In Iraq, Syria, US lifts rules meant to protect civilians

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In Iraq And Syria, US Lifts Rules Meant To Protect Civilians

http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-iraq-syria-us-lifts-rules-meant-to-protect-civilians/?utm

In Iraq, Syria, US lifts rules meant to protect civilians

Exacting standards designed to avoid unintended casualties do not apply to fight against Islamic State, White House says

TIMESOFISRAEL.COM

The ISIS Flag: The Mark of the Beast?

Chapter 5: The IS Flag: The Mark of the Beast?

The black flags carried by ISIS have a roughly drawn circle with a brief summary of the Moslem creed: 'There is none other God than Allah and Mohammed is His messenger'. The circle is roughly drawn because it is a replica of Mohammed's seal which he attached to his decrees and communications. To receive the mark of the beast may well refer to receiving such a stamp or carrying such an insignia, perhaps literally on the forehead. Because pictures of ISIS fighters show them with this symbol on their foreheads.  The seal of Muhammad was held to have magic qualities, and the loss of the seal amounted to the loss of the caliphate and the loss of unity among Muslims. Now, the IS are popularizing the seal again, announcing a caliphate and urging Moslem unity- a unity which will ultimately be focused against Israel. The false prophet and beast are Biblically associated with false miracles, so something to look for would be the claims of false miracles or magic, as was once associated with the seal. Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1980 (chapter 12). The IS flag has a name, just as the British flag is called 'the Union Jack'. It is called The Black Banner or Black Standard, also known as راية العقاب rāyat al-`uqāb "the banner of the eagle". The final enemies of Israel are described as coming upon her "as swift as the eagle flies" (Dt. 28:49). Babylon is spoken of as an eagle in Jer. 48:40; Dan. 7:4; Hab. 1:8 and Ez. 17:3,12, as is Assyria (Hos. 8:1) and as are the Ammonites (Jer. 49:16) and Edom (Obadiah 4). The IS flying the banner of the eagle therefore associates them with being a reincarnation of Israel's historical enemies. 

The  mark of the beast is to be worn on the hand, yet the Greek word for "hand" is the same as for "arm". Jihadist fighters are wearing the IS symbol, the seal of Mohammed, on rings and armbands- and we can expect this to become what the IS demands of their subject peoples too. Here's a ring with the insignia on it; and we could expect the coinage and banknotes of any IS to include it too, so that literally one could not buy or sell without it, in the earth / land under their control:

The Biblical data concerning the mark of the beast suggests that this will be used by "the beast" and will be enforced upon those who "dwell upon the earth" (Rev. 13:14,17). "The earth" Biblically refers to either the whole planet, or the land- the land promised to Abraham, from the Nile to the Euphrates. This promised land is the focus of the Bible. The beast of Revelation is another take on the beast of Daniel 7, which in turn is an amplification of the fourth empire of the image of Daniel 2. The empires or kings of Daniel 2 all refer to those entitites who reigned over "the whole earth / land"- of Israel, as discussed further in my exposition of Daniel 2. The same earth / land is in view here in Revelation. The IS can therefore be expected to gain control over that territory and to enforce the acceptance of Islam there. The mark is specifically the mark of a man (Rev. 13:18)- and that man is clearly Mohammed, seeing that the ensign of the IS is the seal of Mohammed. And according to some usages of Gematria [whereby each letter in the Hebrew or Arabic alphabet has a numerical value], Mohammed in Greek, Mahomet,  (Μαομετιςhas) has a value of 666:

Mu       Alpha   Omicron    Mu Epsilon  Tau     Iota    Sigma   TOTAL
40        1          70             40   5            300    10        200      666

Don't dismiss gematria too quickly. The Bible itself uses it here in Rev. 13:18. There, the number 666 is not written as it would normally have been, as a number, but rather as three Greek letters, chi xi stigma; which between them add up to 666 by gematria. So it would seem that we are being invited to work out the riddle through the use of gematria. There are some connections in form between the letters of the Greek and Arabic alphabets, just as there are between the letters of the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets (e.g. 'R' in the Latin alphabet is the inverse of 'я' in the Cyrillic). When those three Greek letters are turned on their side, they read exactly as the Arabic letters which spell Bis'm Allah- "In the name of Allah", which is the credo of Islam and the jihadists. This appears to be another connection between Islam and the mark of the beast.

We note too from Rev. 13:14 that the beast system does apparent 'miracles'; and the seal of Mohammed was historically supposed to be able to perform miracles. We could expect such false claims to be made within the IS also. The IS has already demonstrated how they deal with areas they conquer- all economic life is controlled by them and people are forced into submission to the new system. Nobody will be able to buy and sell in the territory of the earth / land promised to Abraham without displaying the mark of loyalty to the IS- the seal of Mohammed.

The book of Revelation, like all Bible prophecy, will have particular and acute relevance to those who live in the very last days before Christ comes. There is a particular blessing repeated for those who refuse to accept the mark of the beast. That brave and tiny minority will be comprised of those Jews who refuse to convert, and instead convert to Jesus Christ in their desperation. And for them, the book of Revelation holds out particular blessing (Rev. 14:9-11; 15:2; 20:4).

Black Flags from Khurasan

Chapter 3: Black Flags from Khurasan

I have made the point earlier that the latter day invasion of the eretz / land  / earth of Israel will be distinctly religiously motivated. There will be a conscious attempt to fulfil the words of the Koran and Hadith.  Islamic prophetic tradition in the Hadith predicts:
“Armies carrying black flags will come from Khurasan (This could refer to Afghanistan, the home of Al-Qaeda; or to Kurdistan- the area where the Islamic State currently is developing). No power will be able to stop them and they will finally reach Eela (Baitul Maqdas in Jerusalem) where they will erect their flags.” Baitul Maqdas or “the holy house” is referring to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Source:http://musliminsuffer.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/victorious-army-of-black-banners  . Abdul Rahman al-Wahabi in The Day of Wrathstates:
“The final battle will be waged by Muslim faithful coming on the backs of horses… carrying black banners. They will stand on the East side of the Jordan River and will wage war that the earth has never seen before. The true Messiah who is the Islamic Mahdi will defeat Europe, will lead this army of Seljuks [Turks]. He will preside over the world from Jerusalem because Mecca would have been destroyed”. Other parts of the Hadith claim:
“The black flags will come from the East, led by mighty men, with long hair and beards, their surnames are taken from the names of their home towns (i.e. Khosti or from Khost etc.) and their first names are from a “Kunya”(Asmal Masalik Lieyyam Mahdiyy Maliki Li Kull-id Dunya Biemrillah-il Malik, Qalda bin Zayd) . We note that the Islamic State is insisting that all men must grow beards in the areas they occupy.
“If you see the Black Banners coming from Khurasan go to them immediately, even if you must crawl over ice, because indeed amongst them is the Caliph, Al Mahdi.” [Narrated on authority of Ibn Majah, Al-Hakim, Ahmad]. All the talk of following the Caliph, the leader of the IS, fits in with the Biblical picture of a specific antiChrist figure developing in the last days. There has been no Caliph in the Moslem world since 1924- until Al-Baghdadi, leader of the IS, was declared Caliph in 2014.
“Surely Black Flags will appear from the Khorasan until the people (under the leadership of this flag) will tie their horses with the Olive Trees between Bait-e-Lahya and Harasta. We asked are there any Olive trees between these places. He said, ‘If there isn’t then soon it will grow so that those people(of Khorasan) will come and tie their horses there’”. Beit Lahia  is a town under Palestinian Authority of about 40,000 people in the northern Gaza Strip.  Harasta, also known as Harasta al-Basal, is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq. This is the situation foretold in Is. 9:12 “The Syrians before and the Philistines behind … shall devour Israel with open mouth”. Beit Lahia is a center of Hamas terrorist activity against Israel, and has frequently been the focus of Israeli raids and bombardment- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28290018 . The uprising in the Gaza Strip is clearly orchestrated and funded by ISIS.

“If you see the black (meaning war) flags coming from Khurasan (Afghanistan), join that army, even if you have to crawl over ice, for this is the army of the Caliph, the Mahdi and no one can stop that army until it reaches Jerusalem.”
“They will defeat the companions of The Sufyaani until he comes to the House of Jerusalem where he will establish his power for the Mahdi, and he will be supplied with three hundred (men) from Syria after his arrival and the matter will be settled for the Mahdi. The eminent saints (Al-Abdal) of Syria and the best people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him
he will send an army to Iraq and kill a hundred thousand in Az-Zawra. So join him in Mecca — he is the Mahdi!” Then, Hudhayfah asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, how shall we know him?’ He replied: “He is a man from my children, he looks like the men from the children of Israel, upon him are two white cloaks with frayed edges”.  His face is like a colourful, glittering star”.
“The Prophet said: “The Mahdi is a man from my children. His face is like a glittering star, his skin is the colour of an Arab, and his body is like that of Israel. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will have been filled by injustice, and the dwellers of Heaven and Earth will be pleased with his Caliphate”.

There is a conscious attempt by the IS to fulfil these predictions. The black flag has been observed amidst the protests and riots in Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Jerusalem, Gaza and even Germany, Australia and England. Across the world, Muslims of every race, tribe and nation are marching under the same black banner. Another name for the flag in Arabic is al-Ùqāb, and is sometimes referred to as “the Eagle”; just as the British flag is called ‘The Union Jack’ and the American flag ‘The stars and stripes’. And the eagle is a symbol of Israel’s historical enemies.

IS Aims for Jerusalem
“Armies carrying black flags will come from Khurasan. No power will be able to stop them and they will finally reach Eela, (Baitul Maqdas, “The Holy House” in Jerusalem) where they will erect their flags”.

Without doubt, the taking of Jerusalem is high on the agenda of the Islamic State. It is also high on the agenda of the Palestinians within the land of Israel. The Hamas Covenant again refers to the idea of the black flags. Article 6 states of their movement: “It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine”. This is the significance of the black flags of the Islamic State being raised over the surrounding territories. The intended next placement for them is clearly in Israel. They also see the assault on Israel and the Jews as hastening the last day. Article 7 of the Hamas Covenant states: “The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:  "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him””. In their desire for the last day to come, they will surely invade Israel and try to kill the Jews there. The theological basis of the Islamic State is likewise that the last day will be hastened by armed conflict with the Jews. Such an invasion of Israel is required by Bible prophecy before the return of Christ and the day of judgment. The Moslems will seek to bring this about by invading Israel and killing as many Jews as they can; this is the basis of their invasion of Israel.

Assyria Revived

Chapter 1: Assyria Revived

Assyria was one of the great historical enemies of Israel. Their brutal takeover of the lands within the land, the land promised to Abraham, forms the basis of many prophecies of the latter day invasion of Israel. Just as Assyria conquered the lands around Israel, so the latter day Assyrian will do. Assyria took the ten tribes into captivity, and then came to take Jerusalem. Due to Judah’s last minute repentance before their God, Jerusalem did not then fall. But out of Assyria came Babylon (Is. 23:13 “Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it”). And Babylon did come and destroy Jerusalem and take the Jews [the remaining two and a half tribes of Israel known as ‘Judah’] into captivity. This is why Assyria and Babylon are at times used interchangeably in the Old Testament.

Our expectation of a revived latter day Assyria is being realized before our eyes. The Islamic State are led by theologians, deeply aware of the historical context in which they stand, seeking to be the reincarnation of such historical forces who have dominated the land promised to Abraham, or Al-Sham as they call it. Staring at maps of ancient empires and current nations, we can get the impression that all states and empires have clearly defined boundaries. But the ancient empires weren’t really like that. When you enter the European Union, there’s a sign up which says ‘Welcome in the European Union’, and a flag next to it. But the Assyrian empire wasn’t like that. And neither is the Islamic State which is developing. The nature of boundaries in our global village have changed. It’s who your friends are on Facebook, which chat groups you frequent, which news portal you read… which defines who you are, rather than which geographical area you live in. And so it is with the entity known as the IS. The entity is defined by ideology and common enemies, rather than hard lines drawn in the literal sand with entry posts. The Islamic State have internet sites and ample media channels through which to explain to us their intentions. One of the battle songs of the IS fighters goes like this [when translated into English]:

Oh soldiers of Truth, let's go.
Repeat the tune of endurance.
A light has illuminated Shaam [the Levant, the Assyrian empire, the land promised to Abraham],
so rally all the soldiers.
The Islamic state has been established,
so wipe out all the borders.
Break the crosses [of the Christians] and destroy the lineage of the grandsons of monkeys [the Jews].
The state of monotheism will remain in spite of the lies of the hateful people.

[Commentary is mine].

You can see it being sung in Arabic at http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/4296.htm , with English transcript athttp://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/4296.htm  .  Notice: “The Islamic state has been established, so wipe out all the borders”. This feature of the IS has struck commentators. Ben Hubbard writing in the New York Times, August 22, 2014 (‘Progress of ISIS puts Obama to test’) is an example: “The brutality of ISIS… has seized the world’s attention… ISIS has erased borders and upended alliances across the region… its vision of a stateless Middle East under the black flag of jihad terrifies the region’s governments… ISIS is one creature with two heads that can see here and see there”. Note the Biblical language of a beast with heads. Indeed, media reports and official statements about the IS often use Biblical and apocalyptic language.

Under its vision of an Islamic Middle East "the land of Israel would be incorporated as part of Greater Syria," as it once was considered during its time under Muslim occupation. And the IS has been very open about its final intentions; in areas under its control, the group has erected billboards saying 'our eyes are on Al Quds (Jerusalem)' [as reported at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/180622#.U7gANrHAA5saccessed August 2014].

Consider another battle song of the IS jihadist fighters, publicized by the group’s media officer, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, who believes that the current fighting of the IS is towards the final struggle “in the battle on the day of resurrection with al-Dajjal” (“the false Messiah,” roughly in the role of the Anti-Christ of Christian eschatology):

“So rush O Muslims and gather around your khalīfah [Caliph], so that you may return as you once were for ages, kings of the earth and knights of war.
soldiers that do not see
hardship as being difficult,
And lions [ frequent symbols of Assyria] that are thirsty in battle,
Having greedily drunk the blood of kufr [apostates]”.

The Bible uses the word eretz in the Old Testament to refer either to the entire planet, or specifically to the land / earth promised to Abraham, from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt. The “kings of the earth” therefore refer to the kings or ‘knights’ within the boundaries of the land promised to Abraham, making them "kings of the earth (land)". This term is used in the Bible to describe those who will finally come up against Jerusalem, to be destroyed by the second coming of Christ (Ps. 2:2; 76:12; Is. 24:21; Jer. 50:41 kings from the borders of the earth / land- which fits the IS; Lam. 4:12 the nations who assisted Babylon take Jerusalem; Dan. 7:17 the beasts represent the kings of the earth; Rev. 16:14; 17:2,18; 18:3,9; 19:19). So we cannot but be excited when an Islamic state acts like Assyria and calls its fighters “the kings of the earth”!

The despiteful, aggressive attitude of the latter day Assyrian matches the behaviour of the IS. And there are stern prophecies predicting their end:
"Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations… Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did” (Is. 10:5-7,24).

“And He (the Lord Jesus) will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace when the Assyrian invades our land, when he tramples on our citadels… And He will deliver us from the Assyrian when he attacks our land and when he tramples our territory” (Mic. 5:4-6). The visible manifestation of Israel’s Messiah is thus associated with ‘the Assyrian’ invading the land of Israel.

Geographically, Assyria was located in what is now parts of modern Iran and Iraq, although in reality both Assyria and Babylon coerced, or operated in tandem with, a number of the other smaller powers around Israel (Is. 29:7,8;  30:28;  33:3;  34:1,2;  2 Chron. 22:22; Ps. 83). Thus Herodotus called Sennacharib "king of the Arabians and the Assyrians". We are seeing this scenario develop as various smaller powers are either coerced by or willingly cooperate with the IS.

The Assyrian is to be “broken in pieces” (Is. 30:31 RV), just as the whole image of Daniel 2 is to be, by the return of Christ as the little stone. The Assyrian confederacy which came against Jerusalem is described as being the foes of Israel who will be swept away as chaff (Is. 29:5 RV). This was fulfilled in Sennacherib’s destruction outside Jerusalem. And yet the language of being swept away as chaff refers without doubt to the image of Dan. 2 being swept away as chaff. The conclusion surely is that the Assyrian attack against Jerusalem, comprised as it was of a confederacy of local nations from within the land promised to Abraham, is typical of the final destruction of a similar confederacy by the Lord’s return.

Assyria took power over what is now known as Syria. And in the last days, “the riches of Damascus... shall be taken away before (by) the king of Assyria" (Is. 8:4). We can see Syria being either taken over by or forced into submission to the IS. Is. 9:12 speaks of the Syrians and Philistines [Palestinians] as being the mouth of a huge beast, closing around Israel: "The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth". In this lies the connection between the growing intifada against Israel on one side, and the uprise of the latter day Assyria, the IS, on Israel’s other side.  This image of an Arab beast devouring Israel is repeated in Joel 1:6 concerning the later day Assyrian invader.

The Assyrian Style Revived

Assyria was renowned for taking captives and abusing and selling them into captivity. Such a fate is predicted for latter day Israel: "You shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you" (Dt. 28:68). Until recently there was no entity likely to do this to Israel. But now, with the emergence of the IS, there is. Here's a picture of Yezidi girls captured by the IS being sold for $10 each:

Assyria and Babylon had a policy of taking away local conquered people into exile, and using people from other parts of the conquered territories to then govern or police the conquered areas. One IS defector said it was a deliberate ISIS strategy to use outsiders to police the towns it took over: "The Islamic State have brought in people from other countries, different nationalities who are quite young in age so that they can brainwash or indoctrinate them with their Isis ideology… And so they control the areas, not through the local people but with their own forces and their own men whom they prepare for this task"- quotes from Paul Wood, ‘Isis defector speaks of life inside brutal jihadist group’, first published athttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28269596

The IS will be a strictly religious entity, keen to take the predictions and commands of the Koran and Hadith as literally as possible- including “When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads until you have crushed them completely; then bind the prisoners tightly,” (Sura Chapter 47). The world today is indeed shocked at reports of ISIS' gruesome sweep into northern Iraq. The UK Daily Mail  reported of ISIS: “They lined the streets with the decapitated heads of police and soldiers”. Beheading is now a well-known method used by the IS, popularized by their YouTube videos of beheading Western hostages. We note that it is the fate of those who do not worship the beast or accept his mark in Rev. 20:4.

The IS has seized billions of dollars worth of gold kept in the banks in the cities they have overrun, especially in Mosul; again in keeping with Assyria seizing gold and precious stones from its occupied territories. That certainly sounds like the behaviour of the aggressive King of the North during his invasion of eretz Israel in Dan. 11:43: "He shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things".

The Religious Dimension
The religious dimension of the invasion is also to be found in Dan. 11:44, albeit masked by translation. The King of the North will invade eretz Israel "to destroy and utterly to make away many" (AV). The Hebrew word charam translated 'to utterly make away' specifically means to consecrate, to make something over to another, specifically their god or religion. And this is the stated motive of the IS and other jihadist groups- to sanctify Israel as a spoil of war to Allah and the Prophet. This is the predicted call found in Joel 2, to sanctify war against Israel- the very language of jihad, holy war. The King of Assyria “came up” throughout the land promised to Abraham (2 Kings 17:5). The Hebrew word used is alah, meaning to ascend up- and this is the very battle cry of the Islamic State, Allah ahbar. The Assyrians were persuaded that the one true God, Yahweh, had sent them against Israel (2 Kings 18:25)- just as the Islamic State are today. “Hear [shama] the word of the great King, the King of Assyria” (2 Kings 18:28) is a conscious imitation of the shema to Israel from their King, Yahweh. “The great king” is a title of Yahweh. The king of Assyria was parodying the giving of the Law to Israel, implying his commandments were a new Torah for Israel; and the leadership of the Islamic State has spoken of producing a new Torah, making him the one mentioned in Daniel as changing laws.

The historical Assyria ‘destroyed utterly’ the nations around Israel (2 Kings 19:11); but the Hebrew word used specifically means to consecrate or dedicate. It has a distinctly religious sense. And this is precisely the idea of jihad- taking land in a holy war in order to dedicate that land to Allah. In practice, the Assyrians did this by ‘destroying’ or ‘drying up’ these lands. Charab¸ ‘to dry up’, is used about their scorched earth policies (2 Kings 19:17), and Assyria threatened to ‘dry up’ Judah (2 Chron. 32:11), just as he boasted “with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places” (2 Kings 19:24); and the metaphor continues with the idea of Assyria being like a river gushing forth over the land they had dried up (Is. 8:7). This is why God’s answer to the Assyrian threat to Judah is expressed in terms of His reminding Judah that it is He who has ultimate power to dry up rivers and nations (Is. 44:27; 50:2; 51:10- every time, the same Hebrew word charab is used).