Evangelist Kelly McDonald, Jr.

Germany in Prophecy (Part 2)

In our last blog, we looked at the prophetic identity of Germany. We will continue this theme in this blog, but also look at SPECIFIC verses that discuss the future of Germany in world events.

As mentioned before, the Roman Empire was collapsed by the Germanic peoples. The Germans have inherited the mantle of Rome. This further connects Germany to Assyria! The Romans used the eagle as one of their military symbols. The symbol of Imperial Germany is also double headed eagle. One of Assyria’s main gods was nisroch, whose name means great eagle (2 Kings 19:37 ; Isaiah 37:38). Another connection between Rome and the Germanic Kings is the teeth of Iron mentioned in Daniel 7. Rome was renowned for its use of iron weaponry. The Germanic peoples have the same motif from ancient times until today. One of the symbols of the German army has been the Iron Cross.

Prophetic Implications:

#1 – Isaiah 10:12-14 – This prophecy tells us about the King of Assyria (Germany) “erasing the boundaries of nations” with skill and wisdom. Right now, we see Germany erasing the boundaries of Europe through trade and economics. They basically own Greece and set their budget for them. Germany will leverage economics to gain China and other nations as an ally. They have already formed trade agreements with the South American bloc of nations and African nations. Additionally, they will use the Catholic Church to bring South America and sub-Saharan Africa to their side.

#2 – Daniel 9:25-27 mention the 70^th week of Daniel, which is a 7 year period. In these verses, we learn that the end will come “like a flood.” In Daniel 11:40-45, we are told the King of the North will swoop down across the King of the South “like a flood.” In Isaiah 8:7, we are told that the Assyrians are the floodwaters. This implicates the Germanic peoples in an attack on the Middle East that will extend the borders of a revived Roman Empire from Europe into North Africa, Middle East, and near the border of India just as the Roman Emperors of old (Alexander the Great also accomplished this feat).

#3 – Daniel 8:23 is a prophecy about the Anti-Christ. He is described as a “stern-faced” king. The Hebrew phrase is Az Melek, and it is only used one other time in the Bible – Isaiah 19:4, which describes the King of Assyria taking over Egypt in the last days. This further ties the king of Germany to the final anti-Christ. Egypt has been in turmoil in recent times due to radical religious extremists.

Who is Germany in Bible Prophecy?

(An excerpt from the booklet “The Nations of Bible Prophecy” by Kelly McDonald)

Historically, Germany has had a huge impact on world events. They inherited the mantle of the Roman Empire starting with Charlemagne, which became known as “The Holy Roman Empire.”  It is important to note that the exploration of South America by the Spaniards was driven by Charles V, who was the King of Spain and Germany. Currently, Germany has the strongest economy in the European Union (EU), which is the most influential bloc of countries in the world. They have a prominent part to play in Bible Prophecies. Germany has been an instrumental part of two World Wars. They directly caused World War II to start. The Nazi regime committed the holocaust, which was an attempt to exterminate the Jewish people. This was stopped by the allied forces.

The ancient historian Herodotus notes an ancient peoples called the Carmanians or Kermans in the Middle East that were also called the Germanii (Herodotus, Book 1, sec. 125; Encyl. Brit. “Persis”). This was another name for the nation we call Asssyria. In Ancient times, the Assyrians were a fierce war-like people. Their Empire spanned Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and even stretched to near Afghanistan. Their capital city of Nineveh was located in modern day Iraq. In Iran today there are two provinces that still bear the name Kerman in them (Kerman and Kermanshah).

The Assyrians were overthrown by the Babylonians around 606 BC. The Bible and history give us some clues as to what happened after this. The Bible tells us that the Assyrians would flee to the mountains (Nahum 3:18). This indicates that they would migrate out of the Middle East. The only mountains north of Iraq are in Turkey. In 2 Kings 19:37, we learn that two sons of an Assyrian King fled to Ararat, which is a mountainous area in Turkey. The Assyrians already had a colony in Armenia, which is why they fled there. In the 530s BC, Scylax of Caryanda noted that Assyrians dwelt on the coast of the Black Sea in the country we now call Turkey (Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, 1854. “Assyria”, page 245). Today in Turkey there are two provinces with the names “Karaman” and “Kahramanmaras”. We can see “KRM” from the name Kerman in these provinces.

In the first century (around 50-60 AD), Pliny the Elder notes a group of Assyrians living near the Black Sea (Pliny, Book IV, sec.12, verse 85). This nation later migrated into Europe. Jerome called the Germanic peoples migrating from the Black sea and Russian Steppes into Europe around the Assyrians in 340 AD (Letter 123, Section 16, Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers by Schaff and Wace, 1893. Vol. VI, pages 236-237). Other historians also consider the Germans to be an Aryan people descended from the area of Iran/India (see “A History of Germany from the Earliest Period to the Present Time” by Friedrich Kohlrausch, New York: 1880, Introduction Page 1) (also see Smith’s Dictionary, “Germany”, pg. 994). During the Nazi regime, Aryan supremacy was a key theme, which again ties them back to the Middle East.

The Bible confirms what history tells us. Speaking of the Last Days, God said that His people would return from Egypt and Assyria from the WEST. “They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.” (Hosea 10:10-11) In another place, God said “Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim” (Isaiah 49:12). In ancient times, Assyria was east from the Promised Land. In the last days, God mentions that His people will return from Assyria from the north and west. This further places Assyria in Europe. They are the Germanic peoples of today.

Just How Serious is This Upcoming Election?

First of all, this is NOT an endorsement of any candidate or a prediction of what will happen; it is examining a pattern of history and the present to share a possibility of what could happen.

Something strange is forming in American politics. It is a perfect storm of evil that may permanently change this country. Let’s look at our current political landscape.

We are presently in the midst of an ugly political campaign for president. It appears that Trump is all but the candidate for the Republican Party and that Hillary will likely be the candidate for the Democratic Party. This campaign has been terrible in terms of the attacks levied. The Republican candidates at times resembled little children hurling insults at each other.

The country is more divided than ever. The left-wing groups are able to mobilize and radicalize quickly. Violence is always an option for the left. Many conservatives (especially Christians) have an attitude of apathy towards politics because the candidates for the Republican party are not “pure” enough politically. At the same time, a good number of conservatives have been awaked by the last 7 years of the Obama Administration.

Consider for a moment what is at stake:

1) This is a presidential election year. The terrible republican nomination process may have ended the political career of Marco Rubio and a few other candidates. Even if Trump were to win, the party is damaged long term. The ugly in-fighting has turned many conservatives away from voting in this election altogether.

2) The Senate and House could swing to the Democratic Party this year. The backlash from conservatives and the negative view that many conservatives have of Trump could result in a loss of the Senate and potentially the House. The House is likely to stay in Republican hands, but we cannot guarantee that.

3) The Supreme Court is due to have at least one nominee chosen after the elections after the death of Antonin Scalia. As many as three other seats could be filled as 3 current Supreme Court Justices are over the age of 77. The President recommends nominees and the Senate confirms them.

The Supreme Court nominees are huge as cases on gun rights, abortion, transgender bathroom usage, and other important issues are slated to come up in the next 12-18 months. As it stands now with the Supreme Court being ideologically tied at 4 liberals and 4 (potential) conservatives, all cases that end in a tie will uphold the lower court ruling. In the short term, this could result in opposing rulings in different districts.

If that doesn’t sum up the current political environment, I don’t know what will!

As you can see, this is not just ANY year for an election. This is the year of all years for an election. The political landscape of this country is about to SHIFT severely to the LEFT or back to the RIGHT.

If the conservatives of this nation do not show up to vote, we may have Hillary Clinton as president, a democratic Senate and House, and possibly as many as 6 liberal justices on the Supreme Court. This means that every single case will flow ONE way – away from God.

In closing, I want to review a pattern of history than may play out. Let’s go back to 1992. In 1992, H W Bush was running for re-election against a man named Bill Clinton. HW broke a campaign promise concerning taxes in his first term. Out of a backlash against this, Ross Perot ran as a third party. Here are the end-result numbers: (approximate)

William Clinton           43%

George Bush                 38%

Ross Perot                      19%

It should be noted that Ross Perot did not win a single state in this election. He was successful at taking votes away from George Bush, who also ran out of the state of Texas. If Ross Perot does not run, the vote looks more like this:

William Clinton           47%

George Bush                  53%

I gave Clinton a few votes because some people who voted for Perot would have voted for him. Nevertheless, we would have had a convincing victory over Bill Clinton. This would have likely changed the political climate from them to now.

Many conservatives don’t like Donald Trump. There are legitimate reasons why. Many are going to push Cruz or another person to run as a third party. At that point, it looks like 1992 all over again.

This year is not just any year for an election. This year may change the face of this country for the next 30 years, should the Lord delay.

Let’s take the example of 1992 and our present political climate very seriously.

This is perhaps the most important election in American History. Christian liberties are at stake. I hope you approach this election season prayerfully and seriously.

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We have a new booklet available for download – Spiritual Warfare!

Leaving the Treasures of Egypt (Part 3 of 3)

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26 (NIV)

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When the Israelites left Egypt, they had treasures from the Egyptians. They had gold, silver, and clothing.

Exodus 12:35-36

“The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.”

They had the riches of Egypt in their hands, yet they craved the mere thought of Egypt. It was more the idea than the actual thing itself. It did not take faith and trust in God to stay in Egypt. It required inaction. This makes the flesh happy. They had treasure from Egypt, but the one treasure they did not take with them was the Love God had for them. They did not treasure all the mighty acts God did for them. The Lord made Israel his treasured possession, but they did not make the Lord their treasured possession.

Deuteronomy 7:6

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”

They treated the mighty things God had done for them as a common thing. They devalued the things God did for them. Carnal food was of greater value than the Lord who made the food they craved.

What began to draw Egypt out of Moses?  I believe that Egypt began to be removed from Moses’ heart at the burning bush. When Moses was tending the flock at the backside of the desert, he encountered a burning bush. The bush was on fire, but it was never consumed. This is where He encountered God. I believe it was at this point he had an intimate revelation about the burning Love God had for His people and for him. This made his heart burn for God. Like a sacrifice, it consumed any desires he might have had for Egypt. This fire drove Moses to go forward no matter what happened.

What do we treasure most? We live in a society that is so “me, me, me” and “I, I, I”. We are self-centered. We think about God as it relates to us. We don’t always think of our behavior and how He views it. We also do not think of our behavior and how it reflects God to other people. We have i-pads, i-pods, i-phones, and wii’s. Do we ever stop to thank the Great “He”; The Great “I Am”?

If there is such a thing as replacement theology, it is this: we must replace the desire of the world with the desire of God. It requires that we change our focus – from self to Savior. The Bible tells us about Jesus’ mother, Mary. She is an example of treasuring the things of God. In Luke 2:51, the Bible tells us, “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” She treasured watching her son step into his prophetic destiny. She treasured Jesus’ obedience. She could have treasured the spot light from being Jesus’ mother. After all, Jesus attracted a lot of followers. She treasured the things of God.

God’s love burns for us, yet it never stops. He sends the Holy Spirit to help draw us out of Egypt and draw Egypt out of us. When we focus on His Love for us and consider all He has done for us on a daily basis, the fire for Him grows. As we practice this, it will burn away the desire for the treasures of Egypt.

In the first part of this series, I told a story about my knee being injured. It was the killer blow to my baseball career. As I walked with the Lord, God healed my knee. On 7/7/2007 at the Call in Nashville, TN, God healed me. I treasured Him, and He polished my injury clean like a treasured piece of silver or gold. One week later, on 7/14/2007, I was filled with the Spirit through the laying on of hands by Brother Fred. At this point, my burning desire turned into a burning bush for the Lord.

God does so much for us. Treasure it all in your heart. This is how we overcome the treasures and pleasures of Egypt.

Leaving the Treasures of Egypt (Part 2 of 3)

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26 (NIV)

When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were always complaining. But, in their complaining, they discussed with fondness their memories of Egypt. They wanted to go back.  Let’s take an example from the Bible:

Numbers 11:4-6

“The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’”

They craved the things of Egypt, even though this was the place of their bondage. What does this show us? They came out of Egypt, but Egypt did not come out of them. Jesus said, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Matthew 12:34b). Their hearts were full of yearning for Egypt, even after the great miracles they witnessed: the 10 plagues, the Red Sea parting, Manna falling from Heaven, and water coming from the rock.

In church, you see and will see miracles. God has done miracles for you, even in the small things. In light of these things, what is the content of your discussion? This is something we must all consider.

In Hebrew, Moses name means, “to draw out”. This is because they drew Moses out of the water in Exodus 2. It is interesting how God works through names. Moses was the one God chose to “draw out” Israel out from Egypt. The attitude of Moses is to draw Egypt out of us.

God drew the desire for Egypt out of Moses’ heart. This was God’s desire for the Israelites the entire time he led them out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land.  Over and over again, God desired that their hearts be turned over to him.

Deuteronomy 5:29

“Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!”

In examining your heart during this time of the year, consider your speech. It is a reflection of what we value most. God has always desired that His Word flow from our mouths. The things of God should dominate our conversation.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

We will finish this three part series next time by looking at how we get Egypt out of us.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26 (NIV)

Though Moses was born a Hebrew, he was raised as royalty in Egypt. He had access to all the wisdom and treasures of Egypt. He had the best (in the natural) that life had to offer. His every need was assured. In fact, he could have lived his entire life this way. This was not enough for Moses. He had a gnawing hunger within him; he knew that there was something more to life than just these treasures and pleasures.

When we lived our lives in disobedience to God, there are things that we treasured. These treasures brought us fleshly pleasures. These things are not always material. Sometimes it’s an idea or a desire. Our imaginations can take us all kinds of places. We treasured being “liked” by the crowd. We liked the attention. It made us feel important and as if we belonged somewhere.

Even after we are saved, we may still have things we are passionate about that prevent us from serving God in a fullness of His will for our lives. I will give you an example from my own life.

I was saved at age 6. I also started playing baseball at an early age. As I got older, playing baseball became a part of who I was. It was part of my identity. I took great pride in this fact. I had a series of injuries from 2003-2005 that ended any chance of playing baseball. One of them in particular was a knee injury. I could have had surgeries or rehab to recover from all of this, but I decided that I would just give it up.

Baseball was my focus for many years of my life (up to that point). Once I was injured, I began to seek God. During this time period God began to show me His purpose for my life. If I was to serve Him in ministry, I had to forsake what I treasured most: the idea of being a baseball player. I left my Egypt and left my vain imagination behind me. I pursued a walk with the living God, and I serve Him today.

Sometimes material things hinder us. Some people have addictions to drugs, but some people have addictions to material things. They buy and buy, but are never satisfied. There are people who have vain imaginations that hinder or oppose the will of God for their lives (such as what I had). Some people are attracted to fame and following the every move of famous people. The glitz and the glitter of this world look appealing and enjoyable. We spend our time on the things that are important in our minds. These are all part of the treasures of Egypt. It relates to what we treasure most. However, they deter us from the destiny Christ set apart for us before the world began.

Even in a church setting, we can crave the spotlight and still not treasure the True Light.

We will continue this three part series next time.