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IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Jesus Was the First to Teach the Rapture! - By Mark A. Becker - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/09/14/jesus-was-the-first-to-teach-the-rapture-by-mark-a-becker/
Many people who don’t believe that Christ taught the rapture often use just that assertion for their position of denying a pre-Tribulation rapture of the church. This is somewhat understandable. At the same time, there are people who do believe in a pre-Tribulation rapture of the church who are emphatic that Christ never taught this doctrine during His ministry on earth. This, to me, is not understandable and quite perplexing, troubling, and sad. For those who believe in the pre-Tribulation rapture of the church, wouldn’t they want to know that the Lord Himself taught the rapture of the church? Wouldn’t the knowledge of Christ teaching on the rapture be a blessing for those who believe in the pre-Tribulation rapture of the church? Shouldn’t they be thrilled to have this information and want to share it with their brothers and sisters to reassure them to an even greater degree of the “blessed hope” found only in Christ (Titus 2:13)? The objective of this study is to come to an irrefutable conclusion as we analyze the overwhelming evidence that supports the absolute truth that Jesus Was the First to Teach the Rapture! Rapture Passages in the Gospels The following is a list of rapture passages found in all four gospels, some of which we will be examining. Rapture passages found in Christ’s Olivet Discourse: Matthew 24:36-51, Mark 13:32-37, and Luke 21:34-36. Additional rapture verses found in the gospels: Luke 17:34-37 and John 14:1-3. Parable concerning the rapture: Matthew 25:1-13, The 10 Virgins. There are other allusions, but this should suffice. The Rapture in the Olivet Discourse The reason the rapture is found at the end of the Olivet Discourse in the synoptic gospels is very simple: Jesus graciously answered the specific questions asked by the disciples, then proceeded to tell the seed of His church a mystery that He also touched on in John 14:1-3 and Luke 17:34-37 and which Paul revealed in full within his epistles. Why wouldn’t our Lord allude to the rapture of His church? He has the seed of His bride listening intently to his revelation of the end-times, and the day of the Lord begins with the rapture of the church. What better opportunity to show them their “blessed hope” than at this time? Unknown Day and Hour – Watch Therefore “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:32-37). (emphasis mine) Whenever the prophetic Scriptures allude to the “day or hour” that “knoweth no man,” or our Lord coming as “a thief in the night,” rest assured that this is always referring to the rapture of the church. Such verses include: 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 2 Peter 3:10 (a fascinating verse covering the entire day of the Lord, from the rapture until the Lord recreates the heavens and the earth after the millennial Kingdom, in one short statement), Revelation 3:3, Matthew 24:43, and others. We will know the season – and we see those signs today – but we can’t know the “day or the hour” when it comes to the imminent rapture of the church. But we are commanded to watch, and watch we should all be doing! A Snare is Coming – Watch Therefore “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man“ (Luke 21:34-38). (emphasis mine) Always remember to differentiate between “them” and “us/we” in prophetic Scripture. The “snare” will ultimately become the wrath of God after the rapture of the church and continue through to the end of the seven-year Tribulation, and will come upon “them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” We, the Lord’s bride, are not appointed unto wrath and will be with our Bridegroom residing in the Father’s house during this horrific time (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11). If anyone attacks you for your belief in a pre-Tribulation rapture of the church by calling you an escapist, point them to Luke 21:36 and remind them that Jesus Himself commanded us to “pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” This statement goes hand in hand with Revelation 3:10, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” The Breakdown of Luke 17:26-36 Luke 17:26-36 is unique in that this was spoken by Christ to His disciples in the presence of the Pharisees (Luke 17:20-22). Just as so much of future prophecy in the Tanakh (Old Testament) has a blending of near and far, so, too, was Christ’s teaching on the last days – after all, He is the Word made flesh (John 1:14). Always remember that we need to rightly divide – or cut straight – the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15), as future prophecy is written in just this way so that only those with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit given to the man or woman of God can make sense of it. Here’s the breakdown of this passage of Scripture: Luke 17:26-29 describes the condition of the world before the pouring out of God’s wrath, which will begin with the rapture of the church. These verses read: “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-29). Of important note is that the destructions in both Noah and Lot’s day didn’t occur until “Noah entered into the ark” and “Lot went out of Sodom.” Both are perfectly clear pictures of the rapture before the wrath of God is poured out in the last days. These comparisons of Noah and Lot can only be applied to the conditions before the rapture of the church. Life will be going on, seemingly, as it always has been (2 Peter 3:2-4). Sure, there will be problems – there always are – but the world won’t be expecting what’s about to come upon them when the ultimate trigger event, the rapture of the church, commences. The world will in no way be operating as usual at the Lord’s Second Coming, as seven-plus years of God’s wrath on humanity and creation – as well as the wars, demonic attacks, natural disasters, pestilences, etc. – will have an absolutely devastating effect on what little life remains. “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:30). There are two ways of looking at Luke 17:30, and both are acceptable.
Then, in Luke 17:31-33, Jesus warns the Jews of the Abomination of Desolation (Matthew 24:15-20 & Daniel 9:27) that will occur “in that day,” which is “the time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7). “In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it” (Luke 17:31-33). (emphasis mine) Jesus then reveals at the end of the teaching, as He does in the Olivet Discourse, some details regarding the rapture of the church in Luke 17:34-36: “I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left” (Luke 17:34-36). (emphasis mine) The two different events seem to be distinguished by the terms “In that day” (Abomination of Desolation) and “I tell you, in that night” (the rapture). Remember, the Jewish day begins at sunset, goes into the night, and concludes with the daylight hours. From this, it could also be surmised that the Abomination of Desolation might happen during the daytime in Israel (the Eastern Hemisphere), while the rapture might occur during the nighttime in Israel (although one shouldn’t be dogmatic). For those who believe that Luke 17:34-36 is not speaking of the rapture but of the judgment after Christ’s Second Coming and that those taken are the wicked, I must point out a few things and conclude with a determining factor. First, this teaching does not align with either His Second Coming (when He immediately destroys His enemies) or the separation of the sheep from the goats in Matthew 25:31-46. When Jesus judges the nations at the separation of the sheep and the goats, all people living on earth will come to Him (whether on their own accord or by angelic insistence), and He will judge them accordingly. Secondly, when Christ comes back, life will not be “business as usual,” with commerce and labor going on as if nothing has happened. This world will be an absolute mess with very few people living through it, and the entire earth will be waiting for Christ’s Second Coming. Thirdly, and practically, there are no other verses in Scripture that speak of people being taken for any reason other than the rapture of the church. After Christ’s Second Coming and separation of the sheep and the goats, then the angels “shall cast them [the goats] into the furnace of fire,” but not during the course of everyday business, which won’t even exist at that point, and not until after their judgment. The parable of the net makes this abundantly clear: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:47-50). (emphasis mine) For me, I think there’s more than enough evidence laid out so far in this article to show that the rapture was clearly taught by our Lord. I’m sure that, unfortunately, there will still be skeptics up to this point. But what I’m about to present to the reader will be absolute, undeniable confirmation. And, if someone ever asks you for proof that Jesus taught the rapture, just respond that the proof is in the original Greek language! One Taken and the Other Left – The Determining Factor “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh“ (Matthew 24:40-44). See also Luke 17:34-36 above. (emphasis mine) Now we embark on what should be the most incredible, awesome, and thrilling part of our study. Once the reader has considered the evidence provided below and what the ramifications of this evidence reveals, it should produce in all of our hearts great joy and extreme thankfulness! Considering John 14:1-3 – and this is extremely important – in Matthew 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-36, there is a connection that cannot be ignored. The Greek word for “taken” – as in “one taken and the other left” – in Matthew 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-36 is 3880 παραλαμβάνω “paralambánō” (from 3844 /pará, “from close-alongside” and 2983 /lambánō, “aggressively take”) and means to take (receive) by showing strong personal initiative. To receive near, i.e., Associate with oneself (in any familiar or intimate act or relation); by analogy, to assume an office; figuratively, to learn — receive, take (unto, with). 1. To take to (cf. παρά, IV. 1), to take with oneself, to join to oneself: τινα, an associate, a companion. 2. To receive something transmitted. [Definitions from Biblehub.com] This is exactly the same word Christ uses for “receive” in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (emphasis mine) There can be no doubt that the “one taken and the other left” passages in Matthew and Luke are speaking of the rapture and have absolutely nothing to do with any purging or judgment of the wicked. There is not one Scripture that speaks of a universal purging of the wicked during everyday activity, but if there were, we can be absolutely certain that “paralambano” would not be the word used for such an event. Here are the judgments given to us in Scripture, and none of them are a “one taken, and the other left” situation: Christ’s Second Coming – Immediate destruction of all who have taken The Mark of The Beast while they wait for him near and around Jerusalem (their own gathering). The Separation of the Sheep and the Goats – All those who haven’t taken The Mark of The Beast gathered together, at the same time, for judgment. Those who rebel against Christ after the Millennial Kingdom – Destroyed by fire from God out of heaven as they are gathered together against Jerusalem (their own gathering). The Great White Throne Judgment – Resurrected unsaved dead, judged, and thrown into the Lake of Fire. What About the Gathering of the ‘Elect’? Here’s where people tend to get confused, and we will show that there is a logical and rational explanation for the differences between the rapture of the church before the Tribulation and the gathering of the ‘elect’ after the Second Coming of Christ. The following is Mark’s account of Christ’s Olivet Discourse toward the ending of His teaching on His Second Coming: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven” (Mark 13:24-27). See also Matthew 24:30-31. (emphasis mine) Christ, immediately after His Second Coming, will “send His angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” This is Christ, through His angels, gathering together every saved Israelite – those resurrected from “the uttermost part of heaven,” and those alive on earth who survived the Tribulation “from the uttermost part of the earth” – to Jerusalem to be with their Messiah for the Millennial Kingdom. How do we know this is a different event from the rapture of the church, besides the obvious context discrepancies? Because the Greek word translated “gather together” as when the angels “gather together” Christ’s ‘elect’ after the Second Coming in Mark 13:27 and Matthew 24:31 is completely different from the Greek word that Christ used for the rapture of those who He will “receive” and those who are “taken” to Him in John 14:1-3, Matthew 24:40-41, and Luke 17:34-36, as noted above. This word, for the “gather[ing] together” of Christ’s ‘elect’ after the Second Coming, is 1996 ἐπισυνάγω “episunagó” (from 1909 /epí, “on, fitting” and 4863 /synágō, “gather together”) – properly, bring together (gather), i.e., group together (collect), especially to accomplish the intended purpose of the gathering. (Note the force of the prefix, 1909 /epí.) For quick review, the word Christ used for the rapture for “taken” – as in “one taken and the other left” – in Matthew 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-36, and “receive” in John 14:1-3 is 3880 παραλαμβάνω “paralambánō” (from 3844 /pará, “from close-alongside” and 2983 /lambánō, “aggressively take”) and means to take (receive) by showing strong personal initiative. To receive near, i.e., Associate with oneself (in any familiar or intimate act or relation); by analogy, to assume an office; figuratively, to learn — receive, take (unto, with). 1. To take to (cf. παρά, IV. 1), to take with oneself, to join to oneself: τινα, an associate, a companion. 2. To receive something transmitted. Two totally different Greek words, with two totally different meanings, for two totally different events! Conclusion While the Jews today are coming back into the land of Israel, they will be dispersed one last time by the Antichrist, the nations, and the enemies of God after the Abomination of Desolation, where they will flee to the wilderness mountains. It is there that they will begin to acknowledge that Yeshua is their Messiah and, after Christ comes back at His Second Coming, they will be regathered one last time by His Holy angels and will fulfill the many passages of Scripture, such as these: “And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all” (Ezekiel 37:21-22). “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God” (Amos 9:13-15). The “episunagó” is the gathering of the elect of God by the holy angels – the people of Israel – at the end of the Tribulation, to be united with their Messiah and King for the Millennial Kingdom of Christ in the land of Israel, never to be uprooted again. The snatching away of the church to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17) is the glorious event that unites the body of Christ – His bride – with our loving Bridegroom and Savior, Jesus Christ, before the Tribulation begins, through the “paralambano” of the rapture. My Humble Plea For those who believe in a pre-Tribulation rapture of the church and have, as of yet, stood firm in their position that Christ never taught the rapture, I humbly ask that they reconsider their stance. We should never be too mature in our faith as to never learn something new from the Word of God – I’m a living example of this reality. Please, beloved, check your pride at the door of your heart and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into this marvelous truth. After all, wouldn’t we want to know that Christ taught the rapture? Wouldn’t our case be made that much stronger? Wouldn’t we celebrate this wonderful knowledge that our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, went out of His way in sharing with the seed of His church and, by extension, those of us alive today, our collective “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13)? My prayer is that the children of God, concerning this subject and every beautiful doctrine of the Lord found within His Holy Word, will: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). Please feel free to distribute this article as a witnessing device to share with others this amazing truth with all who have ears to hear. After all, we should want to show our brothers and sisters in Christ – and even the lost – that Jesus Was the First to Teach the Rapture! Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha! ➢ Email: [email protected] ➢ If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ and are seeking answers about God, Jesus Christ, the gospel, and salvation, please email me at [email protected] for information. Tipping Point - By Hal Lindsey - https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-9-30-2021/ A new advertisement touting NBC newsman Lester Holt tells us a great deal about the precarious state of our nation and the world. NBCUniversal is a massive media conglomerate owned by the even larger telecommunications giant, Comcast. When such a large entity launches a national advertising campaign, they first study the public mood. They use focus groups and polling to see what people are thinking and how they are feeling. They’re especially interested in people’s fears. The Holt ad says, “When emotions are high, when fear overwhelms facts, when things are at a tipping point…. We have an anchor.” If you were sitting in the pew of a Bible-believing church last week — or a hundred years ago — you would not have been surprised to hear those words in a sermon calling on people to turn to Jesus. But until recently, it would have been inconceivable to hear such words about a TV newsman. The ad tells us even more about Lester Holt, “our anchor.” He’s “an anchor that calms, an anchor that steadies, an anchor when we need one most. An anchor for America.” It’s a clever play on words. Back in the 1960s, Walter Cronkite became the person most associated with the term “anchorman.” But when they called Walter an “anchor,” no one meant that he kept America tethered to the solid ground beneath stormy seas. He was merely the leading member of a team of broadcast journalists. In the ad, NBC presents Lester Holt as something far more than a journalist. They don’t just describe him as a reliable purveyor of truth. They portray him as the calm to our fears and a balm to our souls. Obviously, he cannot be those things. No matter how talented, no mere human being can be or do what they claim. Even though the ad comes across as deeply serious, its claims are nonsense. Why would NBC present Mr. Holt in such impossible terms? Because America desperately needs all the things they claim he fulfills. We desperately need truth from a completely reliable source. Emotions really are high. Fear is indeed overwhelming facts. We are truly at a tipping point. And do we need an anchor? Do we ever! We need an anchor because our society has systematically removed the Anchor we once held to — God and His morality. Most of our leaders still use religious sounding words, even during profanity-laced speeches. They often speak of “prayer.” But New York Representative Jerry Nadler expressed the prevailing view when he said, “What any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.” The context of that conversation shows that the religious tradition he meant was the Judeo-Christian tradition. That’s the tradition upon which American freedoms were founded. He and others have separated the ship of state from its anchor, leaving us adrift in stormy waters. But as America rides the end-time currents past the tipping point, we who know the Lord have a great opportunity. We have the message the world needs. And our message was not made-up by an advertising firm. Our message is Jesus, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Holocaust and Pandemic: Common Points and Differences! – Olivier Melnick - https://www.newantisemitism.com/antisemitism/holocaust-and-pandemic-common-points-and-differences I am not going to deny that the current handling of our global pandemic is strangely reminiscent of the 1930s in Europe. I even recently wrote an article about that very fact. It frightens me to see how people are being handled and even categorized based upon their decision to receive medical help or not. This is even becoming more divisive than the current political climate that has already become a tragic tear in the fabric of America. Yet, if we simply state that this reminds us of the Holocaust and how the Jewish people were treated, we are not doing justice to the current situation and we run the risk of minimizing the Holocaust and trivializing its legacy. There are some common points between the two but there are also some differences that need to be recognized. COMMON POINTS • People are being stigmatized: There is a feeling of disgrace and even disapproval of those who differ in opinion from both ends of the issue. What happened to having an opinion, sharing it with others and simply and cordially agreeing to disagree? I fear that that ship might have sailed. • Privacy is being infringed: In our age of information, instant communication and “smart” everything, our privacy is constantly shrinking. We gladly give away information for the added convenience of speaking orders to a machine and waving our hand in front of a scanner or our smart tech at a pay station. This is not going away anytime soon, if ever. The current crisis invades our privacy as it demands that we divulge private information about ourselves for “our safety” or “the safety of others”. • The authorities are checking identity documents: In some countries, the government is trying to enforce a verification process that demands people have an ID document with their current health status. • People are exposing their own neighbors: We are starting to see people exposing those they don’t agree with or those who they feel do not comply with what is in force. Trust is becoming a very rare commodity. • People are being conditioned: It is not just about those who do not wish to receive medical attention, but also about those who do and who are being conditioned for further compliance to whichever organization, government or individual that will come in our future. They are also being conditioned to view other people with different opinions as potentially dangerous • People are being separated: In some countries and in various cases, people are being placed in facilities for quarantine. There is a positive aspect of keeping infected people away from healthy ones; yet, in the current case, it would seem that healing is less important than being separated and ostracized. Some see it as a modern Ghetto, but I wouldn’t go that far. DIFFERENCES • Property is not being confiscated: During the Holocaust, Jewish property was being confiscated. I remember my father’s stories about his father having to relinquish his radio set, his bicycle and any other means by which he could connect and/or communicate with the outside world. • People are not being singled out for race or ethnicity: Outside of some minority groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, Gypsies and mentally impaired people, the Holocaust primarily and wrongly targeted the Jews as a subhuman race in need of extermination like vermin. • People are not being placed in forced labor: During the Holocaust, people were being forced into camps, first for internment, but they rapidly became labor camps so that the Nazi regime could get free labor during wartime. That was just temporary before the camps became death camps. • People are not being killed: Although emotions are running high and misinformation is coming from both sides of the medical care debate today, people are not being killed for disagreeing. During the Holocaust, there was only misinformation coming from one side and it was always against the Jewish People. Placing them first in the camps for “labor”, was only temporary. They quickly became the death camps where six million were lost. Those are the main commonalities and differences, and we should be very careful before we claim that this situation is similar to the 1930s and the Holocaust. Am I concerned? Absolutely! Could it get worse? Of course, it could – and it very well might! As Bible students and modern-day disciples of Yeshua the Messiah, the one aspect about all this that we do not want to miss, is the coming of the Antichrist on the world scene. That event is a sure thing and when it takes place, all of the points made above will become a reality beyond what anyone could fathom right now. Following are some scriptural truths about the Antichrist. • The Antichrist is a coming global human ruler – Daniel 7-12 • He will be a Gentile – Revelation 13:1 • He will be revealed after the departure of the Holy Spirit (after the Rapture) – 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 • He will rise to absolute power – Daniel 7:8, 20; 8:23 • He will sign a seven-year treaty with Israel – Daniel 9:27 • He will break his treaty/covenant in the middle of the seven-year Tribulation – Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:21; Revelation 13:14-15 • He will claim that he is God – Daniel 11:36 • He will persecute the Jewish People (and all those who take the mark of the beast) – Daniel 7:21 • He will set up and start “the abomination of desolation” – Daniel 12:11 • He will invade Israel – Daniel 11:40-45; Ezekiel 38-39 • He will conquer – Daniel 11:38-44 • He will be defeated – Daniel 7:11, 26; 9:27 Let’s not jump the gun, but let’s be diligent about the current events. There are obvious similarities, and they are frightening. Things will eventually go south for mankind and get a lot worse, but we also must remember that our hope is and should continue to be in the Messiah of Israel, His redeeming atonement for us all and His imminent return. It is those who have placed their trust in Yeshua of Nazareth who will join Him before it gets to the point of “the abomination of desolation”. Are you in? The Streets of Major U.S. Cities Are Being Flooded With Far More Drugs Than Ever Before – Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/the-streets-of-major-u-s-cities-are-being-flooded-with-far-more-drug An endless tsunami of illegal drugs is turning the streets of our major cities into desolate wastelands, and yet our politicians seem powerless to do anything about it. In fact, in some of our biggest cities the politicians actually don’t seem interested in doing anything about it. As I will discuss below, open air drug markets are operating freely right in the heart of New York City at this moment. Dealers and addicts go about their business without the slightest fear that the police will do anything. Meanwhile, the national death toll just continues to rise. An all-time record 93,000 Americans died as a result of a drug overdose last year. That was an increase of nearly 30 percent from the year before, and authorities are already warning that there will be another huge jump when the final numbers for 2021 come in. Federal law enforcement authorities are trying to do what they can, but they know that they are fighting a losing battle. On Thursday, they announced that they just seized 1.8 million counterfeit pills, but in the big picture that is only a drop in the bucket. Right now, federal officials are warning that more fake medications are circulating on our streets than we have ever seen before, and a very large proportion of them contain fentanyl. According to the DEA, the number of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills that they have been able to intercept has risen by almost 430 percent since 2019… Counterfeit pills are more lethal than ever before. The number of DEA-seized counterfeit pills with fentanyl has jumped nearly 430 percent since 2019. DEA lab testing reveals that 2 out of every 5 pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. This is one of the biggest reasons why vast hordes of mindless addicts now endlessly roam the streets of our major cities like zombies. For these addicts, their primary goal in life is always the next fix, and what most Americans don’t realize is that “most of the counterfeit pills coming into the United States are produced in Mexico and China”… “Drug traffickers, both here and abroad, are increasingly using counterfeit pills to package and distribute the poison that illicit fentanyl is,” said Thomas Hodnett, acting special agent in charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia Division. Law enforcement officials say most of the counterfeit pills coming into the United States are produced in Mexico and China. You see, the truth is that the drug war never actually ended, and it is being won by the Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese. And thanks to social media, counterfeit pills are now easier to distribute than ever before… The DEA said the counterfeit pills — made to look like real opioid medications such as oxycodone, Percocet or Adderall — are sold on the street by dealers or online, including through social media platforms. “If you have a smartphone and you’re sitting on the sofa at home … your drug dealer is right there in your hands,” DEA spokesperson Anne Edgecomb said in an interview with NPR. Of course dealers are constantly having to search for new customers because so many of their existing customers end up dying. Fentanyl is extremely potent, and it only takes a couple of milligrams to kill you… Mexican drug cartels increasingly are manufacturing the pills with fentanyl, which is at least 30 times more potent than heroin and is fatal in doses of as little as two milligrams. “It’s everywhere,” says Robert Bell, head of the DEA’s Chicago field division. “They’re available in street deals, for purchase online, in schools. It’s very scary.” This is a major national security crisis, because it is absolutely devastating communities all across the nation. But as I stated at the top of the article, many of our politicians don’t even seem interested in finding a solution. In New York City, the Garment District has become a horrifying drug-infested cesspool… The block bordered by 35th and 36th streets, and Seventh and Eighth Avenues, is “littered with used needles, broken glass crack pipes, trash, urine, and feces” as junkies shoot up and dealers brazenly sell drugs, lamented one neighbor on social media. “I’ve personally seen dozens of deals go down. I’ve seen a person OD and nearly die.” During a single walk around the block last week, The Post witnessed three different people injecting needles in their wrists or fingers in the middle of the afternoon. Each addict sat on the sidewalk or in empty storefronts. Dozens of other junkies sat or lay nearly comatose, many of the men shirtless, on the same block. But instead of doing something about it, the politicians in New York have apparently told the police “to let junkies roam free”… The NYPD appears to have only a token presence. Two cops stood on Eighth Avenue between 35th and 36th, leaning up against a police van while staring into their phones, as illicit activities swirled around them. But cops have been “effectively ordered” by city and state leaders to let junkies roam free, said Manny Gomez, a former NYPD sergeant and FBI special agent who now heads MG Security Services. Of course whenever you have large numbers of addicts concentrated in one location you are going to see a spike in crime, and that is precisely what we are witnessing in the Garment District… Crime in the Midtown South Precinct, which includes the Garment District, is up 41 percent this year through Sept. 19 compared to the same period in 2020, according to NYPD crime data. The most eye-popping spikes are in the number of robberies – which increased 189 percent from 97 to 280 – and felony assaults – which increased 151 percent from 131 to 329. Sadly, New York is far from alone. For a very long time I have been warning that major cities all over America were being transformed into crime-ridden, drug-infested hellholes, and it is getting worse with each passing year. It has been estimated that approximately 23 million Americans are addicted to drugs, but nobody knows the real number. It isn’t as if there is any sort of a “drug census” that would give us a more accurate count. But what we do know is that the problem is bigger than it has ever been in our entire history. We have raised entire generations of Americans to believe that their only purpose in life is to serve our soulless, corrupt system. Of course millions of people do eagerly get on the hamster wheel and try to grab as much money and stuff as they can because they think that they will eventually achieve fulfillment that way. But millions of others quickly realize that the game is meaningless and they search out other ways to make themselves happy. A lot of drug addicts didn’t start out as bad people, but their search for happiness ended up taking them down some paths that they never should have gone down. If you are searching for meaning in life, our society doesn’t have any answers for you. Those that run things just want to control and manipulate you as they make themselves even richer and more powerful. It is imperative that we all learn to think for ourselves, because many of those that don’t learn to think for themselves end up being stuck in their little game for their entire lives. Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: Of guns and gasoline – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com In addition to being a farmer, and a cattle and horse breeder, Dad also had a gas and oil business. They called them “Jobbers.” Across the yard, was a bulk plant of three above ground tanks that held about 50,000 gallons of fuel and three below ground tanks that held about 2,500 gallons. There was a fueling platform, a series of pipes and valves for refueling the tanks, and three gas-station pumps—one with kerosene, one with regular gasoline and one with high test (high octane) gasoline. While Dad’s main business was supplying the local farmers with gasoline in the summer and much of the community with fuel oil in cold weather, the pumps allowed locals to fill their cars and trucks. This presented problems. Neighbors, who wanted to fill up their cars, would come in from time to time and honk their horn. Then one of us would go out and unlock the appropriate pump and fill them up. They would pay in cash and go on their way. Sometimes they didn’t have any money, so we kept a tally sheet of how much they owed, and once in a while they would stop by and pay up. It was all based on trust. There were some neighbors who were close enough friends that they could stop in any time, fill up their car or truck on their own. They would see Dad somewhere—like at the Friday Ruritan fish fry or a football game—and pay up. Pump prices were around 30 cents a gallon back then and cars could hold about 25 gallons. Fill up for $7.50. Inevitably, local hoodlums in the wee hours of the morning, would break the lock on a pump and fill up their cars. Well, this was quite an affront to the honor system Dad had set up. So he would try to put a stop to these thefts. He tried blocking the driveway, but they would go around through the yard. He tried putting boards with spikes across the entrance, but after a few flat tires they got smart to that. He parked an old delivery truck to the side that he used for parts. And he would camp out in the truck to see if he could catch them. Night after night, nothing. Then one night while dozing in the old truck, they came. About six of them pulled up, broke the lock and began fueling their cars. Dad jumped out of the old truck, pistol in hand, ambushed the ring-leader, sticking the barrel of his revolver in the thief’s mouth. Dad yelled to my mother, which the bedroom window as only about 35 yards away, telling her to call the sheriff. Well, the sheriff’s department was notoriously slow in responding. Mom yelled back that the deputies would be there in a half an hour. Dad, a member of the Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol, shoved the gun further down the hood’s mouth, and shouted, “Tell them if they ain’t here in five minutes, I’m gonna shoot this SOB.” Well, in a few minutes there were about six cruisers lighting up the night sky. The officers said they had been trying to catch this 20-year-old for months because he headed up an organized crime ring in the area. Ephesians 4:28 says, “Let him that stole, steal no more.” Evidenced by a change of clothes, the kid had learned how guns, gasoline and Dad didn’t mix. And there were no more robberies at the pumps. Daily Devotion: Life’s Biggest Decision of Them All - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. —John 19:16 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/lifer-biggest-decision-of-them-all/ - Listen Some people are indecisive by nature, but I’m generally not one of those people. In fact, I tend to be overly opinionated. Ask me about anything, and I’ll probably have an opinion about it. However, sometimes I can be indecisive. This usually involves figuring out what to order at a restaurant. What to order for lunch isn’t a life-altering decision. But there are other decisions that are very important, like choosing a career or deciding whom you’re going to marry. And the biggest decision of all is what you do with Jesus Christ. There’s no more important decision than this one. In John’s gospel, we find the story of an indecisive man, someone who let others do his thinking for him. He tried to appease a bloodthirsty, fickle crowd and his own troubled conscience. His name was Pontius Pilate. He was like the soldier in the Civil War who couldn’t decide which side he wanted to fight for. He put on the coat of the Union Army and the pants of the Confederate Army, and both sides ended up shooting at him. That is what happens to the person who lives in indecision. Pontius Pilate was the consummate politician. He tried to find the middle ground and make everyone happy. As a result, he made the worst imaginable decision—a decision that he no doubt regretted for the rest of his life. Here was the question that was brought to him (and is eventually brought to every one of us): What are you going to do with Jesus? Ultimately when we stand before God, it won’t be a sin question; it will be a Son question. It won’t be a question of whether you lived a good life or your good deeds outweighed your bad ones. It’s all about Jesus Christ, who is God’s provision for us to get into Heaven. Some people falsely envision God as someone who’s eagerly waiting in Heaven to bring judgment on Earth. But the Bible teaches something different. It tells us that God “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV). However, there are people today who say, “Where is the return of the Lord? Haven’t you Christians been talking about that for some time now? Didn’t you believe the Lord was coming back years ago?” I’m not ashamed to admit that I did. If you were to walk up to me in 1970 when I was a young kid, newly converted, and ask me if I believed that Jesus Christ was coming back soon, I would have said yes. So am I disappointed that He hasn’t returned? My answer is no. I still believe that He’s coming back soon. The Bible says that “a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day” (2 Peter 3:8 NLT). I thank God that He didn’t come back five decades ago. I would have enjoyed it then, of course, but there would have been significantly fewer people in the Kingdom. So I’m rejoicing in what God is doing, and I feel privileged to be a part of it. But I also know there’s coming a day when the last person will come to faith in Christ. It is my belief that God is waiting for someone, somewhere out in this world, to believe in Him (see Romans 11:25). And once that person comes into the Kingdom, the Lord will rapture the church. So God is not late. He’s right on time. And at the appointed hour, He will return. Until that day, we should walk with Him. FROM THE HEART Let Us Make the Short Time We have Left, Count for ALL of Eternity! IF YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED THROUGH THIS MINISTRY, THEN WE ASK THAT YOU WOULD PLEASE REMEMBER PROPHECY UPDATE IN YOUR GIVING - WE ARE TRULY, TRULY, THANKFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT WORTHY OF YOUR SUPPORT? One of the most reliable ways to determine if a ministry is worthy of your financial support is to examine its fruits. If Prophecy Update is keeping you informed, and if that information inspires you, and causes you to draw closer to the Lord, if Prophecy Update equips you with valuable information and knowledge to share with and encourage other believers, and open the eyes of non-believers, and if Prophecy Update keeps you connected to current events relating to Bible Prophecy, then you are partaking of the fruit produced through this ministry. None of this would be possible without the Lords blessings and your support. I believe where the Lord guides, the Lord provides, and most of the time He provides through the willing and generous hearts of believers just like you and me. Humbly Seek Your Support Prophecy Update has no corporate sponsors. This ministry is paid for and prayed for by readers and supporters. Without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update, Please pray about becoming a monthly supporter - thanks! If ever there was a time to invest in God's Kingdom, it's now! What on earth are you doing for Heaven's Sake? "Share in the Blessings and Rewards that will last Forever!" "Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. 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Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384-0516 We are very pleased to offer all our readers this FREE download on Bible Prophecy from the Evangelical Bible College of Western Australia - Just download and enjoy and be blessed! Feel free to share it with all your friends and family members. Click below to download! "AS YOU SEE THE DAY APPROACHING" If You Died Today, Would You Go To Heaven? Find out, visit: www.thegoodtest.net www.gotquestions.org www.wayofthemaster.com How to know God DID YOU KNOW? You can submit an article, leave a comment or praise report at email: [email protected] Maranatha! (Lord Come Quickly) "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All other ground is sinking sand." "Let Us make the short time we have left count for all eternity!" YBIC-Randy
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