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| Vilna Gaon courtesy Wikipedia |
Elijah ben
Shlomo Zalman Kremer was an 18th century Rabbi also known as the
Genius of Vilnius or Vilna Gaon. He was born in
Vilnius, Lithuania and is one of the most revered Rabbis of the past 500 years.
Why am I
writing about an 18th century Rabbi on a Christian end times blog. Well
shortly before his death, Vilna Gaon said that when the Russians capture the Crimea,
it will be an indication that we are in the time of the coming of the Messiah. This
is getting many people in Israel pretty excited including the great-grandson of
Vilna Gaon. Grand Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, the vice president of Israel’s
Rabbinical Court announced to his disciples that Putin’s actions are a sure
sign that the Messiah is on his way.
Also,
According to a writer for Haaretz named Chemi Shalev, Russia’s actions in the
Crimea are a harbinger of the Gog-Magog war written about by the prophet Ezekiel. This is because the first century Jewish
historian, Flavius Josephus, considered the area around the Black Sea to be the
land of Magog written about in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39.
While reading these things, remember that the Jewish and Christian views of the coming of the Messiah share some similarities but have many fundamental differences. We are blessed to be a witness to these exciting times. Here is a blog with more details on this story and some other links I think you will find interesting.
Does Takeover of Crimea Mean Messiah Is Near?
Most of the Jewish and general world is fuming over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s takeover of Crimea. But some ultra-Orthodox Jews are positively delighted by it.
This week, Grand Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, the vice president of Israel’s Rabbinical Court and a descendant of the revered rabbi known as the Vilna Gaon (aka “Genius of Vilnius”), announced to his disciples that Putin’s actions are a sure sign that the Messiah is on his way.
Apparently, Shternbuch heard this secret prediction from Rabbi Yitzchak Chever, who heard it from Rabbi Chaim of Volozhyn, who heard it from the Vilna Gaon himself, who said shortly before his death:
When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard. And when you hear that the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), you should put on your Shabbat clothes and don’t take them off, because it means that the Messiah is about to come any minute.
Shternbuch’s
pronouncement, which was reported this weekend in the ultra-Orthodox press in
Israel, has some Haredi Jews working themselves into a messianic frenzy.
Also
And of
course
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