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Time is Near

º Chapter Nine: Not One Stone Will Be Left Standing
At some point in this journey through Bible prophecy, we must come to the Temple in Jerusalem. It once stood majestically on the east side of the Old City of Jerusalem, in the area now called Haramesh-Sherif. If you are to look for a vestige of what remains of the ancient Temple, you must come to the great Western Wall. It still stands, the rampart below Solomon’s original Temple, the retaining wall of King Herod’s expanded Temple. The wall is made of massive stones, some nearly 50 feet tall and each weighing over five tons.
The Western Wall survived the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. During the Middle Ages, Jews were allowed to come to Jerusalem to visit this revered Wailing Wall once a year on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction. After the Six Day War in 1967 when the Jews captured the Old City of Jerusalem from the Jordanians, the Western Wall became a focal point for national rejoicing and prayer, and it remains so to this day. For Christians, it is a glimpse of what once existed at the time when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion. This brings us to an important discourse in Mark 13 regarding the Lord’s return.
“As he [Jesus] was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!’
‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?’” (Mark 13:1-3)
The response Jesus gave to these four disciples was a clear description of the end-times. He told them what was to transpire—not during the Roman invasion of 70 AD—but in the final days before his return. There would be:

1) False christs (Mark 13:5,6)
2) Wars and rumors of war (Mark 13:7)
3) Earthquakes in various places (Mark 13:8)
4) Persecution of his followers (Mark 13:9)
5) The gospel preached to all nations (Mark 13:10)
6) Betrayal among families (Mark 13:11-13)
7) The abomination (Mark 13:14-18)
8) The great tribulation (Mark 13:19-20)
9) Lying signs and wonders (Mark 13:21,23)
10) The second coming of Jesus (Mark 13:24-27).

When the Roman army destroyed the Temple in 70 AD, many early Christians believed the end-times had begun because of this prophecy. And in fact, even today, many theologians will try to reconcile this discourse with the Roman invasion. What often gets overlooked, however, is the fact that the Temple destruction was not complete because a portion of the foundation for that Temple, the Western Wall, survived.

Jesus said, “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” The stones he was referring to included the massive stones his disciples were admiring when they approached him on the Mount of Olives. Those stones included the Western Wall. Today, some 2,000 years later, those stones still stand. And I believe they will remain standing until the time of the great tribulation. And at that time, we will see the complete fulfillment of the Mark 13 discourse.

There is a prophecy in the Psalms pertaining to this. “Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. ‘Tear it down,’ they cried, ‘tear it down to its foundations!’ O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us’” (Psalm 137:7,8).
The Romans may have destroyed the buildings of the Temple, but it will be the “Daughter of Babylon” in the last days, who will tear it down to its foundations. For this to occur, the foundations of the ancient Temple must become the center point of Jewish worship, which is what has occurred with the emergence of the Western Wall as a national religious symbol.

The term, “Daughter of Babylon” is used only five times in Scripture; here in Psalm 137 and in four other verses. Each usage relates directly to the final destruction of Babylon in the end-times, matching the portrayal of her destruction in the book of Revelation. It is clear that the daughter of ancient Babylon is the rebirth of modern Babylon!
“Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, Daughter of the Babylonians. No more will you be called tender or delicate… I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand, and you showed them no mercy. Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke. You said, ‘I will continue forever—the eternal queen. But you did not consider these things or reflect on what might happen. Now then listen, you wanton creature, lounging in your security, and saying to yourself, ‘I am and there is none beside me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.’ Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent spells.” (Isaiah 47:1,6-9)
“Look! An army is coming from the north… to attack you, O Daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang limp, pain like that of a woman in labor… At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble; its cry will resound among the nations.” (Jeremiah 50:41-46)
“The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled; the time to harvest her will soon come.” (Jeremiah 51:33)
“‘Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon… Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people.’” (Zechariah 2:7,10,11)

These verses give us a glimpse of what the “Daughter of Babylon” of the end-times will do to the “Daughter of Zion.” Based on what we read here, I believe Iraq will lead an invasion of Israel and will take many captives. The invading force will desecrate the Jewish sanctuary and worship, tearing down what remains of the Temple to its very foundation. Cheering on the “Daughter of Babylon” will be the Edomites. I believe the Edomites refer to the modern day Palestinians.

According to Daniel 11:41, the Edomites will be in league with the king who sets up the abomination in Israel. The Palestinians rallied behind Saddam when he sent scud missiles against Israel in 1991, and they continued to ask for his support in their intifada against Israel. A Palestinian Media Watch poll taken in October 2003 showed that 74 percent of Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein in his recent struggles with America and Britain. More than 40 percent of the 600 Palestinians interviewed said they continued to support the insurgents attacking and killing American soldiers in Iraq.

The prophet Ezekiel addressed the bitterness of these people. “Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you.” (Ezekiel 35:6)
“…therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will treat you in accordance with the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.” (Ezekiel 35:11)
The judgment of Edom will be justified because “with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pasturelands.” (Ezekiel 36:5)
If a modern day king of Babylon were to invade Israel, I believe the Palestinians will encourage him to put an end to the daily prayer sacrifices at the Western Wall. And if something cataclysmic were to happen to the Temple Mount, their demands might be far worse. Recently, a huge bulge in the Southern Wall of the Temple has emerged, causing engineers to warn of a collapse of the Al Aqsa mosque built directly above it. Because of the bulge, Newsweek Magazine has dubbed the Southern Wall the Armageddon Wall. It is possible that a geological event, rather than a political event, could trigger the invasion that leads to the abomination. In any case, the Psalm prophecy sees the Edomites taunting the “Daughter of Babylon” to “Tear it down, tear it down to its foundation.”

This brings us to another Scripture that is often used and abused in regards to Bible prophecy. If you have ever heard someone say, “The Temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt in order for the end to come” or “the antichrist will sign a seven year peace treaty with Israel in order to build the Temple,” then you should consider the Scripture used to bring about that interpretation. There is only one verse that comes close to matching this prediction. It is Daniel 9:27. “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’. In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

The popular interpretation of this verse goes as follows: “The antichrist will enter into a peace treaty with Israel for seven years. The peace treaty will allow him to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. In the middle of the seven years, he will put an end to Jewish worship in the Temple, and will set up the abomination that causes desolation.”
But does it really say that? First of all, the text does not refer to a peace treaty nor does the term “many” necessarily refer to Israel. The covenant that the antichrist enters into is an alliance (Hebrew, ‘berith’ . It is the same word used in Daniel 11:30 when the antichrist “will show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.” Alliances are usually made with friends while peace treaties are made with enemies. My understanding of this verse would suggest that the Assyrian will enter into a covenant with many of his ilk, a covenant to destroy Israel. There is, in fact, a mention of such a covenant in Psalm 83.
“O God, do not keep silent, be not quiet, O God, be not still. See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish ‘Come’, they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.’ With one mind they plot together, they form an alliance [Hebrew, ‘berith’ covenant] against you—the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot.” (Psalm 83:1-

Here we see the natural enemies of Israel: the descendants of Ishmael, Esau and Lot, along with the Philistines and the people of Lebanon and Jordan. These Middle Easterners are jealous of the fact that Israel has birthed a nation in their midst. So they enter into an alliance with each other; a covenant to destroy Israel. Such a covenant actually exists today. It is called the HAMAS covenant. This verse in Psalms tells us the Assyrian will join with them and lend strength to their cause.

I am convinced a modern day Assyrian will invade Israel, throw down Jewish sacrifices and offerings, and set up an abomination on “a wing of the temple.” Does this mean he must first enter into a peace treaty with Israel to allow them to rebuild their Temple? I do not think the verse in Daniel 9:27 requires it. It simply says the Jews will be involved in sacrifices and offerings. It could be in a small sanctuary behind the Western Wall. Or the offerings could refer to the prayer offerings left in the crevices of the Western Wall stones by practicing Jews.

A wing of the Temple is where the abomination will be set up, and that sight is likely to be inside or near one of the Moslem shrines on the Temple Mount, either the Dome of the Rock or the Al Aqsa Mosque. There is still much debate as to where the inner sanctuary of Solomon’s Temple was located, but the abomination will not be located in the inner sanctuary. It will be on the wing of the Temple.
In Revelation 11, the Apostle John was instructed to measure the Temple. “But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.” (Revelation 11:2)

These 42 months, or 3½ years, make up the time of the great tribulation, the time when the Assyrian will trample on the holy city Jerusalem. The abomination will be set up in the outer courts of the Gentiles, on a wing of the Temple. The Assyrian will likely go into one of the mosques on the Temple Mount and proclaim himself the champion of the Palestinians, conqueror of the Jews, messiah of Islam and unifier of the Arab nations.

Since the 10th century, Islamic clerics have taught that at the end of time a man from the family of the prophet Mohammed will appear and strengthen their religion and usher in an era of perfect justice. He will be called ‘Imam Mahdi’. While in power, Saddam made every effort to establish himself as Imam Madhi. The name ‘Hussein’ is a revered name in the Islamic world, the name of Mohammed’s grandson. Saddam exploited this name for his own political and cultic purposes. He let it be known that he was a direct descendant of Mohammed. He added the phrase ‘Allahu Akbar’ to the Iraqi flag and called for the ‘sword of jihad’ against Israel. The secular Saddam who once wore pin-striped suits and sunglasses was replaced by the religious Saddam pictured in Muslim prayer attire. This was a calculated move to position himself as Madhi.

Saddam has also compared himself to the Arab warrior Saladin who fought the Christian crusaders. But the person he has compared himself to most often is Nebuchadnezzar. When he first became president of Iraq, Saddam said, “What is most important to me about Nebuchadnezzar is the link between the Arabs’ abilities and the liberation of Palestine. Nebuchadnezzar was, after all, an Arab from Iraq, albeit ancient Iraq. Nebuchadnezzar was the one who brought the bound Jewish slaves from Palestine.”
Twenty years later, Saddam still reminds his nation of his diabolical plan to invade Palestine. He has petitioned his Jerusalem Army to take up arms against American and Israel. Of course, we in America consider the odds of Saddam accomplishing this as highly improbable. But I think the Scriptures are pointing in that direction. The Assyrian will be the tool of God’s wrath in the last days. The Babylonians will be allowed to rise up because God is angry with His inheritance.
Unbelievable, you might say, but the prophet Habakkuk said it would be unbelievable.
“Watch and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people who sweep across the whole earth…” (Habakkuk 1:5-6)





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Zechariah 12:3,9:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


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Interesting that Obama wanted to 'TEAR DOWN THESE WALLs'...fulfilling and preparing for
Gog/Magog prophesy to attack Israel WITHOUT 'WESTERN' WALLs?

Ezekiel:38:8-12: "After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

9: Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

10: Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:

11: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

12: To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land."