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Magogite Bear Sticking its Paw in Middle East Honey Tree!

December 26, 2007

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If I learned nothing else during my years in the NSA, I learned the one thing which motivates the chess moves of all nations, both short and long term, is their individual national interest. There are many national interests of Russia causing her to be involved in the Middle East.

One of them, of course, is her own national security.

Six of the former break away states from the old Soviet Union are to the south and southwest of Russia, namely, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The majority population of these states are of the Islamic faith, and as such do not look favorably on the infidels of Russia. This is one of the reasons Russia has tried to get on the buddy train with the worshippers of Allah, and one of the reasons she will be delighted to come down at the final battle of Armageddon to help the forces of Islam make a final attempt to eradicate the Jews.

Russia will, of course, be joined by the armies of the six aforementioned nations, but in the end the land of Magog will pay a terrible price for her actions.

God will turn back the massive army of many nations that come against Israel at

the final battle of Armageddon, and will send fire and brimstone on the land of Magog, as well as the volcanic islands and tectonic plate boundaries of the earth.

Ezekiel 38:22,23 – And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and

upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and GREAT HAILSTONES, FIRE, AND BRIMSTONE. [23] Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 39:2-7 – And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: [3] And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. [4] Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. [5] Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. [6] AND I WILL SEND A FIRE ON MAGOG, AND AMONG THEM THAT DWELL CARELESSLY IN THE ISLES; and they shall know that I am the Lord. [7] So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Russia seeks to play key role in Israeli-Syrian talks

Herb Keinon, THE JERUSALEM POST

December 22, 2007

Russia wants to “facilitate” talks between Israel and Syria and in the last few months has conveyed messages from Damascus to Jerusalem, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

According to senior diplomatic officials in Jerusalem, Moscow sees involvement in this track as a facilitator as one way of increasing its influence in the region.

Turkey has also played this role in recent months. But while the Turks are believed to have better personal contacts with the Syrians, the Russians – because of their arms sales to Syria and their overall status as a world power – are believed to have much more leverage with Damascus.

Israeli diplomatic officials said, for example, that Moscow was largely responsible for convincing Syria to attend last month’s conference in Annapolis.

According to assessments in Jerusalem, the Russians are concerned about the Iran-Syrian-Hamas-Hizbullah axis that has created a common cause between Shi’ite and Sunni extremists and that could potentially create a serious problem in southern Russia.

As a result, Moscow has concluded that one way to deal with the situation is to lure Syria out of the Iranian orbit, something it feels could be possible were an agreement reached between Syria and Israel.

This explains a stepped-up Russian interest in facilitating dialogue between Jerusalem and Damascus.

At the same time, Russia has stepped back from reported plans to convene an international peace conference in Moscow that would not only deal with the Palestinian-Israeli issue, but also with the Syrian-Israeli track.

According to Israeli officials, the Russians are now talking about a much smaller-scale meeting some time in the spring.

Although Israel has not officially been informed by the Russians about what Moscow has in mind, the current assessment is that the Kremlin wants to convene a conference of “technical experts,” meaning high-level Foreign Ministry officials or their equivalent, to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian track.

The general idea would be to invite Israel, the Palestinians and members of the Quartet – the US, EU, Russia and the UN – and possibly representatives from the Arab league.

Officials in Jerusalem said that for now everybody was waiting to see how things developed in the bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations before taking a firm stand on the matter.

While Israel has made clear that it does not think there is a need for additional international meetings at this time, it has not formally rejected the Russian proposal because there is no formal Russian proposal to reject.

The Russians are waiting to gauge the likely response to such a meeting before formally proposing anything, and Israel – according to diplomatic officials – was waiting to see what the proposal consisted of, and what the US and European positions were, before accepting or rejecting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said recently that the meeting still needed to be coordinated and would depend on progress in the Israeli-Palestinian talks.

The Russians, according to Israeli officials, see the conference as another way to increase their involvement in the region.

The officials also said that there had been no hints that Russia was linking US and Israeli acceptance to the conference to the issue of sanctions against Iran.

A third round of sanctions against Iran is expected to be taken up at the UN Security Council next month, with Russia expected to support only a small number of watered down steps. While Israel and the US are interested

in stepping up sanctions, Russia continues to feel that such sanctions would be counterproductive.

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Delivered by Russian Elves with Love, Happy Holocaust, Iran!

P.S. PLEASE PAY US FOR YOUR GIFT!

December 26, 2007

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You may rest assured, knowing that Russia has numerous old satellite nations that broke off her in the time of the demise of the former Soviet Union, which lie between her and Iran, and in which the majority of the population is Islamic, she has devices on her missiles which will foil the missile batteries she is installing in Iran. Don’t forget Russi a is

a nation with a population considered by Iran to be made up of infidels, and that the terrorist groups affecting Russia are largely Islamic.

And you may also rest assured that the U.S. either already has, or will soon develop devices, which will foil the Russian anti-missile system, and that the U.S. will share the devices with Israel.

There will not be a nuclear, chemical, or biological war in the Middle East, but there will be a “Wing-Dinger” of a convention

al one, which definitely favors the forces of Islam, and later Russia and China. And Israel will see Jerusalem fall in the initial phase of the coming Islamic attack of ten Islamic nations. But Israel’s God will personally intervene at Armageddon, when Russia and China come down to help Islam crush Israel in the Negev. And Islamic forces, along with all the nations who join them, will be destroyed by Messiah, using the earth he created to do it.

Revelation 16:16-21 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple

of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. [18] And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and

so great. [19] And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Begin DEBKAfile Exclusive

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Russian experts arrive to install Russian TOR-M1 air defense batteries at Iran’s nuclear facilities

December 25, 2007, 6:45 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tuesday, Dec. 25, Mikhail Dmitriev, head of the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, announced the imminent installment of sophisticated Russian TOR-M1 missile batteries at Iran’s nuclear installations.

Our Iranian and Moscow sources report that, only a few days ago, Moscow shipped nuclear fuel to Iran for its atomic reactor at Bushehr and committed to have the reactor up and running next year.

DEBKAfile’s military sources assert that the multi-functional, multiple layer hardware substantially upgrades the shield protecting Iran’s banned uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Isfahan, as well as Bushehr, from many types or air and missile attack.

The TOR-M1 is designed to intercept “stealth” aircraft, helicopters and drones as well as laser-guided precision bombs, rockets and cruise missiles.

Traveling at a speed of 700 kph up to a range of 25km, it can destroy any of these incoming objects 12 km before they make contact with target.

Another outstanding feature is the weapon’s ability to function in all weather conditions day and night against two simultaneous targets.

The eight-missile battery mounted aboard an armored vehicle (see picture) functions as an autonomous command platform for intelligence-gathering, determining targets, firing missiles and their in-flight guidance. Its 3D pulse Doppler electronic beam feeds data on 48 targets simultaneously to the system’s firing computers, selecting the ten most dangerous and responding in 5-8 seconds. Its crew are protected against nuclear, chemical and biological warfare.

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Who Knows What the Nose Knows – Hamas Knows – Speak Beak!

HAPPY POST CHRISTMAS

December 25, 2007

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As is usually the case before any deal is made between Hamas and the nation of Israel, there are unacceptable demands made by both sides, and a never ending flow that no such deal has been made, or is even in the works. It has never failed to be like this in every deal they have eventually made. I really don’t know which way all this is going to eventually turn out, but all this typical activity before a deal is made, is at least showing that something is now being bartered between the two adversaries.

I seriously doubt if anything will come out of this hullabaloo until after a Damascus sponsored meeting of all the Palestinian terrorist groups is held next year in Damascus, probably in Janu

ary, but even this meeting is not a certainty.

There is mass confusion among the many factions in the Palestinian terrorist groups, and the major purpose of the purposed meeting in Syria is to develop a unified position among them, especially between Hamas and Fatah.

Keeping unity between the factions is like keeping order in a Chinese fire drill, shouting Hebrew instructions via a megaphone with an intermittent short circuit.

The two articles which follow, the first from DEBKAfile,

and the second from Arutz Sheva, outline what has happened from December 22 to 26 in events surrounding some prisoner exchanges, a possible hudna, and a purposed meetings of Palestinian terrorist groups in Damascus.

Begin DEBKAfile Article

Hamas sources say new deal afoot for Gilead Shalit’s release and suspension of missile attacks from Gaza

December 22, 2007, 9:54 PM (GMT+02:00)

They say Damascus-based Hamas chief, Khaled Meshaal, is due in Cairo next week.

DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources report that Hamas appears ready to jump on Cairo’s latest proposal after a heavy Israeli military pummeling in Gaza last week and the loss with Jihad Islami of 20 high-ranking terrorist operatives. Hamas hopes to take advantage of Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak’s talks next week in Cairo with President Hosni Mubarak and Egyptian ministers.

The Egyptian package backed by Washington has five sections:

1. Hamas will suspend its missile and mortar fire on Israeli communities across the border and make its allies comply with the ceasefire.

2. Israel must give the US and Egypt guarantees for the cancellation of its planned major ground offensive against Gaza and halt the IDF’s 2-3 km penetrations and the targeting of terrorist chiefs and missile crews.

3. Egypt will invite a US military force, including engineering teams, to deploy along the Gaza-Egyptian border for a joint operation to end smuggling from Sinai.

4. Gilead Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped last year, will be freed in exchange for jailed Palestinian terrorists whose number is still in negotiation.

5. If the deal holds up for three months, the US and Israel will not object to the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas opening a dialogue for a Palestinian national unity government.

Barak will bring to Cairo the Israeli government’s decision on whether the Egyptian proposal is a basis for three-way talks with Egyptian and American officials.

Without waiting for Israel’s response, Hamas Saturday night, Dec. 22, started negotiations with Jihad Islami and other groups to persuade them to accept a truce.

But DEBKAfile’s Washington and Jerusalem sources say there is still a way to go before a deal can be concluded.

Israel objects in principle to a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation. Hamas would emerge victorious from its coup against the PA in Gaza, without having to recognize Israel or renounce its ambition to destroy the Jewish State. The siege against Gaza would fizzle out.

While Washington formally supports Israel’s position, in private talks, US officials urge Israel and Egypt to consummate the deal for the sake of a positive climate to greet President George W. Bush when he arrives in the Middle East on Jan. 8. Israel is advised to be realistic and accept that in the long run the Palestinians cannot be divided between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Neither can Israel expect Abbas to take responsibility for Gaza in peace talks if he cannot communicate with its leaders.

Behind Israel’s reluctance to take Washington’s advice, DEBKAfile’s Jerusalem sources report, is a well-founded suspicion that the Americans are using the Egyptian proposal as a stepping stone for making Iran a party to an accommodation in the Gaza Strip.

Already, the Bush administration has begun backtracking on Lebanon, in furtherance of its secret dialogue with Iran on regional understandings to take the place of confrontation. Through these avenues, Washington is feared to be building a rationale to justify its softening on the Iranian nuclear issue. This would be a bit much for Israel to swallow.

Begin Arutz Sheva Article

Efforts to Convene Damascus Summit of Warring PA Terror Groups

17 Tevet 5768, 26 December 07 02:43

by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

(IsraelNN.com) Terrorist factions based in Damascus are working to convene a summit of all Palestinian Authority terrorist groups early next year. The meeting, in Syria, would also include the participation of several Arab states.

The intention of the multi-party meeting is to promote unity among the various PA factions. The most critical split has developed between Hamas and Fatah, following the armed takeover of Gaza by Hamas in July of this year and the PA’s Fatah leadership using political manipulation to freeze out Hamas officials since January 2006. Fatah, led by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, currently maintains power in Judea and Samaria, while Hamas controls Gaza.

The initiative for the meeting came from two terrorist factions active in the PA but with headquarters in Syria, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). Maher A-Taher, a spokesman for the PFLP said that their recent efforts are focused on ending the Hamas-Fatah clash, because it has been damaging to the Arab cause.

A-Taher claimed that negotiations between Hamas and Fatah are already underway, but that Abbas needs to show greater receptivity.

In November, DFLP head Nayef Hawatmeh announced that he and the PFLP had developed a plan to mediate the conflict between Hamas and Fatah.

Including ten points, the plan calls on Hamas to give up exclusive control in Gaza, for each party

to end media incitement against its rival, for an end to political arrests, and for new presidential and parliamentary elections.

In the context of efforts to promote unity among PA terrorist groups, senior Palestinian Authority negotiator, Fatah’s Ahmed Qurei, met with terrorist mastermind Hawatmeh during a recent visit to Syria. %ad%

A spokesman for Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, said earlier this month that the DFLP and the PFLP “were not qualified to act as mediators between Hamas and Fatah.” He called the two organizations “biased” in favor of Fatah because of their inaction over “Fatah’s crimes against Hamas in the West Bank.”

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NO ROOM AT THE INNS IN 2007!

ESPECIALLY HAPPY HOLIDAY IN BETHLEHEM EXPECTED THIS YEAR

BETHLEHEM HOTELS AT FULL OCCUPANCY FOR FIRST TIME IN YEARS

RECORD 20,000 EXPECTED TO ATTEND CHRISTMAS MASS IN BETHLEHEM

December 25, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

FIRST ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH

Luke 2:4-7 – And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) [5] To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. [6] And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

[7] And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

THE PROMISE OF MESSIAH BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE

Matthew 23:37-39 – O Jerusalem,

Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] 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.

THE SECOND ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH

Luke 21:27 – And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Revelation 1:7 – Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because

of him. Even so, Amen.

Malachi 4:2 – But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Zechariah 14:8,9 – And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

[9] And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

Zechariah 14:16 – And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Begin Haaretz Article

Bethlehem sees record number of tourists for Christmas

Haaretz.com/Channel 10 daily feature for December 24, 2007

By Haaretz Staff and Channel 10

Last Update December 25, 2007

Bethlehem residents have been preparing for an especially happy holiday, as for the first time in years, hotels are at full occupancy.

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians

and between Fatah and Hamas did not serve to keep tourists away this Christmas season, the eighth since the second Intifada began.

20,000 tourists were expected to attend Christm

as mass in Bethlehem, setting a new record.

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for research and educational purposes.

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THE HISTORICAL MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS NUMBER 2

NUMBER 2 OF A 2 PART BLOG SERIES

THE PROMISE OF THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIANIC SEED

KING DAVID’S STAR WHO WAS TO COME

December 24, 2007

In our last Blog I indicated it would be continued.

This is the second part of a two part series. In the last Blog it was stated that, by 600 B.C., Daniel described the details of what would be accomplished by the Seed from the time of his first coming to his Second Advent. He also gave the clearest picture of the Seed’s kingdom, and his saints living in it during his earthly reign of 1000 years.

Daniel 9:24 – Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Daniel 7:13,14,27 – I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

[14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. [27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

We now know, of course, that his is the kingdom to which Luke referred as containing the throne of King David, upon which the Seed would set in his millennial kingdom.

Luke 1:30-33 – And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. [31] And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. [32] He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: [33] And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Daniel’s ministry to the Babylonians, and the events of Israel’s coming King prophesied by the Old Testament Prophets up to 600 B.C., when correlated, yield some interesting results. We know that Daniel had the writings of Jeremiah, because he based his 70 weeks of chapter 9 on his prophecies. And it is more than reasonable to assume he had Isaiah and Micah’s writings, as well as others who wrote before 600 B.C. We also know he had the first five books of the Old Testament, because he quoted from Moses. I do not believe that Daniel sat around on his duff and kept God’s word secret from the Babylonians. I believe he shared the writings of God with the WISE MEN of Babylon.

After all, he was, for some time, chief of the governors over all the WISE MEN of Babylon.

Daniel 2:48 – Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 5:8 – Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.

I believe some of these WISE MEN believed the Scriptures that Daniel said came from the God of Israel. In one of the Scriptures Moses had written was recorded a prophecy by a man who was certainly not a good prophet, but nevertheless a prophet, that is, the prophet Balaam.

Numbers 24:14-17 – And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy

people in the latter days. [15] And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: [16] He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: [17] I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

Of course, Jacob was renamed Israel by God, so both the Star and the Sceptre are associated with the same future descendant of the man Israel, which I believe was the Messiah, Jesus Christ, born King of Israel in a manger in Bethlehem, the city of David, as the son of Israel through Heli, the father of Mary. Christ w as the Seed of Isr

ael as a Lion of Judah and the Star of David. Joseph came through David’s son Solomon and Mary came through David’s son Nathan, and both of these lines met in the man Zerubbabel, to whom the following message concerning a headstone of grace was delivered by Zechariah.

Zechariah 4:7 – Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

I Peter 2:6 – Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. [7] Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

A new star, in many ancient cultures, was the symbol of a king’s birth, and his sceptre was the rod he carried as the symbol of his power to pass judgment, grant favors, direct battles, etc. The sceptre or scepter, when he sat on his throne, was usually positioned between his knees, and rested between his feet on the floor surface.

Amos 5:26 – But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

Acts 7:43 – Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

Revelation 22:16 – I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.

I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Hebrews 1:8 – But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Matthew 28:18 – And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven

and in earth.

Hebrews 1:13 – But to which of the angels said he at any times, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

When Christ returns he will cause Israel to possess the lands occupied by all those mentioned in Numbers 24:17 & 18, and Israel will claim all the Abrahamic land grant promised in Genesis 15:18, and that promised in Ezekiel 47:17 & 19. All these prophecies were in the distant future when they

were made. Balaam knew the Star who would hold the Septre was “not now,” nor was he “nigh.” But he knew the Star would one day come on the scene whose Sceptre of power would rule the world.

Numbers 24:17,18 – I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. [18] And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly

Genesis 15:18 – In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Ezekiel 47:17,19 – And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side. [19] And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.

I believe the word of God Daniel had, while in Babylonian captivity, he shared with any wise men that would listen, and they in turn taught it to their descendants. So, when a new Star finally arose to the west of their country, they immediately set out for Israel to welcome the one who was born as the King of Israel. What is truly ironic, no, rather what is tragic, is the fact that only a handful were looking for a Messianic King to come to Israel. And Herod had to send to have all the chief priests and scribes assembled to inquire of it.

Most of Israel wasn’t looking for a Messiah in 6 B.C., and most of the Gentile world is not looking for him today. The fictional tales of tradition had replaced the Scripture descriptions of his first coming, what he would be like, what he would do, and the purpose of his coming. Fictional tales have been distributed by the millions over the past 100 years, and have accelerated in the last 32 years. Many who are saved will be as unknowing of the details of his second coming as was Israel at his first coming.

Matthew 2:1-6 – Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, [2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. [3] When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. [4] And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. [5] And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, [6] And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Well, Christ did not get to rule on his first trip to earth, but he will when he returns to bring in his kingdom as the Lion of Judah and the morning star of David. He will share the power of his scepter as

the morning star with the overcomers in his true churches. The overcomers of the present age in which we now serve are those who are faithful to him to the end in his churches. Many of those who are saved are not faithful after they are saved.

Their degree of faithfulness after salvation does not get them to heaven, but it does get them rewards when they arrive in heaven.

Revelation 2:25-29 – But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

[26] And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: [27] And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. [28] And I will give him the morning star. [29] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Is a person saved by grace through faith an overcomer of the world by the new birth? Yes, because Christ overcame the world for that person.

I John 5:4,5 – For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. [5] Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Do all overcomers go to heaven? Yes, because they are made overcomers by faith in the one who overcame the sins of the world for them.

But the degree to which the overcomer’s soul yields to God determines the degree to which he rules with Christ in the ages to come. The pattern of yielding to God after one is made an overcomer is found in (2) and (3).

(1) Receive the word of grace in Christ to be made an overcomer.

(2) Be added to one of Christ’s churches by way of Baptism according to Scripture.

(3) Continue faithful in one of Christ’s churches as Scripture directs.

Acts 2:41,42 – Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. [42] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Matthew 28:19,20 – Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of

the world. Amen.