Will the Ancient Specter of Suleiman the Magnificent once again walk the Walls he built Around Jerusalem
?
November 23, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Chapter 14 of Zechariah indicates Jerusalem will fall again to the forces of Islam. Ironically, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent built the current Islamic walls of Jerusalem on the foundation of King Herold’s walls. I have walked on top of them around the city of Jerusalem many times. Islam will once again, for some 1260 days, reign within these ancient walls during the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation Period.
Zechariah 14:1,2 – Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Zechariah 14:1 – Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Jerusalem sets “in the midst” of Israel, and its spoils shall be divided among the 10 conquering nations.
Once again, in the prophetic style of writing, in the next verse, in the last phrase, he jumps to the end of the 1260 days, and assures Israel that God will preserve a remnant in the Negev, which will return some 1260 days after Jerusalem falls.
Zechariah 14:2 – For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the RESIDUE of the people shall not be CUT OFF from the city.
The word KARATH is translated “CUT OFF.” There are several words translated “cut off” in the KJV. KARATH means “TO BE CUT OFF FOREVER.” The other Hebrew words translated “cut off’ usually provided a way for the offender to be restored to fellowship with Israel, but KARATH implies BEING CUT OFF WITHOUT ANY CHANCE OF BEING ALLOWED TO RETURN.
The word translated RESIDUE is the Hebrew word YETHER, which is translated as REMNANT in Micah 5:3. (See Prophecy Update Number 64)
Micah 5:3 – Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the REMNANT of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. (See Archive Prophecy Update Number 64)
In the last phrase of Zechariah 14:2, God is assuring the tribes of Israel that even if they will be driven out of Jerusalem, they will return some 1260 days later. He does this by the use of the word “NOT.” The residue (REMNANT) of the people (ISRAELIS) shall NOT be CUT OFF from the city.
When Jerusalem falls, God begins to fight for Israel, and it begins a period of 1260 days, through which he will extend his protective shield over them in the Negev wilderness.
Zechariah 14:3 – Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Please take the time to read the entire DEBKAfile Exclusive, which will follow our heading. It describes well the chaos that could stream across Lebanon on November 24 when the current Lebanese President steps down. The worst case scenario, which could come out of the chaos the Exclusive describes, would be the takeover of the Lebanese government by the Lebanese Army Chief-of-Staff General Michel Suleiman, who is considered moderately pro-Syrian and a Hizballah supporter. It is very unlikely that the current Prime Minister of the government, who is pro-Western, could muster enough forces and equipment to defeat the army of Lebanon and the Hizbullah terrorist army. All this may eventually lead to the uprooting of one of Daniel’s ten horns.
General Michel Suleiman has a famous historical Islamic name, that of the one who was known as the Sultan of Sultans, Suleiman I (November 6, 1494 – September 5, 1566), was the tenth and longest serving Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1520 to 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the Islamic world, as the Lawgiver, deriving from his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system. Among the many titles ascribed to him were “The Shadow of God on the Earth,” and “Caesar of all the lands of Rome.”
Suleiman was considered one of the preeminent rulers of 16th century Europe. Under his leadership, the Ottoman Empire became among the worlds’ foremost powers. Suleiman personally led Ottoman armies to conquer Belgrade, Rhodes, and most of Hungary, laid the Siege of Vienna, and annexed most of the Middle East and huge territories in North Africa as far west as Algeria. For a short period, Ottomans achieved naval dominance in the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf. The Ottoman Empire continued to expand for a century after his death.
Also read the Gulf News Article, which follows the DEBKAfile Report, and is the latest article.
It will be very interesting to see who and what comes out of this maze of confusion between Hizbullah, Lebanon, and Syria. It is from this area I have always believed the Antichrist will arise.
I certainly do not know the identity of the Antichrist, but I have always taught he would come out of this area. (See Whole Numbered Archive Prophecy Updates 62 to 69 on our Web Site).
Begin DEBKAfile Exclusive
DEBKAfile Exclusive: By pumping up the Lebanese crisis to explosion level, Tehran and Damascus steal Middle East interest away from Annapolis conference
November 22, 2007, 9:41 PM (GMT+02:00)
After Tehran and Damascus vetoed all six candidates for the presidency to succeed pro-Syrian Emil Lahoud on Nov. 24, candidates have been dropping by the wayside almost daily. The 79-year old former minister Michel Edde was the latest to be disqualified after he took instructions in Damascus for safeguarding Syrian interests in Lebanon.
DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources: Tehran and Damascus have joined hands to bring the Shiite Hizballah to the fore in Beirut and sabotage the Annapolis conference to demonstrate how Tehran & Co. is calling the shots in the Middle East – not Washington.
Our sources outline the worst-case scenario – failing a breakthrough in Beirut on an agreed president in the next 48 hours.
The outgoing pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud president will exit the Baabde palace Saturday, Nov. 24, and transfer his powers to the Lebanese chief of staff Gen. Michel Suleiman, who is considered moderately pro-Syrian and a Hizballah supporter.
The army will then rally behind the general rather than the pro-Western prime minister Fouad Siniora. This will leave Siniora with the option of calling on the backing of the Sunni militias led by majority leader Saad Hariri, Walid Jumblatt’s Druze forces and Samir Geagea’s Christian Phalangists. This bloc will find itself ranged against the bulk of the Lebanese army and Hizballah’s armed forces.
All the ingredients for turmoil and civil strife will then be in place, with the advantage held by the anti-West grouping in terms of numbers, training and weaponry, lavishly supplied
by Syria and Iran.
President George W.
Bush and every world leader he can rope in have been engaged in frenzied diplomacy in the last 24 hours to fend off this development. A conflagration in Lebanon would jeopardize the US administration’s policies not only there but also in relation to Iran, Syria and the Palestinians. The Washington-Annapolis meeting would become an empty charade.
Russian president Vladimir Putin in particular has lent his weight to Washington’s effort by applying to Bashar Assad and asking him to attend the meeting and work with the US to solve the crisis over the election of a Lebanese president. The Syrian president has not so far responded.
Nicolas Sarkozy also phoned Assad, the first time a French president communicated with the Syrian president in the two years since the Hariri assassination. He too drew no response. Many of France’s foreign policy eggs repose in the Lebanese basket and their loss leaves the relationship Sarkozy hoped to develop with Damascus and Tehran going nowhere.
Another caller to the presidential palace in Damascus was Italian prime minister Roman Prodi.
For Israel, the emergence of Gen. Suleiman as Lebanon’s strongman would add a serious setback to those Israel suffered in its 2006 Lebanon War with Hizballah. The UN peacekeeping force, which is required to cooperate with the Lebanese army, would be paralyzed and the last barrier removed for keeping Hizballah out of South Lebanon and at a distance from the Israeli border.
For the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group, Damascus and Tehran, this development would cap their strategic gains of last year.
Israel’s prime minister would be better occupied dealing with this new security crisis on its borders, Israeli security sources tell DEBKAfile, than posing with Mahmoud Abbas at a photo-op in America.
Arab League foreign ministers, called into session Thursday, Nov. 22 to decide on a delegation to the US-promoted Middle East conference, postponed their Cairo meeting to Friday, for another attempt to solve the Lebanese crisis. The lines between Arab capitals have been humming day and night.
The Middle East special envoy Tony Blair traveled to Riyadh Wednesday but failed to persuade the king to send a minister to Annapolis. The Saudi ambassador to Washington will therefore head his country’s delegation. Syria is not expected to attend.
Begin Gulf News Article
11/23/2007 02:16 PM | Agencies
Beirut: Lebanon was plunged deeper into political turmoil after the Syrian-backed opposition said it would boycott a Friday presidential election.
French-led mediation failed to forge agreement between Lebanon’s rival political parties on who would succeed pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud, whose term ended at midnight.
The anti-Syrian majority plans to go to the election in parliament despite the boycott, which denies the chamber a two-thirds quorum for a vote already postponed four times.
Many fear Lahoud’s departure from office with no deal could result in two rival administrations and violence in a country still rebuilding from its 1975-1990 civil war.
The army has boosted security and warned against any internal strife.
Both sides have accused each other of arming supporters.
Lahoud disputes the legitimacy of the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and is expected to take some kind of step before he leaves office.
The anti-Syrian majority argues that Siniora’s government should automatically take over presidential powers until a new head of state can be elected.
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