NOTE: When writing about God and Jesus, The Daily Jot means YHVH as God and Yeshua Ha Mashiach as Jesus–the actual original names and the true nature and character of them.
There appears to be an incredible grass roots movement in Iran where people have taken to the streets demanding an end to the radical Islamic government focused on international terrorism rather than jobs and the economy. In Ezekiel 38:3-8, the Lord says, “Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army…Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them…against the mountains of Israel…” These areas mentioned in Ezekiel 38 coincide with modern Turkey, Iran, Sudan, Libya, and parts of Iraq, even Saudi Arabia. So what do the current protests in Iran mean from an end time prophetic lens?
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) gives this analysis of the Iranian situation: “Supreme Leader Khamenei declared that Iran must implement a “resistance economy,” and blocked the option of Western cooperation in Iran’s economic development. At the same time, the billions of Iranian dollars that were frozen by the West and unblocked following the nuclear deal by the United States, were channeled into Iran’s involvement in the regional war zones in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Gaza and into the continued development of its military capabilities, for instance by constructing new underground cities to house ballistic missiles, by advancing its military industry, etc.”
MEMRI says that the protests are caused by anger over the regime using the billions of US dollars given by the previous US administration for military instead of economic purposes. This could cause the government to start a war to divert attention. “Even if this popular uprising is suppressed by the Iranian regime in the short term, given the absence of any solution to the Iranians’ economic woes it is eventually bound to resurface. One option the regime may resort to in order to rekindle the people’s solidarity with the regime despite the absence of any economic improvement is to spark crises or a war in one or more of the regional arenas in which Iran is involved-Israel, Bahrain or Yemen-by means of its proxies in these countries.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani claimed the Iranian unrest is led by Saudis living in Iran, and instigated by Israel. Persians are historically skeptical of Arabs. There is an ancient relationship between the modern Turkish and Iranian people, as recalled by Daniel 8’s account of the Medo-Persia alliance. Today these countries share cultural and ethnic commonalities. The second largest ethnicity in Iran, the Azerbaijanis, are a Turkic people. The second largest ethnicity in Turkey is the Kurds, an Iranic people. The unrest allow Turkey to diplomatically strengthen relations with Iran. For Ezekiel 38 to play out, Iran must submit to Turkey’s Gog to attack Israel in the end of days. If the unrest brings Turkey and Iran into alignment, they could emerge as a unified power, moving the prophecy clock forward.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
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Ghana: Food + Water = Transformation for the poor
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A water truck being loaded with water from our water system for needy households
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By Pastor William Agbeti
[ NOTE: This is an account of just one of many clean water, feeding and clothing programs conducted by The Daily Jot and our ministry partner Redeem West Africa in the rural areas of Ghana, West Africa. Your donations that make this possible–Blessings, Bill W]
A young African mother, holding a plastic bucket in hand, set off this morning on a 5-minutes walk from her little makeshift home to the Redeemer House, with the hope of fetching water.
On arrival, she was told the water system had developed a fault and was being fixed, and would not be ready until probably the next day. Her countenance changed all of a sudden. The joy with which she came, singing all the way, dissipated. Hope was gone. She didn’t know what to do. There was no other place within a short distance to go fetch water. Being poor, buying sachets of water for her household chores was obviously out of the question. She left with sadness written all over her face.
Undoubtedly, lack of clean water would bring along in its trail various forms of water-related stresses for this young mother and her family; not to mention water related diseases and possible deaths over the long term. The family may have to do without cooking of meals, washing of clothes and utensils today. The stress increases when one has to go to town, school or work, without showering in this 100 degrees-plus weather, with high humidity.
The same goes for food – the types of stress the poor deal with when there is no food on the table or in the stomach is unimaginable. A case in point is that of another young mother and her little child of six who came to our free feeding program last month. Both were hungry and desperate for food. As two disposable bowls of cooked food were handed over to them, the mother set one side and ferociously started eating the other with the child, completely oblivious to onlookers. In this part of the world, like elsewhere, hunger and inability to obtain food can create a vicious cycle of stress for many.
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Children line up to fetch free clean water from our ministry faucet
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The situation leads to child labor, child trafficking, juvenile delinquency, child prostitution, child sales, and various other heart-rending conditions. In Ghana, many parents are reported to have sold their children for less than $5 each, in order to put food on the table! Reports reach us from various other poor communities about very young school girls selling their bodies in prostitution for as low as $1 per swing!
In the light of the above and others, we at Redeemer MINISTRIES have come to learn the hard way that Food + Water = Transformation.
“The little food and water we regularly give out to the needy go a long way to help transform individuals and whole communities. Our water project at Amrahia in a rural section of Accra, and our monthly feeding programs deep inside rural areas, bring about hope, change and inspiration to many; even if it’s for a day!”–Pastor William Agbeti
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| Some children waiting to be served with free meals at one of our feeding programs. |
Without these little efforts, the situation could be much worse, with a spill out that could easily affect individuals, families and communities all the way in the US, for instance, through illegal immigration, refugee crisis and human trafficking.
Therefore, anytime you donate towards the provision of food and water to the poor rural folks in Ghana, know that you may be doing it for yourselves – for your own good.
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The Daily Jot is totally reader supported. My wife, Chris, and I do not take a salary or receive any remuneration for this work. Your gifts go directly to assisting us in maintaining this column, the website, outreach, and the Lord’s work we do in Ghana, West Africa. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day,
Bill Wilson
The Daily Jot |
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