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Stephen &
Brooksyne
Weber
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Thursday,
October 19, 2023
The fleeting beauty of Autumn!
We pass this stretch of highway (Colebrook Road) on a drive through southern Lebanon County.
"The
Beginning Of
Birth Pains"
Listen
to our message
on your audio
player.
"All these are the beginning of birth pains" (Matthew 24:8).
The current events in the Israel and the Middle East predictably prompt a renewed interest in Bible prophecy for many. Indeed many of us wonder "how does all this relate to Bible prophecy?" "Is this a sign of the end-times?", etc.
"All these are the beginning of birth pains" (Matthew 24:8).
The current events in the Israel and the Middle East predictably prompt a renewed interest in Bible prophecy for many. Indeed many of us wonder "how does all this relate to Bible prophecy?" "Is this a sign of the end-times?", etc.
Frankly,
I am wary of
specific
predictions
and the
association of
current events
with Bible
prophecy.
Having served
the Lord for
over 50 years
now many books
and teachings
have come
along in my
lifetime, that
purport to
hold the key
to unlocking
the mysteries
of eschatology
(study of the
end times).
Some are
notorious,
such as the
mass produced
"88 reasons
Christ will
come in 1988",
which was
revised with a
much smaller
press run for
1989!
Let us consider the expression found in the daily text. "All these are the beginning of birth pains." Matthew 24 records the most extensive teaching on prophecy from Jesus. "All these" are specific signs Jesus alluded to in the previous verses.
Let us consider the expression found in the daily text. "All these are the beginning of birth pains." Matthew 24 records the most extensive teaching on prophecy from Jesus. "All these" are specific signs Jesus alluded to in the previous verses.
My,
has this
portion of
Scripture
(along with
the synoptic
passages in
Mark 13 and
Luke 21) been
analyzed and
commented on
through the
ages! Of
course in a
sense the
events now
happening in
the Middle
East
absolutely
relate to
Bible prophecy
and to the end
times, for all
things are
part of God's
Master Plan
and surely
God's plan is
being
fulfilled.
This was true
of events that
happened in
the past as
well.
"Birth
pains" point
to the series
of
contractions
that mothers
have prior to
the birth of a
child. They
increase in
frequency and
intensity as
the time
comes. Jesus
forthrightly
told us this
would also be
the case
regarding the
signs of His
coming.
I am likely to disappoint some by not conjecturing in this message about what the "all these" in the text means and offering a viewpoint. It is certainly something I have given thought to. (* see below for some of my musings).
I am likely to disappoint some by not conjecturing in this message about what the "all these" in the text means and offering a viewpoint. It is certainly something I have given thought to. (* see below for some of my musings).
But my goal
in this daily
encouragement
message is to
encourage
those troubled
by these
events.
Just
prior to this
verse there is
a word of
instruction
from our Lord.
We do well to
apply it deep
within our
hearts
regardless of
how this
applies to
specific
prophetical
fulfillment. "See
to it that you
are not
alarmed. Such
things must
happen, but
the end is
still to come"
(Matthew
24:6). So many
are alarmed,
including
devout
Christians. My
prayer today
is that we all
might be
filled with
the quiet
confidence and
deep assurance
that comes
from trusting
the Lord with
all our
hearts.
Be
strong and
take courage,
Do not fear or be dismayed,
For the Lord will go before you,
And His light will show the way,
So be strong and take courage,
Do not fear or be dismayed,
For the One who lives within you,
Will be strong in you today.
Do not fear or be dismayed,
For the Lord will go before you,
And His light will show the way,
So be strong and take courage,
Do not fear or be dismayed,
For the One who lives within you,
Will be strong in you today.
Be
encouraged
today,
(Hebrews
3:13)
Daily prayer:
Father,
the mid-east
is in turmoil
today leading
us to
especially
pray for the
people of
Israel in the
midst of war;
a war unlike
that which has
been fought in
the past where
soldiers
engage in
combat. The
outrageous
strategy of
Muslim
extremists
attacking,
kidnapping,
terrorizing
and killing
innocent
civilians
takes us to a
new level of
depravity. We
pray not only
for the
victims of
such
horrendous
violence but
also their
families whose
hearts are
crushed, whose
fears are
heightened,
and whose hope
is lessened by
the continued
presence of
evildoers who,
in the demonic
spirit of
Haman, seek to
destroy the
Jewish people
and nation. We
never cease to
pray for the
peace of
Jerusalem,
that they will
experience
peace in their
nation and
that they will
experience
peace in their
heart by
acknowledging
that Jesus is
the Messiah
who came to
save them from
their sins.
Amen.
Stephen
&
Brooksyne
Weber
Daily prayer:
Father,
the mid-east
is in turmoil
today leading
us to
especially
pray for the
people of
Israel in the
midst of war;
a war unlike
that which has
been fought in
the past where
soldiers
engage in
combat. The
outrageous
strategy of
Muslim
extremists
attacking,
kidnapping,
terrorizing
and killing
innocent
civilians
takes us to a
new level of
depravity. We
pray not only
for the
victims of
such
horrendous
violence but
also their
families whose
hearts are
crushed, whose
fears are
heightened,
and whose hope
is lessened by
the continued
presence of
evildoers who,
in the demonic
spirit of
Haman, seek to
destroy the
Jewish people
and nation. We
never cease to
pray for the
peace of
Jerusalem,
that they will
experience
peace in their
nation and
that they will
experience
peace in their
heart by
acknowledging
that Jesus is
the Messiah
who came to
save them from
their sins.
Amen.
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental
Resources
"Be
Strong And
Take Courage"
Listen
on YouTube
Choir
*
As it seems
practically
the entire
Middle East
and much of
the world is
now opposed to
Israel, a
relatively
tiny country
(about the
size of New
Jersey with
much of that
being desert).
Israel also
has a
relatively
small
population. Yet
the impact of
Israel and the
Jewish people
on world
events far,
far exceeds
their size.
The Middle East region represents an area of over 5.0 million square miles. Vast deserts are common in the region. Yet Israel has just 8,630 square miles or a minuscule .2% of the land area of the Middle East. The total land area on earth is 57,268,900 square miles so a math whiz can determine what % Israel has of that!
Regarding population according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the Israeli Jewish population stood at 7,181,000 people in 2023, comprising 73% percent of the total population of Israel (if the Arab populations in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are included). The Middle East is comprised of 17 countries with a population of 371 million. (see here) The world's population is at 8.1 billion. Again Israel is a proportionately very tiny country in population.
The Middle East region represents an area of over 5.0 million square miles. Vast deserts are common in the region. Yet Israel has just 8,630 square miles or a minuscule .2% of the land area of the Middle East. The total land area on earth is 57,268,900 square miles so a math whiz can determine what % Israel has of that!
Regarding population according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the Israeli Jewish population stood at 7,181,000 people in 2023, comprising 73% percent of the total population of Israel (if the Arab populations in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are included). The Middle East is comprised of 17 countries with a population of 371 million. (see here) The world's population is at 8.1 billion. Again Israel is a proportionately very tiny country in population.
Here
are several of
my musings and
study since
this began:
1)
As the nations
of the Middle
East mass in
opposition
against Israel
I recalled the
premise of a
book written
over 30 years
ago titled,
"The Samson
Option". The
"Samson
Option" refers
to the nuclear
strategy
whereby Israel
would launch a
massive
nuclear
retaliatory
strike if the
state itself
was being
overrun, just
as the
Biblical
figure Samson
pushed apart
the pillars of
a Philistine
temple,
bringing down
the roof and
killing
himself and
thousands of
Philistines
who had
gathered to
see him
humiliated. (Wikipedia)
The Sampson
Option
describes
Israel’s
planned,
last-resort,
massive
retaliation
with nuclear
weapons
against enemy
nations if
they appear to
be winning in
a war of
annihilation
against
Israel. Thus
far, since the
establishment
of modern
Israel, they
have prevailed
against their
enemies using
conventional
warfare.
2)
Another musing
is the
selective
outrage being
demonstrated.
Islamic Hamas
terrorists
brutally,
savagely,
purposefully
killed
non-combatant
Israelis to
begin the
current
conflict and
there are many
still in
unimaginably
horrific
hostage
situations.
Yet the focus
among so many
seems to gloss
over this and
instead focus
on what Israel
may do and how
"proportionate"
it will be.
Here's an
outstanding,
brutally
honest video
perspective on
this by
Douglas
Murray.
3)
We have
regular
reminders in
our ABF class
from a retired
missionary
regarding the
brutal,
ongoing
slayings of
Christians in
Nigeria by
Islamic
terrorists
which is also
happening in
many other
African
countries. The
news media
essentially
ignores this
although
according to
the report
“Martyred
Christians in
Nigeria”
issued by
Intersociety,
over the past
14 years at
least 52,250
Nigerian
Christians
have been
brutally
murdered at
the hands of
Islamist
militants. In
the same
period 18,000
Christian
churches and
2,200
Christian
schools were
set ablaze.
About 5
million
Christians
have been
displaced and
forced into
Internally
Displaced
Persons (IDP)
camps within
Nigeria and
refugee camps
at regional
and
sub-regional
borders. See here.
It's not
reported on in
my view due to
the
persistent,
politically
correct
narrative of
Islam being a
"religion of
peace" that is
prominent in
the west, one
of the
greatest lies
of all time.
4)
Another musing
is in regard
to displaced
people with a
focus only on
some of the
people who
lived in what
is now Israel
when it was
established as
a nation in
1948 (the
Palestinians).
They have
remained in a
constant state
of agitation
and "refugee"
status for 75
years.
See
this site
and this site
and note the
displacement
and
mistreatment
of Jews in
present
Islamic
countries
where they
have lived for
millenniums.
Some stayed in
Persia (now
Iran)
following the
exile over
2,500 years
ago. That
community has
diminished
from 100,000
1948
to 9,200
in 2022. In
Iraq it's even
starker with 150,000
in 1948 to 4
in 2021. Can
you imagine
what it must
be like for
those who
remain?
5)
The ancient,
yet ongoing
peril of
antisemitism
(hostility to
or prejudice
against Jewish
people).
Antisemitism
is all through
the Bible,
notably
Pharaoh's
attempts at
extinction and
Haman's. All
though
history, most
notably the
holocaust, a
people with a
relatively
tiny
percentage of
the world's
population
face a vastly
disproportionate
amount of
scorn.
J.
Dwight
Pentecost was
a professor at
Dallas
Theological
Seminary and
wrote a
popular book
on the end
times titled,
"Things to
Come". I
recall hearing
a quote of
his, probably
while in Bible
College, in
which he
asserted that
one of the
most
remarkable
evidences of
the
Scripture's
authority is
the survival
of the Jews as
a distinct
people. I am
sure it's
worded more
profoundly
than that but
I can't seem
to find it.
Perhaps a good
internet
sleuth could
help me!
The
spiritual root
of
antisemitism
is scorn of
the promise to
Abraham, "And
I will make of
you a great
nation, and I
will bless you
and make your
name great, so
that you will
be a blessing.
I will bless
those who
bless you, and
him who
dishonors you
I will curse,
and in you
all the
families of
the earth
shall be
blessed"
(Genesis
12:2,3).
Of
course
antisemitism
is also an
historic
outlook some
who call
themselves
Christians
have. It is
rooted in a
very faulty
view of
redemption and
the purpose
for the death
of Christ who
came to die
for our sins.
"This man was
handed over to
you by
God's set
purpose and
foreknowledge;
and you, with
the help of
wicked men,
put him to
death by
nailing him to
the
cross"
(Acts 2:23).
“He (God) made
Him who knew
no sin to be
sin on our
behalf, so
that we might
become the
righteousness
of God in Him”
(2 Corinthians
5:21).
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In considering support we are so pleased when we hear from you, our readers, that our messages are a source of teaching and encouragement to you. We also urge you to consider the mission aspect of these daily teachings that are freely available and read by many all over the world.
To
donate
directly
online
click here.
(This will
open to a page
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designates the
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&
BROOKSYNE
WEBER -
700001-237376 SERVING
IN SPECIALIZED
CHAPLAINCY)
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Weber". We
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Thank
you,
Stephen
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Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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