General Articles

The Calm Before the Storm :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10

1 Thessalonians 5: 1-6

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

One of the hardest things to do in life is to live with your guard up. To be always vigilant and looking for the next ‘shoe to drop’ as they say. Some have entered into a sense of relative calm after the US elections. There is a sense among many persons and not a few conservatives that life may be back to normal. We see the governing bodies of sports begin to reject the ‘a man can be a woman’ foolishness. In the US, some states have begun to offer the Bible as part of their curriculum again. We see sanctuary cities like New York begin to acknowledge that the unilateral acceptance of all immigrants no matter their criminal past is simply stupid, and they want to export some of these thugs. Good!

By the way, I am an immigrant here in Canada; my family did the paperwork, saved the monies, and came the legal way. We see the plan to reopen the oil pipelines, get people back to work and get crime under control, limit or remove liberal judges, and on and on we can go. There is a sense that the tottering ship is being righted. It can get us off guard; it can encourage us to take our eyes off the prize, that being the soon return of Jesus.

You see, when the Government appeared to be our enemy, we wanted Jesus to come soon, come now, today. But now, as we sense a period of things going ‘our way,’ it is easy to get our eyes off Heaven and begin to live like this is our home, and we no longer cry for Jesus to come sooner and rescue us. We lose the edge, and we lose the focus on Him.

As much as I am glad that the results of the election in the US went the way they did, the new President is not the savior that some want him to be; he is just a fallible man. His election may even spark a conservative movement here in Canada, and if they should win, even that man will not be the savior. In fact, according to the scriptures, the next man that the world hails as the savior will be the most dangerous man that ever walked the planet. His rebellion and defiance to the person of God will cause the death of billions of people.

As I can see it, and I could be wrong, the conservative movement we are seeing – not only in the US, maybe Canada in a few months, in Europe, and the sudden rejection of the ‘woke’ government agendas – is the calm before the storm. The forces of evil, the spirits that sit in the background like puppet masters, will turn up the heat and bring the pain to us.

In the passage above, we see a warning from Paul when the world thinks that there will be peace and safety, and there very well may be for a period of time. Jobs will come back, illegal immigration will slow, the wars in Europe and the Middle East will be temporarily solved and the like, then we begin to get complacent. Paul tells us that a ‘sudden destruction’ will come on the world.

Imagine what happened in Pearl Harbor that fateful day in December 1941; it was a sudden destruction, more than 3,000 lives taken, and millions more died in the ensuing war. The forces of darkness are never asleep, never off shift, and while they may allow the ‘peace and safety’ to grow for a while, make no mistake; they have a plan to destroy, and they love to hurt God’s people first if at all possible.

However, Paul also tells us that these things should not catch us off guard. We, the children of the light, should not let these distractions get our eyes off the goal, off of Jesus and His soon return.

I have a colleague in the ministry; we attended seminary together about 40 years ago. He said not too long ago that he had not planned well for retirement because he thought Jesus would have come by now. This is the battle we face in ourselves and in our minds. There are times when I can begin to wonder, ‘Hey, did I get this wrong?’ Did I miss something? Did I just follow along with the crowd about this Jesus returning? However, it is hard to read passages like this one in 1 Thessalonians and not see the clear promise that we have that Jesus will return like a ‘thief in the night.’

Peter warns us that the longer and longer it takes for Jesus to return, some will begin to wonder ‘where is the promise of His return?’ (2 Peter 23:4) Yes, to those that live in the darkness, the rapture will catch them off guard.  Though, I think that the spirits in the background have a ‘plausible’ explanation for the world to swallow ‘hook, line, and sinker.’ But to us who live in the light – those who have Jesus as our Savior and who humbly call Him Lord – His return, His call will not catch us off guard because there is the Holy Spirit in us reminding us that there is another chapter to be played out; there is more to come. One day soon, our faith will be sight; we will see Jesus as He is and be with Him evermore.

Paul, well, the Holy Spirit through Paul, tells us to watch, look, keep our eyes open, keep searching the Heavens, and be ready for the call, the trumpet sound, and the catching away to meet Jesus. Don’t get distracted by the short and shallow victories that we have here. Rather, observe them as temporary reprieves from the judgment to come. In these apparent times of lull, let us be about the Master’s business. Let us win all that we can to the Kingdom, let us share the Gospel, share the wonderful grace of our Lord and Savior. Let us reap as many souls as we can for the Kingdom.

Don’t get complacent; get busy. Invest more time and money in these short windows of opportunity, and make the most of the ‘peace and safety.’ Make the most of the time not to get comfortable but to make disciples. Enjoy the momentary wins; prepare for the difficult time that will come. There can be no avoidance of them. Keep our eyes on the skies. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!!

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

In-person: every Sunday (10:30 am) at Bethany Baptist Church 70 Victoria Street, Elora, ON

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Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca

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Prophetic Implications of Regime Change in Syria :: By Mark A. Becker

Published on: by RR10

Here are some quick bullet points of what has happened in Syria:

Brief Assessment

Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria

Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, is Shiite Muslim and a brutal dictator of the majority Sunni Muslim Syrians.

Turkey

NATO member and majority Sunni Muslim Turkey has long played a majority role in backing the Rebels against the al-Assad regime, with their own forces scattered generally throughout northern Syria.

Iran

Iran is a majority Shiite nation run by the ruthless Mullahs, with many proxies all over the Middle East with both Shiite and Sunni terrorist organizations including Hezbollah (Shiite), Hamas (Sunni), Houthis (Shiite), and others.

Iran has been imbedded in Syria for many years protecting and propping up the al-Assad regime.

Russia

Russia has been stationed in Syria for many years, also protecting the al-Assad regime.

Along with Turkey and Iran, Russia appears to be the primary instigator of the Gog/Magog prophetic invasion of Israel in Ezekiel 38 and 39:1-16.

The Rebels

Most of the Rebels fighting against the al-Assad regime consist of many terrorist Sunni Muslim organizations.

The Rebel leaders in HTS regard themselves as “liberal” Muslims who attempt to protect the rights of all people and religions. Considering this group was an off-shoot of al-Qaida in Syria, and many of the other Sunni terrorist groups they have aligned themselves with, these declarations should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

Prophetic Implications of Regime Change in Syria

Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.

The Three Major Gog/Magog Participants in Syria

Russia

If, indeed, Russia is in the process of evacuating Syria, how long will this last? If the Gog/Magog invasion is on the horizon, one would think that it should not be too long.

However, Russia is extremely busy in Ukraine, while threatening the US and NATO in their roles in the war.

Regarding Russia’s war with Ukraine, this is what we pointed out in The Russian Bear: Arise, Devour Much Flesh, when the war first broke out:

A Possible Link to Ezekiel 38 and 39

Ever since Russia, Iran, and Turkey have had fighting forces in Syria, directly to Israel’s north, we see the obvious set-up for the Gog/Magog invasion.

But there is a passage in Ezekiel’s prophecy that has caught my attention, as of late, and shows a potential link to the current events surrounding Russia and Ukraine.

“Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 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:” – Ezekiel 39:1-2 

[Note: The phrase “leave a sixth part of thee” is not in the original Hebrew.]

“… turn thee back,” from where? Maybe from another invasion – namely, Ukraine?

When I see the Russian Bear’s focus on Ukraine, I cannot help but to wonder if her attention will soon be drawn back to the Syrian theatre with an eye on Israel.

In the end, even if Russia takes some or all of her troops out of Syria and/or closes some or all of her bases in Syria, God’s Word says she will be back with a vengeance!

Iran

Iran is also reportedly leaving Syria, whether entirely or just a few bases and limited personnel, and to what extent, is unknown. But, like Russia, no matter their decisions now and going into the future, they will be back in full force!

Turkey

Turkey has seemingly gotten the upper hand in this conflict at this stage in time.

What Turkey does with this new power – if indeed her power was behind the Rebels that created this outcome and they will stay faithful to her – remains to be seen. As a major player, along with Russia and Iran, Turkey will stay in Syria or come back just as the others will. God’s Word says it, and we can count on it!

Syria

Since it appears that the Shiite dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad has been defeated and the country of Syria has fallen into the control of predominantly Sunni terrorist organizations, under the auspices of Turkey, the prophetic implications intriguingly have not seemed to change too much. Either way, whether Sunnis or Shiites in charge of the country of Syria, both sects of Islam are participants in the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel.

What will be of interest to me, is how this change of leadership will affect the relationships between Russia, Iran, and Turkey, and especially between Iran and Turkey. Will Turkey still support Iran having forces and bases in Syria when Turkey’s Rebel Sunni proxies are leading the country? Will Turkey desire to continue having Russian forces and bases in Syria, as well? Will Russia and/or Iran not really care whether Turkey wants them there or not, and stay in Syria anyway?

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. All three, Russia, Turkey, and Iran, have had very good relationships with each other as of late; something that could never have been said historically. But there was tension between Turkey and both Russia and Iran in Syria, as both Russia and Iran backed the Shiite al-Assad regime. Will these divisions be resolved, or is there more tension on the horizon?

Time will tell.

Damascus

As I have suggested in other pieces on the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel, the utter destruction of the ancient city of Damascus, recorded for us in Isaiah 17, could very well occur within the parameters of the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel.

In Possibilities: The Ezekiel 38 Invasion, we said the following regarding both Damascus and Elam:

Could Damascus Be Destroyed?

“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” – Isaiah 17:1

“Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.” – Jeremiah 49:23-27

As pointed out earlier, and most certainly attestable by current news headlines, all three nations of Russia, Iran, and Turkey are currently carrying out military operations in Syria. Obviously, Syria is north of Israel where we know this invasion will come from.

Doesn’t it seem reasonable that Israel will attack Syria in an effort to stop or repel this invasion? The destruction of Damascus might certainly cause the invading troops to at least reassess their operations into Israel, if nothing else, give them something more to think about. It seems like a logical response from the Israeli Defense Forces to attack where this invasion originated from.

Could Elam Be Destroyed?

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the Lord; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord.” – Jeremiah 49:35-38

Elam is in modern-day southern Iran bordering the Persian Gulf. Thus, it is a vital part of ancient Persia and is a major actor in this Gog/Magog invasion of Israel. It is also the region where the Bushehr Nuclear Plant is located.

Like the possibility of Damascus being a retribution from the Israeli Defense Forces, Iran would be a reasonable target as well. Hitting the Bushehr Nuclear Plant could have a two-pronged effect: Taking out nuclear capabilities that might retaliate in the future and might also result in Iran having second thoughts about the invasion they are currently undertaking and cause battlefield confusion.

The United States and The Globalist Elite

Is the United States – under the Biden administration, the military industrial complex, and the globalist elite deep-state – also behind Turkey’s support of the Rebels? After all, Turkey is a NATO member; why she is, I have no idea, but she is a NATO member. What would be the advantage to the US collaborating with a movement that involves terrorist organizations that we have been at war with for over 25 years?

Well, for one thing, the Biden administration has always been hyper-focused on the Russian/Ukrainian war, no doubt benefiting monetarily by funneling billions of dollars into the war efforts, supposedly on Ukraine’s behalf. And their disdain for everything Putin (and understandably so) and everything Russia is palpable.

My theory is that if the globalist elite can keep President Trump preoccupied with foreign affairs and foreign wars for the next four years, wars that have edged up in ferociousness and intensity in the last few years, then all the progress they have made in destroying America from within could very well continue unabated.

So, it would not surprise me in the least if the United States, in cooperation with Turkey and the terrorist Sunni organizations engaged in the overthrow of Syria, was in the total know, if not actively engaged somehow, in this military operation.

In the end, this all would be favorable to the globalist agenda.

When it comes to the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel coming down from Israel’s north in Syria, and possibly Lebanon, I still believe one of the major hooks in Gog’s jaw will be the opportunity that will afford itself closely following on the heels of the rapture of the church. This is when I suspect this last days’ invasion of Israel will take place. I could be wrong, but I still feel this is the best fit, prophetically speaking.

Nevertheless, remember dear Saint, we are not looking for anything other than our loving Bridegroom, Creator, Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and King. So, while we look on these exciting prophetic implications as the days progress, never lose sight of the One we are all eagerly watching and waiting for! Maranatha!

***

May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

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