 TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Push for A ‘Palestinian State’ Demonstrates The Spiritual Blindness Of Our Days – By Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/amir-tsarfati-the-push-for-a-palestinian-state-demonstrates-the-spiritual-blindness-of-our-days/
(Galilee, Israel) — What a bizarre and interesting week it has been regarding events in the Middle East. Since the onset of Israel’s operations in Rafah, the IDF has uncovered more than 700 terror tunnel shafts belonging to Hamas – and over 50 tunnels that funnel into Egypt to the south. As you’re likely aware of by now, Israel’s decision (which was the correct decision) to enter Rafah in a move to end Hamas and free the remaining hostages was not met with approval by a host of the international community. In fact, the IDF only made the decision to reveal its findings regarding the tunnels in Rafah for the benefit of the discussion in the Hague and the international justification for the action in Rafah. Sadly, the bodies of more Israeli hostages were uncovered by the IDF in Rafah. The three bodies belonged to Yitzhak Gelernter, Amit Buskila, and Shani Louk. We expect more to be found. It’s worth noting that the Rafah situation could and likely will have negative ramifications regarding the relationship between Israel and Egypt. Tragically, the Hague is maintaining its hypocrisy and ignorance when it comes to the survival of the Jewish state as it sympathizes with terrorists in Gaza. Apparently, the burning, raping, kidnapping, and slaughtering of over 1,200 Jews isn’t enough justification for what we’re doing in Rafah, not to mention the fact that an overwhelming amount of evidence shows that Hamas sees to oppressing its own people. At this stage, over 800,000 Gazans have been evacuated from Rafah. 277 IDF soldiers have died since the ground operation in Gaza began. Operations are continuing to take place in other locations throughout the Gaza Strip as well. A lot of military operations are becoming the regular in the area of Jabalia where the IDF has eliminated well over 200 terrorists so far. Dozens of others have been arrested for interrogation. The IDF claims this has been one of the most violent wartime locations so far. Not only are we operating in Gaza – we’re pursuing Hamas terrorists everywhere. Last week, the IDF also killed a senior member of Hamas near the Lebanon-Syria border. We’re also continuously active in Judea & Samaria (the West Bank). Iran Where do I begin? Well, let’s just call it what it is – Iran’s president is dead. Not only did Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi die in a helicopter crash this last weekend, but a number of other high-ranking Iranian officials were killed as well. The crash took place while the group of officials were on their way back to Tehran following a meeting at the border with Azerbaijan. Apparently, between the lack of capabilities of the particular helicopter they were in and the treacherous weather conditions, they fell short of survival. From the perspective of the naive international community, Iran just suffered a massive blow. However, ask the common Iranian citizen, and you’ll experience a different story. Raisi and others like him were and are passionate about terror, death, and oppression. This is why numerous Iranian citizens could be seen celebrating his death across social media following the crash. Don’t let the corrupt leadership and radical ayatollahs confuse you. They don’t represent the worldview and mindset of the vast majority of Iranians. To make matters worse, the US offered its condolences to Iran, accompanying several other countries. Since the death of Raisi, Vice President Muhammad Mokhber has become the president of Iran until the next election cycle. You can find more on this story by watching my breaking news segment. I also issued a second installation of breaking news at the conclusion of the event. On another note, and unsurprisingly, following Iran’s massive projectile attack on Israel weeks ago, the Islamic Republic has allegedly vowed to join any future war that takes place between Israel and Hezbollah. We sure do live in prophetic times. Hezbollah, Lebanon, and Syria In what’s no surprise, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) continues to carry out strikes in various places in both Lebanon and Syria as tension with Hezbollah increases in the region. While the tension in this region has been ever-present for quite some time, the consistency of military confrontations has certainly increased since October 7, 2023. Moreover, targeted attacks are becoming all the more prominent, which was seen as recent as last Friday when a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in a vehicle attack about 40km from the border with Israel. However, the rockets keep coming from the north, as Israel – in a single strike from Hezbollah – had approximately 75 rockets fired into the region of the Golan and Galilee, most of which were intercepted. Another key target that was eliminated by the IAF was the commander of the rocket unit of Hezbollah. This took place in the coastal sector in Lebanon. His name was Qasem Skalawi. In addition to conducting multiple strikes in Southern Lebanon & Syria, the IAF has also remained extremely busy intercepting a host of rockets, drones, and other aerial threats coming from their enemies to the north. The Houthis & Yemen It’s business as usual for the Houthis, as the Iranian-funded terror proxy in the Arabian Gulf continues to muster up chaos in the region. Most recently – aside from its periodic projectile launches towards Israel – the terror group hit an oil tanker in the Red Sea that was moving oil from Russia to China. The International Community Slovenia and other European countries – namely, Ireland, Norway, and Spain – have vowed to formally recognize a Palestinian state in the weeks ahead and they’re encouraging other countries to do the same. Now do you understand the spiritual blindness of the days in which we’re living? Over 1,200 innocent Israelis are murdered in cold blood and Europe pursues what it believes is best for the culprit of that terror. The United States Unfortunately, like a reckless wave, the US administration has been all over the place regarding its position on the Israel-Hamas War. There are moments when Team Biden voices support for Israel. There are also moments when it stands in the way of what the country needs to do right now. Furthermore, it has become common practice for the Biden Administration to criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his every move to eliminate Hamas. And when there’s an opportunity for the US to side with Israel, lately, it seems that there are always strings attached. Such is the case with the ongoing situation between Israel and the ICC. From various sources, we’ve received confirmation that the US administration gave a green light to the ICC to move forward with asking for an arrest warrant against Hamas and Israeli leaders as if they are equal. If that’s not enough, the US administration is conducting talks with Iran in Oman where both sides agree that Netanyahu must be removed. The most failed US administration is causing internal chaos and outside attacks on its best ally in the Middle East. Insane! Wait on the Lord Patience, endurance, and perseverance are virtues we, as believers, must all have in this ever-changing and morally self-destructive world. For me as an Israeli, a new dimension of the need for these three was added. We have been fighting an existential war for the past eight months on multiple fronts – both above the ground, under the ground, and in the airwaves. When you add the spiritual aspect of this battle, you’ll see how vital it is to be equipped with strong faith, knowledge of the Word, and power that can only come from the person of the Holy Spirit in us! Isaiah 40:31 KJV – “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” The End of the Age According to Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John – Randy Nettles - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/02/03/millennium-or-eternity-by-randy-nettles/ Daniel 12 is a continuation of Daniel 11 in which Daniel receives a prophecy of future events for Israel from an angel, perhaps Gabriel. The prophecy is given to Daniel in the first year of Darius the Mede. It includes details regarding four future kings of Persia and then the kingdom of Greece which would eventually defeat the Persian Empire. DANIEL 11-12 Particular details are given regarding the evil Greek king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the precursor to the Antichrist. In Daniel 11:31, we see Antiochus commit the first abomination of desolation in a Jewish temple. “And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.” The reference to “the time of the end” in Daniel 11:35 indicates there has been a jump into the future from the time of Antiochus. The chronological gap between Antiochus (vs. 21-34) and the end time (vs. 36-45) was common in the Old Testament. Many prophecies concerning the first and second coming of Christ, though presented together, were separated by thousands of years in their fulfillment. Starting with Daniel 11:36, the prophecy has shifted from Antiochus to the Antichrist. The timing for vs. 36 is the middle of Daniel’s 70th Week (Daniel 9:27), at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (see Matthew 24:21). Daniel also writes about this in chapter 9. “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27). We’re now discussing the man of whom Antiochus Epiphanes is our clearest model, the Antichrist, called ‘the king’ here. Notice the similarity between Daniel 11:36, (“And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god”) and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (“And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God”). Daniel and Revelation are the two bookends of the end times. We see the Antichrist’s death in Daniel 11:45. However, in Revelation 13:3 we see his “deadly wound” is healed. This is the A.C.’s imitation of Christ’s resurrection. Daniel 12:1-2 follows chronologically after the events of Daniel 11:45. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:5-13 is a vision Daniel experienced that included three ‘persons.’ Two were angels and the third was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ (the man clothed in linen). Daniel had a conversation with these ‘persons’ regarding the end times. First, one angel asked the man in linen, “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” The man in linen said, “It shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” This is an antiquated way of saying 3.5 years. Daniel was confused so he repeated the question to the man in linen. The Lord said, “Go your way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go your way till the end be: for you shall rest, and stand in your lot at the end of the days” (Revelation 12:9-13). The Lord even articulated the exact duration of the 3.5 years in days. We know from Daniel 12:11, that there will be 1290 days from the Abomination of Desolation (mid-Tribulation) until the end of Daniel’s 70th week (of Daniel 9:24-27). We also know from Daniel 12:12 that something significant will occur on the 1335th day after the A.O.D. “Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. At the end of the 70th week of Daniel, the true King of Kings and LORD of Lords, Jesus Christ, will return as the “Man of War” (see A Man of War: The Lord is His Name (rev310.net)) and destroy the Antichrist, false prophet, and their evil forces, as described in Revelation 19:11-21. “These two were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” ((Revelation 19:21). REVELATION 20 In Revelation 20:1-6, we see the final events of Daniel’s 70th week. These events should occur within the 45 days between the 1290th and 1335th day of Daniel 12:11-12 or shortly afterward. The first event mentioned is recorded in Revelation 20:1-3. An angel comes down from heaven with a great chain in his hand. He lays his hands on Satan and binds him with the chain. He places a seal on him and casts him into the bottomless pit, so that he should no longer be able to deceive the ‘nations’ (sometimes this word is translated as Gentiles) until a thousand years are fulfilled. After that, he will be loosed for a ‘little season.’ The last event to be mentioned within the 45 days is the resurrection of the Tribulation saints/martyrs who were “beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” These 1000 years with the saints reigning with Christ is known as the Millennial Kingdom. Also at the start of the Millennial Kingdom, Old Testament Jewish saints will be resurrected according to Daniel 12:2a, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life…” All of this is part of the first resurrection. The pre-Tribulation Rapture is also part of this first resurrection. “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (Revelation 20:5). Likewise, the second part of Daniel 12:2 says “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake… to shame and everlasting contempt.” These include the unrighteous unbelievers from all ages. This is the second resurrection. “Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 12:6). The rest of Revelation 20 (7-15) are a parenthetical insert John used to carry his discussion on the destinies of Satan and the unsaved to its ultimate conclusion, after the 1000-year reign of King Jesus. John did this several times in the Revelation narrative to help complete a thought. In Rev. 21 John returned to the beginning of the Millennium to describe the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. This is my personal opinion and other Bible teachers such as Jack Kelley. REVELATION 21 In one of his commentaries on Revelation, John Walvoord writes, “Difference of opinion has existed as to whether the new Jerusalem thus described refers to the millennial period or the eternal state.” He goes on to say that he believes the more traditional view is correct in that Rev. 21:1 follows Rev.20:15 in chronological order and the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven at the end of the Millennium and the start of eternity. In this article, I will give evidence on why I believe the non-traditional view is correct. For decades I was a traditionalist in this matter and believed Jack was wrong on this theory. However, after much research, I have concluded he was right all along. Let’s assume that Revelation 21:1 takes up where Revelation 20:6 ends, at the first resurrection of the Tribulation saints/martyrs. This is at the very beginning of the Millennial Kingdom. These Tribulation martyrs have just been resurrected and translated (verse 4). Those beheaded during the Great Tribulation will assist the Church saints in reigning with Christ on Earth (Rev. 20:4). Revelation 21 describes the New Jerusalem which comes down from heaven after the Second Coming, perhaps on the 1335th day of Daniel 12:12. “Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” While Revelation 21 describes the New Jerusalem in the sky above the Earth, Revelation 22:1-5 describes life on the new (or remade) Earth during the Millennial Kingdom. Rev. 21:1 is about as close to a direct quote of Isaiah 65:17 (and Isaiah 66:22) as you can get. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea” (Revelation 21:1). Isaiah 65:17 says, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. ISAIAH 65-66 The context of Isaiah 65:18-25 is clearly describing the Millennial Kingdom on Earth. There is no debate on the timing of these verses, as everyone agrees that they are referring to the Millennium and not Eternity. Let’s go back and examine the whole chapter and get some background information. In Isaiah 65:1-7, the LORD talked about Israel’s past sins and iniquities. In verses 8-10, God predicted the Jew’s future blessings. Verses 11-12 describe the fate of the wicked, while verses 13-15 contrast the blessings of the faithful to the judgment of the wicked. Isaiah 65:16 refers to the blessings of God to those who believe in Him. “That he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.“ Isaiah 65:17 says, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” In the last part of this verse, God tells Isaiah “and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” I believe vs. 17 is referring to the last sentence regarding the former troubles of the rebellious Israelites. Many prophets had warned the Jews about a future catastrophic time known as the Day of the Lord. Through other prophecies, they also knew about a regathering for the remnant of the Jews and the restoration of the people and land of Israel. In Isaiah 65:17, God is telling the Jews that after the calamitous “Day of the Lord” (as it was known in the Tanakh) and the destruction of the heavens and the earth, that He would create (make or form) a new (or fresh) heaven and Earth from their ruins. The Jews did not know about a 1000-year kingdom of a Messiah until John wrote about it in Revelation. They only knew about a kingdom that would ultimately derive from the seed of David that would last forever. In hindsight, after reading the Book of Revelation, we can now look back and determine if God was referring to the start of the Millennium or the start of eternity when he said, “I create new heavens and a new earth.” Why would God bring up the Eternal Kingdom at this point and immediately in the next eight verses talk about the Millennial Kingdom? The next two verses in Isaiah 65 refer to Jerusalem (on Earth) and its inhabitants. But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying” (Isaiah 65:18-19). When God said “I create Jerusalem a rejoicing,” He meant he would make the conditions for Jerusalem to be joyful. The most famous verse for the Millennium Kingdom is Isaiah 65:25. “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says the Lord.” Isaiah 66:7-24 also describes the return of the Jewish exiles to Israel (and Jerusalem) and life during the Millennium. Isaiah 66:10 and 23 reiterate Isaiah 65:17: “Rejoice you with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all you that mourn for her: For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.” The Jews in Isaiah’s day (and later) would have read these verses and believed God would make new heavens and a new earth after the Day of the Lord. I agree with them. However, not in the same way which God created the heaven and the earth in the beginning (out of nothing). The English word ‘create’ in Isaiah 65:17 and 66:23 is a translation from the Hebrew word ‘bara,’ and can also mean make, form, shape, or fashion. The Hebrew word ‘yasar’ is translated as form and is closely associated with the word ‘bara’ or create. Take for example Isaiah 45:18, “For thus says the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. The word ‘create’ can also mean ‘form’ and that is what God will do to the heavens and the earth at the beginning of the Millennium. He will form or make a new heaven and earth out of the destroyed heaven and Earth of the Tribulation. The English word ‘new’ is a translation from the Hebrew word ‘hadas’, which means ‘new’, ‘new thing’, or ‘fresh.’ It refers to the time Jesus called the renewal of all things in Matt. 19:28 and Peter mentioned in Acts 3:21. I submit that the new heavens and earth are not ‘new’ but ‘fresh’ as in remade or remodeled. The same could be said of a new heart and a new spirit as mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26. The word fresh could be substituted, so the verse would say, “I will give you a fresh heart and put a fresh spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Also it is the same concept for the resurrection of the dead and the transformation of the living saints at the time of the Rapture. We are not getting new bodies, but our earthly bodies made out of earthly elements will be changed to heavenly ones. “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44). The Lord will use our original DNA and restructure it to take on a new or fresh body made for eternity. “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” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). REVELATION 21 Here is how Jack Kelley describes the “new heaven and earth” of Revelation 21 and 22: “According to Romans 8:19-22 the creation itself has been writhing and groaning, waiting for the Sons of God to be revealed so it could finally be liberated from its bondage to decay. The judgments of the Great Tribulation served in part to prepare the Earth for its restoration. In all probability, its orbit and axis will have been returned to their original configurations, bringing again the world wide sub-tropical environment likely enjoyed by our first parents. The vast oceans, silent witnesses to the enormity of Noah’s flood will be hoisted back into the outer atmosphere, restoring the water vapor canopy that protected early man and allowing the return of long life spans they experienced (Isaiah 65:20). The sea floors will be elevated and the mountains lowered, and Earth will once again resemble the Garden Planet it was when Adam came on the scene. Its atmosphere will no longer be the haunt of demons, and the heavens will have been purified of Satan’s rebellious minions forever (Rev. 12:7-8).” {1} Revelation 21-22 – Grace thru faith The word “sea” in the Bible is associated with large bodies of salt water, such as oceans and seas. Here is an interesting theory regarding there being “no more sea” in Revelation 21:1: The Greek word for sea, ‘thalassa’ is derived from a root word, ‘als,’ meaning ‘salt’ and in the Bible almost always refer to either the Mediterranean or the Dead Sea. Both are saltwater bodies and both appear to be made fresh by the water from the Temple according to Ezekiel 47:8 and Zechariah 14:8. It’s possible that John wasn’t referring to the oceans at all, but to these two seas being made freshwater bodies. Revelation 21:2 says, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” The big question is, does this occur at the beginning of the Millennium or at the start of eternity? I wrote about this in a previous article. “Why would the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, be described as a bride adorned for her husband at the end of the one thousand-year reign of Christ? After all, it would have been 1,000 years since the marriage of the Church to the Lamb in heaven (Rev. 19:7-8), which occurred right before the Tribulation was over. Why would the New Jerusalem be called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” after 1,000 years of Jesus’ reign on earth? That’s an old bride! It is because the marriage of the Lamb to the Church has just recently occurred in heaven during the latter stages of the Tribulation, and the New Jerusalem (with all the Church) is coming down at the start of the Millennium. The marriage supper of the Lamb mentioned in Rev. 19:9 will take place shortly after this on the earth with the Old Testament saints and Tribulation martyrs attending as the friends or guests of the bridegroom. I believe this marriage supper of the Lamb is mentioned in Isaiah 25:6-9, “And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord has spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” {2} Millennium or Eternity :: By Randy Nettles - Rapture Ready We will examine Ezekiel 47 and the rest of Revelation 21 and Revelation 22, including the tree of life in Part II. Randy Nettles [email protected] It's Time to Replace our Main Computer! How you can help! Thank you!!! Dear Reader / Supporter, It’s that time, time to replace our main computer, it’s been five years since we last replaced our main computer, it has served us well producing hundreds of newsletters and countless hours of videos, but it’s starting to show its age and is becoming sluggish and sometimes unresponsive making everything I do take much longer than it should! Now, more than ever, especially trying to keep up with all the news and countless hours of research and exhaustive video editing and rendering, I need to access the speed and processing power of the newer generation of computers that are available today. Computers become outdated very quickly with the advances in technology that we’re experiencing today, five-year-old computers are considered ancient! A new system of the type that we use must have a lot of power to render the amount of video that we process and create, and they run about $3500 dollars. We need your help to purchase this system and I have set up a special donation link just for the computer. So, if you are able and willing to help us out, we would greatly appreciate it! You can use the link below or if you mail in a donation, please mark it for “new computer” – thank you so much! I pray this is the last new computer we will ever have to purchase, and the way things are going, that is a great possibility! 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Your Support is Important to this Ministry - We Could Not Do This Without Your Support! Let Us Make the Short Time We have Left, Count for ALL of Eternity! Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift! II Corinthians 9:15 Worthy of Your Support? It has been said, one of the most reliable ways to determine if a ministry is worthy of your financial support is to examine its fruits. If Prophecy Update is keeping you informed and if that information inspires you and causes you to draw closer to the Lord, if Prophecy Update equips you with valuable information and knowledge to share with and encourage other believers and open the eyes of non-believers and if Prophecy Update keeps you connected to current events relating to Bible Prophecy then you are partaking of the fruit produced through this ministry. None of this would be possible without the Lords blessings and your support. I believe where the Lord guides, the Lord provides and most of the time He provides through the willing and generous hearts of believers just like you and me. I genuinely believe that Prophecy Update and many other like-minded ministries, are needed now more than ever! The world is getting darker daily, almost hourly, but never has the light of the Word of God shone so brightly. Never in our history has there been such a thirst for Truth and a need for a Savior! The Prophecy Update website, newsletter, and Video Channels are all dedicated to providing the truth, encouraging and informing believers, and prayerfully opening the eyes and hearts of non-believers with the Gospel, but none of it would be possible without your prayers and support. DONATE HERE Your can also mail your support to: Prophecy Update PO Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384 Daniel on the Timely Understanding of Prophecy - By Nathan E. Jones - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/05/23/daniel-on-the-timely-understanding-of-prophecy-by-nathan-e-jones/ “But as for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, ‘My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?’” (Daniel 12:8). The prophet Daniel had been listening intently to the angel Gabriel pronouncing a series of mind-blowing messages. God was revealing the rise and fall of great empires, leading eventually to a global empire led by a despot whom the Apostle John would later call the Antichrist, with its inevitable demise at the divine hand of God. Of course, all these great empires were still so far off in the future, from Daniel’s perspective, that he was obviously quite perplexed by what he was hearing. Rubbing his wrinkled forehead in confusion, Daniel requested God’s mighty messenger to provide some elaboration. To his dismay, the angel replied with a firm, “No way!” He explained that Daniel could never truly understand these prophecies because too many events needed to happen first before they could be fulfilled and, therefore, properly understood. Fortunately, Gabriel added there would be three major signs that would mark the “time of the end” in which the finale in this series of events would culminate. We find the source text for these signs in Daniel 12:4. “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the time of the end; many will go to and fro, and knowledge will increase.” He added that only those living in the end times and who were “wise” (meaning spiritually discerning) would at last understand these prophecies. They would recognize that the exponential increase in knowledge, travel, and prophetic understanding would herald the end of these human-controlled kingdoms with the second advent of the Messiah establishing His earthly millennial reign (Daniel 12:3-10). 1) Increase in Knowledge Let’s explore the first sign—a great increase in knowledge. Unless you’re a toddler playing with your mother’s Android, you have lived long enough to realize that the way we obtain information has changed a lot—a whole lot—over the last few decades. Let’s not even talk decades but in years. The child attaining adulthood today can, with a shudder, look back to the early 2000s when there was no Wikipedia, no Gmail, no social media like Facebook and Twitter (now called X), no cloud computing, no tablets, no smartphones, and certainly no high-speed Internet connectivity. Remember the sound a modem made when connecting a surfer to the World Wide Web? Ask a ten-year-old that question today, and they couldn’t even tell you. Even Bob Dylan couldn’t have imagined how much things would be changing when, way back in the stone ages of 1963, he sang, “The Times They Are A-changin.’” Times a-changin’ wasn’t always the way things were, though. For thousands of years of human history, life remained pretty much the same. Sure, every 300 years or so, the world eked out an innovation that revolutionized the world, moving humanity from, say, the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. But, for the most part, limitations in travel left most inventions cordoned off to a tiny corner of the world. But then, AD 1454 finally arrived, and the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg released the very first mobile, reusable type press (like an antique photocopier). At last, words of knowledge could be mass-copied onto paper and distributed far and wide. The age of the printed book revolutionized the world, and Gutenberg started with the fount of all knowledge—the Bible. Were you surprised to learn from your history classes that the most world-changing advances were made just in the last 150 years or so? And, as we got closer to our day and age, how each discovery came about faster and faster, as one breakthrough was achieved on top of another? This increasingly rapid acceleration in learning is called the Exponential Curve. Our knowledge has been experiencing exponential growth as one breakthrough builds upon another at an increasingly faster and faster pace. What would you say was the most important discovery that has helped us facilitate the advent of this massive explosion in the growth of knowledge? If you answered “the computer,” then you’d be correct. When it comes to the exponential curve for computers, the old joke is, “How do you know when your computer is obsolete?” The answer is, “When you take it out of the box.” That’s not too far from the truth, though, for computer companies double computer processing speeds about every 18 months. Known as Moore’s Law (after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore), this is just one manifestation of the greater trend in how all change happens to be occurring at an exponential rate. In 2023, quantum computers began processing at speeds equivalent to the human brain. By 2045, in a mere quarter of a century, Moore’s Law predicts we will possess computers with the computational ability equivalent to the entire human race! Not only has the exponential curve in all areas of computer technology increased our knowledge to stupendous levels, but computers have aided in all the major scientific discoveries of our day. We don’t need to cram so many facts into our brains anymore either, for the ability to easily store and access data means we can continue to learn like we’ve never learned before in human history. The exponential curve is not just limited to computers. Other advances in biomedicine, space science, chemical engineering, human engineering, and all the other sciences have been climbing faster and steeper up their exponential curves with every passing day. It’s expected that in the next five years, the world’s technology will be 32 times more advanced than it is today. It’s also been estimated that 65% of today’s kindergarteners, once they finally graduate from college, will ultimately end up working in completely new jobs that, at this time, don’t yet even exist. Consider that just a hundred years ago, the information most people learned throughout their entire lifetime equated to the content of one Sunday edition of The New York Times. Our ability today to practically consume that same amount of information daily shows just how far mankind’s knowledge has increased in a very short amount of time. Today’s exponential increase in knowledge points to the fact that we are living in the prophesied end times and that Jesus Christ is coming soon. 2) Increase in Transportation Notice in that same prophecy, the angel told Daniel that, besides a great increase in knowledge, “many will go to and fro” (Daniel 12:4). This tremendous increase in travel would also occur in the same context, that being the end times. God was revealing that once people began to go to and fro, both farther and faster, those final years before Christ returned to set up His Millennial Kingdom were finally upon us. Stop and think how people traveled just a single century ago. Most roads weren’t even paved yet and were traveled along by horse-drawn wagons. Watch on YouTube the video of San Francisco recorded back in 1906, and you will see far more horses than horseless carriages. People rarely, if ever, left their hometowns. Animal domestication and the early beginnings of decent roads, then bicycles, balloons, boats, and simple automobiles were developing but not widely received. Since the early part of the twentieth century, mankind went on to invent airplanes and jets, and we’ve even left Earth’s atmosphere in rockets and space shuttles. It used to take months for people to travel overseas by boat, but now we travel that same distance abroad in mere hours. In today’s world, people are always on the move, just as the angel prophesied to Daniel. Today’s exponential increase in travel points to the fact that Jesus Christ is returning soon. 3) Increase in Understanding Prophecy Did you know that Bible prophecy constitutes a whopping 31% of the Bible? God’s overall plan for the ages appears to be rather like a 100-piece puzzle, and so far, He has only provided 75 pieces. One can make out the outline of a picture, but until certain events unfold, which then add another new piece to the puzzle, the picture remains incomplete. Still, the 75 pieces we have now are far more numerous than what Daniel ever had. As Jesus explained to His disciples, “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:17). Even then, the Apostles didn’t understand many of Christ’s teachings until after His resurrection when He openly explained them and then later sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to provide further illumination. Even then, the Apostles were expecting the imminent return of Christ and not a 2,000-year-long wait. Today, the various end-times signs related to nature, society, world politics, technology, Israel, and the spiritual signs are coming at us at such a fantastic rate that Bible prophecy teachers such as Dr. Ron Rhodes have begun to call the phenomenon “The Convergence.” So many end times signs converging all at once has greatly enhanced our understanding of end-times Bible prophecy, just as Gabriel foretold. Today’s exponential increase in the understanding of God’s prophetic Word points to the fact that Jesus Christ is returning soon. Recognize the Times These three major signs, along with the hundreds more provided in the Bible, being fulfilled in our day, reveal the fact that the Lord could indeed return at any moment. By looking through the filter of the Bible at all the wondrous yet fearful events playing out before us, we should clearly understand the times in which we are living. As a result, we are comforted knowing that God’s got it all under control, that He has a great big plan in place, and that His children play a vital role in that plan. Christians are called to serve God in these dark times with all our unique giftedness, resources, and experience. For those of you who haven’t yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior but now recognize that we are living in the end times, the realization should act like an alarm clock buzzing you awake to the fact that the world doesn’t have much time left to it. We are all living on borrowed time. Therefore, embrace the fact that God loves the world so much that He gave His one and only Son and that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). China Is Practicing For An Apocalyptic War Against Taiwan, And The Western World Is Still Not Taking The Threat Seriously - by Michael Snyder - https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/china-is-practicing-for-an-apocalyptic-war-against-taiwan-and-the-western-world-is-still-not-taking-the-threat-seriously/ China has just launched enormous military exercises codenamed “Joint Sword-2024A” which are designed to simulate what a war against Taiwan would look like. Chinese fighter jets are conducting mock airstrikes against “high-value military targets”, and Chinese warships are practicing for a future economic blockade. Most Americans don’t seem to realize this, but once China goes to war with Taiwan, we will instantly be in a state of war with China. The flow of consumer products from China will completely stop, we will no longer have access to the advanced computer chips from Taiwan that we are so dependent upon, and the economy will crash. All of our lives will be turned completely upside down the moment that war with China begins, and that day may be a lot closer than most people think. On Thursday, the Chinese “encircled Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft” as Joint Sword-2024A kicked off… China on Thursday encircled Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft in war games, as it vowed the blood of “independence forces” on the self-ruled island would flow. The two days of drills are part of an escalating campaign of intimidation by China that has seen it carry out a series of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in recent years. Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te was inaugurated earlier this week, and the Chinese government is not a fan of him at all. And it is definitely not a coincidence that these military exercises are taking place shortly after he took office. These are the biggest military exercises that we have seen in the region so far, and CNN is reporting that “dozens of Chinese fighter jets carrying live ammunition” are involved… As part of the drills, dozens of Chinese fighter jets carrying live ammunition conducted mock strikes against “high-value military targets” of the “enemy” alongside destroyers, frigates and missile speedboats, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV. The exercises, which started early on Thursday and will encircle Taiwan, pose the first real test for newly elected Lai Ching-te as he attempts to manage relations with the island’s powerful authoritarian neighbor. The good news is that these military exercises will only last for 48 hours. But the Chinese are clearly preparing for the day when war will erupt. Relations between the Chinese government and Taiwan have reached a breaking point, and I don’t believe that there is any way that they will be repaired. When discussing the currently military exercises, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin issued quite an ominous warning to those that are pushing for Taiwanese independence… Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin then delivered a warning that included language more commonly used by China’s propaganda outlets. “Taiwan independence forces will be left with their heads broken and blood flowing after colliding against the great… trend of China achieving complete unification,” Wang told reporters. It is very unusual for a Chinese official to make such an inflammatory remark. Usually the Chinese are much more restrained. Once the exercises commenced, the Taiwanese military went on alert, and potential Chinese military targets were actively being tracked… Taiwan’s defense ministry condemned the drills, saying that it had dispatched forces to areas around the island, that its air defences and land-based missile forces were tracking targets, and that it was confident it could protect its territory. “The launch of military exercises on this occasion not only does not contribute to the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, it also highlights (China’s) militaristic mentality,” the ministry said. Taiwan’s presidential office expressed regret that China was threatening the island’s democratic freedoms and regional peace and stability with its “unilateral military provocations”, but said people could rest assured Taiwan could ensure its security. When the time finally comes, I think that the first action that China will take against Taiwan will be an economic blockade. That will suffocate the Taiwanese economy, and it will also cut the main island off from the outlying islands that it controls. Subsequently, I think that it is likely that the Chinese will attempt to occupy some of the smaller islands before moving to occupy Taiwan itself. Interestingly, the military exercises that China is currently conducting are simulating action against some of those outlying islands… Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at Taiwan’s top military think tank, the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, said that although the drills would only last two days, the scope is large relative to previous exercises, as they included Taiwan’s outlying islands. This is designed to demonstrate China’s ability to control the seas and prevent the involvement of foreign forces, he added. “The political signals here are greater than the military ones,” he added. There has been a lot of concern about what it would mean if China gained control over the chipmaking facilities in Taiwan, because the entire globe is heavily dependent on the advanced chips that Taiwan produces… Two of the world’s most important chip companies can flip a “kill switch” remotely on their most advanced chipmaking machines should China invade Taiwan, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Netherlands’ ASML — Europe’s top tech company by market value — supplies advanced machines to chipmaking companies. They include Taiwan’s TSMC, which produces, by some estimates, 90% of the world’s most advanced processor chips. Okay, so they can flip a “kill switch” which will prevent China from getting those chips. But once China controls Taiwan, we will lose access to those chips too. And without those chips, the entire global economy crashes. So we should be attempting to avoid such a scenario if at all possible. Unfortunately, Joe Biden and his all-star team of warmongers are making a total mess of things. We just keep getting closer and closer to a war with China, and the Biden administration just continues to make the Chinese angrier and angrier. Of course a war with China is a key piece of the apocalyptic puzzle that I have been warning about for a long time. The Chinese know that such a war is coming, and they are actively practicing for it. Here in the United States, most people just assume that everything will work out just fine somehow. Sadly, by the time most Americans finally realize how serious the threat is we will already be at war and there will be no turning back. Daily Jot: The American Chronicles: Breathtaking in so many ways - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com We left around mid-morning and headed south through the Shenandoah Valley. The picturesque countryside was truly breathtaking. We could see where the lyrics of the song “America the Beautiful” called out the purple mountain majesties. Although the song was inspired in 1893 atop Pikes Peak in Colorado, the Shenandoah Valley could have been easily substituted, especially on this bright sunny morning. We arrived near Luray, Va around noon, sought out the Shenandoah National Forest entrance and found ourselves on the famous Skyline Drive. The park ranger at the entrance told us of a place to pull over to take a nice hike. Little did we know what was about to happen next. Up ahead to my surprise, and among most any RV owner’s nightmare was a tunnel—Mary’s Rock Tunnel—12-feet-8-inches at its highest point. I slowed down immediately, wondering if our 10-feet-11-inch RV was going to fit or if we were going to have turn around on the narrow mountain highway and head back. I knew that we would have to hit the middle of that tunnel just right or risk scraping the topsides of the RV, or worse, scalping off the top. Thankfully, there were no cars coming through the tunnel and we gingerly took to the center of the road. We held our breath, turned off the Pandora, which was playing one of our favorite songs, and listened for any damage. Hearing none, we moved on through and collected our breath. There were many pullovers along the way and we stopped at a few. The views were breathtaking. It was difficult enough winding our rig around the sharp turns, but adding to the adrenalin rush was the constant temptation to look off to the tremendous skyline at some 3,200 feet. We pulled over at a place called Stony Man Overlook and parked the RV. Once again, an incredible portrait of American landscape. We decided to lock up and take the trail just South of the overlook. I took a walk around the RV to make sure everything was intact and almost dropped our only set of keys down the drainage grate—something I didn’t bother to tell Chris—another breathtaking moment. Chris, Service Dog Charlie and I then embarked down the trail. It was amazing. The narrow path led along a ledge in the mountain and one dare not slip or step too far off the trail. Huge rock formations peppered the way. The aroma of wildflowers and pink azaleas filled the air. The trees had awakened from their long winter’s nap. The wild foliage, each with its own unique beauty and properties lined the way. We remarked about how anyone could think this had been created without intelligent design. As the Bible says in Genesis 1:31, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Indeed it is. An hour later, we found the RV and headed toward our campground. Back through the tunnel, but this time I was in the middle of the tunnel when two cars entered, despite me blinking my lights. Taking my half out of the middle, they narrowly passed. Once again, breathtaking. Daily Devotion: Faith Alone - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God.’ —Mark 11:22 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/faith-alone/ - Listen Sometimes, we make faith a little bit too mystical when it is, in fact, something we apply wherever we go. For instance, when you go into a restaurant, you apply faith that the restaurant employees are following health standards and preparing your food properly. When you board a plane, you apply faith that the plane will take off, fly to its destination, and land. The same is true when you go to the doctor’s office. You have faith they’ve been trained properly and know what they’re doing. And when you have a prescription filled, you have faith that the pharmacist is giving you the correct medication and dosage. We apply faith every day. Jesus said, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22 NLT). Yet some people balk at that. They say, “Faith in God? Why, that is outrageous!” However, they apply faith in many other things. But they have a hard time putting their faith in God. There is no safer place to put your faith than in God. The Bible defines faith this way: “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). The very existence of your faith despite your circumstances is a proof of God. Faith is like a muscle. It gets stronger through use. Muscles build up when we break them down through use. And if we don’t use our muscles, they will atrophy. The same principle is true of faith. It’s something that we need to apply. It’s something that we need to use. Faith cannot be inoperative. We must use it. It is by this faith that we are saved as Christians. Ephesians 2:8–9 reminds us, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (NLT). What saves is faith alone. But the faith that saves is never alone. In other words, if you have real faith, there will be evidence in your life. People can tell that you have faith, but it isn’t because you say you have it. Rather, it’s because they can see your actions. They can’t see your heart, but they can see the things that you do. We are to live by faith as followers of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “The just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11 NKJV). It doesn’t say the just shall live by feelings or circumstances. God is the one who works, but He chooses to work primarily through human means. And faith can make the difference between something happening and not happening. We know that Jesus could do no mighty work in His hometown of Nazareth because of unbelief (see Matthew 13:58). The writer of Hebrews tells us, “It is impossible to please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6 NLT). We want to make sure we are using the faith that God has given us. PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY 5/24/24 http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php
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