The Coming Mark of the Beast

IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER... 
 

• Featured Article: The Coming Mark of the Beast 
• Where Did All the People Go? 
• Nearing Midnight: Prepping Israel 
• Conform Yourself to God’s Truth 
• Daily Jot: For kids worldwide it’s no hope or Know Hope 
• Daily Devotion: A New Heaven and Earth 

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The Coming Mark of the Beast - By Pastor Mike Taylor - https://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-coming-mark-of-beast.html
 
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Revelation 13:12-18)
 
Many people see the signs of the times and wonder when will the Tribulation be beginning in earnest. Many see the economic problems of this age, and the lawlessness unfolding at greater depths of sinfulness than in any previous years. Many of them are old timers like me, who remembers a more peaceful time, but note that the peace is slowly being taken away. Young people who have not been taught by their parents who were, in return, not taught by their parents, have come to see what is happening with blindfolds on their eyes. They haven't got their eyes open to what is actually happening and will be prime candidates for the coming One World religion and the “mark of the beast”.
 
Folks see the cashless society that is being pushed in foreign countries like Sweden, and worry about having to take an implant or a tattoo on their bodies, especially with RFID chip that some businesses are offering their employees. With this going on even in the USA, some wonder can the mark be taken without repercussions to their spiritual lives. They ask, “so what do we do?”
 
We know that this world we live in, is one step away from this NWO and the Anti-Christ is standing just off stage right waiting for the right crisis to reveal himself. Many people email me with questions that only show that they are frightened with what is coming at them at near “warp speed” and their anxiety grows even more prevalent in their everyday lives.
 
CAN I TAKE THE MARK UNWITTINGLY?
 
I had a person ask me, as I have explored the possibility that we are in the Tribulation already (which we are not) but she asked me, which I expand this to all who may have the same question “Can a person take the Mark of the Beast without meaning to?” The short answer is “NO” you cannot. Reason being that the coming Mark of the Beast is not only designed as an economic mode of exchange like we see with chips on credit and debit cards and this “new” vaccine passport used on the world market that will soon be under control of one central authority, but it is also a “worship system” that you have agreed to be a member of the Church of the Anti-Christ/Satan. If it were just an economic mode of being a part of the buy/sell of this coming end time world, then it wouldn't be as dangerous to one's spiritual health, but you have embraced the Anti-Christ as a god on earth.
 
The penalty of refusing the coming Mark of the Beast is a refusal to worship the abomination of a beast called the Anti-Christ, and no one will escape the attention of the false prophet who will be able to monitor every person on the planet for compliance or their refusal which will lead to the ultimate penalty of death by whatever means available, but the the bible speaks of being “beheaded” as the most severe form of this punishment.
 
14 “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:14-17)
 
WHO WILL YOU FOLLOW?
 
But the bible makes it perfectly clear that you cannot serve two masters:
 
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)
 
You can't serve in the Church of the Anti-Christ and be under its rule to life, liberty and the right to pursue some form of economic happiness, because it is a lie of Satan and the ruling authorities. It will end in eternal doom to join Satan and the false prophet in the Lake of fire.
 
But in order to accept this Mark, there must be a false prophet that demands worship of the Beast. The demand to worship rewards the person with this Mark that they have agreed to worship at the altar of a false god on earth who elevates himself, proclaiming himself to be God.
 
Those who refuse to accept this mark will be rounded up like so much cattle and marked for extermination. This was unheard of 50 years ago, but with the advancement in computer technology, everyone in this planet claims to love God or serve Him. Being a symbol of membership in the “beast” end time one world religion, it gives the person a few short years of privileges and is being monitored even now, even if you don't know it. So no one can take the mark “by accident”. It will be a conscious decision that will be imposed on everyone, and even if they take the mark under duress or fear for their family, the Mark will be their doom to destruction in the Lake of Fire. It will be the same as it was in ancient Rome, when everyone who was a Roman subject came and bowed down to the image of Caesar, burned incense, and proclaimed him as god on earth.
 
WHAT HOLDS THIS EVIL BACK?
 
But to Christians in this Age of Grace, the revealing of the Anti-Christ cannot be revealed as long as the Holy Spirit is upon the earth as a restraining force against evil.
 
6 “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2nd Thessalonians 2:6-10)
 
The He is a personal pronoun in verse 7. It is not a thing, or something on earth in the physical realm, but can only be God's Holy Spirit that is withholding evil at bay, until He allows Satan to have full sway over all the inhabitants that are still living on this planet, or as the bible calls, the nations, or “earth dwellers”. It is designed by God to bring judgment by using Satan to do his dead level best to pervert mankind and bring them to destruction. And Satan will be very successful in deceiving those who only want to continue in the evil lifestyle and continue to enjoy their unrighteous acts of lawlessness.
 
But concerning the coming Mark of the Beast, the bible is very specific of what the penalty will be for taking this mark, for whatever reason:
 
9 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 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:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11)
 
Some Christians find it difficult to reconcile the grace of God with such a harsh penalty - something I've always found baffling, since those same Christians have no problem with the concept of eternal damnation.
 
But what about salvation by grace through faith? Who are the Tribulation Saints? And if the Holy Spirit has been withdrawn, how did they get saved? 
 
People will still be getting saved, but the Age of Grace with the sealing of those who accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior will be withdrawn,and it will be much as it was in Old Testament times. This Age of Grace ends with the rapture of the Church to proceed with Daniel's 70th week, or the final week of the Age of the Law which was cut off when Jesus was crucified.
 
Many come to repentance, but are not sealed save the 144,000 Jewish Evangelist from the 12 tribes of Israel. It is so important that Jesus devotes an entire chapter that John writes down to make clear this special sealing of the “servants of God in their foreheads”
 
2 “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” (Revelation 7:2-4)
 
BEING SEALED IN THE TRIBULATION
 
The Greek word translated in Revelation 7:3 as "sealed" is sphragizo meaning, "to stamp for security or preservation."
 
This is the same seal that is given those of us who believe in the Church Age and are sealed, but this seal is given to them only (the 144,ooo Jewish Evangelist), and no one else received this “deposit” of God's Holy Spirit, so each man and woman must guard their repentance and accepting Jesus as Savior to the very end. It is why it is written:
 
21 “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.” (Matthew 10:21-23)
 
That enduring to the end, are those who guard their salvation and DO NOT give into the deception of the Anti-Christ, his false prophets, or end time goons that work for them, even under duress and fear for their lives, or loved ones lives.
 
Note that the message of Matthew 24 is directed to the nation of Israel, or the Jews at the time of Jesus? The Church had not been formed yet, and the focus of the ministry of Jesus was the Lost Sheep of Israel. Not until the day of Pentecost, did the ministry of the apostles, especially Paul focus on the Gentiles.
 
THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL NEVER LEAVE US.
 
God told us that He would send us a Comforter that would abide with us forever, and would NEVER leave us alone.
 
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 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.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)
 
So the obvious interpretation in the verses I have quoted in 1 Thessalonians 2:7 and the one just above, if the Holy Spirit is withdrawn, so will those who He indwells, as He will never leave us. A clear sign of the rapture of the Church.
 
TWO PURPOSES OF THE TRIBULATION
 
There is a prevailing conceit without warrant, that God loves the Gentiles more than He loves Israel and therefore His attention will be focused on the Gentiles after the Church is gone from this earth which concludes at the rapture of the Bride of Christ.
 
But the Bible paints an entirely different portrait. The purpose for the Tribulation is two-fold. As I have spoken of many times in the past, the coming Tribulation is designed for two objectives in God's plan. First, God will try Israel proper as silver is refined in the fire through much persecution that will remove the “dross” from their hearts.
 
2 “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.” (Malachi 3:2-4)
 
Second, the tribulation and the Great Tribulation is designed to destroy all rebellion upon this earth, as God sets out to nearly wipe this planet clean of all human life. Jesus told us that unless those days were shortened:
 
21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22)
 
Again, this is from Matthew 24, the chapter that speaks directly to the nation of Israel and God will shorten the days of total destruction of all mankind, save for their survival of the Jewish people into the coming Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.
 
The time of the Tribulation is for JUDGMENT on all mankind. I had a lady that was emailing a brother in Christ of mine on the internet, that proclaims a Post-Tribulation rapture of the church and is adamant that the Church will endure the same persecution as everyone else. But I had to point out to her, these two reasons. I will call her name “Mary”. She could not see that the Church is being judged now. We have been washed in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and clothed with His righteousness and that not of our own. The bible clearly tells us:
 
17” For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” (1st Peter 4:17-19)
 
If the two reasons I have given are for the refinement of Israel and destroy all rebellion, then what purpose does the church have in this horrific time? To purge those who have already been forgiven, and subject the Bride of Christ to the same persecution of the rest of the Gentiles on earth, to me, smacks of Catholic purgatory, which I categorically deny. We have been washed and made white by the blood of Jesus from the time of Calvary. There is no purpose for the Church to endure the two reasons I have given. Especially, my reader, when there is amble proof that God's wrath is reserved for the unrighteous, not those who have been forgiven.
 
Paul makes it pretty plain in his epistles that we are not the focus of the wrath of God during this seven years of Age of the Law, but it is reserved for the two groups mentioned
 
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." (Romans 11:25)
 
Is not that pretty clear to you who just read that verse. That speaks of the Gentile Church who have come into a relationship with Jesus Christ...which also covers believing Messianic Jews and anyone else that believes, Jew or Gentile.
 
The musterion that Paul spoke of in his epistles (a mystery; previously unrevealed truth) is that God allowed the Jews to reject the Messiah in order to provide a limited opportunity for the Gentiles to be saved. It is limited to that period UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
 
So after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in..(that would be me, and maybe that would be you), then God turns His full attention back to Israel....it is clear in black and white when Paul wrote in Romans
 
"26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. (Romans 11:26-28)
 
REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY A LIE
 
The Church does not replace Israel, even as Israel has been set aside for the last 2000 years until the Lord takes “ a people who were not His people”...
 
9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” (1st Peter 2:9-10)
 
A person can be blinded by the Satanic doctrine of Replacement Theology, either one believes it or not. The New Covenant is with the Church of the Living God during the Age of Grace, or called also, the Church Age. But this is not directed at all Gentiles of all ages, but for a specific group since Calvary who believe by faith in the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, and come to repentance and follow Him, much as a docile lamb follows a Shepherd out of love and obedience and knowing that Shepherd has his best interest at heart. The New Covenant will be completed at the Rapture of God's Church and we join Jesus our Lord at the Marriage supper of the Lamb, after we are adopted into the family of God by being spiritually betrothed to our Husband, Jesus the Christ. Romans chp. 8 tells us we become part of the family of God, and our inheritance:
 
16 "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
 
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:16-18)
 
ONE WEEK OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY LEFT
 
God has yet to fulfill the prophecy of Daniel's 70 weeks of restoring Israel in righteousness. God fulfills His promises, and the last week that was set aside, and the prophetic clocked being stopped when the Messiah was cut off, but not for Himself, but to save the whole world, that clock will begin again at the rapture. To those who trust in Him by faith and accept the mercy and grace afforded by a selfless love that can only be deemed amazing. Amazing that God would love us so much that He would even die for us, though we deserved none of it. The coming Tribulation is God's plan to do just that. To save Israel as a remnant people unto Himself.
 
As was said, the Tribulation and especially the Great Tribulation is designed to refine Israel and remove the scales from their eyes and they realize that Jesus was their long sought for Messiah, not some dictator of the end time world who promised them peace and safety. They will cry from their persecutions when they seek Jesus with their whole hearts...Zechariah prophesied they will call out to their Messiah, much as Jesus said they would...
 
8 “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.
9 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.” (Zechariah 13:8-9)
 
Jesus proclaimed.
 
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
35 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Luke 13:34-35)
 
The persecution will bring all of Israel to their senses and they cry out to God for deliverance. Jesus comes to save the remnant of His people and they are the ones who will enter the Millennial Kingdom alive and mortal. The rest of mankind who have been in rebellion will either be destroyed, or judged at the sheep and goat judgment or the Great White Throne of God and cast into the lake of fire.
 
This is not dual-Covenant theology. There is only one Covenant by which men are saved. They are saved by faith that the shed Blood of Christ is sufficient to cleanse them of all sin. That does not change during the Tribulation Period.
 
But the focus of God's attention after the conclusion of the Age of Grace turns back to the Jews. During the final Week of the Age of the Law, the universal ministry of the Holy Spirit is withdrawn. (2nd Thessalonians 2:7)
 
Going back to how I opened this message, there will be believers in the Tribulation who will succumb to the Antichrist's coercion and accept his mark to save their families. And Scripture is clear that those who do are forever lost.
 
Tribulation believers will be saved by faith in Christ and enduring until the end, as in the Church Age, but without the guarantee of eternal security or the automatic indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
 
Jesus described the tribulation as, "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."
 
It is the job of a watchman who sees the sword coming to provide a warning. I cry the warning to all who will see the light of Truth found in God's Word.
 
3 “If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.” (Ezekiel 33:3-6)
 
Our blessed hope is found in the Scripture's promise that Jesus comes for His Church first. But after that, there is no guarantee of a second chance.
 
Better a blessed hope than a false one.
 
THE DECISION IS YOURS.
 
So what about you? Do you have hope in the Savior of this world? Does the Lord Jesus live in your heart, or are you playing Russian Roulette with your immortal soul? Will you be found ready for the coming of our Lord Jesus, as what Paul called the HARPAZO in 1st Thessalonians and 1st Corinthians, or the removal of His Church by force, without warning, popular called the rapture? If you are not ready for His soon appearing, now is the time to make that decision for the salvation of your immortal soul, that will spend eternity in blessed peace and glory, or spend in eternal torment and separation from God and all that is good, joyful, or Holy. Let me assure those that scoff at such a destination, thinking Hell is one big party. I even had some deceived individual say that “hell is where all the cool people go”...and one big party. Let me set you straight, the Lake of fire will be no party. It will take all your time for all eternity to just endure the suffering that Jesus said, the flame is not extinguished, or the worm dieth not, and there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Seek the Lord Jesus in belief and embrace these two passages that are the microcosm of what the whole of the Love Letter to the world from our Savior....
 
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 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.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:15-18)
 
Seek His face and He will be right there for you when you fall on your knees and proclaim that you repent of your sins and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life.
 
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” (Romans 10:8-11)
 
Know that you may only get one chance this side of the coming Rapture of the Church, as you may or may not get another chance, especially this side of your own death, which in the Tribulation is almost a guaranteed of either subjected to martyrdom, or doomed in the lake of Fire for taking the dreaded Mark of the Beast. Don't take that chance that you will survive either. Make that confession of faith and cry out to Jesus. He is as close as a prayer...
 
This is pastor Mike Taylor, praying your salvation through the only Way back to God found in my Lord Jesus Christ...If you need prayer, counseling, or just a friendly listening ear, email me at [email protected], or visit me online at www.pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com, God bless you all with His love and salvation.
 
TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET
 

 


 
Where Did All the People Go? - by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/where-did-all-the-people-go/
 
Why are companies all over the world suddenly desperate for workers? In my entire life I have never seen anything like this. When the labor shortage started in the United States, a lot of people blamed overly generous government handouts, but that doesn’t explain why the exact same thing is happening in nation after nation all over the globe. There aren’t enough factory workers, there aren’t enough truck drivers, there aren’t enough port workers, there aren’t enough employees to properly staff our stores, and the shortage of doctors and nurses is becoming a major crisis in some areas. During normal times, we were always told that the global economy was not producing nearly enough jobs for everyone, but now for the very first time we are facing an enormous worldwide labor shortage. It is almost as if millions upon millions of people suddenly disappeared from the system.
 
Earlier today, I was stunned to learn that a new survey has discovered that 69 percent of global companies are having a hard time finding enough people to hire…
 
A survey of nearly 45,000 employers across 43 countries showed 69 percent of employers reported difficulty filling roles, a 15-year high, according to employment-services provider ManpowerGroup Inc. At the same time, 15 countries — focused in Europe and North America — reported their highest hiring intentions since the survey began in 1962.
 
Just a few years ago, any company that was willing to pay decent wages would be absolutely flooded by job applications.
 
But now everyone can’t stop talking about the “shortage” of workers.
 
So where did all the people go?
 
Normally, global supply chains run as smooth as butter, but now they are in a complete and utter state of chaos.
 
And the biggest reason why they are in a complete and utter state of chaos is because there simply is not enough workers for them to operate as they usually would.
 
On a very basic level, we need people to make stuff, pack stuff, ship stuff, transport stuff, unload stuff and sell stuff.
 
Every step along the way, shortages of workers are causing major headaches, and now we are being told that this supply chain crisis “will last well into next year”…
 
A supply chain crunch that was meant to be temporary now looks like it will last well into next year as the surging delta variant upends factory production in Asia and disrupts shipping, posing more shocks to the world economy.
 
Manufacturers reeling from shortages of key components and higher raw material and energy costs are being forced into bidding wars to get space on vessels, pushing freight rates to records and prompting some exporters to raise prices or simply cancel shipments altogether.
 
But if we had enough people to do all the jobs that needed to be done, this crisis could be resolved very rapidly.
 
So where are they?
 
As inventories get tighter and tighter, that is invariably going to drive up prices.
 
Earlier this week, one of my readers emailed me about the shortages and price increases that she is seeing in her local area. I asked her if I could share this with all of you, and she said that I could…
 
You can’t find frozen turkeys, frozen hens, frozen cornish hens…the supply chain HAS indeed been cut. There was 1…just one box of oatmeal on the shelves of our local food store that are normally stocked through the gills with food. Prices are higher…tomato sauce, in a can: what used to cost $0.99 cents last year now costs $1.50. Chicken drumsticks—we usually throw a bunch in a crockpot with some bbq sauce and put it over rice for our kids, they love it….chicken drumsticks, last year were $0.89/pound….now they are $ 1.39 per pound. We only buy meat that has been reduced….a rump roast, for instance, was marked down from $18 dollars to $7….that’s a huge price cut, so we look for deals like that. But they are hard to find!!! Everything is higher, packaged in smaller boxes and cups and there is not much of it. We all knew this was coming….it’s going to get worse, for lots of people who don’t know what’s happening. We have goats for goat milk and meat if we need, chickens for eggs and we’ve put back lots of produce we found on sale over the summer, in the freezer to booster our garden. It’s shocking how much just is not there…the shelves are empty, moved closer together, and bare spots are everywhere in grocery stores these days.
 
Unfortunately, what we have experienced so far is just the beginning. Global food supplies are going to continue to get tighter, and that is going to continue to drive up food prices.
 
Another sector of the economy where the labor shortage is having a big impact is in the healthcare industry.
 
Lately, I have been coming across lots of stories about people dying because they can’t get the care that they need. Just before I started writing this article, I came across a heartbreaking story about a 70-year-old woman in Canada that dropped dead after a six hour wait in a local emergency room…
 
Bonnie Marie Hall was with her 70-year-old mother — Susan Tasson — when she died early Wednesday in a Kamloops, B.C., hospital emergency waiting room after a six-hour wait for care.
 
Hall says her Ontario-born mother had an infectious laugh and a “warrior” spirit. She had three sons and two daughters, loved her grandchildren and had lived in Kamloops since 1987.
 
“Nobody wants to die in a waiting room. Nobody,” said Hall.
 
Nobody should ever have to die that way.
 
But it is going to keep happening, because there is an acute shortage of healthcare workers right now.
 
All over the nation, the shortage of nurses has become a really big deal, and new mandates are just making things even worse…
 
Hospitals are struggling to comply with the state’s nurse staffing requirements as pandemic-induced burnout has exacerbated an already chronic nursing shortage nationwide.
 
But burnout isn’t the only thing compounding California’s nursing shortage: The state’s new vaccine mandate for health care workers is already causing headaches for understaffed hospitals before it is even implemented. Some traveling nurses — who are in high demand nationwide — are turning down California assignments because they don’t want to get vaccinated.
 
There is a serious shortage of doctors as well, and this is a phenomenon that we are witnessing all over the globe.
 
For example, over in the UK it is being reported that there is a “shortfall of more than 50,000 doctors” right now…
 
The NHS may be unable to cope this winter because of a “frightening” shortfall of more than 50,000 doctors, the head of the British Medical Association has warned.
 
Here in the United States, our healthcare system has never been so close to a state of collapse.
 
In fact, one doctor recently wrote an article in which he claimed that it has “already collapsed”…
 
As a resident physician who has only trained in an era of COVID—I was asked to consider graduating from school early in April 2020 to help with medical staff shortages—my time as a doctor has been defined by working in a system that has already collapsed. The American health system I work in has featured limited personal protective equipment, oxygen shortages, and the construction of field hospitals in convention centers and parking garages. Last winter, many hospitals across the country instituted crisis standards of care, forced to ration health services based on criteria that few people envisioned would be used outside of a mass casualty event, like a terrorist attack. Today, hospitals are full in much of the country, with patients requiring an ICU being airlifted thousands of miles in search of a staffed bed. These are not features of a health system that is approaching failure. These are features of a health care system that has broken down spectacularly, forcing doctors and patients to climb through the rubble looking for help.
 
But just like every other industry, if we had enough people to do the jobs that needed to be done, we would be fine.
 
In all the years that I have been writing about the economy, finding enough workers has never been a problem.
 
Yet here we are in the middle of 2021, and all of a sudden there are millions and millions and millions of empty jobs all over the globe.
 
Once again, there is a question that I must ask.
 
Where did all the people go?
 
This is a question that everyone should be asking, because the people that are currently running things are not telling you the truth.




 
Nearing Midnight: Prepping Israel – Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/
 
It takes neither a scholar in Bible prophecy nor a scholar of Middle Eastern history to understand that dynamics in the region are building toward war. Those who would be governors of world geopolitics, such as the elite of the U.N., fear the region to be the ignition point for a future conflict that will explode into full-blown nuclear conflagration.
 
We know from god’s prophetic Word that Israel is destined both to suffer a time of great trouble and, ultimately, a thousand years of glory as the head of all nations. This turmoil and eventual emergence into great victory involves threats and pressures from surrounding nations which hate that Jewish state.
 
While Bible prophecy outlines and even details to some extent how all of this eventuates, the moment-by-moment, day-by-day developments are not always clear in regard to how all will unfold. Those pressures mentioned take the form of many points of shaping and influencing God’s chosen as the nation interacts among nation states of the region and the world.
 
I’m of the opinion that one such point of pressure is being used at present by the old serpent –Satan. –Thus to cause God’s chosen people to be seen as prototype for how he intends to manipulate and control the world’s population when allowed to foment his final moments of evil.
 
We have looked a number of times in these commentaries at how the COVID-19, so-called pandemic, has been wielded as a powerful tool with which to bludgeon the entire populations of the planet into submission. To any observer of Bible prophecy from the preTrib view, this, I’m convinced, globalist-generated biological weapon, was planned and is being used to establish a world-wide mindset of being willing to submit to authoritarian rule.
 
In this sense, Israel is, I believe, being somehow prepped to serve Satan’s purpose for the coming Tribulation holocaust.
 
We see story after story of COVID-19 used to lock down cities, and now entire nations. Australia, for example, has become almost again the prison colony it once was. The rulers in some parts –South Wales, for example—have become despotic in their evil demands. First they seized all private weapons they could force the Aussies to give up, and now they go house to house to demand vaccine proof. Those not compliant, go to something called “wellness camps” or some such designation.
 
But, regardless from where the stories of lockdowns, etc., come, it is more and more the tiny Jewish state that is being put in the world spotlight –all with the willing complicity of Israel’s own, growingly despotic leadership. The nation leads the world in people vaccinated to protect against COVID apparently, yet incongruent facts have emerged. The following report/analysis frames developments.
 
Just a few months ago, the mainstream media praised Israel for its “pandemic-ending” vaccination campaign. With over 40 percent of the population “fully vaccinated” in the first quarter of 2021, Israel was well on its way to stopping community spread and clearing out its hospitals.
 
The nation of Israel imposed some of the strictest lockdowns during that time, violating the Nuremberg Code and segregating the unvaccinated from public life. Israel bought up the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA covid vaccine and began issuing mandatory Green Pass “vaccine passports” as a requirement for citizens to enter public spaces. By August, Israel had intimidated and coerced its population into having one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with 78 percent of people 12 years of age and older classified as “fully vaccinated.”
 
The world was reassured that this rate of vaccination was more than enough to ensure individual and “herd immunity.” However, infection rates have skyrocketed across the country since then, and Israel is now logging the world’s highest infection rates, with nearly 650 new cases daily per million people. At times, hospitalizations for the “fully vaccinated” have reached upwards of 95 percent.
 
***[Ang, Source: Israel now has more covid infections per capita than any country in the world, even as “booster shots” are being widely administered there by Lance D Johnson, CitizenFreePress, Thursday, September 02, 2021]***
 
The nation is now again under draconian lock-down.
 
A friend emailed me this week and posed a fascinating question. He pondered whether Israel is in probably the most dictatorial-type lockdown of any nation on earth, keeping its citizens from leaving en masse for some Divine purpose.
 
Perhaps, he conjectured, it is because some action by the Lord or by some evil entity is pending. The severe sequestration keeping Israeli citizens more or less in lockdown is maybe, to protect or benefit them in some way from imminent something or the other.
 
We know the following is always true, no matter what the facts are surrounding that which seems to be prepping Israel for what is to come.
 
“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121: 4)

 


 
Conform Yourself to God’s Truth - Nathele Graham - [email protected]
 
In this life, it can be easy to stray from the correct path. Satan tempts us to follow the way of the world, and makes it sound lovely to wallow in sin. When we accept Christ for salvation, we need to put the world behind us, and live according to His ways. Scripture is our guide. God gave us Scripture so we can know His will, but we also have the Holy Spirit to lead us. He knows the right path and if we follow His light we won’t go astray. The Holy Spirit is God, and He has existed eternally. He was there when the world was created. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2. When people use their imaginations and come up with their own ideas about creation, all kinds of silly ideas come about. “We were left here by an alien race” is one that keeps making the rounds. “There was an explosion millions of years ago, or was it billions of years ago…no, maybe it was strillions of years ago”, but smart people believe Scripture. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3. God was there in the beginning, so shouldn’t we believe our infallible God instead of fallible man? The answer to that is “Yes”. When we begin to believe man’s “wisdom” over God’s word, it’s easy to stray from God’s ways. It was a concern for the Apostle Paul that the pastors of the various congregations, stay on track and preach God’s truth. “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called. Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21. Pastors today need to go back to the basics, and teach the congregation God’s truth from God’s word. As liberal seminaries question the solid truth of Scripture, liberal ideas begin to be taught from pulpits. Then all manner of evil is accepted.
 
It’s not up to people to decide what the Holy Spirit meant as He led the men who penned Scripture to write God’s words. Most Scripture is very plain in its meaning, but people don’t like what it says. Christians are to use Scripture when deciding who to marry, and who to yoke with in business dealings, and who to allow to join a congregation. If you choose to marry a non-believer, your faith will be compromised. The non-believing spouse will set a very poor example for your children. If you choose to enter a business partnership with a non-believer, what will guide their business ethics? If not guided by God’s word, there will be trouble. The Corinthian congregation had strayed far from God’s ways. They were surrounded by a pagan culture, and most in that congregation had been a part of pagan practices before accepting Christ. Instead of turning away from the sins embraced by paganism, they were proud of their acceptance of it and allowed people into fellowship who were openly sinning. That sounds a lot like many congregations today. The Apostle Paul wasn’t shy about his disgust over their actions and wrote a very concise letter pointing out their errors. They needed to turn back to Christ, rather than embracing the world. Sexual sin has always been a problem for people. God established a one man/one woman marriage in the Garden of Eden, but people ignore God and justify their own sin nature. That was happening in Corinth, and the leadership of the congregation weren’t dealing with the sin. Paul, who respected God, wouldn’t turn a blind eye. “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned that he hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:1-2. A young man was having an affair with his step-mother, and the congregation was proud of their open-mindedness. “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” 1 Corinthians 5:6. When one sin is accepted, people will usually begin accepting more and more sin. Paul told them to put the man out of the congregation until he repented, then welcome him back. “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Corinthians 5:4-5. We all sin, and every err isn’t worthy of shunning, but this sin was especially unacceptable and needed to be dealt with. Today, Christians are way to accepting of sin. The world says it’s okay to sleep around, or change your gender, and God says “No”. Who do you believe? Satan is the ruler of this world, so choose carefully who you will follow. I choose to follow Christ.
 
Many false teachings are being taught from pulpits today. By knowing Scripture, you can be sure that you’re following God rather than Satan. Those first Christians had many dilemmas. Most were Jewish but had accepted Christ. They assumed that in order to become a Christian, a Gentile would first have to embrace Judaism. That assumption is easily understood, because Jesus came to the nation of Israel first. They were, and still are, God's chosen people and the Law was entrusted to them by God. The Law was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, so to think a Gentile must first embrace the Law, denies Christ’s finished work on the cross. Some denominations have chosen a few of the Laws which they force upon the members, but that’s not Scriptural. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17-18. We are not under the Law given by Moses, but God’s law will always be valid. We aren’t to have a false god in place of God Almighty, we aren’t to have idols, we aren’t to take God’s name in vain, we are to remember the sabbath to keep it holy (Jesus is our Sabbath rest, so remember Him), honor your father and mother, don’t murder (don’t even murder people in the womb), don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet what others have. It really isn’t very difficult to figure out God’s truth.
 
Our freedom in Christ isn’t a license to sin. We need to follow Jesus’ example and be more like Him. We all have a sin nature which pulls us to disobey God. As Christians, we take the name of Jesus Christ, and therefore we need to deny our selfish feelings and desires. “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23. You’ve probably heard someone say “That’s my cross to bear”, but the context of their statement has nothing to do with what Jesus meant. The cross was death. The condemned person was forced to carry their cross to the place where the crucifixion would be done. Condemned people were usually guilty, but Jesus was perfect, and innocent of any and all sin. He took our sin upon Himself, carried His cross to the place where spikes were driven into His flesh, and His innocent blood poured out. His blood was shed for your sins and mine. When we repent of our sin and claim to be a Christian, we need to take up our cross, and deny our selfish human sinful desires, and follow Christ. Our sins are forgiven, and the only way we can thank our God who died for our sin is to live for Him. Once again, the Apostle Paul has Holy Spirit breathed words for us. “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:21-24. We can’t earn our salvation, but we can show our gratitude. The word “conversation” isn’t just the way we talk. It comes from the Greek word “anastrophe” and means “the manner of life, conduct, behaviour, deportment”. In other words, crucify your old way of life and be born again into a life that honors Christ.
 
How do we know what God expects of our behavior? Study Scripture. Don’t wait for your preacher to do a study on sin. Study what Scripture says and don’t twist it’s meaning to show your chosen sin as acceptable. The Bereans were commended for searching Scripture to be sure what Paul was preaching was God's truth. By the way, it was Old Testament Scripture which they searched. Ultimately, you will be accountable for your own sin, and ignorance isn’t an excuse. The whole Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, is God’s word. Men held the writing instruments, but they wrote according to the direction of the Holy Spirit. Put away the self-help books and study God’s Holy Bible. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. That’s how we know God’s truth. We study what Scripture says, then conform to it, rather than making it conform to us. We can all find sins in our life that need to be corrected.
 
People may not understand the changes you make in order to conform to God’s truth found in Scripture. Stand as a witness for Christ, and whether people understand or not, God does. It’s God we need to please, not our selfish sin nature nor other people.
 
God bless you all,
Nathele Graham
[email protected]
[email protected]
                         
All original scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed.
 
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Daily Jot: For kids worldwide it’s no hope or Know Hope - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com
 
There is a shocking poll of 10,000 16-to-25-year-olds across 10 countries that indicates 56% agree that humanity is doomed and 75% believe that the future is frightening. Vice.com reports: “The study, published today in Lancet Planetary Health and led by academics and professionals at the University of Bath, Stanford Medicine Centre for Innovation in Global Health, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and others, found that people from countries more directly and immediately impacted by climate change tended to be more worried about the future. Ninety-two percent of young people in the Philippines said they felt like the future was frightening, compared to just 56 percent in Finland.” Moreover, trust in government is low.
 
Only 28% of young people in the UK and 21% in the US thought government could be trusted when it came to the planet. According to the report’s authors, climate anxiety among young people is an “inescapable stressor,” and that unpredictable and extreme weather patterns are likely to further add to psychological distress. The study’s co-lead author, Caroline Hickman of the University of Bath, concluded, “Our children’s anxiety is a completely rational reaction given the inadequate responses to climate change they are seeing from governments. What more do governments need to hear to take action?” Perhaps the answer is found in accurate studies, balanced reporting, and truth—including the ultimate truth, Christ.
 
The UK Telegraph, once an advocate of global warming, had a turn-about in 2008. Reporter James Delingpole blew the whistle on scientists after obtaining 1079 emails and 72 documents from the Climate Research Unit of East Anglia University. He wrote in 2009 that scientists were practicing “Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organized resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws… and much more.” Also, in December of 2008 some 650 scientists refuted the concept of global warming. The alarmist media ignores these facts and reports only doom and gloom. Politicians eyeing tax dollars, power, and government control are a constant drumbeat that the earth is doomed. Each year, the end is moved to another date.
 
The relentless repeating of this “no hope” message is enough to depress any young person. Genesis 1:28 defines man’s role in the environment, “…God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion…over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God promised Noah after the flood in Genesis 8:22, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Jesus said in Matthew 24:4, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Only God the Creator has power to destroy earth. Man is its steward. We all need to do a better job in affirming to our youth the Hope in Christ as in Romans 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

 


 
Daily Devotion: A New Heaven and Earth - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org
 
“Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new’” —Revelation 21:5
 
https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/a-new-heaven-and-earth/ - Listen
 
It’s always exciting to get a new version of something. We love new things. In fact, advertisers have figured out that if they put the words “new and improved” on a product, it will make us want to buy it. Maybe the only thing that’s new and improved is the packaging, but still, we’re attracted to the idea of newness.
 
God loves new things as well. And there’s a new world coming for all of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ.
 
In my opinion, the next event on the prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church. That is the moment when Christ will come for His people, and in the twinkling of an eye, we’ll be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
 
After that, a world figure will emerge on the scene whom we call the Antichrist. Effectively he will inaugurate the Great Tribulation period, which will end with the Battle of Armageddon. This will end with the second coming of Jesus Christ, which will lead to what we call the Millennium—one thousand years of peace on Planet Earth.
 
Then Heaven and Earth will become one. New Jerusalem, like a bride adorned for her husband, will come down from Heaven to Earth, and Heaven and Earth will merge together.
 
As we look at the unrest and violence in our culture right now, these are signs of the times. Also, the Bible tells us that in the last days there will be more plagues, or what we might call a pandemic. So God is telling us what our future is, and itreally will be new and improved.
 
Therefore, we should be thinking about the afterlife. The only way to live the best life today is to always be aware that the afterlife is near. A better world is coming.

 


 


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

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