Obama’s Trip to Israel: Imitation of the Triumphal Entry

http://newine.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/obamas-trip-to-israel-an-imitation-of-the-triumphal-entry/  

Obama’s Trip to Israel: Imitation of the Triumphal Entry   

Preface:  

Jude 9 — “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’”   

Romans 12:19 — “Beloved, never avenge yourselves [even in your heart!!], but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”  

Proverbs 19:21 — “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”  

Psalm 2 — “1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’”  

The Gist:  

President Obama’s upcoming trip to Israel is timed and choreographed so as to mimic Jesus’ (Y’Shua’s) triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and with it the predictive ‘echo’ event all Jews should recognize: Joshua’s (Y’Shua’s) crossing of the Jordan with the Israelites into the Promised Land, led by the Ark of the Covenant.  

Obama’s trip is also timed so as to coincide precisely with the Vernal Equinox, a pagan holiday predicated on the principle of equality and eternal balance between light and darkness — a concept wholly at odds with scripture.  

The president’s arrival in the land, and entry into Jerusalem marks the only year and the only day within a span of nearly two centuries when such a confluence of the Vernal Equinox and Triumphal Entry would be possible.  

Important background:  

“It’s Him” (July 13, 2009), and  

Know Your Enemy Part 43 & Part 44 (8 & 12 minute videos)  

February 5th, 2013, NY Times (the initial announcement)–  

President Obama plans to travel to Israel this spring for the first time since taking office… Israeli news media reported that Mr. Obama would arrive on March 20…  

Nisan 10 begins at sundown that same evening (17:51 Israel time in Jerusalem).  

From Hebrew4Christians:  

Jesus’ last Passover began some time before the Festival actually began (see John 12:1-33). After visiting his friend Lazarus and his sisters in Bethany, He went to Jerusalem just before the city became filled with pilgrims coming to celebrate the holiday. On the 10th of Nisan He [Y'Shua, a.k.a., Jesus] entered the city [of Jerusalem], riding on a donkey to announce His Messiahship (this was the time the korban Pesach was being selected for the sacrifice). Examined for four days before His sacrifice (execution) for the sins of the world, He was found to be the true Lamb of God (seh haElohim) without spot or blemish.  

JOSHUA 4:19a The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month.  i.e., the Israelites, led by Joshua (a.k.a., Y’Shua) crossed into the Promised Land on Nisan 10.  

JOSHUA 3:7 The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”  

JOSHUA 4:19 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.  

February 18, 2013, CNN –  When President Barack Obama visits Israel next month, he’ll be awarded the Presidential Medal of Distinction, Israeli President Shimon Peres’ office announced Monday.   Obama, the first sitting U.S. president to receive the recognition, will be awarded the medal for making “a unique and significant contribution to strengthening the State of Israel and the security of its citizens,” according to a release announcing the news.  He’ll receive the award at a dinner at Peres’ residence in Jerusalem, slated to be attended by senior figures from Israeli public life and the Obama administration.  The award is given to “private” individuals and organizations that have made “outstanding contributions to bettering the world.” …Obama bestowed Peres the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, last year at the White House. Twelve others also received the award in 2012.  

Obama is scheduled to arrive in Israel around 12:00 Noon on March 20th. That’s within minutes of the Vernal Equinox (13:02 Israel time that day, or 11:02 GMT) — a significant pagan/occult/wicca holiday, the origins of which trace back to Babylon. The Druids were one of many cultures known to have celebrated the Vernal Equinox (literally ‘equal night’). The Druids also made human sacrifices. Many others still celebrate it… including Freemasons.  

This is the first time since the establishment of the modern state of Israel that the Jewish calendar has skewed this early relative to the Gregorian. The last time was 1899. The next time will be 2089. (H/T: Daniel Eggers.) I haven’t had time to check it out, but a Jewish friend told me, several weeks ago, and entirely unrelated to this story, that the Jewish calendar is never earlier.  In other words, 2013 is the first year in the lifetimes of all but a tiny handful of extreme-elderly people alive today that these two days coincide so closely — one dark and pagan, the other full of light and life… glorious beyond measure. The next time it will take place is seventy-six years from now, when most alive today will be dead.  

February 12, 2013, YNet News –   Jerusalem and Washington have set the itinerary for President Barack Obama visit to Israel. Obama is scheduled to land in Ben Gurion International Airport [near Tel Aviv] around noon on Wednesday, March 20 [Nisan 9]. He will be welcomed by a State reception which will include speeches by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by the American president himself.   Obama will then fly to Jerusalem directly to Peres’ residence where he’ll again be ceremoniously received. He will continue with Peres and Netanyahu to Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, where he will lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance.  

The next stop will be Mount Herzl, where Obama will lay a wreath on Herzl’s tomb as a gesture to Zionism. Obama will continue to Yitzhak Rabin’s tomb, laying a wreath there as well.   In the afternoon [of Nisan 9] the entourage will arrive at the prime minister’s house, where Netanyahu and Obama will meet with small delegations to discuss issues such as Iran, Syria, the peace process and Jonathan Pollard. Following the meeting a joint press conference will be held, after which the two and their staff will dine together. [Presumably after sunset, thus Nisan 10.]  

The following morning [March 21 -- Nisan 10] Obama will depart for Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.   

Obama will return to Jerusalem by noon [on March 21 -- Nisan 10], when he will be taken by Netanyahu to examine a model of Second Temple Period Jerusalem. They will continue to the Shrine of the Book, where Netanyahu will show him the Dead Sea Scrolls. The American President will continue to see an exhibition in the Israel Museum, which will show Israel’s latest developments in high-tech, bio-tech, nanotechnology and agriculture.  

At this point, I would strongly urge readers to pause and take time review this scripturally-based chronology tracing Jesus’ comings-and-goings during the days leading up to his crucifixion on Nisan 14 (Pesach) and resurrection, three days later.  Among other things, note that each goes into Jerusalem then retreats a short distance away to spend time with friends and supporters — Jesus’ to Bethany, with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead, and Obama to Ramallah with ‘Palestinian’ President Mahmoud Abbas.  

The word ‘Ramallah‘ is composed of two parts: “Ram,” an Aramaic word that means “high place or mountain” and “Allah,” the Arabic word for their ‘god’. I.e., Ramallah means “height of ‘god’”. The Hebrew word translated as “ascend” is pronounced ‘allah’ as well. It appears twice in Isaiah 14, where YHWH condemns Satan’s prideful ambition to mimic and replace him:  12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend ['allah'] to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend ['allah'] above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’  15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. 16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, 17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’ 18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; 19 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.  

(Parenthetically, in consideration of the various riches which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will show Obama, I’d also recommend a refresher skim through 2nd Kings 20, from v12 on, and Isaiah 39.)  

In the afternoon [of Nisan 10] Obama will address Israelis in a public speech in the Israel Museum or in the International Convention Center in Jerusalem. The Americans have requested the presence of at least 1,000 Israelis. Later, Obama will be hosted for a ceremonial dinner by Peres. [recall details, above]   Friday, March 22, Obama will breakfast with Netanyahu in his home or in King David Hotel. The two will go to visit an Iron Dome battery, where Obama will meet with the soldiers manning the battery. At 13:00 a farewell ceremony will take place in the International Airport, from which the president will depart to meet King Abdullah in Jordan.  I’ll note in passing that March 22 is a day positively soaked with (demonic) significance for Freemasons, while the number thirteen, throughout scripture, is associated with “rebellion, apostasy, defection, corruption, disintegration, revolution, or some kindred idea.”  

March 22, 2013 marks the 33rd anniversary of the Georgia Guidestones being erected (a chillingly death-centric, Satanic ‘alternative’ to the Ten Commandments).  Jesus was 33 years old when he entered Jerusalem to go to the cross.  The 33rd degree is the highest in Freemasonry.  March 20th will be the 33rd day after the meteor explosion over Russia (February 15th), another hint (as if we needed one) that we’re living in days like Noah’s. (See here and here, and think about them together; see also Matthew 24:37 and Luke 17:26. H/T: Jeffrey Goodman.)  

February 17, 2013, Arutz Sheva –  The English version of the code name chosen for the operations surrounding the upcoming visit to Israel by U.S. President Barack Obama, scheduled for March 20, is “Unbreakable Alliance.” The Hebrew name is “Brit Amim,” which means, literally, “an alliance between nations.” See Deuteronomy 7 for why this is a problem.  Further adding to the intrigue is speculation that Obama might visit the Temple Mount and/or Dome of the Rock.  

February 24, Arutz Sheva –  Palestinian political and religious leaders on Sunday stressed that US President Barack Obama should not visit the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem in a way that might compromise its “Muslim sovereignty.” Sheikh Akrameh Sabri, head of the higher Islamic council and former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, said that Obama must enter through a gate that was not under Israeli auspices.“Any visitor is welcome to Al-Aqsa, but they should follow the regulations of the Waqf and enter through the Lions’ Gate and not through Mughrabi Gate, to ensure Muslim sovereignty,” he said at a press conference in east Jerusalem. “The visit shouldn’t have a political theme to it because Al-Aqsa belongs to Muslims only and it is their place of worship and we refuse that any Israeli official accompanies the visitor,” said Sabri. [More here and here.]

Interesting… that bit in bold. (e.g., See Matthew 7:12-14 , John 10, and Revelation 5:5).
I don’t believe he needs to go there to fulfill prophecy though, and here’s why.  In Matthew 24, Jesus famously warns:  15 So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  
Jesus’ words had an obvious physical-literal fulfillment in 70 AD when Roman forces sacked Jerusalem and burned the Temple. None of those who had placed their trust in Messiah Y’Shua (Jesus Christ) were harmed however, for they had had a desert-like thirty-eight years to consider, understand, recognize and heed the warning when it came to pass. They took God’s Word seriously. They took time to let its meaning soak in with the help of the light of the Holy Spirit. They were wise virgins who did not need to seek Spirit-oil to light their spiritual lamps at the last minute when it was too late. They already had it inside of them.
As literal residents of literal Judea, they fled to the literal, geographic mountains for refuge, as instructed. Yet in doing so in obedience to His Word, they were also fleeing to the refuge of the mountain of YHWH — the mount on which His Christ reigns (see Psalm 2, at top). The obedience (to Christ) is the main thing. We ought not get too caught up on the physical fleeing itself, a particular instruction by Christ to a particular people at a particular time.
Does that mean that this part of Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24 (and Mark 13 and Luke 21) can be safely packed away and ignored? I don’t think so. Our God and His Word are unparalleled in their ability to put the same things to use in multiple ways, over vast spans of history, and all to the same end: sinful man reconciled to his God by the cross; Christ with His Bride, wedded eternal in the New Jerusalem.
In the past, I’ve conjectured various other ways in which the phrases “standing in” and “holy place” could be interpreted in idiomatic or symbolic terms, e.g., this and this. (Virtually all of scripture has this dual literal-symbolic aspect to it.) As such, I will not insist on the following interpretation. You’ll either see it or you won’t — and I could well be wrong. Be an Acts 17:11 skeptic. Consider everything carefully yourself in light of the Word of God.
Very simply, I have come to believe that “standing in the holy place” means imitating and usurping the role (i.e., the rightful image, office and authority) of the Holy One, YHWH’s Christ: Jesus. Such an interpretation would be consistent with the definition John gives for antichrist (both plural and singular) in his first epistle, 2:18-27. (Just think about the common usage of the term ‘stand-in’, e.g., an understudy in a play, a back-up quarterback, a temporary corporate executive, an Olympic team alternate, a substitute teacher, a babysitter, etc. Only incidentally does the idea refer to the ground on which one’s feet happen to be placed. Primarily, it refers to performing the functions of a person who normally and properly performs them when all is in its right order.)
We’re so used to political parody that we forget: imitating a perfectly holy God entails mockery, i.e., blasphemy. It is in an important sense the same profound sin Satan committed. Submission and obedience to Christ are the believer’s route to supernatural (‘born again’) transformation, the ultimate, God-driven and proper form of imitation (being re-created, by his grace and Holy Spirit, into his image, over time and through testing and trial). Direct imitation without those elements, for one’s own purposes, amounts to usurpation and opposition. It is rebellion.
Because Jesus’ ministry was based in Israel, centered ultimately on Jerusalem and the Temple, geography is an essential part of of the abomi-nation’s “standing” — but only a part. It is but one aspect of a much larger ‘frame’.
Just as the gospel began in Jerusalem and went out to all the earth, so does the New Jerusalem. So does the temple of Jesus’ body, the church. So do the imitators, usurpers and rebels who would ascend to be like the Most High. And so does the ultimate man of sin, antichrist. His usurping role, office and self-aggrandizing ambitions are what define him. Geography is simply a base he needs to tag to round that out. I strongly suspect that is what Obama’s trip is all about.
For those steeped in a reading of prophetic scripture which requires the re-building of a physical-literal-geographic stone temple and Holy Place with human hands before the man-of-sin can stand in it, this may be hard. It’s been quite the trip for me also. Yet scripture must be our guide. As such, I urge you to consider the foundations of that assumption carefully (pun intentional) as you weigh this larger idea which could well incorporate it, but doesn’t have to.)
In our day, I believe, “those in Judea” refer to those in Christ.
See Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 about the fakes. See also:
Romans 2:29 — “…a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”
Galatians 3:28 — “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” and Colossians 3:11 — “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
In our day, I believe, “flee[ing] to the mountains,” refers to our fleeing to YHWH, e.g., see Psalm 11. We are to “come out of her [Babylon]” (a city built on a plain – Shinar, in Iraq) and flee ‘up’ to the New Jerusalem. We are to flee to the refuge of Christ’s body, the fellowship of his Word and Spirit, embodied in his true (invisible) church, sheltered under his out-stretched, nail-scarred ‘wings’ — the ones he would have used to protect the original Jerusalem as a hen gathers her chicks (Matt 23)… but they would not.   In the same vein, speaking of one whose “heart shall be set against the holy covenant” (v28) the prophet Daniel is told to write (in chapter 11):  31 … And they shall set up the abomi-nation that makes desolate. 32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.  i.e., by telling people what they want to hear, the abomi-nation (perhaps a male person, see v32) will talk unbelievers into a grand lie. (The exact same idea is reflected in 2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12, (“strong delusion so that they may believe what is false”), echoing Romans 1:18+ (“God gave them up”) and Isaiah 6:9-10. (“do not understand… do not perceive”). (This is the main reason I’ve lost all interest in politics. What we have witnessed the last several years in that arena is symptomatic of Divine judgment already working. As such, it is a fools errand to attempt to overturn or reverse it with anything other than sincere repentance, and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ.)
Daniel continues (ch. 11):  33 And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.  36 And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.
Recall Isaiah 14, above. Contrast this also with Joshua 3 & 4, also cited above, wherein YHWH is the one doing the exalting (of Joshua and, later, Jesus) as a result of their obedience to Him.
Recall also, in contrast, Obama’s statement at the 2009 White House Correspondent’s dinner — a statement profoundly ‘astonishing’ to anyone who knows their Bible and fears YHWH –
“My next 100 days will be so successful, I will complete them in 72 days. And on the 73rd day, I will rest.”
Not only was Obama’s statement a blatant blasphemy against YHWH (which, tellingly, garnered laughter from most of the audience) but it also served as a direct and potent reference to Islam — one almost no one in the West has fully understood, even now.
Correspondent ‘DT’ clued me in in an e-mail (see text about halfway down this post): 72 is the number of virgins which Islamic martyrs are promised in ‘paradise’ for acts of murder-suicide which take out infidels; i.e., anyone who does not bow the knee to ‘allah’; 73 is the Islamic number of perfection. Now, go re-read Obama’s statement with that understanding (72=virgins in payment for murder-suicide; 73 and perfection in the false demon-god ‘allah’). If you are not shocked to the core by what he was really saying, you were not paying attention.
Daniel continues (ch. 11):  36 He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.;  i.e., the man of sin will remain in power, contrary to all earthly reason, e.g., men’s political calculations. (Paradoxically, this fact should reassure all believers. The Most High God, YHWH is in thoroughly and permanently in charge of everything. Satan is a created being, restrained according to YHWH’s good, wise, sovereign, omnipresent and omnipotent control. We must not fear him who can only kill the body.)  37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.
I’ve read this passage dozens of times. I think it’s much simpler than many make out.
Consider: Anyone who seeks to unite the world’s faiths, either in their own mind on a small scale, or in Jerusalem on a grand scale (as Obama has said he’d like to do) is by definition staking out higher ground than any of them. (This realization should set us in awe regarding the patience and long-suffering of the One True God, YHWH, and His Christ, Jesus who does not delight in the death of the wicked and would wish all to come to saving faith.)
We’re so used to this kind of relativistic, little-o-this, little-o-that, tolerant-of-outright-falsehood thinking in our day that when someone rises to power who embodies it, we scarcely notice.
It’s the same common philosophy that holds that truth is relative to each person, and that all religions have a part of the truth and do not really conflict with one another in their essentials (a rather silly and willful obfuscation of the plainest and most basic tenets of each).
It’s the same philosophy that leads many to “roll their own” nowadays, selecting aspects of different religious philosophies to suit their tastes, making themselves little gods while denying each one, including the Real One. (I recently learned the term ‘Bu-Jew’ which some ethnic Jews following fashionable Buddhist teaching apply to themselves while denying the authority of Old Testament.)
38 He shall honor the god of fortresses [Babylon and physical force] instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. [Hanuman?] 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.
That last line is the key thing to watch.
Will Obama’s trip result in a deal to divide Israel?
We shall soon see…
 Addenda:
I don’t claim to understand this bit yet, but it seems notable that the Vicar of (literally, the stand-in or substitute for) Christ, i.e., Pope Benedict XVI, should resign suddenly just six days after Obama announced his trip to Israel.
The latest date rumored for the conclave to choose the next (and allegedly last) Pope to succeed him is… March 20th… the Vernal Equinox… the day Obama is set to arrive in Israel.
To put it another way, the Pope’s exit process is framed by Obama’s trip. In such a context, Revelation 13 seems of increasing interest, i.e., regarding the co-temporal interplay between the two beasts (antichrist world systems stretching across time, the powers of which are concentrated in certain men). (Recall the material Mark Fairley puts forward regarding the Satanic interplay of light and darkness.)

Given the timing of Obama’s trip, I’ve been looking with new eyes at Jesus’ words to his disciples in Matthew 24:20 regarding the start of the unprecedented Great Tribulation, a.k.a., Time of Jacob’s Trouble:  Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
Winter ends in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20th, at 11:02 GMT, an hour after Obama’s plane is scheduled to land in Israel. I.e., his flight into Israel will be in Winter.
Any ‘flights’ others may take as a result of what he says or does there (whether those ‘flights’ be physical or spiritual) will not be in Winter.
In other words, if his trip marks the start of the Great Tribulation (and I’m still keeping this one in the ‘if’ category), those praying as Jesus told us to will have their prayers answered. They will not have to ‘flee’ it in Winter but in Spring, Summer or Fall.
Further, Obama is scheduled to depart five hours before the start of that week’s Sabbath — Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat right before Passover. In no other year since 1899 would such a connection of those two things be possible on a three-day trip.