 TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Israel's Quandary: Can It Afford to Win in The Face of International Opposition? - By Caroline Glick/JNS.org - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=7349
The life of Israel is a split screen. The first screen shows the life of a nation and a country fending off a coordinated seven-front assault whose goal is the Jewish state's physical obliteration with heroism, ingenuity and fortitude that takes your breath away. The second screen shows the envy and hatred that the nations of the world direct at the State of Israel. And this week, with the U.N. General Assembly taking place in New York at the precise moment Israel has taken the initiative vis à vis the Lebanese front, the dissonance between the two sides is so glaring that it gives you whiplash. Over the past week, for the first time since it unilaterally removed its forces from Southern Lebanon in 2000, Israel took the initiative in its war with Iran's largest proxy force, Hezbollah, which controls Lebanon. The threat Hezbollah poses to Israel is orders of magnitude greater than the threat Hamas posed on Oct. 7. Hezbollah's arsenal, which numbers some 200,000 short- and medium-range rockets and ballistic missiles, is nearly 35 times larger than Hamas's arsenal of 6,000. Hezbollah's missiles are capable of hitting nearly every strategic military and industrial site in Israel. They are capable of laying waste to northern communities and devastating cities and towns throughout the country. And they are embedded in civilian neighborhoods. After the 2006 war, due to its control over the Lebanese government and military, Hezbollah oversaw the reconstruction of the areas in Southern Lebanon that were damaged and destroyed in the war. Hezbollah built the apartments as dual-use structures with missile launchers and missiles in many apartments. Residents received monthly payments for permitting their homes to be for this purpose. Since the start of the war, Hezbollah shot 8,000 such projectiles into northern Israel. They severely damaged several critical military installations. They destroyed hundreds of homes. They ravaged the landscape of northern Israel, burning forests, as well as destroying nature and wildlife reserves from the Golan Heights to the Upper Galilee. If the missile arsenals weren't sufficient to keep Israel's north depopulated, there is also the conventional threat of Hezbollah's land forces. Citing U.S. and regional officials, The Wall Street Journal reported, "Those with knowledge of Hezbollah say the group accelerated its war preparations in recent months, expanding its network of tunnels in Southern Lebanon, repositioning fighters and weapons and smuggling in more arms. Iran has increased supplies of small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, along with guided and unguided long-range missiles." "The south is like a beehive right now," said a former Hezbollah military officer referring to the military preparations to the newspaper. "Everything the Iranians have, we have." Hezbollah' ground forces number some 40,000 men. Thousands in the so-called Radwan brigades are battle-hardened veterans of Iran's insurgent wars in Syria and Iraq. They have oceans of American, British, Iraqi and Syrian blood on their hands. Hezbollah's operational concept since Oct. 7 (basically since Israel removed its forces from Southern Lebanon in May 2000) has been attrition warfare. Hezbollah's massive and ever-growing arsenal deters Israel from getting into a major war with the terror army. At the same time, the terror group expands its effective control over northern Israel by gradually expanding the expanse of Israeli territory it can strike at will. In the past month, emboldened by Israel's largely defense posture since Oct. 7, Hezbollah has massively escalated its missile assault on Israel, increasing the number and range of the projectiles its forces shot over daily from a few to a couple dozen to between 60 and 120. Last week, it was the ingenious decapitation strikes that successfully targeted Hezbollah's operational leadership attributed to Israel involving the detonation of hand-held communications devices that enabled Israel to seize the operational initiative for the first time since 2000. Its follow-on airstrikes against the commanders of the Radwan Force in Beirut decimated Hezbollah's senior ranks, leaving Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his bosses in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps with a largely commander-less terror army. Israel's airstrikes on Monday against missiles and missile launchers in Southern Lebanon, Beirut and the Beqaa Valley, based on stunning intelligence superiority, reportedly devastated Hezbollah's strategic missile power. A diplomatic source divulged Tuesday morning that the air force's 1,400 hits destroyed half of Hezbollah's precision-guided missiles. The source claimed further that now, Hezbollah possesses only one-quarter of the rockets with ranges up to 40 kilometers it had at the start of the war. Critically, the source said that Hezbollah's capacity to launch coordinated missile strikes involving hundreds of projectiles simultaneously has been severely damaged. Hezbollah's operational concept throughout has been that in the event of an all-out war, it would swarm Israel with hundreds of projectiles simultaneously, overwhelming Israel's air-defense systems. If Israel has indeed taken out that capability, it means that Hezbollah's threat to Israeli territory is no longer existential. By achieving something approaching operational control over Gaza, blocking avenues of resupply by controlling the Philadephi corridor controlling the 14-kilometer border with Egypt and preventing the reinforcement of Hamas's terror forces in northern Gaza by controlling the Netzarim corridor, Israel has been able to scale back its force size in Gaza. Israel's military Division 98, the main maneuver unit in Gaza, was moved to the north, providing the IDF both the means to prevent or defeat a Hezbollah invasion by land, including underground, border-crossing tunnels. Division 98 is also capable of carrying out incursions up to and including an invasion of Southern Lebanon if so commanded. Jerusalem's intelligence capabilities have enabled it to carry out the most precise airstrikes in history. Almost no ordnance has been wasted or misdirected. Thanks to the experience Israel has garnered in Gaza over the past year, it has developed the capacity to give civilians an opportunity to vacate areas, including their apartments, housing missiles before striking, thus again, bringing the number of civilians killed nearly to zero. It is hard to ignore the global implications of what is happening on the ground. It isn't simply that Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah's operations commander who was killed at the leadership meeting in Beirut, had a $7 million FBI award on his head for his role in carrying out the 1983 bombings of the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 that murdered some 300 Americans, as well as 64 French paratroopers. Hezbollah is the most powerful and well-seeded terror force in the world. Its operational and financial tentacles reach throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. An Israeli victory would mean that Hezbollah's threat worldwide would be massively diminished. Then there is Iran. For the past four years, Iran has moved steadily towards completing its nuclear weapons program. It is widely considered a threshold nuclear state. It is suspected of adapting its missile force to carry nuclear warheads. To date, Hezbollah has served as Iran's protector. By using the prospect of an all-out combined missile strike and ground invasion of Israel from Lebanon as a deterrent, Iran was able to deter Israel from striking its missile and nuclear installations or its oil platforms. Now with Hezbollah in the most vulnerable and weakest position it has suffered in decades--and Hamas effectively defeated as an offensive force--Iran faces the specter of an Israel free to destroy its nuclear and regional hegemonic ambitions. International law turned on its head And this brings us to the second half of the screen. As Israel fights the free world's fight against Iran and its terrorist forces, the nations of the world have congregated at the U.N. General Assembly for their annual diplomatic lynch mob against the lone Jewish state. The General Assembly opened last week by passing a resolution demanding that Israel remove 800,000 citizens from their homes in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria within a year and transfer their communities to the Palestinian Authority, which shares the goal of Iran and its other proxies to annihilate Israel. If Israel fails to abide by the U.N. dictate, or even if it does, the resolution calls on the U.N. member states to enact an arms embargo on Israel. António Guterres, the U.N.'s Israel-hating secretary-general helpfully proclaimed that he will use his powers of office to enforce the resolution. It was all downhill from there. At the United Nations, in Paris, in Washington, policymakers and lawmakers have spared no effort to demonize Israel. President Joe Biden and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, met in Washington on Monday. Rather than congratulate (or thank) Israel for systematically removing the gravest threats to the stability and security of the Middle East, including to the UAE and the United States, Biden and MBZ focused their statements on demanding that Israel move to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza, Judea and Samaria--and Jerusalem. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his fellow progressives in Congress responded with rage to the simultaneous detonation of Hezbollah's pages and walkie-talkies that took out thousands of terrorists in one fell swoop. They called it international terrorism and demanded a U.S. arms embargo on Israel. Even Leon Panetta, former secretary of defense, also called the strike that decimated the leadership of the most powerful terror army in the world a terror attack. All of those clamoring to declare Israel the enemy of all that is good, and Hezbollah and Hamas as the good guys, predicate their condemnations on an entirely imaginary version of international law that turns morality and the very concept of legality on their heads to punish defenders--or one specific defender, Israel--and reward aggressors. The dissonance between the reality on the ground and the diplomatic assault on Israel--now joined by nearly every nation on earth at the United Nations--presents Israel with an epic quandary. Obviously, it cannot scale back the level or nature of the assault with reason. People cannot be reasoned out of positions they weren't reasoned into. The international community's hostility towards Israel owes to a poisonous mix of political expedience, greed, opportunism and prejudice. And so, we come to the quandary. Can Israel afford to ignore these forces and just fight to victory or not? Can Israel afford not to ignore them? The Biden administration and its comrades at the United Nations are betting that Israel will decide that it cannot afford to ignore these voices. But in reaching this conclusion, they ignore the one overriding factor that has informed Israel's actions since Oct. 7. This is a war for Israel's survival. Israelis back this war because they understand that the lesson of Oct. 7 is that the can has been kicked to the end of the road. Claims that we can stop and pick up where we left off in a year or so fall like artillery duds. No one will accept them because no one can accept them. It is literally now or never. And so the United Nations and the United States, and their diplomatic lynch mob, will be ignored. Maybe the diplomatic chips falling today can be picked up at a later date. But this war must be won. And after the stunning successes in Lebanon, more and more Israelis are reinforced in their conviction that it is being won. Wikipedia’s Redefinition of Zionism Draws Severe Rebuke: ‘History Is Being Rewritten’ – By Breanna Claussen - https://harbingersdaily.com/wikipedias-rewritting-of-jewish-history-draws-severe-rebuke-downright-antisemitic/ Despite Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger’s warnings that the online encyclopedia has become a bastion of bias and “leftist propaganda,” millions continue to rely on it as their primary source of information on a wide array of topics. One of the most recent issues highlighting the danger of Wikipedia’s impact on public opinion came when the group changed its definition of Zionism in mid-June. Though only now drawing public attention, the revisions are receiving severe backlash on social media, with users warning that “history is being rewritten.” While much of the condemnation focuses on changes made between 2023 and 2024, venturing further back to Wikipedia’s page in 2004 shows just how far the editors have gone in redefining Zionism. “Zionism is a political movement among Jews holding that the Jewish people constitute a nation and are entitled to a national homeland,” the 2004 page stated. “The word ‘Zionist’ derives from the word ‘Zion,’ being one of the names of Jerusalem, as mentioned in the Bible. To diaspora Jews, Zion has been a symbol of the Holy Land and of their return to it, as promised by God in Biblical prophecies.” Though still far from perfect in its definition, the page in 2004 acknowledged the Jewish history in the land, the desire of Jews to return since the Roman Empire’s destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the antisemitism faced globally by diaspora Jews, and that there has always remained, to varying degrees, a Jewish presence in the land. Slowly rewritten over time, the latest revisions made in June now insist that Zionism is an “ethno-cultural nationalist movement” rooted in the desire to “create a Jewish state in Palestine with as much land, as many Jews, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible.” “The common ideology among mainstream Zionist factions is support for territorial concentration and a Jewish demographic majority in Palestine, through colonization,” the revision further states. As Tel Aviv Institute senior fellow Hen Mazzig noted, “The new Wikipedia entry on Zionism isn’t just inaccurate, it’s downright antisemitic,” pointing to its section calling into question the genetic authenticity of European Jews. “It asserts that the origin of Ashkenazi Jews is ‘highly debated and enigmatic,’ echoing Khazar theory, the dangerous lie that Ashkenazi Jews are converts and not descendants of the Jews exiled from the Land of Israel,” Mazzig stressed. “This theory is often weaponized to call Israelis ‘colonizers’ and thus dehumanize us. In fact, Jewish history of repeated exile and migration from Israel to Europe is incredibly well-documented, as are genetic studies linking our people to the Middle East. Any balanced article discussing Jewish genetics and Israel would mention that. Wikipedia has become a hate site.” While the page in 2023 asserted that “Critics of Zionism view it as a colonialist, racist, or exceptionalist ideology or movement (through settler colonialism),” the revision now adds that even “Proponents of Zionism do not necessarily reject the characterization…” In other words, supporters of Zionism are apparently in agreement that their views are rooted in conquering, ethnically cleansing, and exploiting Palestinians. Antisemitism expert Olivier Melnick would undoubtedly beg to differ, highlighting recently the vast scriptural evidence “validating the claims of Zionism.” “From the biblical record, starting in Genesis, it can easily be argued that God Himself was the first Zionist,” Melnick underscored. “It hasn’t changed and never will. Those who fight or reject Zionism are fighting and/or rejecting God. Incidentally, He doesn’t want anybody to perish, and He certainly has the same love and compassion for both Jews and Arabs and so should we. Being a Zionist doesn’t mean that one is a racist or a colonizer.” Wikipedia also recently voted to rename its page “Allegations of genocide in the 2023 Israeli attack on Gaza” to “Gaza genocide.” The editors argued that the claims of so-called “genocide” in Gaza are a “settled fact.” One of the “experts” cited by the editors was United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has faced strong condemnation by Israel, the United States, Germany, France, and others for her long history of repeating antisemitic tropes—including her distortion of the holocaust and recent comparison of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Policy analyst Aviva Winton, in an opinion piece for the Jerusalem Post, stated that the move by Wikipedia “should, by any reasonable measure, hammer a final nail into the coffin of its credibility as a reliable source of information about Israel and Jews.” Winton further warned that anti-semitic lies are “being magnified greatly by the activist takeover of Wikipedia.” Artificial intelligence tools have also been programmed to rely on Wikipedia as a primary source of information. That information is then given to users, Winton warned, making it “yet another means by which billions of people are being fed inaccurate research and dangerously skewed narratives about Jews, Jewish history, antisemitism, Israel, and Zionism.” British author and political commentator Douglas Murray recently underscored that anti-Zionism has seemingly branded itself as the only “acceptable form of antisemitism.” “The interesting thing about antisemitism is the Jews can never win because, historically, they’ve been hated for being rich and for being poor,” he stated. “They’ve been hated for integrating and for not integrating. They were hated for being stateless; now, they’re hated for having a state… Zionism is simply the right of the Jews to self-determination in their historic homeland—that’s all.” Amir Tsarfati, Founder and President of Behold Israel, details that “the Zionist vision [was] grounded in God’s Biblical promises.” “The Zionist movement initiated the realization of the long-awaited dream of reestablishing a Jewish Homeland in the land of Israel. It is clear to us, now more than ever, that the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was the fulfillment of God’s promise to gather His people back to Zion,” Tsarfati stated. “This miracle was described in Ezekiel 36:24, [where God said] ‘I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.’” “However, opponents of the Biblical vision of the Jewish return have often used the term ‘the Zionist entity’ to deny the rights and historical connection of the Jewish people to the land,” he explained. “This narrative portrays Zionism as an illegitimate Colonial project.” “Despite this hostility, it’s important to recognize that Israel’s modern rebirth is intertwined with the Zionist vision grounded in God’s Biblical promises,” Tsarfati continued. “Believing in Israel’s right to the land means embracing Zionism, a movement that is not just political but spiritual. If you stand with God’s biblical promises for Israel, congratulations, you are a Zionist.” “Remember,” he implored, “Zionism isn’t just a good thing; it’s a God thing.” ENTER OUR DONATION DRAWING A Chance to Win a Brand New 24-inch iMac with Retina 4.5K display -- most importantly, you will be helping to Support Prophecy Update! Please consider entering our donation drawing, not only might you win this brand new iMac, but more importantly, you will be helping to support Prophecy Update - thank you so very much!!! With the following configuration:
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The “Comet of The Century” Is Here! Has God Put It There to Be A “Sign In The Heavens”? - by Michael Snyder - https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/the-comet-of-the-century-is-here-has-god-put-it-there-to-be-a-sign-in-the-heavens/ Is it just a coincidence that the “Comet of the Century” has appeared just as all-out war is about to erupt in the Middle East and a presidential election that has the potential to change life in America forever is about to be decided? Perhaps you do think that it is just a coincidence, and you are certainly entitled to that opinion. But my personal opinion is that it is not a coincidence that this comet has appeared at this specific moment in history. In this article, I am going to share some truly remarkable things that I have discovered about this comet, and that will include some things that I did not learn until today. In Genesis 1:14, the Bible specifically tells us that one of the reasons why God created the lights in the heavens was because He intended to use them as “signs”… 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years And in Luke chapter 21, Jesus warned us that there would be “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars” in the days prior to His return. So anyone that attempts to claim that events in the heavens never have any meaning is directly contradicting the Bible. All throughout human history, there have been important signs in the heavens. And now the “Comet of the Century” is here. This comet’s official designation is “comet C/2023 A3”, but it is also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, and right now people all over the Internet are talking about it… Unless you’ve been on a hiking holiday in Outer Mongolia for the past year you’ve probably heard that there’s going to be a “bright comet” in the sky next month. It’s everywhere! It’s called comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), and you’re likely to be hearing a lot about it over the coming weeks. Already you can’t go on social media without seeing half a dozen news stories announcing “the comet of the century is coming!” illustrated with an AI-generated graphic showing a brilliant ball of light with a glowing tail stretched out behind it. The reason why the comet’s official designation has “2023” in it is because it was originally discovered in early 2023… As always, the name of the comet itself reveals important details about it, its official name is C/2023 A3 and proceeding in order the letter C indicates that it is a non-periodic comet, the number 2023 that was discovered in 2023, the letter A that its first observation took place in the first half of January and finally the number 3 indicates that it was the third object discovered in that same period. In reality, however, the official confirmation of the discovery of this comet took place on February 22, 2023. We have now reached the time when it will start to become visible in the sky in the northern hemisphere, and that is very exciting. According to an article that was posted by Wired, it was being projected that the date when the comet would shine the brightest would be October 2nd… C/2023 A3 will shine in the northern hemisphere sky from September 27 and will remain visible until the last week of October. During this period, the comet will reach its minimum distance from the sun, before beginning its journey back out of the solar system. According to the specialized blog Cometography, the day when C/2023 A3 will shine the brightest will be October 2. The comet’s tail will be long and spectacular at this point due to its proximity to the sun. As I discussed in a previous article, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on October 2nd. In addition, there will also be a “ring of fire” solar eclipse on October 2nd. So on Rosh Hashanah the “Comet of the Century” will be the brightest at the exact same time that a spectacular “ring of fire” eclipse is appearing in the sky. That is quite a “coincidence”. There will only be two solar eclipses during 2024. The first was the Great American Eclipse on April 8th, and the second will be the “ring of fire” eclipse on October 2nd. The “ring of fire” eclipse will only be visible for a very short time, but the “Comet of the Century” will continue to be visible throughout much of October. On October 9th and 10th, the comet will “pass almost directly between Earth and the Sun”… Thanks to pure good fortune, comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will then pass almost directly between Earth and the Sun on October 9 and 10. This could cause a spectacular brightening of the comet, thanks to “forward scattering” caused by its dust. Imagine looking towards a bright light source through a cloud of dust grains. The grains nearest to the light source will scatter light from the source back towards you. If conditions are just right, and right now we don’t know if that will be the case or not, there is a possibility that this comet could actually become visible during daylight hours for a short period of time… As the comet swings between Earth and the Sun, it will be perfectly placed for this forward scattering process to occur. If the comet is particularly dusty, this could cause its apparent brightness to increase by up to 100 times. If it does, there’s a small chance the comet could briefly become visible in the daylight sky on October 9 and 10. We won’t know for sure if this will actually happen until then, but if it does happen it will make news all over the globe. Subsequently, “the Comet of the Century” will come closest to our planet on October 12th… By the time C/2023 A3 passes closest to Earth on Oct. 12, skywatchers can find it in the evening sky, shortly after sunset. It turns out that Yom Kippur just happens to fall on October 12th this year. That’s right. The “Comet of the Century” will be closest to Earth on one of the most important days on God’s prophetic calendar. But I suppose that is just a “coincidence” too. We are being told that the comet will appear to “rapidly climb in the western sky” and will become “a bright, naked-eye object for a few days” starting on Yom Kippur… After swinging between Earth and the Sun, the comet will appear in the evening sky. It will rapidly climb in the western sky, and should be a bright, naked-eye object for a few days from October 12. The sliders below will give you a sense of where to look. For the first few days of this period, the comet will still benefit from the forward scattering of sunlight, but this will decrease as it moves away. Could this comet be a sign of war? We are so close to the unthinkable, and it appears that there will be no turning back now. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has announced that his nation “will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes.” That means that all-out war is coming. And as I write this article we are only about 40 days away from the most pivotal presidential election in any of our lifetimes. At this point, everyone should be able to see that we are entering a period of extreme chaos. But a lot of people out there have not wanted to listen to any of the warnings, and they certainly are not interested in any signs in the sky. That is extremely unfortunate, because none of us will be able to avoid what is soon coming upon this planet. A Mighty Fortress - By Nathele Graham - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/09/22/a-mighty-fortress-by-nathele-graham-2/ There’s a battle raging, and it’s the epitome of Good vs. Evil. God is Good, and Satan is Evil. Of course, this battle isn’t one we can see with our eyes. It’s a spiritual battle that has been raging since Satan rebelled against God. We can feel the battle, and there are times that it manifests in the natural world, but the battle is supernatural. This world and all of humanity is the battlefield. Sometimes it seems as if evil is winning. Especially in this day and age, when all manner of evil and wickedness have been legalized, and if a person speaks out against the insanity, that person is labeled a “hater.” How can we hold on? I really don’t know how people cope if they don’t know Jesus. He is the Rock of our salvation and our strength in times of trouble. We certainly have trouble today. “ I will love thee, O LORD, my strength, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:1-2). Fear can cripple us and is a weapon of the enemy, but when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is with us, we have nothing to fear. He is our fortress. There have been troubled times throughout history, and Martin Luther lived during troubled times. He was born in 1483, became an Augustinian monk in 1505, and was ordained as a priest in 1507. The Roman Catholic Church had/has many false teachings, and Luther began to reject things like “indulgences.” He tried to reason and discuss the issues he had but to no avail. Pope Leo X demanded Luther renounce the ideas he set forth in the Ninety-five Theses. Luther refused and was excommunicated. What heresy could have caused him to be excommunicated and declared a criminal? He spoke about grace through faith in Jesus alone. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). He angered the pope by believing Scripture above the pope’s decrees. He believed that the Bible was the only divine revelation from God. He also considered all true Christians to be priests. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Luther read Scripture and believed it. Brothers and sisters, this is a very important point to understand. No matter what your preacher preaches, if it disagrees with Scripture, he is wrong. Sadly, Luther was also antisemitic, so use discernment if you study his life and teachings. Martin Luther trusted the Lord through all of his hard times and wrote hymns that encourage and strengthen our faith. As Christians, we need to look to God as our mighty fortress in these evil times in which we live. We must stand strong on God’s truth rather than fall for Satan’s lies. A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD Words by Martin Luther A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing; Our helper he, amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing For still our ancient foe Does seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, And armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal. Satan has always tried to put fear and confusion into the minds and hearts of those who look to the Lord for strength. We see it so much in the Psalms of David. He faced many battles, even before he became king. At a young age, he fought a bear and a lion, which prepared him to fight the giant Goliath. King Saul tried many times to kill him. After David became king, he fought many foes, including his own son. David always turned to the Lord for strength. “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me” (Psalm 31:3). God never failed David, nor will the Lord fail us in our times of battle. Spiritual battles are hard because the enemy is unseen and attacks our minds to draw us from our God. Remember, God is our rock and fortress, not our enemy. Many Christians aren’t armed for a spiritual battle. Pastors seem to ignore our mortal enemy and choose to preach “feel good” sermons. There is a vicious spiritual battle raging, and looking at the news headlines, Christians are failing God in the battle and siding with Satan. Pastors need to stop tickling ears and start arming the soldiers for battle. Turn to Scripture for God’s truth, and then don’t be ashamed to stand upon His truth. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Seeker-friendly preachers won’t tell you that it’s God who can destroy body and soul in Hell. All they preach is “God is love.” He is love. Like sugar is sweet and water is wet, God is love. It’s His nature to love. He doesn’t send us to Hell, but by rejecting Jesus Christ for salvation, we send ourselves to Hell. Still, God has “rules,” and if we reject the only way of Salvation, then we have made our choice. When we accept the sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross, the Holy Spirit is sealed within us, and salvation is secure. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). If your profession of faith was earnest, then the Holy Spirit is sealed inside you, and your salvation is secure. Did we in our own strength confide Our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth his name, From age to age the same; And he must win the battle. Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Christianity is not a religion; it is faith. Faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). It’s not by our own strength that we can accomplish anything for God. It is only through Jesus. He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. We are no longer under the Law of Moses, but that doesn’t mean the Law is null and void. We still have the moral law of God. In Christ we have rest and no longer have to do works to try to save ourselves. “And he said unto them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. Therefore the Son of man is the Lord also of the sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo! His doom is sure; One little word shall fell him. Do you doubt there are demons in this world? Scripture tells us they are real. Jesus cast out many demons from people. Paul also cast them out. I have no doubt that all of the Apostles and those who followed their teachings also cast them out. These evil spirits are in the world today. Too often, their handiwork is named as a medical condition. Drugs weaken our minds, so these demons can possess people. Satan had a field day in the 1960s. Many people smoked pot or used some other mind-altering drug. LSD was very popular. Since that time, the moral decay around the world has been incredible. We cannot battle Satan or his minions on our own. We get attacked by Satan in many ways. He may confuse your mind, like he confused Eve, and cause you to doubt God’s truth. Another way demons can take control of you is through Yoga, which is designed to open “chakras” and release the kundalini spirit in you. A person is encouraged to clear their mind. This opens you to any passing spirit that might want to take possession of you. We are to meditate on our Lord, filling our hearts and minds with His Holy Spirit and His love. “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Timothy 4:12-15). The more you think about God and all that He has done, the harder it is for Satan to confuse and control you. Satan will never stop trying to destroy God’s people, but the battle was won on the Cross. Believe in Him and resist the wiles of the devil. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Not by your strength, but by God’s power. That Word above all earthly powers No thanks to them abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours Through him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also; The body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still His kingdom is forever! God’s word is above all, and He never changes. Satan is attacking so many things that God sees as precious. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by Him, but today it’s being perverted. Children are special to Him, but many people see it as a woman’s right to murder the baby in the womb. Children are taught evolution instead of truth, and you can read in the first chapter of Romans to see what depravity that leads to, and it’s “legalized” today. When we understand that we are sinners on the road to eternal damnation, that’s when we realize we need Jesus. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee Ye must be born again” (John 3:5-7). God’s truth never changes. In order to enter into His eternal kingdom, you must be born again. That takes faith. Faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When you realize you’re a sinner, you must repent of your sins. If you’re a person who gossips or lies, repent and change your mind about these sins. If you’re a man who has sexual encounters with other men, repent and turn from that sin. Same goes for women. If you have any sexual encounters outside of a one man/one woman marriage, repent and ask God to forgive your sin. God’s grace and forgiveness are a blessing, but if you continue sinning, then you haven’t earnestly given your life to Christ. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). The choice to repent and live for Christ may cause family to disown you. Jesus didn’t come to make life easy. In fact, faith in Him may cause much friction in your family. “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:34-36). Don’t pick a fight with your family and friends, but don’t deny your Lord. The spiritual battle is real, but we have a mighty fortress that will never fail; Jesus Christ is our fortress. God provides the spiritual weapons for the spiritual battle we are fighting. Study them in Ephesians chapter 6. “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the evil” (Ephesians 6:10-11). Use these weapons to fight against the wickedness; don’t fight for Satan. The evil in this world is all caused by Satan; he is pure evil. You cannot win a battle with him by yourself. God is your fortress. Stand firm upon His word without wavering. He is your fortress in times of battle. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). His kingdom is forever. God bless you all, Nathele Graham [email protected] Recommended prophecy sites: www.raptureready.com www.prophecyupdate.com www.raptureforums.com All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed. If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6). Daily Jot: The American Chronicles: God’s creation and bubbles - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com Not long ago, Chris said she wanted to renew her passion of painting in nature, especially now that we were traveling to so many beautiful places. She always has been an artist—teaching art, painting for others (we have very few of her artworks)–but with raising kids and all the activities, her painting had taken a backseat to the pace of life. We bought a well-crafted easel engineered to fold up into about the size of a brief case. After setting up camp on our next adventure, she and Service Dog Charlie set out to find the perfect location. In her own words, she recounts what happens next… “Painting has been a life-long expression for me, and painting from nature is the ultimate inspiration. You are actually in the place you are painting with the sights and sounds becoming part of the creation. Earlier this month Bill and I camped on the Shenandoah river in Front Royal, Virginia. The camp we stayed at was a little slice of heaven with the river meandering around the banks and trees. I set out to set up my easel one morning right on the river bank, the morning light was perfect, and the trees were just starting to turn. Most times painting is a type of worship for me, so painting in the midst of God’s creation is the best possible place. Just as I was getting to the final touches, I had a visit from two little sisters who were curiously drawn to my canvas to see what was up with the lady by the river. “After checking me out, Addie, the oldest sister told me that she too loved to paint and wished she could paint like that. I encouraged her and her sister to keep painting, because you never know what amazing work may come out of you unless you keep at it. Then the girls’ father came to round them up, and I’ll never forget what Addie said to me, she said, “don’t forget to add the bubbles! And there were many tiny bubbles all over the surface of the water, something I might have missed had it not been revealed through the eyes of a child. So I did just that, I flicked some white paint with a small brush over the water in my painting. The perfect finishing touch, with a little help from my new-found friend.” For Chris and I, this particular stay at Low Water Bridge Campground was a new beginning. I am so excited to see Chris once again expressing her God-given talent. It’s never too late—Chris’ mother is still painting at 92 years young. We both encourage you to take that next step in what you would really like to do, what inspires you and makes you feel at peace in this world. And, hey, don’t forget to add the bubbles! Daily Devotion: It’s No Joke - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. —Revelation 20:14 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/its-no-joke-2/ - Listen People are selective when it comes to the subject of God and the afterlife. They like the idea of a God who is loving, completely accepting, and tolerant. People can go along with a deity like that. But they don’t like the notion of a God who is also just. And they reject the idea that God would send some people to Hell, or at least a lot of people they know. They would like to think that certain people will be in Hell for the horrible crimes they’ve committed. But they don’t expect themselves or family and friends to end up there. Yet Hell is a real place for real people. And according to the Bible, Hell is a miserable place of torment and separation from God that lasts for eternity. As Timothy Keller pointed out in The Reason for God, “In our culture, divine judgment is one of Christianity’s most offensive doctrines.”[1] When you bring up this topic, people get upset. Maybe one reason is widespread misinformation about Hell. It certainly is not a party place. And it is absolutely not a joke. If it were, Jesus would never have talked about it in the way that He did. Most of the biblical teaching on Hell comes from Jesus Himself. He spoke about it more than anyone else in the Bible. And He spoke about it in a very specific way. More than half of the parables Jesus told relate to God’s eternal judgment of sinners. We cannot pick and choose things in the Bible that personally appeal to us and then throw the others aside. We can imagine, as John Lennon famously sang, that Heaven and Hell don’t exist. But that won’t change the fact that they are real. The Bible tells us there are two deaths: one is physical and the other is spiritual. In Revelation 20:14 we read, “Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death” (NLT). The next chapter also mentions the second death: “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (21:8 NLT). The second death this is speaking of is Hell. If you are born once, you will die twice. You are born physically, and you will die physically. And then you will face the second death and eternal separation from God. But if you are born twice, you will die once. You are born physically, and you are born again spiritually when you put your faith in Christ. You will face only the first death (unless, of course, the Rapture happens in your lifetime). Scripture tells us that the second death is what we should fear. God has given us a free will, so where we spend eternity is really our choice. Not everyone will be saved in the end—only those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. [1] Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2008),71. PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY 9/27/24 http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php
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