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The War Within — Netanyahu Is Dealing With Pressure No Israeli PM Has Faced Before – By Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/amir-tsarfati-the-war-within-netanyahu-is-dealing-with-pressure-no-israeli-pm-has-faced-before/
(Galilee, Israel) — The internal feud didn’t take a holiday following October 7. In fact, the progressive movement in Israel took advantage of it – even with our military. Two branches of the IDF had a colossal failure on October 7th and ever since: our intelligence and Air Force. The intelligence failed to alert ahead of time and the Air Force failed to act fast enough to defend the skies of Israel from aerial threats. Interestingly enough, these two branches had the most active members in the judicial reform protests. Make no mistake, October 7th was years in the making. However, unfortunately, a lot of “useful idiots” made it easier for it to take place! Netanyahu is dealing with pressure that none of Israel’s prime ministers have faced before. Imagine dealing with the internal strife, military conflicts in multiple places, corrupt leaders within, and dealing with a White House that’s constantly giving you ultimatums. Speaking of the White House, Netanyahu made it clear to the Americans that Israel will not accept a situation where Hezbollah decides when to fire and when to start fighting according to what is happening in Gaza. According to the same sources, Netanyahu made it clear to the Americans that we will not accept the issue of Hezbollah on the border fence and the immediate threat to the settlements in the area. The essence of his message to the Americans: Either you will make them (Hezbollah) withdraw beyond the Litani River, or the IDF will push them beyond the river. The War in Gaza On one hand, it’s hard to believe that it’s almost been nine months since we went to war with Hamas in Gaza. But on the other hand, after discovering just how complex their underground tunnel system is, it’s not all that surprising. And I’m not even mentioning the complications of fighting against psychopaths who use women and children as shields. Anyway, we’re still there. However, the front has changed from all-out war in Rafah to targeted attacks on terrorists and specific infrastructure as we destroy the tunnel system along the way. Sadly, there are still dozens of Israeli hostages there, most of which we assume to be dead. Regardless, we intend to bring every one of them home. In the meantime, combat rages on. Israeli soldiers are seeing some tough days in Gaza, falling victim to booby-trapped homes and tunnel shafts. Casualties and injuries are continuing to add up. Please continue to pray for them. Things Are Heating Up in the North Our current confrontation with Hezbollah is like a tennis match, but instead of a bouncy, neon ball, we’re dealing with rockets, missiles, and drones. The IDF is attacking Hezbollah military sites in Southern Lebanon daily while the world’s largest terror proxy fires dozens of rockets into Northern Israel on a regular basis. However, we’re hitting them where it hurts despite the war having not officially begun quite yet. Our targeted attacks on their key personnel and leadership are surely starting to take a toll. Whether they’re in a building, a vehicle, on a bike, or in hiding (so they think) – we’re finding them. As I’ve been saying for weeks, war is imminent. The panic is growing within the ranks of Hezbollah as they continue to make a multitude of threats should a war with Israel begin. When it comes to targeted attacks, what took place in Lebanon yesterday was critical. The IDF eliminated Abu Ali Nasser, commander of Hezbollah’s Aziz unit! This is a super significant elimination! The elimination of Nasser marked the killing of the most high-ranking Hezbollah commander in the last nine months. But this elimination didn’t go unnoticed. Throughout today (Thursday), we’ve been dealing with nonstop attacks in the northern region of the country. It’s estimated that over 200 projectiles have been launched by Hezbollah so far. Part of an intercepted drone hit a shopping mall in the Israeli town of Acco and injuries are being reported by our military after drones hit IDF bases. If that’s not enough, fires are breaking out all over Northern Israel, including the Golan Heights. The IDF has begun extensive attacks in Southern Lebanon, but it’s going to be a long night. Again, I sympathize with the people of Lebanon, as so many want nothing to do with this regime running their country. In fact, a member of parliament from the Christian factions threatened to break up Lebanon into two countries if Hezbollah goes to war. And it’s not just Hezbollah in Lebanon we’re dealing with. The other proxies in places like Iraq are preparing to go to war with Israel is well. Iran’s proxy resources north and northeast of our border are vast in number – far vaster than you know. Iran is Being Swept Under the Rug The ayatollahs have zero accountability right now given the apathy of the United States. Yes, the Islamic Republic lost its president in a helicopter crash, but make no mistake, Iran is on its way to a nuclear bomb while the world is distracted. The International Atomic Energy Agency recently reported that Iran has installed new and advanced centrifuges and enrichment facilities at the underground nuclear sites in Pardo and Natanz, and in Natanz, it has already begun enriching uranium. There is so much more I could say about their nuclear activity, but it suffices to say, they’re getting a deadly free pass – and they’re loving it. And yes, they’re prepared to enter into any war that takes place between Israel and Hezbollah. This led two notable people in Israel to go public about the possible need for nuking Iran should it be an existential threat during the coming war. All Eyes on the USA The gloves are off within the Democratic Party in the USA. 1/3 of Democrats are convinced that Joe Biden needs to remove himself from the presidential race. However, while there are rumors flying of different candidates, the latest news as that he’s hellbent on running in 2024 despite a disastrous first debate last week. There are a couple things that are certain: 1) Who is in the White House has serious implications regarding world affairs. Look at the last three years and ask yourself how the world took a big nosedive for the worst on a continual basis. 2) The world is watching to see what happens with America this year. The globalist movement doesn’t wear a mask anymore and is prepared to do whatever it needs to do to prevent Donald Trump from winning the election. It’s going to be an interesting and messy several months ahead. These Are the Last Days The majority of the world is looking at the progressive left mental cases as being on the fringes of our society. However, remember that Satan always works on deceiving both sides to eventually bring about chaos and destruction. After all he is all about stealing, killing, and destroying. The so-called sane, reasonable conservatives – unless they are born again – can be as delusional and poisonous as the left. The ONLY way to stay focused, clear-headed, and sharp in our world – one which is ruled by Satan, the Prince of this World – is with the help of the Holy Spirit and His great power. Shortly before His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus said these words to His disciples: John 14:16-17 KJV – “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” The days are evil! We are about to see even greater doses of demonic madness and satanic activity which will lead to wars, chaos, and destruction. Yes, my friends, these are the last days! You can choose to bury your head in the sand in order to simply feel happy, or you can look around you and grasp the severity of our times and seasons. There is hope! There is a way! There is a source for real peace even amidst chaos and war. It’s all in the Messiah! Believe in Him, receive the spirit of truth, and walk in His light in these dark days! John 3:16 KJV – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Three Witnesses to the Day of the LORD – Randy Nettles - https://www.rev310.net/post/the-three-witnesses-to-the-day-of-the-lord This article will examine the last three of the nine Old Testament prophets who wrote concerning the day of the LORD (or the day of Yahweh/Jehovah). Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, with only one Chapter. Very little is known about Obadiah, whose name means ‘servant (or worshiper) of the LORD.’ OBADIAH The exact date this book was written is unknown. Two theories about its timeline exist. The first theory is that it was written around 843 BC during the reign of Jehoram in Judah. The second theory is that it was written about the time of Jeremiah’s ministry, 627-586 BC. I prefer the latter date, as we will examine in this article. The LORD gave Obadiah a vision concerning the kingdom of Edom and its downfall. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, who sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. Edom was a mountainous nation occupying the region southeast of the Dead Sea, including Petra (part of the area in what is now Jordan). Obadiah predicted that God would punish Edom for standing by when Babylon invaded Judah. The Edomites even gloated and cheered on the Babylonians during the siege. They also captured and delivered fugitives to Judah’s enemy and even looted Judah’s countryside (Obadiah 1:10-14). Despite their seemingly invincible mountain home, God pronounced judgment on Edom (and the surrounding nations around Judah) and said they would be destroyed. “For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as you have done, it shall be done unto you: your reward shall return upon your own head. For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been” (Obadiah 1:15-16). This prophecy is the same as that given to Jeremiah 25:9-28 regarding judgment on the nations around Judah by the Babylonians. “For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me” (Jeremiah 25:15-17). Obadiah 1:17-21 describes Israel’s final triumph over the surrounding nations during the start of the millennial kingdom. “But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness, and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD has spoken it. And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's” (Obadiah 1:17-18, 21). ZECHARIAH Zechariah is one of three post-exilic prophets, along with Haggai and Malachi. He was the son of Berakiah and the grandson of Iddo, a priest. Zechariah was born in Babylon during the Babylonian captivity. He was both a priest and a prophet. The name Zechariah means, ‘the LORD remembers.’ Haggai and Zechariah both began preaching and prophesying in 520 BC. Some background information is needed to review the historical events occurring in Babylon and Jerusalem in the 6th century BC. Cyrus the Great, king of the Persians, conquered Babylon in the fall of 538 BC. In 537 BC, Sheshbazzar led more than 40,000 Jews back to their homeland in Judah and Jerusalem. Daniel had a vision of the future the same year, as recorded in Daniel 11-12. In 536 BC, construction work on building the second Temple in Jerusalem began. However, the Jews stopped construction when opposition arose from neighboring nations. The work on the temple remained dormant for well over a decade until God used Haggai and Zechariah to convince the Jews to complete the project in 516 BC. Most Bible teachers think that the 70-year judgment prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11-12) started in 586 BC and ended when the second temple was rebuilt and completed in 516 BC. Others believe the 70-year judgment was from 605 BC when the first group of Jews was deported to Babylon, to 535 BC. Daniel’s vision of the 70 weeks/sevens (Daniel 9:24-27) occurred in 539 BC, so the latter date is more likely. Zechariah's primary message was that the Jews should return to God so He would return to them. He exhorted the Jews to renew their covenant with God. Zechariah received eight visions on the night of February 14, 519 BC, as figured from Zechariah 1:7, “Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet. The first vision concerned the ‘rider on the red horse,’ who is identified as the Angel of the Lord. This was a theophany or an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. The vision revealed that God would restore Israel in the immediate future, and the temple’s rebuilding would be part of the restoration after the Babylonian captivity. Without going into great detail regarding all of the visions, the principle is established that God would ultimately judge those who judged Israel and, just as surely, restore Israel in the near future and the end times. Several passages describe the blessings of Israel in the millennial kingdom following the second advent of Christ. The fourth vision shows Joshua, the high priest, standing before the Angel of the LORD (pre-incarnate Jesus) and Satan standing at his right side, accusing him before the LORD. Joshua and his filthy garments portray Israel's spiritual condition. The Angel of the LORD commanded those standing before Joshua to take off his filthy garments (representing God's act of taking away Israel's sin) and clothe him in God's righteousness. Israel’s ultimate cleansing and restoration will occur when God’s servant, the Branch, Jesus Christ establishes His future kingdom. The LORD then tells Joshua, “Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you, and your fellows that sit before you: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall you call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree” (Zechariah 3:10). That day is the day (time) of the LORD during Christ’s millennial kingdom. The vision reassured Joshua and the Jews that they should proceed in building the temple and of their ultimate restoration at (what we now know as) the second coming of Christ. Isaiah mentions the Branch in Isaiah 4:2 and 11:1. “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:1-2). Of course, in hindsight, we know this is a prophecy about Jesus Christ. Jeremiah also mentions a Branch of Righteousness in Jeremiah 23:5 and 33:15. The seven-fold spirit of the LORD is called ‘seven eyes’ in Zechariah 3:9. The seventh vision is called the ‘measuring basket and the women.’ The vision resembled a measuring basket (called an ephah in the KJV) with a lead cover, and a woman was sitting in the basket. The angel said, “This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah, and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.” “Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then I said to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it a house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base” (Zechariah 5:8-11). The ephah was a standard measure of weight and became a symbol of economy. However, this ephah is corrupted, as seen with the addition of lead, giving a false measure. It was to be placed in the land of Shinar, which is Babylonia. During the second half of the seven-year Tribulation, the center of world economy and government will be in Babylon. This ‘wickedness’ in a basket, representing a corrupted economy, will eventually be fulfilled by the 666 mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16-18) where no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. This wickedness in a basket (ephah) that Zechariah refers to could be where we get the idiom “hell in a handbasket,” as whoever takes the mark of the beast will be a partaker of the second death and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:10-11). In Zechariah 8, God assured Israel of her ultimate restoration in fulfilling God’s purpose. This Chapter does not refer to Israel’s immediate restoration but projects far into the future to the millennial kingdom following the second coming of Christ. “Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain” (Zechariah 8:3). Given God’s ultimate purpose to bless Israel, they were encouraged to rebuild the temple (vv. 9-11). Zechariah 9:9-17 is a dual fulfillment prophecy, with verse 9 being fulfilled during Christ’s first advent, and the rest of the chapter will be fulfilled during Christ’s second advent. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto you: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9). This event was fulfilled by Jesus (on Palm Sunday) as recorded in Matthew 21. Jesus comes as a Deliver having salvation. He provided personal salvation for those who believed in Him during His first advent. During His second advent (in the near future), Jesus will deliver Israel (and remnant believing Gentiles) from their enemies. The promise of future deliverance of Judah and Ephraim is described in Zechariah 10:1-8. The regathering of Israel at the time of the second coming of Christ for the Israelites to possess their Promised Land is mentioned in Zechariah 10:9-12. The prophecy of the shepherds is given in Chapter 11. Some of the prophetic details are not entirely clear. Still, they generally indicate the reason why Israel’s restoration did not take place sooner was because they rejected the Messiah at His first coming. The thirty pieces of silver mentioned in verse 13 is a prophecy concerning Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus during the Passover in the year Jesus was crucified (Matthew 26:14-16; 27:3-10). Zechariah 11:15-17 speaks of a foolish shepherd. In hindsight (from reading other Books in the Bible), we know these verses refer to the future Antichrist. Verse 17 describes a grievous wound that will be inflicted on him. Judas and the Antichrist are both called the ‘son of perdition’ (John 17:12 & 2 Thessalonians 2:3). Chapters 12-14 of Zechariah focus on events at the end of the age before the second advent of Christ. The LORD told Zechariah, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God” (Zechariah 12:2-5). The battles described in Zechariah 12 & 14 occur after ‘modern’ Babylon is destroyed. There are many passages of scripture in several books of the Bible that describe Babylon’s destruction at the hands of Gentile believers. Isaiah 13:1-5 is one such passage, where the LORD calls them ‘my sanctified ones’ and ‘my mighty ones.’ Isaiah 14:1-2 describes Israel’s final redemption after Babylon’s destruction. Babylon shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah according to Isaiah 13:19-22. Perhaps a nuclear device or some weapon of mass destruction will be used for Babylon’s devastating destruction. Chapters 50 & 51 in Jeremiah also describe the destruction of Babylon at the end of the age. The king of Babylon, the Antichrist, will not be in Babylon at the time of its destruction, according to Jeremiah 50:43; 51:31-32. He will be gathering his forces in the Valley of Jezreel in a final attempt to wipe out the Jewish people once and for all. Before the sudden destruction of Babylon, a warning will be given to the Jews who are still there to flee out of the city before it is too late, according to Jeremiah 50:6-8, 28; 51:5-6, 45, 50; and Revelation 18:4-5. In Jeremiah 51:50 and Revelation 18:4-5, the Jews who escape Babylon’s destruction are instructed to flee to Jerusalem and inform the Jews there of Babylon’s soon-coming demise. As the Antichrist gathers his forces in the Valley of Jezreel, he hears news of his capital city being destroyed. In a rage, the A.C. will move his troops south, and all the nation’s armies will gather against Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:3; 14:1-2). According to Zechariah 14:1-2, Jerusalem will fall into the hands of Gentiles (once again). Half of the Jewish population will be taken into slavery while the other half will be confined to the city to await a later fate. “The capture of Jerusalem by the forces of the Antichrist will not come easily. God will greatly energize the Jews to withstand the attack to a great degree, causing heavy losses to the armies of the Antichrist. Zechariah 12:3 states that all these nations that burden themselves with Jerusalem will be sorely wounded, and Jerusalem will become truly burdensome to them. The empowerment of the Jewish forces is described in Zechariah 12:4-9. These verses describe God’s providential dealings at this stage of the Campaign of Armageddon prior to the actual intervention by the personal return of Jesus the Messiah.” {1} The Footsteps of the Messiah, by Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, pg. 329. “In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:8-9). The military men in Jerusalem shall be as David’s mighty men as described in 2 Samuel 23. The Holy Spirit shall come upon them in a mighty way, similar to how He came upon Samson. However, Zechariah 14:1-2 describes the outcome of this battle for Jerusalem. “Behold, the day of the Lord comes, and your spoil shall be divided in the midst of you. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. The main concentration of Jews will not be in Jerusalem or Israel at this time. They will be in Bozrah, in the land of Edom (present-day Jordan), according to Micah 2:12. The armies of the Antichrist will move southward from Jerusalem to Bozrah in an attempt to wipe out the Jews there who fled Jerusalem at the mid-point of the Tribulation. This is when the A.C. will break the seven-year covenant with Israel (and the many), stop the sacrifices and oblations, and commit the abomination of desolation in the new temple in Jerusalem. Bozrah will be where Jesus first returns to the earth to “save the tents of Judah first” (before the inhabitants of Jerusalem – Zechariah 12:7). He will save the remnant of Jews at Bozrah before he saves the remnant at Jerusalem (when he first steps foot on the Mount of Olives). Christ’s return to Bozrah is mentioned in Isaiah 63:1-6 (and Isaiah 34). It will be a blood bath. “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come” (Isaiah 63:3-4). The ‘day of vengeance of our God’ is also found in Isaiah 61:2. Interestingly, Isaiah 61:1 and part of verse 2 were read by Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth (after Jesus was baptized and then tempted by the Devil) mentioned in Luke 4:16-21. Jesus read (quoting Isaiah), “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus stopped at this point and didn’t read the last part of Isaiah 61:2, “…and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” “And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:20-21). Isaiah 61:2 reads, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” Jesus didn’t finish this verse because he didn’t come to the earth during his first advent to fulfill ‘the day of vengeance.’ He only came the first time to fulfill the goals of Isaiah 61:1 and to proclaim the acceptable year (time) of the LORD. This one verse showcases the first advent, second advent, and the millennium kingdom of Christ. Jesus will return to the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation, and it will be a ‘day of vengeance’ upon His and Israel’s enemies. After this ‘bad day’ for the bad guys, there will be a time of comfort for ‘all that mourn.’ The rest of Isaiah 61:3-11 describes Israel’s complete restoration during Jesus’ millennial kingdom. “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3). Zechariah 12:10-14 describes God pouring His Holy Spirit upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ second advent, and the extreme mourning they will feel for their sins against Him. “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Zechariah 13:8-9 speaks of the mass casualties of the children of Israel that will occur during the Great Tribulation. “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon” (Zechariah 12:10-11). Hadadrimmon could refer to King Josiah, who was killed in the valley of Megiddo. He was greatly mourned by his people (2 Chronicles 35:22-25). Many Bible scholars believe the Jew’s mourning for their Christ (whom they had helped kill) will occur on a future Day of Atonement. Once the surviving remnant of Israel finally sees and accepts Jesus as their Messiah, the blood He shed on the cross will wash them clean and the life He gave will ransom them, just as it has us. “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1). ‘That day’ is the day of the LORD. ‘In that day,’ apostate worship will no longer be tolerated. “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land” (Zechariah 14:2). The Angel Gabriel told Daniel that six things would be accomplished at the end of the 70th week/seven (Daniel 9:24), and one of them, sealing up vision and prophecy, is accomplished here. No longer will God use prophets to communicate with man. He’ll dwell among them Himself and will deliver His word personally. Anyone claiming to be a prophet will be executed by his friends and family, if necessary, to avoid offending the Lord. Chapter 14 of Zechariah describes the day of the LORD when Jesus returns to Jerusalem after delivering the Jews from the Antichrist’s forces in Bozrah. By the time Christ reaches Israel, His garments are stained with blood from the slaughter of the enemy. “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise” (Habakkuk 3:3). Teman and Mount Paran are located in the vicinity of Bozrah. The slaughter of the Antichrist’s forces at Bozrah will continue all the way back to the eastern walls of Jerusalem, which overlooks a section of the Kidron Valley, also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat. This battle is mentioned in Joel 3:12-13. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 describes the Lord Jesus slaying the Antichrist with the breath of His mouth. This is the A.C.’s second death. Zechariah 14:12-15 describes the manner in which the forces of the Antichrist will be destroyed. Many commentators have speculated the plague that smites the enemy is a nuclear device, but I disagree. Verse 12 says the LORD will smite them. God doesn’t need man’s help to defeat His enemies. A nuclear device would contaminate Jerusalem and Israel for a very long time into the Millennium. The carnage and bloodshed around Jerusalem is described in Revelation 14:19-20. After the fighting (slaughter) is finished, LORD Jesus will victoriously ascend the Mount of Olives. “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:3-4). The Lord will descend to the Mount of Olives, where He ascended from nearly 2000 years ago (perhaps precisely 2000 years). As He does, an earthquake will cause the Mount of Olives to split in half, forming a deep valley that runs to the Mediterranean in the west and to the Dead Sea in the east. It will run straight through the current Temple Mount just west of the Mount Of Olives. This will cause the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, the Al Aksa Mosque, and much of the Old City to disappear into the bottom of this valley. “On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name” (Zechariah 14:6-9). According to Ezekiel 47:1-12, the water that will fill this newly formed valley to create a mighty river originates under the Coming Temple, located a few miles to the north. In his vision, Ezekiel saw the water flowing from beneath the Temple’s south side, and Zechariah showed it doing so on the day of the Lord’s return. Revelation 22:1 also mentions a pure river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. “All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited” (Zechariah 14:10-11). The Arabah contains the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and continues to the Red Sea. It’s the lowest place on Earth, over 1300 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea. The area south of Jerusalem will be lowered to match it, while the city will be elevated to the top of the mountain. And finally, for the first time in thousands of years, Jerusalem will be secure, a city of peace. During the days of Melchizedek, the city was known as Salem, which means ‘peace.’ Jerusalem will finally live up to that name. MALACHI The Book of Malachi bridges the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is a fitting climax to the Old Testament, in which the last prophetic utterance is recorded until John the Baptist appears in the New Testament. Malachi was a younger contemporary of Nehemiah. The name Malachi seems to mean ‘my messenger,’ and as such, was the last prophet of the Old Testament. He became a prophet in approximately 430 BC and probably wrote His book in the same year. A little background information is required to understand the times Malachi was living in. The construction of the temple in Jerusalem was finished in 516 BC. The Persian king, Artaxerxes, sent Ezra to Jerusalem in 458 BC to be in charge of Jewish affairs on behalf of the Persian government (many believe this was the year of the start of Daniel’s 70th-week prophecy). In 444 BC, Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and the city (many others believe this was the start of Daniel’s 70th-week prophecy). Interestingly, there are 14 years between the events of Ezra and Nehemiah, and likewise, there are 14 years between Nehemiah and Malachi (430 BC). The Book of Ezra was written around 440 BC, and the Book of Nehemiah was written the same year. Malachi encountered the same sins of Israel that had been met earlier by Ezra and Nehemiah. Corruption of the priesthood was a recurring problem. Divorce from previous wives and intermarriages with Gentiles were sins criticized by Malachi. Lack of support for the priests and Levites and oppression of the poor were other problems Malachi wrote about. As the first verse of the book of Malachi illustrates, the contents were a message from God given through Malachi. The revelation related to six oracles that addressed the sins of the Jews, to which Malachi related the truth of God. 1) They should love God (Malachi 1:1-5). 2) They must honor God (Malachi 1:6-2:9). 3) They were to be thankful as God’s covenant people (Malachi 2:10-16). 4) Their hope should be in God (Malachi 2:17-3:6). 5) They should obey God (Malachi 3:7-12). 6) They should fear God (Malachi 3:13-4:3). Chapter 4 of Malachi, the last chapter in the Old Testament, refers to the day of the LORD. Verse 1 speaks of the Great Tribulation and the judgment against the wicked unbelievers at the end of the age. “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. The restoration for those who fear the name of the LORD is found in the following verses, “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 4:2-3). The last two verses of Malachi (and the Old Testament) refer to the great and dreadful day of the LORD (Joel called it the great and terrible day of the LORD). “ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). Many bible teachers believe Elijah and Moses will be the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3, as they were both present with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration according to Matthew 17:1-13. They believe Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. The Old Testament mentions John the Baptist twice, although never by name. The first time is in Isaiah 40:3, “The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” The second mention is in Malachi 3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. John fulfilled these prophecies during his ministry (that preceded Jesus’ ministry), as recorded in Matthew 3:1-3. “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel informs Zacharias (John’s father) that he and his wife, Elisabeth, would have a son and would name him John. Gabriel also told him, “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias (Elijah), to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:15-17). The first part of vs. 17 (in bold) is part of a quote from Malachi (Malachi 4:5-6) regarding God sending Elijah the prophet before the day of the LORD. Jesus had this to say about John the Baptist. “But what went you out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before you” (Matthew 11:9-10). Jesus confirmed that John the Baptist fulfilled Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. Jesus continued his remarks about John, “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John” Matthew 11:11-13). I believe Jesus insinuated in Matthew 11-13 that John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets. That means he is not part of the Church, and the New Testament effectively began when John’s ministry ended. Another passage of scripture that verifies this is John 3:28-29, where John the Baptist tells his disciples, “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that has the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.” In Matthew 11:14, Jesus, still talking about John, said, “And if you will receive it, this is Elias (Elijah), which was for to come.” After the Mount of Transfiguration incident, Jesus told his three disciples not to tell anyone of the vision until after his resurrection. His disciples then asked him, “Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spoke unto them of John the Baptist” (Matthew 17:11-13). It appears that John would have fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6 if the people had accepted Jesus as their Messiah. If they had, the ‘great and dreadful day of the LORD’ of verse 5 would have been when Jesus was crucified, as his death still had to occur regardless. No matter how you look at it, Jesus’ crucifixion was a great and dreadful day. Just as Jesus would not be accepted as the Messiah by the Jews , neither would John be accepted as Elijah. Both would have to come again. The proof of this is that the second possibility of verse 6 ended up being fulfilled. The land was cursed (70 AD destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the subsequent Jewish diaspora), and the prophecies of a kingdom for Israel were put on hold. The Hebrew Bible consists of the Torah (the Law), the Nevi’im (the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (the Writings). Moses represents the Law, Elijah represents the Prophets, and David represents the Writings. David wrote most of the Book of Psalm. I believe Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3. They are also called two olive trees and candlesticks in Revelation 11. “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth” (Revelation 11:4). In Zechariah’s 5th vision (Chapter 4), he sees two olive trees (verse 3) and a golden candlestick. He asks the angel what the two olive trees (or branches) are. The angel replies, “These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:14). According to Ezekiel 37:24 (and other scripture), David will be king (or prince) over Israel in the Millennium, and Jesus will be King of Earth. Moses, David, and Elijah all had a powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit during their ministry and service to the LORD while they were alive on Earth. On the day of the LORD (Rapture—Millennium), we will see them still serving their LORD and KING, Jesus Christ. They are the three witnesses (representing the Old Testament) to the day of the LORD. The next installment of our study on the day of the LORD will continue with Pete Garcia. He will discuss what the New Testament has to say on the subject. Randy Nettles [email protected] PROPHECY UPDATE VIDEOS
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DONATE HERE Your can also mail your support to: Prophecy Update PO Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384 The Wise and the Foolish - By Sean Gooding - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/07/03/the-wise-and-the-foolish-by-sean-gooding/ Matthew 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 ‘And at midnight a cry was heard: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” 7 “Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.” 10 “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.”13 ‘Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.'” Two events made me think of this passage this week. I had a conversation with a good friend of mine, and she mentioned that she was close to God. Immediately, the Holy Spirit encouraged me to ask her where she would go if she died and why. She told me she was a good person who did good things and that she was sure she would go to heaven. Over the next few minutes, I took the time to walk her through a Gospel Tract and show her the need to be saved, that she was an evil person like me, and that neither of us could do enough good things to satisfy God’s perfection. Thus, we needed Jesus who died in our place, the good for the evil, the perfect for the imperfect. She took the tract, and I will check with her in a bit to see if she has any other questions. Then, I was listening to a ‘pastor’ talk about this parable; he was making the point that the problem was that the wise virgins refused to share their extra oil, and maybe if they did, then all of them could have gone into the Bridegroom. He obviously did not understand the lesson here. The Bridegroom is Jesus. You and I are the virgins. The virgins are divided into two categories: the wise and the foolish. The oil represents the Holy Spirit. The wise virgins had the Holy Spirit, and the foolish ones did not. Those who had the Holy Spirit went to be with Jesus when he arrived to wed His bride, and the foolish ones did not get in; that’s it. The wise one COULD not share their oil, as one cannot share the Holy Spirit. Each person has to come to a recognition that he/she needs to be saved and that he/she cannot save themselves. It is astonishing to me to hear how often the Bible is misquoted, misused, and simply lied about. Not long ago, I heard a ‘woman pastor’ tell her congregation that Lydia, of whom Paul spoke, may have been a lesbian. I could go on, but I do not have the time. Like my dear friend mentioned above, many people, like the foolish virgins, think that they do not need the Holy Spirit to enter God’s kingdom. Many – yes, many – even in churches, think they do not need the oil, the Holy Spirit; they do not need the new birth (John 3:3); they do not need to be transformed (Romans 12:1-2); they do not need Jesus’ righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) to be saved. “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” They are good enough, they think. Too many churches have watered down the Gospel. Yes, Jesus loves you enough to die for you, but you have to see your sinfulness, your utter depravity, and come to understand that your own righteousness is NOTHING before a Holy God. Have you done that? Once I saw these people, I realized that there are simply too many not hearing the truth about sin, death, hell, and judgment. The same God who is LOVE is also a God of wrath. The same God who saves you because He loves you poured out His wrath on Jesus because of my sin and yours. We are told in verse 13 to ‘watch’ because we do not know when Jesus is coming to get His bride. Make sure you have the Holy Spirit in you, the extra oil. Make sure your kids, family, friends, acquaintances, and church people have the extra oil. Too many think they are going to Heaven because they grew up in church, taught Sunday School, and even preached and did all manner of works to earn God’s favor. But salvation is by grace and grace alone. You and I can do nothing to earn salvation; all we can do is the sin that makes it needed. In 2 Peter 1:10, we are encouraged to, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” God bless you, Dr. Sean Gooding Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church ‘Not A Shred of Objective Evidence’: Evolutionists Simply Can’t Prove Life Arose By ‘Natural Causes’ – By Ray Comfort - https://harbingersdaily.com/not-a-shred-of-objective-evidence-evolutions-simply-cant-prove-life-arose-by-natural-causes/ The theory of biological evolution requires that nonliving chemicals somehow developed completely by chance into highly complex, living organisms. However, nonliving things coming to life is the stuff of science fiction, not science. Louis Pasteur’s famous and repeatable experiments have demonstrated the Law of Biogenesis: that “spontaneous generation” is impossible and that life can arise only from other life. Scientists have spent decades trying to create life in the laboratory in carefully controlled experiments and have repeatedly failed. If highly intelligent scientists using all the latest, most sophisticated equipment available cannot create a living cell—even with the code and materials of life available to them—how could molecules possibly assemble themselves into living cells through only mindless, undirected random chance? The famous astronomer and mathematician Sir Frederick Hoyle calculated the probability of the spontaneous generation of life: No matter how large the environment one considers, life cannot have had a random beginning. Troops of monkeys thundering away at random on typewriters could not produce the works of Shakespeare, for the practical reason that the whole observable universe is not large enough to contain the necessary monkey hordes, the necessary typewriters, and certainly not the wastepaper baskets required for the deposition of wrong attempts. The same is true for living material. The likelihood of the spontaneous formation of life from inanimate matter is one to a number with 40,000 noughts after it…It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole theory of evolution. There was no primeval soup, neither on this planet nor on any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence. In Darwin’s time, it was assumed that “simple” cells were just primitive blobs of protoplasm, so it wasn’t too hard for scientists to envision them assembling by random chance. Because cells cannot be seen with the naked eye, scientists mistakenly thought that the chemistry of life was simple. But with today’s sophisticated microscopes, molecular biology has shown how vastly complex even a “simple” cell actually is. Molecular biologist Michael Denton, an evolutionist, acknowledges: Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, weighing less than 10-12 grams, each is in effect a veritable microminiaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of one hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machinery built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world. Not only are there no experiments demonstrating how life could have come into being, but the more scientists search for answers the more they are astounded at the complexity they find— and the more the evidence confirms that life could not have arisen purely by chance. Geochemist Jeffrey Bada, from the San Diego Scripps Institute, points out the evolutionists’ ongoing dilemma concerning this question: Today as we leave the twentieth century, we still face the biggest unsolved problem that we had when we entered the twentieth century: How did life originate on Earth? In 2001, PBS aired the TV series “Evolution,” in which they put together all the best information they could find to demonstrate the case for evolution. In a Washington Post online forum, producer Richard Hutton was asked, “What are some of the larger questions which are still unanswered by evolutionary theory?” He named several items in his response, but the item topping his list is very telling: The origin of life. There is no consensus at all here—lots of theories, little science. That’s one of the reasons we didn’t cover it in the series. The evidence wasn’t very good. We can appreciate his honest admission that all they have is theories—no scientific proof. If they had any evidence at all, they would have presented it. Of course, there is no evidence supporting the claim that life arose by natural causes—because life has a Supernatural Cause. “There is not a shred of objective evidence to support the hypothesis that life began in an organic soup here on the earth…So why do biologists indulge in unsubstantiated fantasies in order to deny what is so patently obvious, that the 200,000 amino acid chains, and hence life, did not appear by chance?” –Frederick Hoyle Daily Jot: The American Chronicles - July 4 Beach Tradition – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com In the spring of 1966, the Heft’s—Bill, Martha and their daughters Jean and Nancy-- wanted Mom, Dad and I to go with them for a week to Myrtle Beach, SC. They felt it would be good for all of us to get away. Jean and Nancy were about nine and five years older than me, respectively. They were beautiful, not only like models on the outside, but the most wonderful people on the inside. They, it seemed, always wanted a little brother. So it was a good match. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of how they were so enthusiastic to meet me and how they talked to me, really made me feel welcomed. It was the beginning of a friendship and a several-year tradition of Myrtle Beach vacations. The sisters I never had. Then the morning had arrived. We packed up our Buick Electra 225 convertible and drove over to the Hefts. Then the packing began. You can imagine how much “stuff” Martha, Jean, Nancy, and my Mom—all of them glamour girls in their own way--had to take for a week at the beach. But that trunk on the Buick was like a ballroom and we packed most everything in. Bill was an excellent packer and I believe I learned how to do it well by watching him. All seven of us packed into that Buick. I was the smallest, so I got to sit on a little fold-up camp stool on the floor in the back seat. It was pretty close quarters, but we thought nothing of it. We were going to the BEACH over the July 4th holiday! About 12 hours later we rolled into our cottage directly on the beach—The Blue Surf. It was the old beach-style cottage. Our rooms adjoined. The Heft’s room had a kitchen, bathroom and two double beds. Our rooms were adjoined through a bathroom door where our room also had two double beds. There were doors to the outside and to the hallway, where there were other such rooms. The Blue Surf was run by Jasper and Ginny, and they were down-home types that enjoyed all their guests. During the day, we were out at the beach or taking the mile walk to the Pavilion, where there were stores and amusements. In the evening, we often ate at the picnic table under the palm tree overlooking the dunes and the ocean. Sisters and brothers, I’m told, have that caring, mischievous, adversarial, teasing relationship all rolled into one. Jean, Nancy and I were all that. I must have been a real pest to them, but they gave it all back and then some. We had a lot of adventures. Nancy and I would sneak into hotel pools and swim like we were residents, thinking we got away with something big. The Golden Rule, you know, treat others how you want to be treated. Well, I would do ornery things like pour cold water on Jean when she was sun bathing. One time they ganged up on me and dragged me into the outdoor shower in my street clothes. At the end of the day, I guess we enjoyed all the pranks we did to each other. It was a simpler time then, and at least for a week out of the year, I found out what it was like to have sisters, and Jean and Nancy, had a brother. Beach vacations are a tradition Chris and I have carried on, inspired by the many trips to the beach with the Hefts. Daily Devotion: Pride and Prayerlessness - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light. —Ephesians 5:14 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/pride-and-prayerlessness/ - Listen Pride and prayerlessness go hand in hand. We must never forget that prayer is not only for petition, but it’s also for protection and preparation. Prayer not only gives us what we want, but it also prepares us for and protects us from what we don’t want. We tend to pray when we think we need to pray. When a crisis hits, when we get bad news from the doctor or get let go from a job or have marriage problems or a wayward child, what do we do? We say, “Let’s pray right now.” That’s good. And that is what we should do. But what about when things are going well when we’ve paid the bills, our jobs are looking good, and there’s no bad news from any front? Do we pray then? Maybe not as much. And maybe it’s because we’re a little self-confident. That is what happened to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus said to Peter, James, and John, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:38 NLT). And really, what was Jesus asking? He simply was saying, “I need you guys to be with Me right now.” Jesus was contemplating the horrors of the cross. Being God, He knew exactly what lay ahead. He knew every detail. He knew He would be taken to Caiaphas and Annas and Pontius Pilate. And He knew they would beat Him and whip Him with a cat-o’-nine tails. He knew they would lay Him on a cross and drive spikes through His hands and feet. But the thing from which He recoiled even more than all of that, as awful as it was, was the complete awareness of the sins of the world placed upon Him. Jesus recoiled from it because He never sinned. Jesus never had a single thought out of harmony with the Father. But He was about to face all the world’s sin—past, present, and future. And He recoiled from it. All Jesus wanted from Peter, James, and John was some companionship. He didn’t need a sermon; He needed friends. But His friends were sleeping. In their defense, one Gospel account tells us they were sleeping from sorrow. Have you ever cried yourself to sleep, exhausted from weeping? The disciples didn’t know what to think. Their Lord was sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying with loud cries to the Father again and again. And they didn’t know what to do. They stayed up for a while, but then they fell asleep. The Bible uses sleep as a metaphor for spiritual lethargy and apathy. Ephesians 5:14 reminds us, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (NLT). We often fall into a sleep, a spiritual slumber. And when we’re asleep, we’re a little bit delirious. That is what sleep is like. We don’t think clearly. And as Christians, it’s a sleep that we all can enter into. PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY 7/5/24 http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php
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