Revelations of Paul, & the Mystery of the Rapture – Part III

IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER... 
 

• Featured Article: Revelations of Paul, & the Mystery of the Rapture – Part III 
• Iran: A test of Biden’s strategic vision and character 
• Seas and Waves Roaring 
• The Great Realignment: Countless More Americans Will Be Moving From Blue States To Red States In 2022 
• Daily Jot: The Pearl Harbor of this generation 
• Daily Devotion: The Planet’s Most Momentous Event 

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Revelations of Paul, & the Mystery of the Rapture – Part III – Randy Nettles - https://www.rev310.net/post/revelations-of-paul-the-mystery-of-the-rapture-part-iii
 
Paul taught on the Lord’s supper in 1 Corinthian 11, which he learned of by revelation from the Lord (and not by men/apostles). “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you” (1 Cor. 11:23). Paul speaks about the Lord’s supper which occurred on the night Jesus was betrayed before the crucifixion, where he broke bread (after giving thanks) and said, “Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. He also took the cup of wine after supper and said, This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:25-26). In the Church, this is a tradition known as communion. It reminds us of Christ’s death and sacrifice for us on the cross, his resurrection, and ultimately the glorious hope of His return at the Rapture.
 
Paul teaches on the gifts of the Holy Spirit that church members receive and then declares that love is the greatest gift of all. All other gifts will ultimately fail or vanish but love will never end. “For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Cor. 13:9-12).
 
Paul is teaching on the Rapture in these verses. The perfect that Paul is referring to is the translation of our minds and bodies that will occur at the Rapture. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must be put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:54). At the Rapture, we will be made perfect after the fashion of Jesus Christ Himself. “We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. For everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:1-3).
 
Paul teaches that no matter what happens; no matter the persecution, trials, and tribulations, some things will always abide for the Christian: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three (the number for divine perfection); but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
 
Before Paul’s second clear teaching of the doctrine of the Rapture in 1 Cor. 15:51-54, the apostle makes the comparison (and differences) between the two created men Adam and Jesus. “The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.” (1 Cor. 15:45-50).
 
The Rapture was a mystery unknown to mankind until it was revealed to Paul, who first described it in 1 Thes. 4:15-17. Approximately 5 years later, Paul expounded upon the Rapture to the church of Corinth and believers everywhere.
 
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:51-53).
 
In 2 Corinthians, Paul preaches on the power of faith even in times of trouble. We would be wise to heed these words in this current age of trouble. “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke; we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you” (2 Cor. 4:8-10, 13-14). Of course, Paul is referring to the Rapture here.
 
Paul talks about the glory to come in the next life compared to the afflictions we face in this present life. “ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).
 
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul speaks about the confidence Christians have whether we live or die and the assurance of the resurrection. “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6-8).
 
Paul also tells us (Christians) that we are a new creation and have been reconciled to God. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:17-19).
 
In Acts 9:16, God tells Ananias how Saul (Paul) would have to suffer many things for My name’s sake. Paul lists these many sufferings and persecutions in 2 Cor. 11:23-29. What a warrior for Christ Paul was, besides being the greatest evangelist, missionary, and theologian in the history of Christendom.
 
Paul speaks of visions and revelations of the Lord he had in his life and how he could boast on them if he wished, but it was not profitable for him to do so. He knew it was only profitable to boast on the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Paul also speaks of an “out of body experience” he had 14 years earlier (from when he wrote 2 Corinthians) in AD 43. “ I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Cor.12:2-4). Of course, Paul was referring to himself being “caught up” to the 3rd heaven, the abode of God. Harpazo (caught up) is the same word (or derivative of) that Paul used to describe the Rapture in 1 Thes. 4:17 and John used in Rev. 12:5 when he was referring to Jesus’ ascension into heaven.
 
There are four examples in the Old Testament where prophets had visions of the Lord God, Isaiah 6, Daniel 7, Daniel 10, and Ezekiel 1. In Paul’s catching up experience he says he heard inexpressible words” which he was not to utter or repeat. John was the other New Testament witness who was taken up into heaven.
 
“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald” (Rev. 4:1-3).
 
In Revelation 10:4, John sees a mighty angel coming down from heaven who cries with a loud voice (as when a lion roars) and when he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. John was about to write down what the seven thunders uttered, but heard a voice from heaven saying, “seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered” and do not write them (Rev. 10:3-4). Paul and John were both apostles of the Lord. Both were authors of books in the New Testament and both were caught up to the 3rd heaven.
 
Referring to Daniel’s prophecies of the end times, Daniel was told by an angel of the Lord to shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). In contrast, John was told by an angel “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (Rev. 22:10-11).
 
 
Paul wrote, “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Cor. 14:37).
 
It takes both the Old and New Testaments for the Bible to be complete. Moses said, “by the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter shall be established” (Deut. 19:5). The Old Testament and the New Testament are the two witnesses that establish God’s plan for mankind. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed. The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. They are both incomplete without the other. Daniel’s prophecies couldn’t be understood by his generation (and many generations to follow), so the Lord told him to seal the book until the end times.
 
The Bible says that Jesus was born when the fullness of the time had come (Galatians 4:4). After writing Revelation, John was told by the Lord not to seal up the words of the prophecy of his book, for the time of the end was at hand. Many of the prophecies of the Old Testament had been fulfilled at this time so the prophecies regarding the future could be better understood. Many future ones will not be understood until they actually occur.
 
Paul quotes the prophet Hosea regarding the calling out of the Gentiles, ““I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved” (Romans 9:25). For the Jews, however, Paul paints a different story, for they continued in their pursuit of righteousness by trying to obey the law instead of living by faith. He explains that Jesus was the “stumbling stone” that Isaiah spoke about in his prophecy of Isaiah 59:20-21. Paul, quoting Isaiah, says, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame” (Romans 9:33).
 
In Romans 10, Paul reveals the truth of obtaining eternal salvation. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”(Romans 10:9-10,13).
 
Israel will eventually come to God’s saving grace, but first God’s attention will be focused on the Gentiles and the Church. In Romans 11, Paul, in my opinion, gives the reason for the delay in time between the 69th week and the 70th week in Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks/sevens (Daniel 9:24-27).
 
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins” (Romans 11:25-27).
 
Israel’s blindness has been continuing for some 1988 years now, from AD 33 (the 69th seven or the 483rd year) until AD 2021. However, Israel’s rejection of their Messiah is not total, for at the end of the Tribulation (70th seven or the 490th year) they will call on the Lord Jesus and He will save the remnant of God’s chosen people.
 
In Ephesians 1, Paul speaks about the mystery of Christ’s will, “according to His good pleasure which He purposed to Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:10-12). Verse 10 is describing the Rapture in which Jesus gathers together both the dead in Christ, whose souls/spirits are in heaven and the believers who are still alive on the earth.
 
Only the ones who are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise will be raptured, “Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:14). We will be redeemed at the Rapture and will receive our inheritance when we get to the Father’s house.
 
 
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he teaches on the mystery of Godliness. “God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:16). Of course Paul is referring to Jesus Christ, who is God. Paul also wrote to Titus regarding the Rapture, “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:13-14).
 
In Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, he writes about our (brothers in Christ) citizenship in heaven. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).
 
The author of Hebrews also speaks on the doctrine of the Rapture. “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:27-28). Christ’s second appearance in verse 28 is not referring to the 2nd coming but rather the Rapture.
 
One day soon, when nobody is expecting it, the world will change forever. The change will come about not by human or natural causes but by a supernatural one…the rapture of the church.
 
It will be the greatest freak-out experience of all time as millions of Christians will simply vanish off the face of the earth, never to be seen again (this side of the Millennium/eternity). I believe both the translation of the body from flesh to spirit and the raising/catching up into the air will all happen so quick (in the twinkling of an eye) nobody who is left behind will witness it. There will not even be enough time for the eye to send electrical signals from the retina through the optic nerve to the brain.
 
The Holy Spirit, who indwells the church, is the One who is currently holding back (restraining) the power of lawlessness as described in 2 Thes. 2:6-8. Before the Antichrist can be officially revealed, the Holy Spirit has to be removed. Since the Holy Spirit is sealed within us, once He is taken out from amongst us at the Rapture, we have to go also. You can’t take the Restrainer without taking the container, as the old saying goes. This is the Rapture of the living Church, where not only are people removed from the earth, but also the Holy Spirit. He will not be removed completely for He is God, but His work of restraining evil will mostly come to an end, and that is when all hell breaks loose on the earth.
 
Satan and his demonic angels and humans will be completely free to dupe mankind into believing all their lies. One of those lies (a whopper) is that these removals of people from the earth are caused by extra-terrestrial beings in UFOs. There may even be massive amounts of UFO sightings after the Rapture. That is another reason I think the Rapture will not be witnessed so that unbelievers that are left behind will believe the lie and not the truth of God being the source of these removals. “And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie” (2 Thes. 2:11).
 
Pete Garcia, in his article Prophetic Ponderings: Part II, believes the Rapture could be countered with another supernatural event. He writes: “Let’s say the Rapture of the Church happens, and the world is reeling in the after-effects of it. Right around the same time, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) facility at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland successfully opens a doorway/portal to another realm, which then allows some benevolent visitors to come through. The only thing I could think of that would counter the Rapture of the Church in sheer gravitas, would be the opening of such a portal and the arrival of these otherworldly visitors. If the Restrainer is the Holy Spirit-indwelt Church, and the Church is removed, then so to will this supernatural restraint. And Satan is going to want to make a grand entrance. Has this not been what movies, television, books, comic books, and so forth have been conditioning us to believe now for decades?”
 
If you believe Satan’s lies and don’t believe in God or the gospel of Jesus Christ, then you will be one of those that are destined to be left behind after the Rapture to face God’s wrath. More than likely, these anti-Christians will believe the lies and explanations for the Rapture and will then be ideal candidates for following the Antichrist and false prophet and taking the mark of the beast (666). Once they receive the mark of the beast (the opposite of the Holy Spirit’s seal), they will not receive any more chances at salvation. As they share in the unholy Trinity’s (Satan, A.C., and false prophet) lies, they will also share in their eternal fate in the Lake of Fire.
 
THE HIDDEN DOCTRINE OF THE RAPTURE
 
According to 1 Thes. 4:16-17, the dead and living believers in Jesus Christ will be translated and caught up together into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The air is the space between outer space (2nd heaven) and Earth. It is our atmosphere and sometimes is referred to as the 1st heaven. At the Rapture, the Lord does not come to the earth, as He does at the 2nd Coming, nor do we meet Him in the 3rd heaven, but instead we meet Him in the sky. This is the first stop on our way to the Father’s house as described in John 14:2-3.
 
I always wondered why we meet in the sky instead of going directly to the Father’s house. To find the answer to this question, we need to go back to the very beginning. Genesis 1:1- In the beginning God created (out of nothing) the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:2- Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Many scholars believe something catastrophic occurred between verse 1 and verse 2 in Genesis 1 to cause the earth to become formless, empty, and dark (perhaps a worldwide flood that preceded Noah’s flood). This is known as the Gap Theory or the ruin and reconstruction theory. Some adherents to this theory believe that this state of ruin could have lasted for millennia. Many theologians believe the cause of the earth’s ruin in verse 2 occurred when Lucifer and his angelic followers rebelled against God and were cast out of Heaven (God’s abode) to the earth.
 
The six days of creation, starting in Genesis 1:3 is about God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) making (out of something that already existed – as in Genesis 1:1-2) the earth anew. The sky or atmosphere was created on the 2nd day when God made a “firmament in the midst of the waters” on (and under) the earth and the waters above (the water vapor canopy that surrounded the earth at that time). “ And God called the firmament heaven (1st heaven). So the evening and the morning were the second day” (Genesis 1:8).  
 
The 2nd day is the only one out of the 6 days of creation that God did not proclaim as being good. Have you ever noticed or wondered about this? Some scholars speculate this is because Satan and his fallen angels inhabited the sky (1st heaven) above the earth after God expelled them from the 3rd heaven as described in Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:20-21. Paul referred to Satan as the prince of the power of the air in Ephesians 2:2. Like birds that fly in the air, the demonic spirits travel through the air to get from place to place on the earth so they can fulfill their evil work.
 
At the Rapture, the Church will meet in Satan’s domain and take away his ‘home field/court advantage.” Satan and his evil demonic spirits will be just as surprised as we humans are, as nobody (except the triune God) knows when this will take place. The demonic host’s surprise, as we invade their territory will be a very unpleasant one, while ours will be a most joyous one. Satan and his damned demons will get to witness our amazing transformation into perfection, as we will become like Christ in body, soul, and spirit. “ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15).
 
That will be a very, very good day for those who love the Lord!
 
 Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus!
 
Randy Nettles
[email protected]

 


 
Iran: A test of Biden’s strategic vision and character - Jonathan S. Tobin - https://www.jns.org/opinion/iran-a-test-of-bidens-strategic-vision-and-character/
 
With Tehran playing hardball, and the Americans and Europeans dismissing Israel’s warnings, will the administration fall into the appeasement trap being set for it?
 
For Biden administration officials, their inability to achieve their top foreign-policy priority is both frustrating and puzzling. Their surprise at their inability to influence Iran to engage in diplomacy that is at least theoretically aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is deserving of scorn. But what follows next is far more important than their current embarrassment over the abysmal failure of the renewed nuclear talks held last week in Vienna.
 
If, as seems likely, the administration’s response to Iran’s hardball tactics is to seek to further appease the regime rather than to summon the courage to begin acting in the interests of the security of the West and ratcheting up the pressure on the Iranians, then that will be a disaster. And it will be one with many unforeseen and serious implications, of which only one is the likelihood that the world will accept that the Islamist regime’s quest for nuclear status will have succeeded.
 
So far, the response from President Joe Biden and his foreign-policy team is far from encouraging. The Iranians arrived in Vienna behaving as if they believe Biden is prepared to pay a high price for their agreeing to even a watered-down version of the already dangerously weak 2015 nuclear pact. Their demands for an end not just to the sanctions relating to their illegal nuclear activities but also those relating to its status as the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism left the Biden team stunned. But as White House spokesperson Jen Psaki reaffirmed last week, no one in the administration is drawing the appropriate conclusions from Iran’s conduct about the futility of the current diplomatic track.
 
Nor does it appear that anyone in Washington or among the ranks of America’s European allies is paying the least attention to the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett about the need for the West to develop a “different toolkit” or Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s talk about building a broad coalition of nations dedicated to stopping Iran’s nuclear quest.
 
The Biden team pledged to return the United States to the Iran nuclear deal with the help of many of those in the current administration who also served under former President Barack Obama. The band of Obama alumni, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sherman and former nuclear negotiator and current Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, had anticipated that a grateful Tehran would happily return to the weak agreement they had worked to negotiate. That pact not only gave it a pass for illegal missile building and terrorism; it would expire by the end of the decade, giving Iran a legal path to a nuclear weapon.
 
To their surprise, they soon discovered after returning to office in January that the Islamic Republic wasn’t going along with their plans. Once Biden returned the United States to the pact that former President Donald Trump had rightly trashed as unconscionably weak, the Iranians wouldn’t follow the script. Instead, they’ve spent the last 11 months behaving much as they did from 2013 to 2015 when they forced Obama and Kerry to back down, time and again, and agree to concession after concession. In addition to that, they’ve begun increasing their illicit nuclear activities getting closer to the point where the advanced nuclear program that Obama let them keep can race to create a weapon.
 
Tehran clearly believes that Biden hasn’t the stomach for a confrontation of any sort—either diplomatic or military. It seems sure that the United States will agree to any piece of paper that will allow the president to claim that he’s postponed an Iranian nuke, even if it means giving up all of the West’s leverage over the rogue state and ensuring that the ultimate purpose of this entire process—thwarting Iran’s nuclear ambitions—fails to achieve its goal.
 
The administration has no interest in a painful reassessment of its presumptions. It went to Vienna prepared to accept an interim agreement that would fall short of even a return to the 2015 deal. However, the price Iran wished to extract for what would be in the long run a meaningless accord would insulate Tehran against future Western pleas for a deal that would restrict their nukes or its aggressive behavior in the region.
 
Instead, there is only talk of scapegoats to blame for this lamentable state of affairs.
 
In the view of administration apologists, the chief scapegoat is Trump since they argue that it was his 2018 withdrawal from the nuclear deal that not only released Tehran from Obama’s restrictions but allowed them to race closer to a weapon. This formulation, which is being repeated endlessly by the administration’s mainstream media “echo chamber” on the issue, has it backwards. Trump understood that the West was going to have to get a better deal before Obama’s agreement expired and that it would be more easily accomplished sooner rather than later. Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign gave the West its only chance to correct Obama’s mistakes. If he hadn’t been obsessed with overturning all of Trump’s policies, Biden could have followed up on his predecessor’s ability to push Iran into a corner with devastating sanctions that, while still capable of being further strengthened, nevertheless could have forced the Iranians to give ground. And so, Biden is the one who is giving Iran a permission slip to get closer to a weapon.
 
Another potential scapegoat is Israel. The administration is continuing to signal that it doesn’t support the Israelis’ ongoing campaign aimed at sabotaging Iran’s nuclear program. Biden officials have been leaking to the press their belief that Israel’s efforts can’t succeed and are only interfering with their diplomatic plans.
 
The administration and its cheering section in the press are also blaming Iranian “hardliners” for their failures. This faction has supposedly regained power in Tehran with the “election” of Ebrahim Raisi in the country’s faux democratic process in which the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei decides who may run. But the replacement of former President Hassan Rouhani, a reputed “moderate,” by Raisi is a distinction without a difference. Rouhani was no more likely to back down on Iran’s nuclear stands or its threats to eradicate Israel.
 
Excuses notwithstanding, it’s true that Biden has no good options in front of him. Even if anyone believed that the administration would use force to stop Iran—and virtually no one does—getting into an armed conflict with Tehran isn’t what the American people want. Yet the rational alternative, which is returning to Trump’s tough policies, isn’t something Biden seems to have the courage or the will to do.
 
Perhaps the administration believes that even more concessions in the form of dropped sanctions and cash inducements will get the Iranians to agree to any sort of agreement, no matter how toothless. What would follow such a deal would not merely be the international acceptance of Iran as a threshold nuclear state; it would also further enrich and empower Tehran to the point where its influence throughout the region would place both Sunni Arab states and Israel in direct peril from Iranian terrorist surrogates like Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis in Yemen. It would be nuclear blackmail.
 
No one in the White House believed that the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan would be a turning point in the president’s popularity, but that’s exactly what it turned out to be. Letting Iran go nuclear would be just as disgraceful and most likely equally unpopular. The chaos and bloodshed that would be unleashed from giving in to Iranian demands will not merely be bad politics—it would forever stain Biden’s legacy in a way that could not be erased. Stopping that from happening will involve a test of character and vision that Biden has shown little evidence of possessing in his first, largely calamitous year as president.


 


 
Seas and Waves Roaring - By Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/12/03/seas-and-waves-roaring-by-terry-james/
 
Another stage-setting indicator for what is coming has suddenly burst onto the worldwide scene. The signal represents the metastasizing effects of a satanically spawned end-times assault on humanity. It is a sign of the coming Tribulation that should alert pastors of Bible-believing churches to just how near Christ’s call in the Rapture must be.
 
Jesus gave the forewarning for what we see happening around the globe at this very end-of-the-age moment:
 
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring” (Luke 21:25).
 
The “sea” in this instance symbolically represents the vast numbers of peoples of the world.
 
Again, it is the so-called pandemic, the COVID-19 matter, that seems to be at the black heart of the devil’s blueprint for the assault. While media in the US and around the globe insist that most of the world’s populations are compliant with receiving mandated vaccines, evidence is mounting that resistance is growing in spectacular ways.
 
Governmental leaders have turned into would-be masters of the populations they no longer serve—rather, intend to rule over. The yearning in the human heart to be free from such demands as taking vaccines that are no more than experimental injections in most cases are igniting rebellion that is not likely to be doused with flame-quelling retardant until a certain prophesied entity appears on the scene.
 
The same rebelliousness that makes most on earth reject God’s governance is manifesting in growing rejection of demands made by the minions of the god of this age – that is, demands by the reprobate minds of governmental tyrants guided by Lucifer the fallen. They want no one to rule over them; this is at the heart of the fallen minds of mankind.
 
It will be Antichrist–Satan’s son of perdition—who will douse the flames of global insurrection against Satan’s blueprint. He will do so with the cruelest, most wicked methodologies ever employed in earth’s history.
 
The point to be made is that we are witnessing now the stage being set for a primary prophecy given by the Lord Jesus that presages the coming to power of that man of sin –the Antichrist.
 
The following excerpts put parentheses around this prophetic progression, in my view.
 
New restrictions on access for the unvaccinated and increasing mandates to be inoculated are sending protesters to the streets in Europe, Australia and other countries.
 
Authorities in Rotterdam opened fire Friday on protesters during a demonstration against new restrictions on unvaccinated access to public facilities.
 
At least seven people were injured, and more than 20 people were arrested on Friday night. Protesters set fires and threw rocks over new measures that will curb access to restaurants and shops for the unvaccinated.
 
Many European countries have stepped up restrictions on unvaccinated people. In Vienna, a crowd estimated in the thousands hit the streets after the Austrian government announced a full lockdown and a vaccine mandate.
 
Meanwhile, Australia saw thousands gathered at rallies across the country as part of an international day of protest against COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Demonstrators were out in force in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. (“Protests Erupt Across Several European and Australian Cities Over Vaccination Mandates,” By Bruce Haring, Deadline, November 20, 2021)
 
The spread of the COVID mandate rebelliousness is ratcheting up from the very center out of which “the prince that shall come” (Antichrist) will emerge.
 
Rome — Central Rome was gripped with violence this weekend as thousands of protesters marched against the toughest new vaccine mandates in the world. All Italians will soon be required to show a coronavirus “Green Pass,” proving either vaccination, recovery in the past six months, or a negative COVID-19 test from the past 48 hours to enter their workplaces.
 
What started off as a restless but peaceful demonstration against the looming measure in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo ended up sparking a tinderbox when an offshoot of protesters stormed the headquarters of CGIL, Italy’s oldest and biggest labor union.
 
When they marched toward the prime minister’s office, police responded with water cannon and tear gas. Dozens of police officers were hurt in the melee.
 
In a bizarre twist, the unrest created a security incident for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was in Rome for a meeting with foreign leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Pope Francis. She was attending Mass at St. Patrick’s Church and scheduled to give a reading when the chaos outside moved Italian government officials to remove the speaker and her husband from the premises.
 
Loud chants of “liberta” (freedom) echoed throughout the Eternal City. Freedom, the protesters demanded, from the national vaccine mandate scheduled to go into effect on October 15. (“Italy’s Toughest-in-the-World COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Sparks Violent Protests,” By Chris Livesay, CBS News, October 12, 2021)
 
The rebellion, with the sea and waves roaring, grows exponentially. The US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Austria, Asian areas such as Singapore, a number of island nations and most every region across the world are seeing protests, some turning into rioting and destructiveness.
 
Nations are indeed in perplexity as to how to exert the control the minions–both human and demonic—demand in order to set up the platform for Antichrist to launch his evil Revelation chapter 13 regime.
 
Before that part of the devil’s blueprint comes to fruition, if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will hear His voice as it trumpets: “Come up here” (Revelation 4:1).
 
If you don’t know how to be part of that blessed evacuation called the Rapture, here is how.
 
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10: 9–10).

 


 
The Great Realignment: Countless More Americans Will Be Moving From Blue States To Red States In 2022 - by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/the-great-realignment-countless-more-americans-will-be-moving-from-blue-states-to-red-states-in-2022/
 
We are rapidly becoming two very different nations with two very different cultures. At one time we truly were the “United” States of America, but now we have been split into two opposing camps that deeply hate one another. As a result, in recent years we have watched millions of Americans relocate for ideological reasons. This has caused “red states” to become even redder and “blue states” to become even bluer. At this point, there are just a handful of “purple states”, and it is in those states where our presidential elections are determined. It is really not healthy for just a few states like Pennsylvania and Michigan to have such power, but that is a topic for another article. In this article, I want to discuss why the mass exodus from blue states to red states is actually going to accelerate in 2022.
 
Right now, there is no issue in the United States that is more divisive than the COVID vaccine.
 
Most conservatives want to be able to have the freedom to choose whether to take the injections or not, while many on the left want to use the power of government to compel people to get injected.
 
It has truly been frightening to watch many on the left embrace authoritarianism so eagerly, and many leftist politicians just continue to tighten down the screws.
 
For example, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio just decided to impose a very strict vaccine mandate on all private employers in his entire city…
 
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced what he called a first-in-the-nation vaccine mandate for private companies Monday.
 
He said the combination of the Omicron variant and holiday gatherings forced him to take “bold” steps. He’s giving businesses just three weeks to make sure their workers are vaccinated.
 
If you don’t get the jab, you won’t be allowed to keep your job.
 
There will not be a “testing option” under this new mandate, and so anyone that refuses to comply will be kicked to the curb two days after Christmas…
 
De Blasio said the city will release specific rules on Dec. 15, before the mandate takes effect Dec. 27. He said it will apply to in-person employees, but would not provide any details about enforcement. He also said there will not be a weekly testing option.
 
This is complete and utter lunacy, but of course we are witnessing lots of that in blue states these days.
 
We are being told that this new mandate will apply to approximately 184,000 businesses, and that means that vast numbers of New Yorkers will soon be forced to search for greener pastures.
 
One of them is a woman named Cynthia. She told a reporter that this mandate gave her yet another reason “to get the hell out of New York”…
 
Cynthia, an employee at a Midtown marketing firm who refused to share her last name due to fear of blowback, told the Post that the new requirement is ‘another reason’ to leave the city.
 
‘Just terrific. Bill de Blasio just gave me another reason I need to get the hell out of New York, or at least find a job that lets me work remotely,’ she said.
 
Where will thousands upon thousands of displaced New Yorkers like Cynthia go?
 
One conservative member of Congress that represents New York fears that many of them will head to “the free state of Florida”…
 
‘Mayor de Blasio can’t leave fast enough. He has crushed small business, the economy and quality of life. How many more New Yorkers does he want to see move to the free state of Florida?’ said US Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who represents Staten Island and Brooklyn.
 
So New York is going to get even bluer in 2022, and Florida will be getting even redder.
 
Down in Massachusetts, hundreds of hospital workers were just ruthlessly canned because they refused to comply with a vaccine mandate…
 
About 200 UMass Memorial Health employees are out of a job because they missed the health care system’s COVID vaccination deadline.
 
UMass Memorial announced the mandate over the summer with a deadline to get vaccinated or receive an exemption by November 1.
 
Employees were let go on December 1 if they did not get the vaccine.
 
Many of those displaced health workers aren’t going to be able to find similar work in Massachusetts, and so they will head to red states.
 
As for UMass Memorial Health, I am not sure exactly what they plan to do. You can’t just pull people off the streets to be medical professionals. They will probably be short-handed for a long time to come, and that is just going to hurt the people that they are supposed to be serving.
 
In Oregon, a different sort of mandate has people thinking that it may be time to relocate.
 
If you can believe it, officials in Oregon are actually thinking of making their indoor mask mandate permanent…
 
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) assembled a Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) earlier this week to address a permanent indoor mask mandate in the state. Oregon is one of a few states that still retain one nearly two years into the pandemic.
 
The committee included several community stakeholders, including representatives from the hospitality industry, the business sector, and faith communities, according to local ABC affiliate KATU.
 
I cannot understand why any rational decision maker would want to do such a thing, but apparently they are quite serious.
 
There are a whole lot of very conservative people that live in eastern Oregon, and I think that even more of them are going to be moving over the border into Idaho in 2022.
 
Before I end this article, I want to mention what Canada has just done.
 
Beginning November 30th, all unvaccinated individuals are now banned from using any form of public transportation…
 
In Canada, any travelers older than 12 years old must show proof of full vaccination to take any form of public transportation including domestic and international flights as well as trains.
 
“Starting November 30 at 3:01 am EST, vaccination will be required for travel within and to depart Canada,” the Candian travel website states. “A valid COVID-19 molecular test will no longer be accepted as an alternative to vaccination unless you’re eligible for one of the limited exemptions.”
 
Trudeau and his minions have completely gone off the deep end, and I feel so sorry for freedom-loving Canadians that are deeply suffering under his regime.
 
Of course the Biden administration is considering something similar for domestic travel inside the United States.
 
Let us hope that they never pull the trigger on such a move.
 
All over the globe we are seeing governments become more authoritarian, and that certainly sets the stage for some of the things that I warned about in my latest book.
 
Here in the U.S., countless numbers of freedom-loving Americans are fleeing to red states as they seek to escape the oppression that they have been experiencing in blue states.
 
Unfortunately, blue state tyrants have no intention of backing down, and this is going to create a tremendous amount of tension in our nation as we head into 2022 and beyond.

 


 
Daily Jot: The Pearl Harbor of this generation - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com
 
We hold this week in honor of the 80th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that resulted in the deaths of 2,403 Americans. This vicious act launched the United States into World War II in a death match against evil to preserve and maintain the American ideal—life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our grandfathers, grandmothers, dads and moms didn’t back down. They didn’t cower in their homes or take advantage of the less fortunate. They took it on in united fashion, undivided against a common enemy. Overnight, America became a motivated, angry nation. A sleeping giant that once awakened employed every possible resource to emerge as the standard-bearer of freedom throughout the world.
 
The Greatest Generation, we call them. Imagine the incredible effort to go from zero to a full-speed sprint in all aspects of life. Farmers farmed. Manufacturers produced. Inventors invented. And soldiers fiercely faced insurmountable odds against an efficient killing machine that threatened life and liberty throughout the world. The nation prayed and acted. God granted us victory. Even so, many paid the ultimate price so that you and I and our children and grandchildren could pass on the torch of Liberty one generation to the next. Never has unity been so precious and freedom so richly valued as we saw exemplified in Americans during World War II. It started with a vicious and unjust ambush.
 
Today, the world is in yet another fight for freedom. This time, the powers of tyranny are using the contagion called COVID 19 to attack freedom. They have divided the world into a preferred class of the vaccinated and the persecuted class of the unvaccinated. The casualties are not only those who have perished from the disease, the treatment of it, and its politics, but also those who stand in the gap against arguably the most egregious civil rights violations of our time—COVID Mandates. They are the brave souls—including doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, soldiers, and many others–that have been told by their employers that they can no longer work or support their families if they do not take the government-mandated serum.
 
These men and women are standing for your freedom and mine. They are on the frontline of fighting the very same evil spirit that we have seen throughout history, the one that steals, kills and destroys. This is the war raging against bodily integrity and your God-given rights as a human being. If you feel the need to be COVID vaccinated, by all means do what you believe is right for you. At the same time, stand on the side of freedom so that all Americans are not forced or persecuted by a tyrannical government set on stealing your freedom and killing or destroying those who dissent. As Christ said in Mark 3:25, “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Liberty divided against itself will result in tyranny. Pray. Stand. Act. You may be facing the Pearl Harbor of this generation. How do you wish to be remembered?

 


 
Daily Devotion: The Planet’s Most Momentous Event - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org
 
Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’ —Matthew 16:16
 
https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-planets-most-momentous-event/ - Listen
 
During His earthly ministry, did Jesus know the word on the street? Was He aware of what people thought about Him and said about Him?
 
Absolutely. In fact, He would call people out for their thoughts while He was engaging them. So at Caesarea Philippi when Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27 NLT), He was giving them a test.
 
And why do teachers give tests? It’s to see if their students are learning the material. The disciples had seen Jesus perform miracles. They had seen Him walk on water, heal leprosy, drive out demons, and even raise the dead. But did they really understand who He was yet?
 
Apparently not, because they replied, “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets” (verse 28 NLT).
 
That wasn’t the right answer. But Simon Peter, known for his outspokenness, got it. He said, “You are the Messiah” (verse 29 NLT). Matthew’s version of this story has Peter saying, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16 nlt).
 
Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being” (verse 17 NLT).
 
Peter understood that Jesus wasn’t Elijah. He wasn’t John the Baptist. And He wasn’t even a mere prophet. He was and is the very Son of God.
 
Jesus wasn’t a mere man or just one of the prophets. He was God, coming to us in human flesh. As Jesus entered our world, He was God with skin on, walking among us.
 
The birth of Jesus Christ was the most momentous event that has ever occurred in the history of the planet. The eternal God literally became a fetus and was born of a woman in order to be the Savior of the world.

 


 


 
FROM THE HEART
    
Let Us Make the Short Time We have Left,
Count for ALL of Eternity!

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