The Final Army, No Sabbath, and The Origins of Evil

Many will find my blogs to be combined with two or more thoughts. That is because I am playing catch up. Sorry to all for the long reads. But it IS worth the time. Regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree.

The Confederation of The Final Middle Eastern
Army and The Dangers of No Sabbath.( Or Day Of
Rest.)

**Courtesy Bibleprophecy.com

In the news this weekend is the historical geo-political and prophetically significant accord establishing the required protocols for full diplomatic relations between the ancient Armenian and Turkish peoples. The significance of this accord underlies the eschatological position of Eschatology Today that Armenia is without question one of the nations identified as belonging to the Gog military confederation to become existent in the 'last days" per the Spirit-inspired prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39.

Armenia (see map) is one of the nations named by Ezekiel which many eschatologists have thus far
erroneously applied in an interpretation of Ezekiel 38:6 as being modern eastern Turkey. Armenia is, in Biblical fact, a nation descended from and identified as both Gomer and Togarmah! "Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops — many people are with you."

In historical point-of-fact, the Armenian nation predates by a few thousand years the establishment of a Turkish state in Asia Minor. It is in ancient Armenia, historically centered around Lake Van, that Noah's ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat after The Flood. The Armenian's have for millennia held the belief that they are the direct descendants of Noah's son Japheth through his son Gomer through one of his descendants known by the name of Haik. Haik (pronounced "high,") is the name the Armenians use to identify their own nationality). Haik was the son of a man named Togarmah. Also in ancient times Armenia was known as Urartu (Arartu) by the peoples of this northern Middle Eastern regions, and as the Kingdom of Ararat in the Old Testament. The Kingdom of Ararat was named in Jeremiah 51:27
along with the ancient nations of Minniy (a part of Armenia) and Ashkenaz (a nation in the same
region also descended from Japheth). The Armenia of the 21st century is a country overwhelmingly populated (98.7% according to the CIA World Factbook)by "Christians" (Armenian Apostolic and other Christian denominations) and is a full member of the Russian-led military alliance known as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) discussed in the Eschatology Today entry of one week ago. Ratification of the normalization of relations treaty, pending Armenian withdrawal of its troops from the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in overwhelmingly Muslim Azerbaijan; the status of roughly 600,000 Armenian and Azerbaijani refugees, as well as the issue of Ottoman Turkish responsibility for the genocide of over 1 million Armenians at the end of WWI will be the final step in this very prophetic
development prefacing the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel's war of Gog/Magog and the ultimately
full restoration of Israel to the land given it in the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant of the Lord, as described in Genesis 12:1-3 and Genesis 15:18-21.

We are truly a blessed generation to be witnessing the literal fulfillment of Bible Prophecy. We are
the generation of whom our Messiah spoke in Matthew 24. Despite all the seemingly apparent
odds against and the seemingly impossible conditions to be overcome - as our Lord said,
"these things must take place." To the Hebrews, God gave this commandment: “Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD” (Leviticus). Later, Moses prophesies to the Hebrews the consequences of disobedience and of not observing the Sabbath.

“At that time the land will pay off its Sabbaths all the days of its lying desolated, while you are
in the land of your enemies. At that time the land will keep Sabbath, as it must repay its Sabbaths. All
the days of its lying desolated it will keep Sabbath, for the reason that it did not keep Sabbath
during your Sabbaths when you were dwelling upon it” (Leviticus 26:34-35). Here, we learn that the length of the punishments upon Israel and Judah was proportioned to the number of Sabbaths that were not observed. For example, the 70 years of captivity in Babylon would therefore have been equated to a total of 490 Sabbaths having been missed or not observed. While the Sabbath is a rite of observance
specifically assigned to the Hebrews, one might wonder what will happen to an entire world that increasingly is moving away from a weekly day of rest. In a frenetic world given over to the primacy
of commerce, a weekly day of rest is fast disappearing, whether the Hebrew Sabbath, the Christian Sunday, the Muslim Friday … or any day for that matter. Now, every day is a Sunday (or Sabbath) to some one, and that day is commonly becoming the weekly shopping day. While the Christian is not bound to observe the Jewish Sabbath (though many Christians do wish to observe Saturday as their day of rest and worship) as they are not subject to Moses’ command nor prophecy to the Hebrews (see above), the first day of the week — the day that Christ rose from the dead and that the New Testament
met for fellowship and teaching — is also treated as an ordinance. Though not under the Hebrew
consequence of ignoring the Sabbath, could it still be true that there are dire consequences for societies that do not observe a weekly rest day?

God himself observed a rest day. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3). If then God, who is Creator, chose to rest on the seventh day, would it be surprising that the circaseptan (7-day cycle) is woven into Creation? As it turns out, the 7-day circaseptan is indeed the central cycle of Creation. Scientists who study chronobiology have discovered important confirmations on this question.

Here is an excerpt from an excellent article on this subject, written by Kenneth Westby, entitled
“The Amazing 7-Day Cycle.”1 “The deeper we investigate the inner workings of life, an even more complex, intricate and absolutely marvelous display of design begins to appear. Out of the mind numbing complexity of life a certain organizing rhythm starts to surface. The millions of living parts begin to respond to a rhythmic resonance broadcast on certain set frequencies. These parts innately know to tune their receivers to the proper sympathetically vibrating frequency — their beat. Just as we tune our radios and music suddenly springs to life, every living cell has imbedded in its primal genetic
material a rhythm, a clock, a beat, a frequency, a resonance that helps it get in sync to live and function as designed. Now we discover that the beat all life is tuned to is seven.

How did seven come to be imbedded deep into the ancient genetic building blocks of life? Why is seven the key coordinating rhythm for life's myriad complexities? God did "wind up the clockwork" leaving his fingerprints all over the clock. The new science of chrono-biology has had some of science's most impressive successes in seeing back to creation with its discovery of "primitive origins" to the seven-day cycle found in human cells and other life forms. God somehow coded into the infinite
complexities of life a clock that ticks to the time of a seven-day rhythm. We humans have no control over these innate circaseptan rhythms and benefit best by simply living in sympathetic harmony with them. More importantly, the seven-day cycle in physical nature points beyond temporal reality to a far greater spiritual reality. God, with masterful design, uses time itself and a seventh day rest to call his creation to pause and listen. He has a message which explains why we were created and for what special purpose. His words are so majestic, so exciting, so unbelievable, so beyond our mundane world that they could only be comprehended as coming from God himself. His message dispels ignorance, solves life's grand mysteries, and offers a future too beautiful to be true.

His personal message introduces himself as our creator, he gives us dignity and a special relationship to himself by declaring we have been made in his image, he then offers to save us into an eternity with him — if we but follow him. He invites us to join him on his journey, to walk with him, to talk with him, to learn from him, to even rule with him. How could we refuse such an invitation?

The mystery of the seven-day cycle was never intended to be a mystery, but a call from the Creator to get in harmony, in sync, with him. It is high time we get in step with God.” We learn here that the 7-day cycle is also part of the physical order. The Bible confirms its spiritual and religious roles. Since biological organisms function on this cycle, it is only logical that a day of rest would also fit this circaseptan pattern. Even God who is not bound by space and time, chose to rest on the 7th day. While the Jews were physically punished for their irreligious, non-observance of the 7th day Sabbath, would it be surprising to learn that a world that now runs on a 24-7, round-the- clock treadmill may suffer
physical consequences for not observing a 7-day cycle and a day of rest?

Surely life today in such an unbalanced environment is more stressful, and frenetic and works against the priorities of those who do wish to apportion one day a week for rest and worship. A world removed from its natural order will be prone to deterioration and bring upon itself ill consequences.

The Origins of Evil

Is Evil a tangible, real thing? Or is it like the cold? Meaning; is Evil just the absence of Good, while cold is the absence of heat, and darkness is the absence of light. If you follow this line of thought than it serves to reason to all that things like the cold, darkness and even evil do not truly exist. EXCEPT we ALL know that is not the case. We can feel the cold outside or in. It is hard to see in any dark room or even outside without SOME kind of light, flailing around in the black isn't on most people's high list of priorities. So since we know that cold, darkness and evil do exist...how can we find it as tangible as say you would find a rock to be? First, there are two types of existence. One – solid. (You, me, trees, rocks, oxygen, etc.) Two – Ethereal. The Ethereal is much more difficult to explain and understand. So in an effort to do just that, remember that the term ethereal doesn't necessarily mean spiritual, or spiritual in origin. However, in the case of Evil we know that it exists, and that it was here long before the Earth was. How do we know this? The bible has various examples I could point to that can tell you flat out that evil not only exists, but it rules the hearts of man. That of course is tantamount to what one might or might not believe. So let's assume for the sake of argument that you know God, and his Son Jesus. You know of His love, His Life, and the sacrifice on the day of Cavalry.

I hear this all the time: “I understand how evil entered creation via the fall, but it seems to me that something (evil) that had never existed before suddenly came to be.” It seems that this thing we call evil which didn’t exist in God’s perfect creation had to have an origin. So what IS that origin, and how is it that it came from Satan? “Satan cannot create..” “Was that Satan?” she asked. “Did he/does he have a form of destructive de-creative power to bring something to be that wasn’t?” In essence, did Satan “create” evil? Let’s find out. In his Gospel, the Apostle John addressed the issue of whether evil is merely the absence of good. Speaking of Jesus in terms of light and darkness,
Paul wrote;

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was
life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:3-5)

The word translated understood here also means overcome, but either way if the darkness John
referred to was simply the absence of light, as we know it to be, then by it’s very presence the light
would have replaced it. Darkness is not an entity or force and can neither understand nor overcome. It always yields to light, returning only when light is withdrawn.

And if John was talking merely in terms of physical life and death, as some understand the passage,
the same would be true because by definition death is the absence of life. So John had to be
speaking in the spiritual sense. The light represents the Lord Jesus, the personification of good. The darkness that cannot overcome Him represents Satan, the prince of darkness and the personification of evil. So evil is not simply the absence of good. John 1:3-5 also contains the answer to another
question. Did Satan create evil? Again, speaking of Jesus John wrote, “...Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made...”

Paul confirmed this in his letter to the Colossians.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Colossians 1:15-16)

If you read these two passages as being all inclusive, as I do, then you have to conclude that
Satan, who is himself a created being, did not create evil. Where Did that Come From? So where did evil come from? Ezekiel and Isaiah have the answer.

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and
say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says:” ‘You were the model of perfection, full of
wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned
you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings
and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.” (Ezekiel 28:11-13)

Through the first 10 verses of chapter 28 Ezekiel had been speaking to Ittobaal, the human ruler of
Tyre, calling him the prince of Tyre. Beginning in verse 11 the Lord had him look past the human
figurehead to the power behind the throne, Satan, who Ezekiel addressed as the King of Tyre. Some commentators see the mention of precious stones as representing the fact that Satan was clothed in light. But one fact is clear to all. Satan was created, confirming what John and Paul said. He was not created to be evil, and in fact was the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. “You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.” (Ezek. 28:14)

Satan’s original role was to head up the squadron of Cherubim who guard the Throne of God. Among men, those chosen for the palace guard are considered to be the most loyal, highly skilled, and trustworthy, the finest examples of the King’s warriors. As the leader of such a group charged with protecting the Throne of God, Satan would have been among the most admired of all created beings.

“You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor”. (Ezek. 28:15-17a) It Didn’t Need to Turn Out that Way.

Like I said, Satan was not created to be evil. But like all of us, he had the potential for choosing evil. He was the most beautiful, wise, and powerful of all God’s created beings and became very proud
of these things. It was this pride that caused his downfall, and when he was caught out, his pride
would not let him submit, so he rebelled. Isaiah 14:13-14 tells how he set out to elevate himself
above the angels once again, to sit enthroned in the place of God, and become like God. You said in your heart;

“I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” In his pride Satan demanded that glory due only
to God be redirected toward himself. In doing so he gave us the Biblical definitions of good and
evil. Everything that yields to God or glorifies Him is good, and everything that rebels against
God or glorifies someone or something else is evil. God Himself appears to hold this view. Look at
Isaiah 42:8;

“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my
glory to another or my praise to idols.”

Shortly after the Creation, Satan introduced this evil into the world by convincing Adam and Eve to break the only rule God had given them. This seemingly minor act of rebellion caused all of
mankind’s potential for evil to be greatly magnified and made rebellion man’s natural state. Paul called it our sin nature and it turned the Creation upside down. Where Satan had been made as the model of perfection with the potential for choosing evil, mankind would hereafter be predisposed toward evil with the potential for choosing to be made perfect. (In other words, Satan had to choose evil. We have to choose good.) And what’s more, Satan no longer had to personally see to every act of evil. By
orchestrating that one act of disobedience he had set mankind on a downward spiral that soon resulted in a state where every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time (Genesis 6:5).

Things Are Not Always as They Seem: It’s important to recognize that evil is not merely a type of behavior. In fact it’s more a function of intent. That makes evil a motivating force behind behavior. It’s easy for us to judge behavior that’s obviously destructive, cruel, or immoral as being evil. But behavior that outwardly seems to produce much good can still be considered evil in God’s sight unless it’s undertaken in submission to Him for the purpose of glorifying Him. The end does not justify the means with God. Motives must be pure to make actions pure. This is something most people simply do not
understand. We think something that looks good or produces a good result must be good. But the Bible is clear. It’s the motive energizing our behavior that really counts, no matter how good the result looks to us or to others. Like the Lord said,

“A bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” (Matt. 7:18) Therefore judge nothing before the appointed
time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. (1 Cor. 4:5)

So evil is a spiritual power, a motivating force that began with a choice. It originated when a created being demanded to be treated as if he was the Creator and went downhill from there. The consequences of that choice are suffered by each one of us every day. It took the death of God’s own Son to reverse its effect on us, and then only if we choose to allow it. For those who don’t, God will again say;

“I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” (Genesis 6:13)

The choice is clear and the time is near. Even so, come Lord Jesus.