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Even Amid The World’s Insanity, God Is At Work – By Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/amir-tsarfati-even-amid-the-worlds-insanity-god-is-at-work/ (Galilee, Israel) — Shalom from Israel! The battle rages in the south. The storm clouds of war build in the north. The political opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is back at it, trying to remove him from office. A crazy president in Brazil is comparing Israel to Hitler’s Germany. Ignorant mobs the world over are chanting their slogans of love for the perpetrators of the October 7 massacre, while vehemently condemning the victims. Christians are regularly being slaughtered by Islamists in Western Africa, but the press is ignoring it. Iran missed a turn somewhere and found themselves at the South Pole, so they decided to lay claim to it. Another Putin critic, healthy and only 47-years-old, somehow managed to die in prison. And the president of the most powerful nation in the world, well, let’s just say it appears he may be slightly past his prime. People, this is the crazy world we are living in! But through it all, we know that God is in control, and that is why there are great things happening too. You should see the number of pictures I receive from all over the world of churches, community groups, school classes, and families, all waving their Israeli flags and sending messages of love and support. There are pro-Israel rallies and marches in many areas of the world. The new Argentine president has been very supportive of Israel, and the mainland European country that has given us the most love has been Germany, of all places! While the U.S. is turning into a political morass for us, they continue to send arms and much needed munitions, particularly for our missile defense systems. Israel has established a land route to bypass the Houthi blockade of the Red Sea that is bringing us supplies from India via the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. And Israel is forging deeper friendships with most of the Gulf States, as well as, very quietly, the family of Saud in Riyadh. Even amid this world’s insanity, God is at work. He loves His nation, and He loves His people the world over. It is that truth of God’s hand on His children that comforted me and my family as we sent my number three child, a son, off this week for his mandatory military service. For the next three years, he will serve in the IDF, and we pray that the second and third year of his stint will be much less tumultuous than this first. Once again I say, our God is in control. Halleluiah and amen! Psalm 34:7-8 KJV – “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” The War in the South The work dismantling the tunnel system in Khan Yunis continues. Spearheading this operation is Yahalom, a sayeret or “special forces” unit of the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) Combat Engineering Corps. The goal of Operation Protective Edge is to put out of commission Hamas’s extensive tunneling throughout the Gaza Strip. It is extremely dangerous work as there are many places for terrorists to hide and booby-trapping is extensive. But through it all, Yahalom and other units of the IDF are making amazing progress. Despite international protests, the IDF launched an operation against Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. As expected, it was crawling with Hamas. Hundreds of terrorists were arrested, and many weapons were destroyed. A vehicle stolen from Kibbutz Nir Oz was found on the premises, as were packages of necessary medicine for the hostages that were never distributed. The IDF must fight Hamas where it is at. It is the terrorists who chose Nasser Hospital as the battleground. They are the ones who bear the blame for the resulting humanitarian issues. It is no wonder that more and more Gazans are fed up with Hamas and are speaking out against them. A Gazan widow, in response to the leaflets that Israel dropped offering cash rewards to anyone who could provide the location of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was recently recorded saying, “I swear, if I knew where he was, I’d bring them Sinwar’s head for free.” So many have lost everything in this war, and they are quickly realizing that the blame does not lie north of their border in Israel but with the terrorists within their midst. With the operations of both Northern Gaza and Khan Yunis coming closer to completion, the focus is on Rafah. The plan of the war cabinet for that southern region of Gaza is to enter strong close to the beginning of Ramadan. The IDF will move to encircle Yahya Sinwar from all sides, then conduct negotiations for the release of the abductees. What these negotiations will not include is a promise of a permanent ceasefire if that means Hamas remains a viable entity. Nor will it include any verbiage hinting at a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Netanyahu has been adamantly against a two-state solution, despite the hard push from the United States. The Knesset on Wednesday backed the PM up with an overwhelming majority, only one vote short of 80% support, that included his own coalition and many from the opposition. If anyone feels that Israel is unreasonable in their prosecution of this war and insistence that a Hamas-led Gaza not be allowed self-governance on their border, they need only remember October 7. Murder, torture, and kidnapping were carried out not just by the Hamas terrorists, but by ordinary Gazan citizens who followed the “soldiers” through the border fence. The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel submitted a report to the United Nations (UN) detailing the systematic and premeditated rape of women, men, and underaged girls and boys throughout the attack. The despicable assaults included the use of foreign objects, including gun muzzles and knives. What we hear from returning hostages is that the sexual violence perpetrated against the abductees has continued through the many days of their captivity. This is part of the reason why Israelis are so disdainful of the claim by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) that Israel is operating a campaign to destroy the agency. Hey, UNRWA, we don’t have time to fight with you. We already have a war on our hands. All we’re doing is telling the truth of the dozen, at least, of your employees who actively participated in the actions of October 7. We’re just letting folks know of the many UNRWA sites that housed terrorists, warehoused weapons, and provided access points to the terror tunnels under Gaza. The only thing we’ve done is report the truth. The world is doing the rest. When the UNRWA collapses, it will be as a result of your actions, not ours. The War in the West Bank Many believe that the IDF is only facing the enemy in the south and the north. However, the West Bank is a dangerous place in which many belonging to Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are harbored along with an extremely large cache of weapons. Almost nightly, there are operations into the region, such as the one that took place in Jenin on Wednesday. Three terrorists were killed and 40 more were arrested when the IDF raided two houses. Also, many weapons were seized, and improvised explosive devices (IED) were located and disarmed along the roads in and out of the city. The West Bank terrorist cells are especially concerning, because when the battle in the north eventually begins, Israel will immediately face another front right in the heart of the nation. The West Bank is also the origin of numerous terror attacks on Israeli civilians, including the one that took place just this morning near Jerusalem. Three Palestinian gunmen from the Bethlehem area opened fire on a line of cars stuck in traffic. Put yourself in that situation. You’re just going to work when suddenly automatic weapons are being fired at you and the cars around you. And because you are in traffic, you’re trapped and helpless with nowhere to go. One man was killed in the attack and 11 more innocent civilians were wounded. Two of the gunmen were killed at the site of the attack by police and armed citizens, and the third was “neutralized” a short time later. The War in the North The soft war in the north continues with rockets crossing the border southward and airstrikes directed north. A targeted elimination by Israel killed two in the Kfar Sousa neighborhood of Damascus, a district known for the presence of Iranian security personnel. The Israeli airstrike took place just one day short of the one-year anniversary of a similar attack directed at Kfar Sousa. Eventually, the generals of the IRGC are going to catch on that their people are much safer when they are kept in Iran. Although, that’s not always the case. The IDF continues their “softening” of targets in Lebanon prior to the coming launch of the war in the north. A concerning report was released on Tuesday by French newspaper Liberacion that claims that Hezbollah has a tunnel system in Lebanon that dwarfs that of Gaza in both size and sophistication. Back in the 1980s, Iran and North Korea came alongside Hezbollah to begin the tunneling, and the terrorist organization has been working on it for the past four decades. The tunnels can be used for attack, troops movement, warehousing, barracks, and other needs. Hundreds and hundreds of kilometers stretch through the country reaching Syria and Israel. Yemen The Houthis of Yemen continued their attacks on shipping throughout the week, leading U.S. forces to carry out five self-defense strikes on Saturday. Each strike was aimed at lessening the terrorist group’s ability to carry out their missile launches. This morning, however, it became quite evident in Israel’s southern city of Eilat that the Houthis still have plenty of capability when warning sirens sounded. A surface-to-surface missile was inbound toward the city. Thankfully, the Arrow missile defense system was able to intercept and destroy the threat before it reached its target. Iran Iran has declared property rights in Antarctica and announced sovereignty over the South Pole. Sometimes the potential jokes are so plentiful that it is best just to sit back and let the fact stand on its own. Russia Speaking of my Nir Tavor series, during a discussion about imprisoned Putin critic Alexei Navalny on page 107 of my latest novel, Out of the Far North, one of my characters made the suggestion, “I hope Navalny has his life insurance paid up, because I don’t think he’s going to be around much longer.” Fiction became reality last Friday when Navalny fell over dead during a walk in an Arctic prison. When his lawyer and his mother arrived at the prison colony the next day, they were told he died of “sudden death syndrome”. This is a diagnosis that can likely be used for most of Putin’s now deceased critics, including the many who fall from high-rise balconies and the ones who commit suicide by shooting themselves twice in the back of the head. Brazil Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio da Silva, known as Lula, made a speech in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Sunday in which he declared the war in Gaza as genocide. He then took it a step further, saying the only other moment in history when something so heinous has occurred was “when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.” A firestorm ensued. The next day, Foreign Minister Israel Katz reprimanded Brazil’s ambassador to Israel and declared Lula persona non grata in Israel. That same day, Lula ordered the ambassador home to Brazil. Kudos go out to the opposition in the Brazilian government which on Tuesday garnered 110 signatures for a call for the impeachment of the president. What Next in The War with Hamas? – Yaakov Lappin - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=6704 The Israel Defense Forces will likely begin maneuvering in Rafah, southern Gaza--the last Hamas stronghold--towards the end of February, and could complete the high-intensity phase of its war against Hamas by early May, a senior former Israeli defense official says. Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said during a call organized on Monday by the Jerusalem Press Club that by the start of March, the IDF will likely complete its operations in Khan Yunis and begin moving units into Rafah, assuming no hostage release deal is reached with Hamas, which would alter this timeline. Amidror served as national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and as chairman of the National Security Council between 2011 and 2013. He is also a former head of Research Department in the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate "There are four battalions of Hamas" in Rafah, Amidror said. "All of them will be dismantled by the IDF. This will take the whole March and maybe to the end of April. "In the meantime, we have to be sure that part of the population which is concentrated in Rafah will move slowly but surely to designated areas which would be kind of a safe haven for this population," he added. Many displaced Gazan civilians headed to Rafah "because they had the hope that they will be allowed to cross the border into Egypt," Amidror said, adding, "The Egyptians do not want any Palestinians in Egypt. That was my, by the way, my assessment from the beginning--that they would not allow any Palestinian to enter Egypt." The targeted raids phase According to this rough assessment, by the start of May, the IDF will complete its high-intensity stage of operations against Hamas in southern Gaza, gain operational control of the entire Strip over and underground, and shift into the targeted raids phase, as it has already done in northern Gaza. This next phase, according to Amidror, will entail "specific raids of battalions or brigades into specific areas based on intelligence that we will have." He estimated that it would take another six months to a year to "clean out the Gaza Strip totally" in this next phase. "And then it will be 'the day after' in which someone will have to take responsibility for Gaza," he said. Amidror added that the IDF is gleaning a great deal of intelligence from "papers" and other data sources confiscated from Hamas sites in Gaza, including from Hamas headquarters, and the interrogation of Hamas terrorists. "Many of them are now instead of fighting and being killed, they are surrendering," he said. Professor Eyal Zisser, vice rector of Tel Aviv University and chair of Contemporary History of the Middle East, told JNS that when the IDF completes the destruction of the remaining Hamas battalions, this would indeed constitute "the elimination of Hamas as an organized military force--akin to a regular army--with its headquarters, training camps, bases and weapon depots. "But it turns it into a guerrilla organization--essentially like what happens in Judea and Samaria, where there are lone terrorists and cells carrying out terror attacks, and in Gaza, there is a vacuum and anarchy so it is more difficult to control than Judea and Samaria, hence it is a challenge for the IDF but a lesser challenge than dealing with the Hamas army with which we started the war." Addressing the senior Hamas leadership, Zisser said, "They certainly did not anticipate this happening, and certainly relied on their past experience that there would be fighting for several weeks and that the IDF would not enter the Strip. "Currently, they essentially do not control anything but are hiding in a bunker. However, the Hamas units operate independently and in a disconnected manner, as they were trained to do. So there is no management of the war, there is hiding and concealment, and I assume they are hiding in the hope of surviving and that eventually, the IDF will leave the Strip and they will come out of the bunker--and for them, to survive will be to win." DOWNLOAD THE PROPHECY UPDATE APP Prophecy Update Videos Must Watch Videos! Videos You Can Trust
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DONATE HERE Your can also mail your support to: Prophecy Update PO Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384 How the US Abandoned Israel under Biden - by Robert Williams - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20415/us-abandoned-israel "I come to Israel with a single message: You are not alone," US President Joe Biden said right after the October 7 massacre by the terrorist organization Hamas of Israelis, Muslims, Americans, Europeans, Filipinos and Thai visitors enjoying a Saturday holiday in southern Israel. "As long as the United States stands — and we will stand forever — we will not let you ever be alone," Biden continued. "It has brought to the surface painful memories and scars left by a millennia of antisemitism and the genocide of the Jewish people. The world watched then, it knew, and the world did nothing. We will not stand by and do nothing again. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Israel must again be a safe place for the Jewish people. And I promise you: We're going to do everything in our power to make sure that it will be." It did not take long, however, for the Biden administration to completely turn that promise on its head. The reversal began with US demands on Israel to scale down military operations, which were already scaled down beyond that of any military in the history of urban warfare, to the extent that the lives of Israeli soldiers were endangered. The Israel Defense Forces had dropped thousands of leaflets urging Gazans to flee south to designated safety areas. Instead of carpet bombing, which would have prevented the death of hundreds of Israeli soldiers, the IDF conducted only pinpoint strikes by air, and maneuvered on foot through booby-trapped alleyways and hundreds of miles of booby-trapped tunnels. Hamas, meanwhile, was shooting at its own citizens to keep them from fleeing to safety, so that the IDF would have to fight Hamas terrorists embedded within the civilian population. "Israel implemented more measures to prevent civilian casualties than any other nation in history," wrote John Spencer, a leading expert in urban and subterranean warfare, who is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at the United States Military Academy West Point. "... Israel provided days and then weeks of warnings, as well as time for civilians to evacuate multiple cities in northern Gaza before starting the main air-ground attack of urban areas. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) employed their practice of calling and texting ahead of an air strike as well as roof-knocking, where they drop small munitions on the roof of a building notifying everyone to evacuate the building before a strike. "No military has ever implemented any of these practices in war before. "The IDF has also air-dropped flyers to give civilians instructions on when and how to evacuate, including with safe corridors... "Israel's use of real phone calls to civilians in combat areas (19,734), SMS texts (64,399) and pre-recorded calls (almost 6 million) to provide instructions on evacuations is also unprecedented." Nevertheless, the Biden administration escalated its criticism into brazen insinuations against Israel of supposed wrongdoings in its warfare in Gaza. "Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on a visit to Israel earlier in February. "The hostages have been dehumanized every day since, but that cannot be a license to dehumanize others," Blinken went on, implying that Israel was "dehumanizing" Gazans. "The daily toll that [Israel's] military operations continue to take on innocent civilians remains too high. We urge Israel to do more to help civilians knowing full well that it faces an enemy that would never hold itself to those standards." No one knows how many civilians have been killed in Gaza. The casualty numbers are issued exclusively by the Gaza Health Ministry – operated, of course, by Hamas, which classifies every casualty as a civilian one. When Blinken "accuses Israel—inaccurately, unfairly, and libelously—of dehumanizing Palestinians," former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren commented, "he dehumanizes us and contributes to the delegitimization of Israel and the demonization of Jews worldwide." In early February, Biden then told reporters: "I'm of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza – in the Gaza Strip – has been over the top." White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later tried to "clarify" the comment by saying that Biden had meant that Israel must ensure that its "operations are targeted and conducted in a way that they are protecting innocent civilians." The US government, however, is fully aware that Israel does more than any other military – even more than the US – to protect civilians. White House spokesperson John Kirby, a retired Navy Rear Admiral, said on February 13: "We have seen them [IDF] take actions -- sometimes actions that that even I'm not sure our own military would take -- in terms of informing civilian populations ahead of operations, where to go or not to go." Kirby also called South Africa's lawsuit against Israel over its warfare in Gaza "meritless, counterproductive and completely without any basis in fact whatsoever." Most recently, the Biden administration has taken its anti-Israel stance one step further. The US State Department is now "investigating" Israeli airstrikes in Gaza that allegedly killed dozens of civilians, as well as allegations that Israel used white phosphorous in Lebanon. The aim, according to US officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, is "to determine whether one of America's closest allies has misused its bombs and missiles to kill civilians." In addition, the Biden administration has reportedly been investigating Israel's military campaign in Gaza "for months" despite reassurances that it was doing no such thing. Kirby told reporters on January 4: "I am not aware of any kind of formal assessment being done by the United States government to analyze the compliance with international law by — by our partner Israel... we need to take a different approach in terms of trying to help Israel defend itself." Nevertheless, the Huffington Post wrote on February 13 that, according to unnamed Biden administration officials, the investigations have been taking place in both the State Department and the Defense Department: "Internally, U.S. officials have been assessing possible international law violations by Israel for months, and they are continuing to do so, HuffPost has learned from four sources familiar with private discussions about the assessments." Most telling of the US abandonment of Israel while it is fighting terrorism on behalf of Western civilization, are the reports that Biden, in coalition with Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Palestinian representatives, is in a great hurry to reward Hamas for its October 7 massacre – which it has vowed to repeat "again and again" times until Israel is annihilated – with an "irreversible" plan to establish a Palestinian state. According to the Washington Post on February 14: "The Biden administration and a small group of Middle East partners are rushing to complete a detailed, comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and Palestinians, including a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state, that could be announced as early as the next several weeks." The group of countries looking to force a two-state solution on Israel extends far beyond the Middle East: "The circle of support for a firm plan extends beyond the small group of those working on it directly. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has expressed public interest in early recognition of a Palestinian state. "The European Union is 'reaching out ... to see how we can work together to have a larger plan that actually focuses on getting to the end of the conflict,' said Sven Koopmans, the E.U. special representative for the Middle East peace process. 'That's an actual peace process that wants to get to an independent, fully recognized Palestinian state and a secure state of Israel fully integrated in the region. Is that feasible? It's extremely difficult, but in the absence of any other plan, we are interested in pursuing this.'" The only relevant country that has apparently not been invited to the "urgent" discussions is Israel. The world evidently does not consider it a sovereign state that is allowed to make its own security decisions. Instead, Israel must presumably be forced into making "peace" with an enemy that has sworn to rape, mutilate, torture, burn and murder until every Jew in the land has been eliminated. The Israel government immediately issued a statement: "Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a final accord with the Palestinians. Such an agreement will be reached solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions. Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition, in the wake of the October 7th massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace accord." Yet, even that was distorted by hostile media. According to Honest Reporting: "What Israel's statement about unilateral recognition did not do, was oppose Palestinian statehood in general. That is, Israel did not outright reject the idea that a Palestinian state could be formed as part of a larger peace agreement... The fact is, Israel has shown time and time again that is willing to negotiate with Palestinians and is not opposed to the actualization of a Palestinian state.... For the media to suggest otherwise is just historical revisionism." The Biden administration's main interest, however, seems clearly not to be facts. Rather, it appears to be to smear and distance itself from Israel, perhaps hoping that it will deliver more "swing states" in America's upcoming November election. Biden is losing voters, however, for reasons other than his views on Israel. One can start with the recent Hur Report by the US Department of Justice, which said that Biden would not be charged with the crimes he had apparently committed, of illegally taking and unsafely storing classified documents because he is a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" -- perfect for running the country? Since Biden began his term in January 2021, America has also seen "galloping inflation;" an open border that FBI Director Christopher Wray, according to the House Committee on Homeland Security, said "poses [a] major security threat," as well as, Wray warned: "China's capacity to 'wreak havoc' on US infrastructure and directly harm Americans .... our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems.... low blows against civilians are part of China's plan." Finally, there is the incalculable danger to the Middle East and North America of an Iranian regime with unlimited ambition on the threshold of delivering unlimited nuclear bombs. Biden, clearly, seems not that intent on making Israel or the Free World a safe place again. At least not if it might compromise his reelection. Ever So Close - By Dennis Huebshman - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/02/13/ever-so-close-by-dennis-huebshman/ Luke 21:28; “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (ESV – all emphasis is mine) First, we need to look at what “these things” consist of. Some serious Bible reading would start with Matthew 24 and Luke 21. Jesus gave a number of specific events and attitudes that would be present toward the end of this era. Once He gets to “abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place” (Matthew 24:15), He is speaking of already being in the tribulation/wrath. This is an event that true believers today need not worry about. Before the “abomination” or antichrist can come forth, we will have to be gone from this earth. Looking at 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8, we get a very good picture of this. “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed; the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be god. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only He who now restrains it will do so until He is out of the way. And the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of His mouth, and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” One note here: in numerous books of both the Old and the New Testaments, we are told all who are true believers and have received and accepted Jesus as Savior will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament it would pertain to all who were in the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit would be the “restraining force” that is keeping the antichrist from coming out until the Father decides it’s time for the wrath to begin. God promised that believers would not go into the wrath or tribulation in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, and Revelation 3:10. When the Holy Spirit allows the antichrist to come out, all who are indwelt by Him must have been removed to keep us from the wrath as promised by the Father, and that will be through the event called the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.) Therefore, if the “things” Jesus and others spoke of have already begun, we are getting ever so close to leaving this wicked, sin-filled earth to be with our Savior. On the way up to meet Him, the dead in Christ will be reunited with their earthly remains, and they will be converted into their forever immortal bodies. Then, all who are alive at the Rapture will be converted into a new forever body as each one rises up to see our Jesus face-to-face for the very first time. One additional benefit; we will be “just like Jesus” as given in 1 John 3:2-3; “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.” From the instant of conversion, we will never again be subject to the sin nature that all humans were endowed with through the first sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). We will have the same nature that our Lord and Savior Jesus has, and that gift was paid for by Him for us at Calvary. After all, He was the only “human” that ever lived, or ever will live, that never committed even one sin. He was totally committed, as given in Philippians 2:5-8; “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus told us in Matthew 7:13-14 that there would be more people attracted to the things of this earth rather than those who would receive and accept Him. It is obviously that way in today’s world. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 about the negative attitudes and actions that will be here, “in the last days…” Every one of them he listed is here in today’s worldly societies. In 2 Peter 3:3, he tells us, “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” In 1 John 4:1-3, we are told, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming, and now is in the world already.” All the above verses from Paul, Peter, and John were given nearly 2,000 years ago, and antichrists and false prophets were in the world already. There has been evil in this world from the very beginning, and it’s still here today. There will be sin right up to the end of the Millennial Reign of Jesus. After that, there will be only one of two places that souls will go. First, for all who were out of the will of the Father from the beginning and up to Calvary, and those from Calvary up to the end of the Millennial Reign of the Savior that refused to receive and accept Jesus, they will attend judgment at the Great White Throne to learn their eternal degree of punishment. No one can receive forgiveness at this judgment, and there will be no pardons there (Revelation 20:11-15). The judgment of all who were in the will of God pre-Calvary, and all who truly received and accepted Jesus from then on, will appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ as given in 2 Corinthians 5:10. “For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body; whether good or evil.” We gain or lose rewards at this judgment, but we do not lose eternity in Heaven with our Precious Savior. For those who have passed from life on this earth, there is really no mystery for them as to which judgment they will attend. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man of Luke 16:19-31 gives a clear picture of this. For the rich man, he was destined for eternal punishment and was already suffering. Lazarus had been in the will of the Father, and when he passed, he went to Abraham’s side, or a place of comfort and peace. Paul told us that to live was to live for Christ, and to die was to go and be with Christ (Philippians 1:21-23). That tells us that the precious flock will be with Jesus when we take our last breath here. One more observation: a couple of verses for any who are saying they will call out to Jesus later for their Salvation. Proverbs 27:1, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Also James 4:13-14, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town, and spend a year there and make trade or profit’; yet you do not know what tomorrow may bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time, then vanishes.” What part of “forever” slips by without notice? If a person lives to be over 100 years old, that isn’t even an eye-blink in eternity. Nothing on this earth is worth your eternal soul being pulled away from the Savior, no matter what Satan may tempt you with. After all, he will be receiving the worst condemnation of all in the lake of fire, which should be very obvious. Before any more time passes, call out to the Savior and admit that you are a sinner and are lost without His precious gift. Ask His forgiveness and that He will come into your heart and be your Shepherd forever. He will turn no one away who truly calls out to Him, and no one has sinned so greatly that they cannot be forgiven. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us we cannot earn or buy our way to Salvation. It’s a gift from the Father through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus the Christ. No decision you ever make will be more valuable or as important as this one. His coming for His precious flock is ever so close. Be Ready! Shalom – Peace; Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus! [email protected] Daily Jot: Are you "all in?" – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com How many times in your life did you feel you had to do something, but your “heart” just wasn’t in it? In coaching athletes, I have found that many young men and women have considerable talent, but it is not fully realized because they were not convinced that they had to exercise the whole of that talent to be all they could be. Same is true for people in their work. There are the 9-to-5ers who punch the clock and do whatever they must to get to the end of the day. Then there are those who really believe in and love their work. They do it because they love what they do, not because they feel they have to do it. To me, this characterizes the debate on tithing—is it a “must do” or is it “freewill” from the love of the heart? I’m going to suggest that tithing, or contribution unto the Lord, is a reflection upon each person’s heart—their place where the Lord dwells, and it doesn’t have to do with just money. The Hebrew word for “contribution, gift or freewill offering” is Trumah. In Exodus 25:2, the LORD told Moses, “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering (Trumah): of ever man that gives it willingly with his heart you shall take my offering.” The offering was for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), the place that would symbolize the Presence of the LORD among the Israelite people during their journey to Canaan. Then the LORD says in Exodus 25:8, “They are to make me a sanctuary so that I may live among them.” Spiritually speaking, each of us is created to be a “mishkan,” a dwelling place for God. 1 Corinthians 6:19 asks “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have from God?” Our Trumah is the choice to give our hearts to the LORD by inviting him to abide within us as Christ said in John 15:4,5: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch (you) cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine (Christ); no more can you, except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.” When we are willing to give our hearts to the LORD and make God’s dwelling place within our hearts, then He can reveal Himself through our lives to others. The tithe, the Trumah, is reflective of your heart, your temple—mishkan--of the Lord. It is not about the legalistic provision of ten percent to the church. It’s about the all-in partnership of the LORD abiding in you and you abiding in Him, beginning with the giving of your heart as His dwelling place. In doing so freely, Christ is revealed to others through our everyday lives. In this we have daily sacrifices in our personal temple, as described in Romans 12:1, “…to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.” God doesn’t want ten percent, He wants 100 percent that you as Christ said in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” So are you “all-in?” Daily Devotion: The Master’s Chisel - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. —Ephesians 2:10 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-masters-chisel/ - Listen History tells us that the artist and sculptor Michelangelo, commenting on one of his works, said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” In the same way, God sees what we can become. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (NLT). Or, as the New King James Version translates this verse, “For we are His workmanship . . .” This word, translated as “masterpiece” or “workmanship,” comes from the Greek word poiema, which is the basis for our English term poem or work of art. It’s a word that speaks of something that is perfect. It carries the idea of rhythm, orderliness, and beauty. Now, when I look at my life, I don’t necessarily see rhythm, orderliness, and beauty. And I guarantee that I don’t see perfection. Maybe you feel the same way. However, God is saying, “You are My work of art. You’re My masterwork.” Understand that God isn’t a doting father who cannot see his child’s faults. No, He is our all-knowing yet all-powerful Father in Heaven who can envision what we will be. We are wonderfully complex. And we’ve been made in His image. Before I started preaching, I used to do graphic arts. I often sat at my drawing board just thinking, and then I began to sketch. Sometimes, people walked up and asked what I was drawing, and typically, I said that I wasn’t sure. I was still envisioning it. It’s simply the way artists work. In the same way, we might look at ourselves and see a blank canvas, but God sees the finished work of art. God can look at us and see what we will become, even before we actually become it. We tend to see our flaws and our imperfections, but God sees us for what we will be. For example, Jesus gave Simon a new name, Peter, which means “rock.” Now, all those who knew Simon probably thought it was kind of funny that Jesus named him that. A rock, after all, speaks of solidity. It speaks of something stable, strong, and dependable. And Simon wasn’t those things. But essentially, Jesus was saying, “It’s all right. You’re going to grow into that name. It will take some time.” And later, when Peter was a leader in the church, no one questioned whether he was a rock. We may look at ourselves right now and say, “I don’t get it. This doesn’t look like a work of beauty.” But God is saying, “Hang on. I can see what I can make you into. You need to be patient because you’re a work in progress.” It doesn’t happen overnight. It will take your entire life on this earth. In fact, it won’t be finished until you get to Heaven. But then you will see that you indeed are a perfect work of art, that you are God’s masterpiece. PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY 2/23/24 http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php
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