel” compared to “hate___”. It is completely irrational the amount of hate toward God’s children.

Desolation Succumbs to God’s Blessing

Mark Twain visited what was then Palestine (now called Israel again) and described how desolate the land had become: ".....A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given wholly to weeds... a silent mournful expanse....a desolation....we never saw a human being on the whole route....hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country."

What he described is exactly what verses 33-36 foretell. The land was desolate for almost 2000 years with no one to irrigate or work the land. This was supposed to be the “land flowing with milk and honey”.

However, when Israel restarted in 1948, things began to change. Today, even in an arid climate we see some of the most scientifically advanced and successful agriculture practices on the planet. Through innovative drip irrigation and fertilization methods, as well as genetic innovation, Israel, through the Lords blessing, has caused the land to bear fruit again.

 

Israel’s Mediterranean climate permits it to grow a very wide variety of fruits, vegetables and other produce. From cotton to dairy, dates and figs to citrus and avocados, the small country in the desert grows 95% of its consumed food products. It also exports about 20% of what it grows to Europe and other countries in the Middle East.

Isaiah 27:6

In days to come Jacob will take root,
Israel will bud and blossom
and fill all the world with fruit.

 

 

 

  

Re-gathered but not Reborn

 

Israel is back in their land, surrounded by enemies, at times with only the US supporting their right to defend themselves. They have brought the Hebrew language back from being a dead language and speak it today. They are blessed with many great scientific minds that have lead to great innovation in computer, medical and defense technology. It is amazing what the Lord has done for them.

 

God said that he would restore Israel to their homeland, not because of their action, remorse or worthiness, but to prove his supreme power and name to them and to the other watching nations (v21-23). He is not finished with Israel yet! They are still in unbelief. Many of them don’t even believe in God’s existence; very few of them trust in His Son, Jesus as their salvation. But later we will see how God chooses to reveal himself to his people again. It’s exciting!

Prophecy Concerning Syria

<sup>Damascus in the News

In addition to the scripture I referenced in my last post regarding the fall of Damascus, the capital of Syria, let’s check out Jeremiah chapter 49:23-27. I believe this passage is speaking to the same events discussed in Isaiah chapter 17, adding more detail to the prophesied event. Verse 23 mentions two ancient Syrian cities. Hamath (now referred to as Hamah) and Arpad (15 miles north of modern Alepo) are ancient cities to the north of Damascus, Ben-Hadad (son of Hadad) is the name of a king of ancient Syria that waged war against Israel around the time of this writing.</sup>

<sup>Jeremiah 49:

23</sup> Concerning Damascus:

“Hamath and Arpad are dismayed,
for they have heard bad news.
They are disheartened,
troubled like^[d] the restless sea.
²⁴ Damascus has become feeble,
she has turned to flee
and panic has gripped her;
anguish and pain have seized her,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
²⁵ Why has the city of renown not been abandoned,
the town in which I delight?
²⁶ Surely, her young men will fall in the streets;
all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
²⁷ “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;
it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.”

d: or on
(New International Version)


I don’t know if you noticed (I didn’t at first), but in neither Isaiah 17 nor in this passage do we see an invading army. It seems that if this were speaking of a foreign invasion of Syria, we would see a reference to “a king from the North” or something like that. Rather, we get the impression in Jeremiah that this event seems to just come upon Damascus. The current, troublesome civil war that is raging seems to fit right into this passage.

 Let’s go through this verse by verse. The King James Version reads verse 23 as:

Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted ; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

If this is interpreted as troubled like the restless sea this certainly fits what is going on right now in Syria. For over two years now the uprising in Syria against the dictator Assad has brutalized the country, killing over 100,000 people by most estimates. If this is interpreted as there is sorrow on the sea, we can look to recent news reports to see a possible explanation of the statement. Where would a US strike on Syria be staged from? Our ships located off the coast of Syria. Over the past couple weeks we have been building up our US Navy presence in the Eastern Mediterranean from which we would launch our attack. Furthermore, several Russian ships are coming down to provide a Russian presence in the situation (they currently oppose strikes against Syria, their ally).

In verse 24, there is a prophecy about Damascus growing feeble. I believe this is probably referring to Damascus as the capital city of Assad’s regime. If someone were to say “Washington has grown feeble”. Americans would immediately know that this person is saying that the US government is weakened. Assad is barely holding on to power; all his defense is turned towards protecting himself and his regime. However, as a city Damascus has grown feeble as well. Citizens are fleeing in droves into Lebanon and Jordan. An estimated 700,000 of its 1.7 million people have left the city already. The exodus from Damascus has increased greatly recently, since the chemical attacks (which number in the teens, according to a US official) on Damascus suburbs in late August 2013.  

I believe that this is recently fulfilled prophecy from verse 24:

Damascus has become feeble,
she has turned to flee
and panic has gripped her;
anguish and pain have seized her

As for the comparison of Damascus’s pain being like that of a woman in labor, think of what child labor is for women. It starts slowly, and gradually (or sometimes rapidly) gets worse and worse, more and more painful, and there is no stopping it or escaping the eventual end, child birth. In the past two years the pain has been building and building, starting with some protests, then riots, then open violence, then all out civil war and now chemical weapon use. What is the climax? What is the inevitable end? Read my last post to see what will happen to Damascus.

Remember, the Bible is TRUE, my analysis of the text compared to current events is subject to human limits. I don’t know if what is happening in Syria right now is the fulfillment of the prophecy, or if the fulfillment is 200 years away. But with a newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other, it is hard to ignore the similarity. We are told by Jesus that if we can observe the weather and determine what the weather will do, we need to be doing the same in regards to the times in which we live (Matthew 16:2-3). This is what I am trying to do.

Back to the passage: Verse 25 asks why Damascus, a city that has favor with the Lord, has not been abandoned. Perhaps it really should be abandoned by its citizens right now, with danger looming. Right now we see her young men, fighting in the streets (verse 26) and they (soldiers) will all be silenced in a coming day. If Assad makes the mistake discussed in my lasted post, swift destruction could fall on the city of Damascus.

The last verse (26) says that God will kindle a fire in the walls of the city and consume the fortress of Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad was the ruler of Syria at or around the time of this passage’s writing, just as Assad is now. It sounds as if this fire is figurative and could be a reference the uprising that is weakening Assad’s power (the walls mentioned in this verse). Or it could be a literal fire that destroys the city and all of its defenses (Nuclear detonation?). Only time will tell.

 As we continue to watch what happens in Syria, we need to pray for them, especially the innocent civilians. It is very dangerous right now due to the abuse of power from their dictator, and also the influx of rebel fighters who only want to set up an Islamic state. Let’s not be easily alarmed or unsettled by what we see, but at the same time let’s also keep our eyes open to what is going on around us!

Thoughts on Egypt/Syria Current Events

 

Thoughts on Egypt/Syria Current Events

With all the stuff that has been happening in the Middle East over the last couple years and especially in the last several days, I feel compelled to bring up some Bible prophecies that I find very interesting in this light. I am not saying their fulfillment is imminent, but for the first time, events are shaping up in a way that their soon fulfillment is plausible. Consider the current crisis in Egypt and these verses from Isaiah Ch 19 (likely written around 700 BC):

“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
brother will fight against brother,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.
³ The Egyptians will lose heart,
and I will bring their plans to nothing;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.
⁴ I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

(NIV)

It seems that this has already begun to be fulfilled. The remainder of the chapter includes other interesting prophecies that you may want to check out for yourself.

 

Another very interesting topic that has come up in the last week is Syria. As I am sure everyone knows by now, almost 1500 Syrians were killed last week in a chemical attack. President Obama is weighing his options (namely how does he respond effectively and keep credibility in regards to his “red line” comment last year) and some sort of military strike is expected soon. Syria and Hezbollah (Syrian terrorist proxy group) have stated that if they are attacked by the US, they will attack Israel. Israel has taken this threat very seriously; Israeli citizens have begun a rush on gas masks (though 60% of Israeli citizens already have them. They certainly live in a different place than we do), and Israeli leadership has set Israeli defenses on heightened alert and has warned that if attacked, they will respond “fiercely”. Now Assad (Syrian “President”) knows that if he attacks Israel, his regime will be toppled immediately. But if his situation is desperate enough, what is to stop him from using the same chemical weapons he used on his own people, against his long-time enemy Israel? Check out this passage from Isaiah Ch 17:

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
² The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
³ The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus; …

…“In that day the glory of Jacob (aka Israel) will fade;
the fat of his body will waste away.
⁵ It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
⁶ Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

(NIV)

A chemical/bio attack on Israel and a possible nuclear counter attack would certainly fit the above description. Later in the chapter the impression that this event happens literally overnight is given in verse 14.

Now, I am not saying that this is going to happen right now, or in this way. But for us Bible believing Christians we do see it very clearly spelled out that Damascus will cease to be a city and be a heap of ruins. This has never happened. Ever. It is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world (some say around 5000 years old). I just find very interesting the current events surrounding Damascus right now: events that no one saw coming just 3 years ago but maybe events that God told us about almost 3000 years ago. Regardless of what happens and why, we should be praying for the innocent people in Syria right now, victims of yet another evil man without regard for human worth.

Intro

Jesus told his disciples: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)
God gave us intelligently designed brains with the intent of us using them. The point of this blog is to initiate conversation by expressing what I have learned in regards to: the creation/evolution debate, end-time prophecy, defending our Christian faith, and how to live for Christ in today's society. I believe in the complete innerancy of the Bible, that it is God-breathed, is trans-cultural and trans-generational. Man's interpretation of the Bible like anything else (including scientific data) can be biased, incomplete or just plain wrong. I hope to avoid as much of that as I can, sticking to proper hermeneutics and labelling my personal opinions and speculations as such. The goal behind sharing my thoughts is that others will share theirs and we will come to see the truth together.