For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
Obadiah :15-16
As was mentioned in a prior post*, the prophets of ancient Israel dealt with situations that occurred in their time while also addressing events related to Jacob's Trouble, which is also commonly referred to as the Tribulation. Many of these books have dual fulfillment. Parts of their prophecies have been fulfilled while some are unfulfilled and speak specifically to the last days. This is the same situation with Obadiah. This phrase should immediately draw our attention--The Day of the LORD. Obadiah was a post-exhilic prophet (after the deportation to Babylon). His concern was that Edom would have a day of the LORD; a day when God would reward them for their treatment of Judah during the Babylonian deportation. As they had assisted the Babylonians, they too would be visited with similar catastrophe. Rather than assisting Judah, Edom aided the Babylonians and foraged fallen Jerusalem. Obadiah assures them that God would bring the Edomites to His justice bar. HE did! *Get Your Thoughts In Order--Trouble For The Neighbors
However, the Day of the LORD is also a direct prophetic reference to the events of the acharit-hayamim, the End of Days. This term encompasses the time period when God will reveal the Only Begotten One to the world. The day starts with the darkness of the Tribulation just as a Jewish day starts at night. The day continues into the Millennial Reign of Yeshua. Like many prophets, Obadiah gives us some insight as to when that day is near. Furthermore, verse 15 is the Old Testament equivalent to Paul's mention of sudden destruction found in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. Some call Obadiah's warning "the law of reciprocity". What you do to Israel is exactly what will happen to you! When this pattern develops mankind will know that the day of the LORD is about to be poured out on the godless. Paul warns believers to be aware and not let that day overtake them in surprise. As this series labeled "Sudden Destruction" has pointed out, that pattern surfaced about 21 years ago! It is high time to be sober and vigilant. Jesus Christ is Soon2Come!
So far, these posts have focused mainly on the United States with only a couple of exceptions. This item will reveal that this law of reciprocity is also being visited on the entire world. Consider these examples! In his book, The Israel Omen II, author David Brennan exposes the events surrounding Europe and this Israeli tourism poster partially seen above. A complaint to the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in March of 2010 led to a decision that banned this poster. Tourism money is the life's blood of Israel. Much of its revenue comes from travelers seeking to visit the Holy Land. Hurting that tourism means hurting Israel. Also, the decision was a direct affront to the God of Israel. The complaint centered around the small picture on the poster above simply labeled "Jerusalem". The disgruntled party mentioned that this picture showed the Wailing Wall which is a part of disputed East Jerusalem. The ASA concurred citing that this poster gave the impression that this "occupied territory" was a part of Israel proper. The final decision was made April 14th, 2010. As the ASA began deciding the fate of the poster, the Eyjallajokull Volcano in Iceland began to rumble to life in March of 2010. On the same day as the decision to ban the poster was rendered, the volcano exploded. It quickly shut down all flights across Britain and most of Europe--no tourism. The volcano brought Britain's tourism, also having a high dollar tourist industry, to its knees. As they did--GOD did!
Reciprocity is roughly translated as getting what you give out in return. Is this what happened to Japan? On March 1, 2011, an interesting article appeared on many news sites. The article revealed that the Japanese government was about to release 32.5 million US Dollars to the Palestinian Authority to rebuild a water treatment facility in Jericho. On the 8th of March it was announced that Japan would also send 3.1 million US Dollars in support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of Social Affairs Social Safety to buy food for the Palestinian people. Within 24 hours of this second announcement, a 7.3 precursor to the larger event that followed hit the Honshu region just off of the coast. Also during this same time, a Japanese news agency shared an editorial that the Arab world was now looking to Japan to leadership. Think of it. Japan was siding against the God of Israel in respect to the Covenant Land. Their government was also feeding and giving water to the enemies of Israel while sending great overtures of friendship. In just a few short days, they would be overwhelmed with water and be in desperate need of food and water. As they did--God did!
Given the time and space, we could visit many, many strange "coincidences" such as these; however, time and space will not permit it. Briefly, we will look at two. While former Australian PM Rudd was calling for Israel to reveal its nuclear capabilities to the world which would in turn make it vulnerable to its enemies, Australia was hit with tragedy. As the world discussed the opening of Israel's nuclear arsenal a rain pattern set in and caused the worst flooding in Australian history. An Australian pastor also took notice of this pattern and shared that it was judgment from God for siding against the people of covenant. The news blasted him for the inference, yet it fits the pattern that has been going on for years. As they did--God did!
Pastor blames Australian floods on Rudd's Israel views
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store visited the Labor Youth League Summer Camp in Utøya, Norway on Thursday July 21st, 2011. What most do not realize is that annual camping event was dedicated to pro-Palestinian, anti-Semitic rallies. They were teaching the youth to hate Israel. They soon become the targets of hate. The picture above was taken during the Foreign Minister's visit to the camp where he stated in his 5:20 pm speech, "The Palestinians must have their own state, the occupation must end, the wall must be demolished and it must happen now..." Again, within 24 hours many of the poor indoctrinated youth there would face eternity. Anders Behring Breivik would kill scores. They were feeding on hate and then faced an act of hate.
Reciprocity is the indicator that the day of the Lord is near. More importantly, it is reciprocity related to Israel or Christ's body. Remember the Pakistani flood at the height of killing Christians or the Indonesian Tsunami devastating a city, Banda Aceh, where extremists were planning to massacre Christians throughout Indonesia. It is a sure sign that the Day of the LORD is near upon all heathen! You need not be a target--there is a tree of safety! It is the old rugged cross of Calvary. Turn to Jesus! He is Soon2Come!
Today's News--War on the Horizon
