What’s Next - By Grant Phillips - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/01/05/whats-next-by-grant-phillips-2/
 
Many Christians, and many who are not Christians, are quite concerned about what awaits us this coming year of 2021. 2020 has not been pleasant, and with all things considered, 2021 could be even worse. I say “could” be because maybe our attitude is a determining factor. In other words, as a Christian, are we depending on man or God? Paul said it well.
 
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
 
I would like to quote Dr. J. Vernon McGee with reference to a Scripture passage in Daniel [Dr. J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible Commentary Series, The Prophets, Daniel, Pages 73-74]. God, in chapter four of Daniel, is warning Nebuchadnezzar in a dream that he is going to be judged for his pride if he doesn’t repent and trust in the one true God. Keep in mind that Dr. McGee went home to be with the Lord December 1st, 1988 … 32 years ago! Much has changed since then. Here is what he had to say:
 
“This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17).
 
There are three things that we learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream:
 
·      “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.” If you think that God has abdicated today and has withdrawn from this universe, you are wrong. The universe has not gotten loose from Him. Emerson was wrong when he said, “Things are in the saddle, and they ride mankind.” There happens to be Somebody else in the saddle, and He is in control on this earth. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. 2:4-5).
 
God says He is going on with His purpose in the world. He is permitting Satan to carry out a nefarious plot for a very definite reason: God is demonstrating something to His created intelligences today. There are a lot of silly things being said about Satan which are entirely unscriptural.
 
Nations rise and fall to teach men that God rules and overrules the kingdoms of this world. If you think our nation happens to be His special little pet, you are entirely wrong. I believe we have already been put on the auction block: we are already judged. The downward course which this nation is traveling is going to take us right to the judgment of God. He rules in the kingdom of men.
 
·      He “giveth it to whomsoever he will.” You probably thought that the Democrats and the Republicans put men in power. They think they do, but God disposes of these kingdoms according to His will. That thought may cause someone’s chest to puff up, and he will say, “Well, I am occupying this office by the will of God.” A lot of kings in the past had the foolish notion that they were ruling in God’s place. Don’t believe a word of it – God puts them in power. Notice that Paul says in Romans 13:1, “…the powers that be are ordained of God.” Why in the world does God permit certain powers to rule on this earth?
·      He “setteth up over it the basest of men.” This third statement should be humbling to both the Democrats and the Republicans – and to all of mankind. If you think we pick the best men, we don’t – all you need to do is to read human history to see this. My study of English history shows that our ancestors in the British Isles were some pretty bloody ancestors. They were terrible, and they had some rulers who were unspeakable! May I say to you, God “setteth up over it the basest of men,” and we get the kind of ruler that we deserve. People complain about our government, our Congress, and all that sort of thing. My friend, we put them in their offices; we voted for them.
 
God lets the basest of men come to power. That ought to be humbling to all of us – from Washington, D.C., on down. You will never hear of someone who is trying to curry the favor of our leaders speaking on this verse at a Presidential breakfast or upon any occasion in Washington! This verse is quite upsetting, is it not?
 
History will substantiate the truth of this statement. The head of gold, Nebuchadnezzar, was insane; yet he was a brilliant ruler who formed the first world kingdom. He had times when he was as mad as a mad-hatter and didn’t even know who he was. As we have mentioned before, many of the great world rulers have suffered problems similar to his. And the reason our forefathers did not establish the United States of America as a kingdom is because they believed that no man could be trusted to rule. God has been demonstrating this now over quite a length of time: He “setteth up over it the basest of men.” [end quote]
 
I don’t know any more than the next person what lies ahead in the coming year. That’s a privilege held only by our omniscient God. Depending upon who is sitting in the oval office, I can make an educated (or uneducated) guess, and maybe I’ll be correct to some point. I do know this … The Lord Jesus Christ is in absolute control, and He knows exactly what He is doing. I know He loves His sheep of which I am one. I also know there is nothing man can do to me that can separate me from Him (Psalm 23; Romans 8:35-39).
 
When I read Dr. McGee’s statement above, I was especially drawn to the third statement God made in Daniel 4:17; i.e., “and setteth up over it the basest of men.”
 
If God is allowing the two Democrats who ran for president and vice president to govern our nation beginning January 2021, God’s statement “and setteth up over it the basest of men” seems to be a perfect fit. I can’t imagine the destruction that will ensue once these two, and the gang, take over.
 
I am also jolted to the reality that God may be ready to reduce our national influence upon the world and allow the stage light to be re-directed toward the revived Roman empire and its coming world leader, the Antichrist. The Antichrist may be preparing for his grand entrance upon the world’s stage.
 
Now, all of this is supposition. Only God knows the “how and when” of future events. Interestingly though, He has made clear the signs He has provided us for the coming seven years of Tribulation. Its arrival may not be at the door, but it’s footsteps can be heard coming up the path. In other words, the storm isn’t here yet, but the clouds are definitely darkening.
 
Thankfully, the Lord has promised over and over that His Church (His bride) will not be here for that period in time. So whatever happens in this new year, let Jesus’ words live in your heart.
 
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me …Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:1, 27).
 
We don’t know the future, but we know Who holds the future.
 
Grant Phillips
 
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
 
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
 
Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html

World Government Looming - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/01/03/world-government-looming-by-daymond-duck/
 
People called globalists, the Global Elite, the Shadow Government, and various other names want to create and run a New World Order.
 
A New World Order implies the demise of the current world order.
 
The slogan of many globalists (including the Biden Administration, the UN, and Pope Francis) is “Build Back Better,” but to build back, the current world order must be destroyed first.
 
To Build Back Better implies a better world, but globalists are really trying to gain total control of everyone on earth (our religious system, our political system, our economic system; what we buy, what we sell, what we say, what we own, where we live, where we work, who we worship, and more).
 
In 2021, they will be seeking global approval to bring about their New World Order through the Davos Dialogues, the Great Reset, World Bank, IMF, G-7, and G-20 meetings.
 
Notice that all of these meetings are gatherings of elite globalists and not gatherings of people that have been elected by ordinary citizens.
 
At two meetings in 2019 (the UN and the World Economic Forum), Pres. Trump said, “The future does not belong to globalists. It belongs to patriots.”
 
Trump’s patriotism and nationalism are in direct opposition to the New World Order globalism.
 
I may be wrong, and if I am, I ask God to forgive me, but here is my opinion on some of the things that are happening:
 
·      The purpose of the election fraud (should I call it treason) is to remove Trump, bring down the current nationalist world order, and empower people to replace the current world order with the New World Order. It will take most of 2021 for “The Davos Dialogues” (Jan. 25-29), “The Great Reset” (May 18-21), the IMF, World Bank, and other meetings to be held, proposals to be adopted, dates set for new laws to go into effect, etc., but the inauguration of a president that intends to push this signifies that a world government is on the way.
·      The purpose of small business lockdowns is to impoverish owners and their employees to make them dependent upon government for a check so these people can be forced to obey the New World Order. If you do not think the U.S. government would do this to U.S. citizens, please explain why the first version of the recent stimulus bill proposed more money for pork projects (museums, Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt, Burma, Sudan, etc.) than it proposed for unemployed citizens in the U.S. Please explain why it proposed nothing for restaurant owners, Gym owners and others in the U.S.
·      Why aren’t American taxpayers put first? (Trump signed the bill but sent it back to Congress with instructions to cut the amount of pork and increase the benefits to U.S. citizens. Also, know that the trillions that are being spent on bailouts are setting the stage for hyper-inflation and an economic collapse during the Tribulation Period.)
 
·      The purpose of Church lockdowns is to weaken the Church and silence most of the opposition to world government.
·      The purpose of the Coronavirus is to initiate a program that will eventually be used to number and track everyone on earth. It is currently being used to desensitize people to the Mark of the Beast. When that is enacted, people will not be allowed to live the way they want to live. People will be forced to live the way the elite tell them to live or they will be removed from the earth. (The Mark of the Beast is a minimum of 3 ½ years from now).
·      The purpose of Climate Change is wealth redistribution (Your wealth, not the elite’s wealth. You won’t own anything, but they will be very rich) and support for a world government that says natural disasters are a global problem that needs a global solution.
·      The purpose of enticing multi-millionaire athletes to kneel during the national anthem, enticing rioters to destroy statues, etc., is to convince citizens that the U.S. is a bad nation and capitalism must be replaced.
·      The censorship, lying and deception of most of the media is because many of the rich, elite owners are part of the shadow government or, at the very least, are catering to it.
·      The purpose of abortion, the gay agenda, euthanasia, etc., is to slow population growth in the world.
·      The opposition to a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border is because the globalists want a borderless world.
·      The globalist desire to divide Israel is because they ignore or don’t believe the Bible (a big mistake).
·      God put Trump in office as a roadblock because the time had not arrived, but at some point in time, God will permit the globalists to establish and control a wicked world government for 7 years.
·      Trump was spied on, falsely accused of colluding with the Russians, impeached by the House, ridiculed by the media for four years, and some of his friends were prosecuted, but nothing has been done to Hillary, Obama, Biden, Comey, Brennan, or any of the Democrats. The U.S. government has three divisions: Executive, Judicial, and Legislative – and under a Biden administration, all of them will be corrupt. Even if the Republicans control the Senate, there are enough corrupt Republicans for the corruption to continue unabated.
 
My opinions can be summed up this way: It looks like a world government is looming (The reason is sin and the abandonment of God in America).
 
Here are some recent reports on current events:
 
One, on Dec. 23, 2020, it was reported that a subcommittee of the Georgia Standing Senate Judiciary Committee issued a report that says the election was “chaotic and any reported results must be viewed as untrustworthy.”
 
They called for the Legislature to carefully consider its obligations under the U.S. Constitution, for the governor and the entire General Assembly to convene, and if the majority of the General Assembly agrees with the subcommittee’s findings, they should rescind the certification of the election.
 
According to the article, the General Assembly can do this when there is evidence of election fraud.
 
I have not seen a report on what they will do.
 
Two, it has been reported that Ron Raffensperger, the brother of Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, is employed by a Chinese government-owned company called Huawei Enterprise Storage Solutions.
 
Brad is an avid anti-Trumper, and some believe he has been heavily involved in Georgia’s apparent election fraud.
 
Three, The Trump Campaign has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on several election fraud issues before Jan. 6, 2020, the day that Congress counts and certifies the electoral votes.
 
The court responded by setting the hearing for Jan. 22, 2021, two days after Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021.
 
On Jan. 22, 2021, the court is expected to say the hearing is not necessary because the election is over and Biden has already been sworn in.
 
This is one more indication that the U.S. Supreme Court is controlled by the Shadow Government and is no longer serving in the best interests of the U.S. citizens.
 
What is the purpose of having a U.S. Supreme Court when the results are determined before a case is heard by judges doing things like this?
 
What is the purpose of having elections if they are not honest?
 
Why vote if corrupt individuals are going to be allowed to determine who wins.
 
Four, on Oct. 2019, Joe Biden said if he is elected, “No one in my family will have an office in the White House, will sit in on meetings as if they are a cabinet member, will, in fact, have any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or a foreign country.”
 
On Dec. 24, 2020, Fox News reported that a company solely owned by Hunter Biden (called Skaneateles) owns a 10% stake in a Chinese equity firm called Bohai Harvest RST (BHR).
 
Two days before this, the Wall Street Journal reported that one of BHR’s financiers is the Bank of China.
 
According to the report, Hunter says he is trying to sell his interest in the Chinese company, and Joe’s transition team will not discuss it.
 
Many believe a special counsel needs to be appointed to investigate this matter.
 
Five, on Dec. 23, 2020, a judge in Arizona refused a request by the Arizona State Senate to examine the voter machines in Maricopa County.
 
He will let them refile their case, but it will probably be too late to do anything by then.
 
Six, readers have sent me reports that say the building that was destroyed in the Nashville Christmas day bombing housed a shadow government super-computer system and election voting machines that were scheduled to be audited this week.
 
A second report said a Christmas Day fire destroyed a printing company in Rochester, New York, that is believed to have printed hundreds of thousands of fraudulent election ballots.
 
I cannot confirm some of the information in the articles, but if they are true, two disasters with ties to the election on the same day in different states looks suspicious.
 
Seven, concerning the prophesied growth of Israel at the end of the age, on Dec. 27, 2020, it was reported that Israel believes a Biden administration will oppose settlement construction on the West Bank, so Israel plans to approve more settlements before Biden is inaugurated.
 
Eight, on Dec. 22, 2020, Israel’s unity government led by Netanyahu and Gantz collapsed.
 
By law, another election must occur 90 days later (Mar. 23, 2021).
 
This will be Israel’s fourth election in less than two years.
 
Ultimately, the Messiah must occupy the Throne of David in Jerusalem and rule over Israel as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
 
Nine, on Dec. 27, 2020, our Baptist Sunday School lesson was about a devout man named Simeon who was waiting for the day the Messiah would bring consolation (comfort) to Israel, and it was revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah (Luke 2:25-26).
 
It occurred to me that Christians are waiting for the day the Messiah will bring consolation (comfort; the Rapture; I Thess. 4:13-18) to the Church, and it has been revealed that the generation that sees the return of Israel will not die before everything is fulfilled (Matt. 24:32-34).
 
Finally, God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.
 
Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc.
 
Daymond Duck
 
duck_daymond@yahoo.com

​Judgement Before the Second Coming of Christ - by pastor Mike Taylor - https://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2020/12/judgement-before-second-coming-of-christ.html
 
18 “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
 
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” (Revelation 18:1-3)
 
Judgment is coming to a closing end, and the destruction of this rebellious world is nearly to its completion. Here again in this chapter it again speaks of Babylon. Is this the same Babylon that was spoken of in Chapter 17? Many believe that the Babylon of these two chapters are the same, but are they? Note that there are two divisions of end times concept of the Babylon that rises to rule the earth. The first is Mystery Babylon. She is considered a harlot, a whore which is signified by a woman in a religious order that deceived the world and has for the last nearly 2000 years. She is identified with Rome and is shown to be an adulterer, a woman that is defiled and worships false gods and leads other people into sin. She has held sway over kings and nations at different intervals of her history and in these last days, she rises from the ashes of oblivion, much like the Phoenix bird and retakes her glory lost in the past, but it is short lived. She rules with the Beast power for a set and pre-determined amount of time, before the political power of this time destroys her completely and burns her with fire.
 
Then there is secular, political, and commercial Babylon that is identified with a coastal city. Be she Mecca, New York City or some other powerful center of this ruling abomination called the Beast power, we are not sure, nor will we be sure this side of the coming of our Lord for the true Church of the Living God. As we have pointed out, this great city is the center of world economics. She is a marketplace that has grown ever more greedy and has lust for power. She is self indulgent and in the end, God Almighty destroys her completely for her sins and abominations.
 
Through a great portion of the coming Tribulation these two portions of Babylon are intertwined with each other. One having power over another to lead one as much as horse is led by a bridle. But it is an uneasy alliance, as they are not the same, but antagonist of each other, both lusting for supreme power. The coming Beast power has need of this religious power to forge the chains of those who it wishes to follow him and use this false religion as an agent of conquest, much as it was in the Middle Ages. But the Beast that rules the earth will need this false religion for just so long. Her usefulness will run out in the near future during the midpoint of the Tribulation and she will be burned with fire as we saw in Chapter 17.
 
15 “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:15-18)
 
This harlot religion has temporal power over the Beast, as the Bible shows that she rides the Beast, and controls him to a point and rules over all nations in religious affairs. Only one religion has more than a 1.5 billion people from all over the globe of all people, multitudes, nations, and tongues. She has spread her tentacles to all points of the globe and in the past, no one was able to withstand her. But this Tribulation power she holds over the political Babylon is short lived.
 
Mystery Babylon seems to be destroyed when the Anti-Christ comes into the Temple of God in Jerusalem at the mid point of the coming tribulation and proclaims himself as being God in the flesh. Then this religious portion of this unholy alliance will be needed no longer, as the dragon, Satan the devil, who has entered into the last dictator of this fallen world known as the Anti-Christ, will desire complete worship of himself (Satan) through a mortal man that he has possessed. It appears from scripture that a charade either real or manufactured is fostered upon a rebellious and evil population that believes this lawless man has been resurrected from some type of wound that brought him to near death. It will be a false resurrection to mimic what Jesus did 2000 years ago by the power of God, whether this resurrection of the Anti-Christ is real or a charade. Satan is very good as counterfeiting what God has done to make the unrighteous believe a lie.
 
BABYLON, REAL OR SYMBOLIC?
 
But as we study the concept of this great city called Babylon, are they literal cities or is she symbolic? That is a question we have to ask ourselves, as many believe that Babylon will be rebuilt again on a desert sands found in the backward country of Iraq. Note that any city built on the ruins of ancient Babylon would not completely fit the description of her having a sea faring port able to handle large merchant ships. Saddam Hussein had the mad notion of rebuilding ancient Babylon thinking that he was a modern king Nebachadnezzer and ruler of the Middle East and we know what happened to him. Many people believe that the New Babylon will be built on the Euphrates River and with the wealth of the Middle East oil, that could happen, but to be an economic power house that God speaks of, leaves large holes in that theory. Although, no one has stepped forward to attempt such a city. But from my viewpoint, being so close to what I feel is the season of our Lord's return, I don't see that kind of time being allowed for another city to emerge as a economic powerhouse for all the world to coincide with the description of her destruction in coming verse of this chapter.
 
As briefly mentioned in the last part of this study, our Lord equated the known world that hated Him and cautioned that it would hate those who follow Him, just as much to what this world will become.
 
18 “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world the would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:18-19)
 
So there are two possibilities, as we have investigated and looked at different cities as being the center of the Beast power, either Rome, Mecca, or even New York, as New York is the center of world wide commerce at the present time. At this present time, the economy of the world is centered on the USA and its economic engine found in New York City, but that could change. It's possible, but highly unlikely, as another city would take years to achieve what the investors on Wall street and the New York economic hub of the world has become. Another possibility is that Babylon is symbolic of what Jesus spoke of as the end time world that revels in their rebellion and unrighteousness. The entire world is a combination of religion and commerce, so the symbol of Babylon “could be” this end time Beast power that covers the entire earth we now live on. In portraying the destruction of a city (Rome?), John describes in Chapter 17 God’s judgment on the great satanic system of religious evil that has corrupted the earth’s history. In chapter 18, the context seems to indicate that Babylon here is viewed in its political and economic character rather than its religious aspect. Although both portions of Babylon the Great are mentioned in various detail, jumping from one power to the other.
 
Looking at the opening verses, this “angel” which can be interpreted as “messenger” has a great shining appearance. Either the light He cast is from being in the presence of God, or this is Jesus Christ proclaiming that Babylon has fallen and will not rise again. It is a matter of a great moment, whether by this angel we understand as Jesus Christ, or a created angel; the description agreeth to Christ, but most likely agrees to a created angel.
 
The term ‘another’ (Gr.,allon) makes it clear that this angel is the same in kind as the angel of 17:1. So this most likely is one of the 7 angels that have the bowl judgments. Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen: He announces that Babylon is fallen, fallen and the phrase is “repeated like a solemn dirge of the damned. It becomes a dwelling place of demons: A sad fate for a once-great city.
 
Abundance of her luxury: Babylon’s sin was not only idolatry (referred to with the term fornication), but also pride, greed, and selfishly held wealth.
 
The concept is of man ruling himself and being blessed for his work on this earth for a “great economic city” either a location or speaking of the whole world has come to an end. This is “a prophetic picture of absolute desolation where the proud achievements of man become the demonic haunts of unclean and horrible creatures
 
4 “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” (Revelation 18:4-7)
 
COMMAND TO LEAVE BABYLON
 
This is a call to God's Tribulation saints to come out of those places where they should not be. It is akin to what God told Lot and his family to depart from the city of Sodom and flee to the mountains before God destroys her. The tribulation saints are in a place ripe for destruction. Those who are living during this time, are subject to the temptation and the evil that is perpetuated in the end time world that is headed for oblivion, and God commands His own to separate themselves from everything that pertains to the evil influence of these end time Gentile nations. Note that the inference is that those who believes on Jesus Christ at this time, are susceptible to loosing their salvation and ability to commit sin in God's sight and they could be caught up in the judgment that is coming. They are not sealed with God's Holy Spirit as the 144,000 Jewish evangelist were, but are in danger of falling back into the world system that God says depart from it. This is not true of the Church, who cannot lose their salvation, but those in the tribulation have no such guarantee.
 
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:10-14)
 
The church of the Living God has an irrevocable promise of being kept in His grace for any sin, past, present or future. What God has drawn to Jesus Christ and those who have been put into God's Hand cannot be removed.
 
27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and my Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)
 
Tribulation saints must guard their salvation until the very end of this horrific time. So God is talking about a different set of people who are also called saints, which is another indication that the church is not here, as the Church was sealed and had a deposit of future glorification that is promised. The call to come out of Babylon and its sinful and worldly living has been repeated many times in scripture:
 
“Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.” (Isaiah 52:11)
 
“ Flee from the midst of Babylon, and everyone save his life!” (Jeremiah 50:8)
 
“ My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord.”(Jeremiah 51:45)
 
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
 
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”(Ephesians 5:11)
 
But who is this “messenger” of God speaking of? Who are they to come out of? I believe He is speaking of religious and political Babylon that their sins have piled high as the Tower of Babel. There will be an end time false religion that has deceived mankind throughout the history of the world since Jesus ascended back to heaven and the right hand of the Father in glory. God has remembered her iniquities and has passed judgment upon her. This is more detail that John gives to report the destruction of the Harlot Church who has deceived the whole world to worship the image of the Beast.
 
The description of this Harlot Church is verses 6-7 is most telling of who this woman is and where she has had her headquarters for the last near 2000 years. Note her delicacies and her riches and how she has rewarded others by dealing treacherously with those who did not bow the knee to her. She will be rewarded double for what she has done. I see the complete destruction of this harlot church in flames, as God will use the political power of this earth to destroy her.
 
--Render to her just as she rendered to you: The ancient Greek word for render (apodidomi) means literally “to pay a debt” or “to give back that which is due.” God will give Babylon exactly what she deserves.
 
--Repay her double according to her works . . . mix for her double: Double restitution was required in the Old Testament in cases of theft (Exodus 22:4-9). This perhaps is a commentary on how Babylon has made her wealth – through dishonest dealings.
 
--Repay her double according to her works: This passage presents a three-fold sin. First, self-indulgence (lived luxuriously). Second, pride (glorified herself . . . sits as a queen). Third, avoidance of suffering (am no widow, and will not see sorrow). All these things are characteristic of worldliness and materialism.
 
--Therefore her plagues will come in one day: The destruction of religious Babylon will come suddenly and with completeness (utterly burned with fire).
 
8 “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.” (Revelation 18:8-14)
 
John goes back and forth speaking of the two Babylon's that are mingled together in this chapter. He speaks of religious Babylon and then commercial or political Babylon. Both receive judgment from God and in these preceding verses, you have the vision of a city of commercial marketplace that has dealt with the merchants of the world in what was valuable in John's day, as that is all he could describe, as our technological day was beyond his understanding. You also see a religious portion of Babylon who has deceived the whole world to worship the image of the Beast and to take his mark in their forehead and their right hand.
 
John witnesses the destruction of these great powerful cities in flames and their destruction in one hour. In your mind, you must separate the two Babylon's and not confuse one with another. The religious Babylon will be destroyed by the Beast power under the will of God, and the final political portion of the Beast power, God will destroy Himself. I can think of no other man-made weapon of destruction than a nuclear weapon, which is what many believe happens to these religious and political cities, which could level a city in one hour. The merchants of the earth stand at a safe distance from her destruction, as the heat and flames, and not to mention the radiation if this be a nuclear weapon that destroyed her, and they wail because the city is destroyed. That is one reason I have explored the one city in the USA, New York who is the economic hub of this modern world now and in the coming future and the city which could be Rome destroyed by the Beast power as he burns her with fire..
 
The political Babylon sounds eerily similar to what a person would see standing on a boat a long distance from the harbor of the New York City, who has the only port large enough to accommodate large merchant ships. This could come from a nuclear exchange or a pre-emptive nuclear strike from another country. We can only hypothesize of who this great city is, if she is indeed an actual city or a symbolic representation of God's divine judgment on the center of the Beast power and his government. Obviously, God is more than able to replicate a nuclear strike much as He did on Sodom and Gomorrah. Either God uses man to do His will, or completes the prophecy in Divine retribution for her iniquities with fire and brimstone raining from heaven. Thankfully, I won't see any of this to determine which is true as I'll be with Jesus in heaven awaiting the return to the earth of the saints of God, known as the Church of the Living God. Will you?
 
As we continue to read to the end of the chapter, the angel describes the death knell of Babylon and likens it to a mill stone thrown to the bottom of the sea, never to rise no more. The descriptions show that the center of commercial trade will never be found again.
 
20 “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.” (Revelation 18:20-23)
 
This is either a complete destruction of an actual city or applied broadly to a worldly commerce found across the globe during this time of the coming Tribulation. But I find it telling to who and where this prophecy is directed at, as was mentioned, the political and the religious Babylon have been intertwined up to this point.
 
24 “And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” (Revelation 18:24)
 
In verse 24, if this is an actual city, then I can think of only one city in this world that has all the attributes that have been described. Some will point a finger at Jerusalem as she has killed prophets and saints also, but she does not fit the description of a harlot religious system that has ruled the world, drowned herself in luxuries of gold, jewels, and much wealth, and has been the center of apostasy in the past ages and into the modern world. Only one religious organization has more gold in her vaults than even Fort Knox. And if you think hard enough, you will come to the conclusion that fits all points of the prophecy.
 
The chapter describes the complete destruction of the two Babylons: the religious portion and the commercial or political aspect of the ruling One World government that is a mixture of church and state, much as it was in the Middle Ages. Coming in the next chapter, the beginning reveals the coming victory of our Lord God, Jesus Christ over the Beast Power and its final death blow that will decimate all who come against a Living God. The beginning of chapter 19 is a continuation of the end of chapter 18, as the bible has no actual chapter breaks, as that is man's doing, but the end is near and we will discuss that next time, when we see Jesus coming back to earth in power and great glory. We are nearing the start of the coming Millennium and the reign of Jesus Christ for 1000 years to restore the earth to what was lost in the Garden of Eden, the complete beauty of His creation revived and made perfect. We have much to anticipate for and we await anxiously for the coming of our Lord to make this earth what it was in the time of Adam and Eve. Many things will change. The earth will not be subject to pollution and the evils of mankind. War will be no more, and the weapons of war will be changed into plow shares to become a agricultural society. I have a burden for anyone that may have to live through this horrific time, or die a horrible death....if you believe the following two passages found in your Bible, you won't have to, if you do it this side of the rapture.
 
But who will be those who populate the coming Millennial reign of Christ? We will discover that when we explore chapter 19 and 20 of the “Return of Jesus Christ and His Millennial Reign.” See you then.
 
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.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.' (John 3:16-19)
 
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.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)
 
This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying that you see none of this noted above and are found in Jesus Christ at His coming for His Church that could come very soon. I pray if you need prayer, counseling, or just a listening ear then email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com. Or visit me online for more biblical messages to help strengthen your faith in the times we live, God bless you all, TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET

None Are So Blind – Jonathan Brentner - https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2020/12/28/none-are-so-blind
 
There’s an ancient saying that dates back to 1546 when John Heywood said, "There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.”
 
Sadly, this quote aptly describes the majority of pastors today in the United States, even many of those who preach in churches whose statements of faith affirm beliefs in the inerrancy of Scripture.
 
With a strictly earthbound vision for the future that pushes the Lord’s return to a far distant time, these leaders tell us that the turmoil of our present day is part of a reoccurring cycle of history and that life will return to normal after the current crisis passes.
 
However, not everyone agrees.
 
David Horowitz, despite his atheism, wrote a book warning of the severe persecution coming to Bible-believing Christians in America (Dark Agenda). Peter Koenig, a geopolitical analyst, lecturer, and previous Senior Economist with the World Health Organization, constantly warns people of the threat posed by The Great Reset championed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and of the dangers posed by ID2020 and COVID-19 vaccines, although to my knowledge he is not a follower of Jesus. 
 
Why do Horowitz and Koenig clearly see the perils ahead for us that so many pastors refuse to acknowledge? Although these and other secular writers do not believe the Bible, they warn of a future that’s remarkably similar to what we read about in the book of Revelation and in other prophetic texts.
 
Here are just a few bright red warning lights that should wake up all those in Christ to the approaching tribulation as well as to the nearness of the rapture that occurs before it.
 
THE GREAT WICKEDNESS IN AMERICA
 
This is what I wrote in a previous post, Not Now, I Have My Life to Live, regarding the fact that from a human perspective, the Lord’s judgment of America is long, long overdue.
 
Does not the ongoing horror of abortion that has led to the merciless slaughter of countless millions of innocent lives tell us that God’s judgment must be right at the door? Not only have our elected leaders refused to outlaw this murderous and horrific practice, but they also stand by as Planned Parenthood butchers babies and sells their body parts to the highest bidder. Abortion is an abomination that will most certainly bring the Lord’s wrath upon America at some point, count on it.
 
The Lord hears each and every muffled scream of tiny boys and girls as evil men and women poison them or rip their precious bodies apart inside their mother’s womb. He sees the anguished looks on the faces of young girls and boys caught up in the horrors of sex trafficking.
 
Are we so naïve as to assume the Lord will not judge the U.S. and world for these abominations that so deeply grieve Him? Are we so foolish as to think that Psalm 94 refers only to the distant past without prophetic significance for the day in which we find ourselves?
 
In 2012, Billy Graham quoted his wife Ruth as saying, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” The wickedness to which she referred has grown exponentially since she spoke those words sometime before her death in 2007.
 
I am not a prophet, but I know God’s wrath will fall upon the U.S. in the not-too-distant future. Perhaps we already see its beginnings in the divisions and turmoil that characterize life here on America.
 
THE RAPID MOVE TOWARD MARXISM VIA THE GREAT RESET
 
In many of my recent articles, I describe the dangers posed by World Economic Forum (WEF) and the ominous Great Reset, which they promote. I often quote Peter Koenig who amazingly refers to the coming world government as the “beast” apart from any reference to Daniel or the book of Revelation.
 
The WEF makes no effort to hide the communist agenda behind its push for The Great Reset, which is nothing less than a radical transformation of life on planet earth that will enslave all alive at the time.
 
According to James Delingpole of Breitbart News, “COVID-19 has provided the perfect pretext” to usher in “a globalist takeover” of virtually every aspect of human life. “Put simply,” he continues, The Great Reset “is the blueprint for a complete transformation of the world economy. There will be no money, no private property, no democracy. Instead, every key decision — what you do for a living, how much stuff you consume, whether you can take a vacation — will [be] decided for you by a remote, unaccountable elite of ‘experts.’”[ii]
 
Why is it that so many pastors and believers fail to see the dangers behind what they read in the news or recognize the uncanny resemblance of what they hear to what John wrote about in the book of Revelation?
 
THE DIRE THREAT POSED BY A BIDEN PRESIDENCY
 
The Great Reset is so much more than the utopian dream of unrealistic globalists. It’s the fervent desire of the “deep state” in America and is something that both the Democrat and Republican establishments greatly desire. President Donald Trump stands virtually alone in his opposition to the Marxist agenda of the globalist elite (AKA deep state) in the U.S. Most Republicans in the Congress and Senate have already abandoned the President and his efforts to expose the great fraud so apparent in the November 3 election.
 
Kerry, whom Biden named as his special presidential envoy for climate, recently affirmed Biden’s allegiance to the Marxist agenda of the WEF. He assured the elites of the World Economic Forum (WEF) that a Joe Biden presidency would quickly advance the globalist “Great Reset” agenda “with greater speed and greater intensity than many might imagine.”[ii]
 
It’s also clear that a President Biden (or Harris) will not tolerate any hint of dissent to their rabid support for abortion and the LBGTQ agenda. Their previous statements and appointments confirm this as does the advice that many in Congress have already given to them.
 
Under a Biden/Harris administration, any church that hopes to exist in its current form in the year 2025 (the end of their term) will only do so by agreeing the with the radical agenda of the Democrats regarding transgenderism for children, homosexuality, pedophilia, and abortion up to the moment of birth.
 
THE NUMEROUS SIGNS OF THE APPROACHING TRIBULATION
 
Those who assign Revelation 6-18 to either a bygone era or mere symbolism refuse to see the myriad of signs pointing to the fact that these chapters will soon become a reality in our world. The evidence that we live in the last days is overwhelming, yet so many remain blind to what they see. They repeat the error of the Pharisees and Sadducees who failed to recognize the signs that their Messiah stood among them (Matt. 16:1-3).
 
The lawlessness of our day, the widespread support of the world’s leaders of the ominous Great Reset, and the great delusion of our day all speak to the rapid approach of the seven-year tribulation. The emphasis on peace and safety as the day of God’s judgment approaches tells us that we have little time left until our departure to forever be with Jesus (1 Thess. 4:13-5:10).
 
The signs Jesus gave us of His coming in Matthew 24:3-14 precisely describe the day in with we live. It’s as if He opened up a laptop and read news headlines from 2020 to His disciples. In verse 15, the Lord refers to the antichrist’s desecration of the temple that takes place halfway through the tribulation. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has recreated all the furnishings for the third temple except for the Ark of the Covenant, have architectural designs for it in place, and are already training Levites to act as priests in the new temple.
 
Based solely on the writings Peter Koenig and Klaus Schwab (founder and head of the WEF), I find that the planning of the globalists behind ID2020 and future vaccines bears a remarkable similarity to the mark of the beast as described in Revelation 13:15-18. These plans include implanting a chip containing personal data that will instantly connect to a distant database containing all his or her personal and financial information. Once these things become a reality, it will only be a small step for the antichrist to require his mark for all buying and selling worldwide.
 
THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
 
The Lord does not need to write His message of impending judgment on the wall as He did for King Belshazzar in ancient Babylon. He has clearly revealed His warnings for all to see in Scripture, yet so few recognize their relevance for today. They refuse to acknowledged what they know from God’s Word.
 
Jeremiah wrote, “They have healed the wound of my people lightly; / saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ / when there is no peace” (6:14). If the prophet were alive today, I believe he would similarly warn us of shepherds who ignore the signs of God’s impending judgment and the Lord’s imminent return and insist that life will someday return to normal just as has always done in the past.
 
Biblical encouragement that does not include an awareness of the end times and Jesus’ appearing may comfort believers to some extent, but it only heals the wound “lightly” of those who face economic disaster, personal afflictions, tragedies, and the many other harsh realities of life under COVID-19 imposed lockdowns, draconian restrictions, and falsified panic.
 
The good news is that we serve an awesome and sovereign Lord who controls history and someday will reign over all the nations of the world (Psalm 46:10). He’s not surprised by mad rush of our leaders toward a one world government; He revealed long ago that this would happen in the last days just as we see taking place before our eyes.
 
The best comfort we have in these perilous times is that Jesus is coming to take us to the place He’s preparing for us (John 14:1-3) and all the signs point to this happening in the very near future. The times are dark, but we possess a glorious hope.
 
Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/ . It will greatly help me in reaching more people. Thanks!
 
[i] This article can is at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/own-nothing-and-be-happy-great-resets-vision-future
 
[ii] Article on the LifeNews Website: John Kerry: Biden presidency would advance globalist ‘Great Reset’ with ‘speed’ at: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/john-kerry-biden-presidency-would-advance-globalist-great-reset-with-speed

Apostle John Views the Cup of God’s Wrath - by pastor Mike Taylor - https://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2020/12/apostle-john-views-cup-of-gods-wrath.html
 
“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.” (Revelation 15:1)
 
As we progress through this “Apocalyptic book”, you can envision how the destruction grows in a crescendo type of judgment on this earth. The past chapters were bad and God has been escalating His judgment on this earth to bring mankind either to repentance, or near total annihilation of all things that breath air on the planet we call the earth. It has been mankind's home for nigh 6000 years, but now she is the abode of his coming death and her grave as the nations are receiving just rewards for their rejection of God's only plan for salvation, through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Let us look at what will be coming, possibly in few short years, that mankind in the majority is blinded to what is in front of them. We noticed that in Chapter 14, that John described the near total destruction of the nations leading up to the battle of Armageddon, but here John goes back to describe in more detail what has happened to bring the world to this place. It is common in Bible prophecy to state and re-state in further details that is also common in Hebrew literature. It seemed even back in the end of chapter 6, that the end was near, but John takes us back and forth giving more detail and expanding the canvas that he has sketched of what he saw. Revelation is not totally chronological, but the overall picture is speaking of the division of the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation, as judgment is explained more deeply.
 
These seven angels having the seven last plagues: This idea is also in Leviticus 26:21:
 
“Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.” These seven last plagues are God’s judgment on a disobedient and contrary world. The opening verse reveals that God's wrath is waxing hot and He is not just blowing off steam, but will fulfill His eternal purpose releasing His righteous indignation in all its fury.
 
2 "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”( Revelation 15:2-4)
 
The sea is designed to reflect the glory of God. In chapter 4 its description ‘like unto crystal’ speaks of the holiness of God. Here the sea mingled with fire speaks of divine judgment proceeding from God’s holiness. Some see the analogy in verse 2 correlating to the Exodus of the people of God through the Red Sea, escaping the persecution of this world, although many of them were subject to martyrdom due to their faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. They are not losers, as they have received victory in the spiritual sense that they believed what Jesus said in their Bible. They are Tribulation saints who have given up their mortal life for eternal life.
 
25 “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26, For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:25-26)
 
These Tribulation saints stand either on or beside a sea of glass, which is a reflection of God's Word. Here they stand on the Word, as it is connection to the Temple of Israel to be washed in the tabernacle laver to make themselves clean. Notice they sing a song. A song of Moses which is their patriarch ancestor that led their fathers out of Egypt and out of sin. Does this mean that they are mostly from the house of Israel? Although it could be, it is also possible that they are partakers of the seed and promise of Abraham and are considered the New Israel along with those of Jewish birth. It is said that the song they sing is also called the “song of the Lamb” as they join the promises of the Old and the New Testament into one song.....But hold your breath, as judgment is falling and hardly any man or woman will escape the fiery wrath of Almighty God.
 
5 “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” (Revelation 15:5-8)
 
Here God's anger is revealed by 7 angels that bring seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God. The anger of God is so hot, that smoke fills the heavenly tabernacle and no one can enter into His presence until His vengeance through these plagues is finished. This declares that judgment was now irreversible. This also happened in the time of Moses when the Shekinah glory filled the wilderness tabernacle and no man could enter within. Now nothing could hinder it any longer, because access to this temple in heaven would not long be denied. This is the heavenly Temple in heaven that the earthly temple that was a copy on earth, but is seen in its reality The seven angels come directly from God and do not act on their own authority, but have been given orders directly from God Almighty. They are clothed with white linen and golden girdles that signify the holiness of God's righteous anger
 
The King James translation is vials of plagues, but the literal translation from the Greek is saucer like bowls that were used in the Temple of God on earth, and now in heaven to hold incense from the altar of God that will be poured out.
 
CHAPTER 16: THE BOWL JUDGMENTS
 
 
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.” (Revelation 16:1-2)
 
Each of these plagues remind us what came upon Egypt that brought similar plagues and God's judgment on that nation for the idolatry and failing to follow the commands of God and let Israel go.
 
8 “And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt”. (Exodus 9:8-9)
 
So God brings the same type of plague on mankind in these end of days called the Great Tribulation that falls on every man and woman who has the mark of the Beast and worship his image, much as the people of Egypt worshiped false gods ,and even Pharaoh himself.
 
3 “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.” (Revelation 16:4-6)
 
Even as the Egyptians killed the children of Israel and threw their sons to the crocodiles, God had given them also, blood to drink, as they have worshiped false gods who are not gods, and have slain the innocent and spilled their blood. Can you even imagine the smell and the death as sea creatures are washed ashore and die with rotting flesh covering the whole earth in the rivers and the seas? Let alone, no one can drink the water, as it is poisoned. We know that man cannot live without water for 3 days, so unless the government on earth has stored water, they will soon all die. This tells me just how quickly these plagues lead to the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ to rule and reign, as men will not be able to stand against this onslaught of the wrath of God.
 
7 “And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.” (Revelation 16:7-9)
 
God will cause the sun to become either closer to earth to provide this intense heat, or the ozone layer is destroyed and the rays of the sun cannot be filtered and the inhabitants are at the mercy of intense UV radiation and its intensity of heat. It says that it will scorch men. Will it burn those who cannot escape to the point of death and dehydration? Remember there is not water that is not blood, so unless they have a alternate resource of stored water, the sun will dry them as so much beef jerky. Although mankind is going through the most intense judgment and men are dying all around those on the earth, they will not repent and give God glory and turn from their wicked ways. Those who have taken the Mark of the Beast have no recourse, as there is no forgiveness of those who worship the Beast and take his mark, but those who have somehow managed to escape have a slim chance of repenting of their unrighteousness and turning to God to receive forgiveness and God knows, they will not.
 
10 “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” (Revelation 16:10-11)
 
What are we to make of the darkness that falls on the whole earth, either the governmental agencies of the Beast power or the total inhabitants of the earth? The darkness is synonymous what was experienced by ancient Egypt where the darkness caused intense pain and gnawing of their tongues. I believe it is a taste of hell and what they are coming to. It gives them a taste of the torment that is coming, which is beyond what they are experiencing here, but they will not repent, even covered with painful sores. Those under the judgment of this fifth bowl stand, as it were, on the shores of the lake of fire and on the cusp of being lost forever in what Jesus called “outer darkness”. The great evangelist C.H. Spurgeon had a take on these plagues that men face:
 
“Judgment may produce a carnal repentance – a repentance that is of the flesh, and after the manner of the sinful nature of men. In this repentance the depravity of the heart remains the same in essence, though it takes another form of showing itself. Though the man changes, he is not savingly changed: he becomes another man, but not a new man. The same sin rules in him, but it is called by another name, and wears another dress. The stone is carved into a more sightly shape, but it is not turned into flesh. The iron is cast into another image, but it is not transformed into gold. This carnal repentance is caused by fear. Does not every thief repent of robbery when he is convicted and sent to jail? Does not every murderer repent of his crime when he stands under the fatal tree?” (Spurgeon) So it is not true repentance and to turn away from sin, but a realization of the fear that is taking a person to the pit of hell. Spurgeon followed this up with what it truly is:
 
“This is real penitence, when the man gives glory to the justice of God, even though it condemns him. O my hearer, do you thus repent? Is sin really sinful to you? Do you see its desert of hell? If not, your repentance needs to be repented of.” (Spurgeon)
 
12 “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:12-16)
 
Ancient Rome considered the River Euphrates a nature barrier from invasion from the East, such as China, or Mongolia, but here the river is dried up from the angel pouring his vial upon the waters. They are Kings of the East coming either to destroy Israel, or wage war on the European dictator, the Anti-Christ, either way, they are coming to fulfill God's purpose as He gathers them to a place called Armageddon where they will do battle with Almighty God. I have often wondered, if you knew that you were coming to wage war with God Almighty, would you be so careless and insane to fight against a Living God?
 
Or have you been told that the problems that you face are caused by some “Alien Force” that you have been fed a lie that you can actually win against an alien invasion? I note that the whole world has been obsessed with “Encounters of the Third Kind” that has been promoted by Hollywood and the MSM that these apparitions we see in the skies are from “another world” since the 1970s into the 1980s even to our modern age ...Is it how they explained the missing of millions of people about 7 years prior and explained it as alien abduction? The whole world will unite behind one cause and that would be the extinction of mankind through an alien life force. Here they all gather to wage war, and it is by design that they are brought to the valley of Jezreel to either wage war with an alien life form, or destroy Israel on a list of things to accomplish in this to rid the world of these “pesky Jews” on orders from the Anti-Christ. Either way, they are heading for complete destruction and they don't even know who they are fighting until it is too late.
 
Many have wondered who and what are these frogs that come from the unholy trinity of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. Israel has always considered them unclean, but Egypt revered them as gods. So here is another example of a duality of prophecy, as frogs also came upon Egypt in the plagues they experienced. These frogs are demons and these demons are like the lying spirit who led Ahab into battle (1 Kings 22:19-23). They are spirits of demons, performing signs: Again, signs and wonders are used by demons as tools of deception. The false prophet here is the second beast of Revelation 13.
 
17 “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
 
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” (Revelation 16-17-21)
 
Here Almighty God has said “it is done”...there will be no more delays, no more chances, as God has stretched this judgment time out for many years now trying to get mankind to repent and turn away from His sin, and he will not. So God is going to finish wiping this earth clean of rebellion and the earth trembled and quakes greatly at His coming...who is coming....? Of course, Jesus Christ in power and great glory. Every island is moved out of its place, and every mountain falls flat and are not found....so great is this quaking as the earth rocks and reels like a drunken sailor.
 
The chapter does not reveal yet the coming of the Lord, as that is chapter 19 and John goes into further details of the events to give breadth and substance to the portrait he is painting of what he saw. Judgment has been enacted against the prince and power of the air, could be why the angel is pouring out his vial into the air. The great city that falls, is it Jerusalem, or some other city? More like Babylon wherever she ends up being. Some say Rome, some say Mecca, and some say New York City, as I have explored each city as a possible suspect, but this side of the rapture, we won't know for sure as we can only speculate. The last plague mentioned in this chapter is great hail which the weight a talent is about 100 lbs....can you imagine great hail the size of a boulder raining down on the earth in abundance? The great hail will flatten anything that is standing built by men, or left of creation. The destruction will be almost complete...there won't be much standing when this plague comes upon the earth. Could this be leading up to the Battle of Armageddon and their express defeat, even before the battle even starts? Hail is frequently a tool of judgment against God’s enemies, as seen against Egypt (Exodus 9:24), the Canaanites (Joshua 10:11), apostate Israel (Isaiah 28:2), and Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38:22).
 
Even after all this suffering, men still will not repent. Why is that so. Some say that if I went through this kind of trouble, I would repent..and I say no you would not...why? I refer to what C. H. Spurgeon said about this:
 
Despite all their suffering, many still will not repent. “I have known people say, ‘Well, if I were afflicted I might be converted. If I lay sick I might be saved.’ Oh, I do not think so. Sickness and sorrow of themselves are no helps to salvation. Pain and poverty are not evangelists; disease and despair are not apostles. Look at the lost in hell. Suffering has effected no good in them. He that was filthy here is filthy there. He that was unjust in this life is unjust in the life to come. There is nothing in pain and suffering that, by their own natural operation, will tend to purification.” (Spurgeon)
 
So my reader, if you are waiting for things to go sour on planet earth and think you have time to repent, you may not get that chance. If you were unjust before the Tribulation, you will most likely still be unjust, as Spurgeon said. Calamity and judgement most like will make a person hard and the heart a flint of stone.
 
WE CAN CALL THIS A GREAT CHAPTER
 
-It describes great evil: a great city, great Babylon (Revelation 16:19).- It describes great tools of judgment:
-great heat (Revelation 16:9), a great river dried up (Revelation 16:12), a great earthquake (Revelation 16:18), great hail and great plagues (Revelation 16:21).
- It describes a great God: His great voice (loud is the same Greek word for great; verses 1; 17), and His great day of victory (Revelation 16:14).
 
APOSTLE JOHN DESCRIBES THE WHORE OF BABYLON, chp. 17
 
“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.” (Revelation 17:1-5)
 
Here the Apostle John backs up to give more detail of what the False Prophet and where he comes from. The use of the symbol of a woman in scripture always means a “religious” denomination, or earthly power that draws that power from men's superstitions about the supernatural and the natural. Using men's fear of the unknown, this “religious” order has committed fornication with the inhabitants of the earth, infecting the kings that rule the people to follow her without question. Fornication refers to worshiping of other gods, which take away from the glory of the True God of heaven. She has had power over the whole earth and has ruled them with an iron fist. I am reminded of the Middle Ages when a ruling theocracy held sway over the kings of nations and their armies to do her bidding. That same denomination will rise again and rule again once more along side the Beast power that supports her, but in the end, will destroy her with fire. Babylon is two identities that are linking and interwoven with one another...the first is Mystery Babylon, which this portion of scripture describes, and commercial Babylon, which is the secular portion of the union of church and state. Now where have I heard that before? Oh, yes, I know...during the rule of the “holy Roman Empire” headed by various popes,(a blend of church and state)
 
Mystery Babylon is described as a harlot, a woman, a mother, and a whore. Identified with Rome, she is guilty of abominations before God and will go down in total destruction from the Beast power that she used to control.
 
Commercial Babylon is a symbol of a great city. Is identified with a great port that accommodates large floating vessels of trade. She is a great marketplace, but guilty of greed and self indulgence and will be ultimately destroyed by God.
 
It is best to see them as intertwined, yet somewhat distinct. Religious Babylon of Revelation 17 is judged at the mid-point of the seven-year period of tribulation. Commercial Babylon is judged at the end of that period.
 
It is conceivable to think that Babylon may not be a actual city, as the ancient area of Babylon is in ruins, and even Saddam Hussein could not raise it. But many cities could qualify and the idea of it being New York, Mecca, or Rome could be what Jesus called this system, “the world”...not an actual city.
 
“When the Lord was here on earth He spoke of the great hatred that ‘the world’ had for Him and His own (John 15:18,19). What is this world but a combination of religion, government and commerce? In other words, Babylon in all its parts stands for that which Christ called ‘the world.’ ” (Barnhouse)
 
For me, the above verses relate to only one “woman” who has prostituted herself around the world and calls herself the “true church of Jesus Christ”. The above description if taken in comparison to what has happened in the past, and is happening right now, should give the reader a pretty good idea of who John is talking about, and who the angel reveals to him. As a religious system, Babylon came into being long before Christianity, but in Satanic imitation it anticipated the coming true Messiah. According to religious history and legend, the Babylonian religion was founded by the wife of Nimrod (a great-grandson of Noah), named Semiramis. She was a high priestess of idol worship, and she gave birth to a son who she claimed was conceived miraculously. The son, named Tammuz, was considered a savior. Many ancient artifacts remain with the familiar motif of the mother Semiramis holding the savior-infant Tammuz, which predate Christianity. It was also said that Tammuz was killed by a wild beast and then miraculously brought back to life. Baal was the local, Canaanite name for the Babylonian Tammuz.
 
The Bible makes specific mention of some of the features of the classic religion of Babylon:
 
Ezekiel protests against the ceremony of weeping for Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14)
 
– Jeremiah mentions the heathen practice of making cakes for the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 7:18) and offering incense to the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 44:17-19, 44:25) Sound familiar?
 
THIS HARLOT HAS DESTROYED MANY LIVES.
 
6 “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth” (Revelation 17:6-9)
 
Here the apostle writes of the woman drunken with the blood of saints, and only one religion that I can think of can be guilty of such high crimes. Some people try to say this is Islam, but the description does not fit the like of Islam, as she has never destroyed as many people, as has one religion that held sway over the whole known earth for 1500 years, long before Islam came on the scene, even though the Ottoman Empire did reign for a few hundreds years over a vast portion of the earth, they are not synonymous with this description. Today we have one religion that is calling all to come back to the “mother church' and create a one world religion of blended Protestantism, Catholicism, and a smorgasbord of other religions around the world. Many people believe that the woman is the Roman Catholic Church, and that may be totally true, but she is a conglomeration of many false religions blended into one with one man who will have complete control over how and what she does, and what she stands for, that is the False Prophet, who will be the head of a major religion and speak to bring worship to the Beast or the Anti-Christ.
 
This head of this one world religion sits on 7 mountains on which this woman sitteth. Many have postulated where this area will be...one is Rome...and there are many others, but we have to take all the clues and descriptions of who this woman is, before we can make a positive identification of who she is....Many believe that the identity is the Pope in Rome. Some will disagree, but we have to look at what is going on right now with Climate Change, the Sustainable Development, and Agenda 2030 that is designed to rule this world and monitor every man and woman on this planet to follow a set of rules they will set in place. And who is the spokesman for this world initiative? He spoke at the United Nations and promoting this One World System. None other than Pope Francis who has charged his priest to preach this message in all their churches.
 
The Catholic Review commented on this and said, “The unity of religion promoted by the Holy Father Pope John Paul II and approved by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not a goal to be achieved immediately, but a day may come when the love and compassion which both Buddha and Christ preached so eloquently will unite the world in a common effort to save humanity from senseless destruction, and lead toward the light in which we all believe.” This is continued to be promoted by the current pope in Rome. So they give honor to other religions to join them in creating a united religion. Can you say One World Religion as prophesied in the pages of your Bible?
 
WHO ARE THE SEVEN KINGS, AND IS THE EIGHTH KING?
 
10 “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”(Revelation 17:10-13)
 
This is most confusing passage that gives one pause of to what verse 10-11 mean. But the whole passage I pass onto a brother of mine that I posted his hypothesize of what and who this is referring to and I find most fascinating...you can find it in the following link:
http://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2016/09/rise-of-anti-christ.html
 
In the message, my brother makes a strong case of how and who will be the Anti-Christ AND the false prophet. Is he right? We won't know for sure, but make no mistake about it, this harlot church will be at the table of the power brokers when the world is ultimately united by force and deceit.
 
14” These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:15-18)
 
Referring back to the battle of Armageddon, where Jesus comes in all His glory surrounded by the Church Saints that have been raptured 7 years prior, as this will be spoken of in detail in chapter 19, but notice that the destruction of the whore will be accomplished when the secular Beast will destroy the religion of the harlot and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire. Mystery Babylon will be decimated and the Beast will demand worship of himself completely wishing not to have anyone stand in front of him, as Satan has indwelt this monster of a man who has desired worship since his fall from heaven and being an ark angel before God.
 
The woman has been identified, her destruction is sure. The Beast power will eventually be destroyed as well, when Jesus comes to reign and rule for a thousand years, but we will cover that when next time, we look at the next two chapters to see the final end of the One World System with its government and its false religion. Stay tuned as we explore the coming “Return of Jesus Christ”, next time. See you then.
 
This is pastor Mike Taylor, praying that you never see what I have described....to escape the coming wrath of God, admit that you are a sinner, repent of those sins and ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior, by faith accept His mercy and grace.....
 
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 3:16-18)
 
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.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”(Romans 10:8-13)
 
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”(2nd Corinthians 6:2)
 
 If you need prayer, counseling, or just a friendly listening ear, email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com. God bless you all, TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET.

​The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown - Pete Garcia - https://www.rev310.com/2020/12/the-cradle-the-cross-and-the-crown-3
 
First published December 1st, 2014. Updated for 2020.
 
After the year we’ve had, it is time we enjoy this hard-earned Christmas Season. 2020 has definitely been an exceedingly difficult year for many. As we reflect on the prophetic promise fulfilled in Christ’s first coming let us take hope in His promise to come again.
 
It is often fitting for Christian households and churches to focus on the first coming of Jesus Christ. In times past, and perhaps, not as much anymore, there used to be some common signs that we were in the season of our Lord’s birth.
 
The sight of manger scenes in town squares all across America, and also in front of churches from all denominations. Christmas cards bearing the Star or the three Wise men were passed amongst believers during this season. Preachers preached mostly from Matthew 1-2 or Luke 1, while churches held their annual cantatas, and the sounds of “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” filled the ears of believers around the world. Bethlehem, Israel, once again becomes the focus of the world stage, as Christians flock to see the Church of the Nativity, which is currently being held hostage by the Palestinians.
 
However, by 2020 standards, our westernized way of life has largely become post-modern and post-Christian. The gaining worldview is that Christ is too controversial. Christianity is too exclusive and divisive. Christians are too intolerant. Thus, everything is watered down so as not to offend. Furthermore, paganism is on the rise again and rivals everything we thought we knew about the season with the offerings of Saturnalia and the winter solstice. Controversy sweeps in as Christian families become divided over things like gift-giving, Christmas trees, and whether we keep up pretenses about ‘Old Saint Nick.’
 
This controversy was not a surprise to God. Jesus said,
 
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. Matthew 10:34-36
 
But the world will only tolerate two forms of the real Christ. The first is Christ as a baby. The second is a Christ dying on a cross. The former, because babies are deemed helpless. The latter, because it presumably shows Christ’s defeat. However, as believers, we know this is far from true. Even as a newborn babe, Jesus (Yeshua), was already fulfilling numerous Old Testament prophecies (Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, Jeremiah 31:15, Hosea 11:1, etc.). The Incarnation (God putting on flesh) in the form of Jesus through a virgin birth, was the only hope mankind had for redemption. It was the four-thousand-year-old fulfillment of the first prophecy/promise God made in the Bible. In the Garden of Eden, God said this to the Serpent (Satan);
 
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.
 
Genesis 3:15
 
The Cradle
 
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5
 
When the fullness of time had come…is a phrase so packed with meaning that it would not be possible to break it all down in the limited space (or ability) I have at my disposal. But it speaks to the eternal purpose of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind, and of all the created order. It speaks to the specific moments on mankind’s timeline, where (and when) God would intervene in a supernatural and visible way, to put feet to His plan. Dr. Andy Wood’s makes much use of this phrase in his teachings, and really brought to my mind, the preciseness and purpose for why God chose that particular time frame for Christ’s first coming. Consider these points:
 
·      Since Alexander the Great, Koine Greek had become the predominant language in the Mediterranean. Koine Greek is a very precise language which is perfect for capturing the original intent and meaning of the Scriptures…no matter which language they get translated into in the future.
·      The Roman republic form of government ends under Julius Caesar and he creates a total dynastic dictatorship under what would become the rule of the Caesars. Christ was born and dies under the reign of a Caesar, and will return one day when another Caesar (Antichrist) who has set his empire up over the entire world.
·      The Romans perfected the creation of the road networks, which spanned the boundaries of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Europe, and even up into Britain.
·      Israel remained under the subjugation of Gentile powers (as described in Daniel 2:31-45, 7, 8, & 11) which had played out from the time of their exile to Babylon (605-539BC)
·      Looking at it from a holistic point of view, there is a lot of commonalities for why Christ came when He did. There was a common language (Koine Greek), an advanced network for travel (all roads lead to Rome), a dominant pagan world power (fertile fields no doubt), and Israel in the final years before her diaspora.
 
While there is still some debate as to exactly which year Christ was born in, all we know for sure is that when He was born, the nation of Israel wasn’t expecting it. We know from the world’s perspective, the birth of Christ in some backwater province of the Roman Empire, did not even register as a blip on their geopolitical radar.
 
We know Christ lived up unto the age of 30 virtually as an unknown, before exploding onto the scene to present the world with 3 ½ years of God in the flesh, ministry. At the end of that, He managed to make the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots mad enough to trump up false charges and have Him brought before the Sanhedrin to be tried as a political prisoner.
 
The Cross
 
In Genesis 49, we see Jacob blessing his sons who would become the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. When Jacob came to bless Judah, he gave him an interesting prophecy;
 
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
 
Modern Jewish scholars today will refute that Christ is the Messiah because their argument is that the ‘scepter’ departed from Judah back in 605BC when the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. Furthermore, from then, until 1948, the Jewish nation had been under some form of Gentile domination. All that is true.
 
But what is also true is that the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans allowed the Jews to have a form of semi-autonomous rule over themselves (Zerubbabel, Ezra, Maccabeus) up until King Herod Archelaus was removed from power by Julius Caesar in 6AD (Josephus, Antiquities 17:13). That’s when the Jews lost any remaining semblance of autonomy and were subject to a series of Roman procurators with Pontius Pilate being the most famous.
 
When Christ came, the Jews were either not anticipating the coming of their Messiah, or had largely ignored the literal fulfillment of the prophecies pertaining to His coming (Matt. 2:3-8). They thought they had lost their right to wield capital punishment on Him, which is partially why they no longer believed the Messiah would come. This is why when they finally did get the chance to kill Him, they had to turn it over to Pilate for the official sentencing.
 
Now, that didn’t stop them previously from trying to stone Him to death on a couple of prior occasions when they were riled up, but He always managed to allude them (John 8:58-59, 10:30-33). They (the Sanhedrin) didn’t want to crucify Him on Passover because of the negative publicity, but again, the timing was such that God orchestrated everything to coincide with exactly the Passover Feast. (Mark 14:1-2; 1 Cor. 2:6-8)
 
Also, in Numbers 24:17, the prophet Balaam prophesied that this same scepter would be accompanied by a Star, by which the wise men (Matt. 2:2) would later use to know where this One born King of the Jews, would be found.
 
“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult
 
The victory at the Cross represented something much more significant than a literal kingdom on earth (which is still to come), but that Christ conquered death and hell. (Rev. 1:18) Because Christ had to be a man to die for the rest of mankind as our Kinsman Redeemer, Christ willingly endured the joy set before Him, in order to pay the price for OUR salvation. (Lev. 25; Heb. 12:2; Rev. 5:6-10) It would be equivalent to God rigging a game that placed all of the burden and rules against Himself so that by His losing, we win. Christ trading His own perfect holiness, for our sinful and corrupted lives, is oft referred to as the most lopsided trade in all of recorded history. And yet, that is exactly what transpired. We don’t think about it this way, but God the Son, traded His former estate, to take on forever, that of God in a glorified human body.
 
The Crown
 
I’ve often heard Amillennialists and Preterists state emphatically, that Christ will not return to rule and reign on earth because they say that we are in the Kingdom already. I couldn’t disagree more. The Scriptures tell us, that this world, is currently (and temporarily) under the sway and control of Satan himself (Luke 4:5-6; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 5:19; Rev. 2:13). And as much as these Christian-skeptics might wish, the Cross didn’t usher in some Edenic age where lambs lay down with wolves, children play with cobras, and nations beat their swords into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4, 11:2-8).
 
Any theological interpretation or hermeneutic that detracts from the certainty that God Himself will right all the wrongs, and restore nature back to its original order, is heresy. Any teaching that states anything less than the literal fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom on the earth, is to depart from the plain reading of the text and making it allegorical folly.
 
It was to King David that God said, “And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.” (1 Chron. 17:11) God states over and over, that the Kingdom Come is not established by man or by earthly efforts, but by God Himself (Dan. 2:44-45; Psalm 2; Rev. 19:11-16). Christian liberals and skeptics have introduced this idea that the Kingdom is purely spiritual, and they ignorantly argue that the Kingdom is now in play, however, only in the heavenly realms. They do this by taking several texts out of context such as Luke 17:20-22 and Romans 14:17. If those who deny the coming, literal Millennial Kingdom on earth had their way;
 
Christ would only come to earth to die, and not to reign; for Christ to be born ‘King of the Jews’, but to not actually become “King of the Jews”; for Him to ride a donkey, but not a white horse; for Christ to be spat on, beaten, and hang naked upon a cross of shame, but not to return in triumphal glory coming on the clouds with the armies of heaven behind Him. If Christ doesn’t return, then He remains defeated on the earth that He spoke into existence, that God’s word does not mean what it says, and that God can break unbreakable promises.
 
The reason that men and women promote these heretical teachings, is because man-made religion, be it Roman Catholic or Protestant, has become too invested in the things of this world. They want life to continue on in some endless cycle of man rising and falling (2 Peter 3). They depart from a plain reading of the text and insert their own interpretations, which supplants God’s promise to return in victory and claim what is rightfully His. Not only to claim what is rightfully His, but also that every knee should bow, whether it is in heaven, on earth, under the earth. Throughout all of creation, all will confess that Jesus Christ is King (Philippians 2:9-11).
 
So are these skeptics and liberals (who deny that Christ will literally return and rule on the earth) saying that Christ is free to rule everywhere, but the earth?
 
The Christ-rejecting world, as well as those Christians who have fallen into spiritual slumber, will be astonished in that Day when Christ comes for His Church. Because that Day opens the window of time for Daniel’s 70th Week (the Tribulation) to begin. The Rapture doesn’t begin the Tribulation, but it clears the path for it, as the Church must be removed prior to the start of that final week of years.
 
After the Rapture, perhaps a few days, weeks, months, years after, the seven-year Tribulation will begin just as it has been foretold in Daniel 9:27. The final seven-years will be the most horrifying, ferocious, and disturbing time humanity has ever experienced (Matt. 24:21-22). God will accomplish two things by it; first, He disciplines the nation of Israel, and secondly, He destroys all the Gentile nations round about her, by bringing the whole Babylonian system crashing to the ground (Jer. 30:7-11).
 
It is noted by the Old Testament Prophets, that THAT DAY will begin in unimaginable calamity, perhaps masking the Church’s departure. The prophet Joel records…“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.” Paul writes that “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
 
Make no mistake that the Lord will return and will come with the clouds and in great power and glory. Christ will come and reclaim that which was lost with Adam. He has the title deed to the earth. He no longer wears the crown of thorns, but now wears ‘many crowns’, meaning He has ALL authority. When the prophet Isaiah saw the throne room, he was undone. When the holy prophet Daniel sees the throne room, he was shaken. When John sees the glorified Christ in all His splendor, he falls over as dead. How much more traumatized will an unrepentant, Christ-rejecting world be when it sees the sky splitting open and Christ returning in power and glory?
 
The whole world will mourn (Rev. 1:7). The world at this moment doesn’t care. The religious academics try to minimalize or explain-away His soon coming with fanciful wordsmithing. Those actively opposed to Christ, who loathe Him, are filled with anger because they know deep down that this age is coming to an end. Thus, they are ramping up their evil plans in these final moments…
 
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:11-16

The Top 3 Prophetic News Headlines of 2020 - Britt Gillette - http://www.end-times-bible-prophecy.com/the-top-3-prophetic-news-headlines-of-2020.html
 
The number one sign of the Second Coming is the convergence of all the signs Jesus and the prophets said to look for. Jesus said, "When you see all these things take place, look up! Your salvation draws near" (Luke 21:28). What are the things Jesus and the prophets said to look for? Israel back in the land (Jeremiah 23:7-8)... The Jewish people back in control of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24)... The Gospel being preached to the whole world (Matthew 24:14)... And more. Today, we see these signs. Because we do, we can be confident we live in the season of His return. But Jesus cited other signs too. So did the prophets. And we see those signs as well. As 2020 draws to a close, what were the biggest prophetic news stories? Below is a list of what I believe were the top three:
 
1) The COVID-19 Pandemic
 
The current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is not one of the specific events prophesied in the Bible for the seven-year Tribulation. The world simply hasn't entered that time period yet. However, it is significant to bible prophecy, because it sets the stage for the near-term fulfillment of many end times bible prophecies. This isn't surprising. Politicians take advantage of times of turmoil, disaster, and fear to implement changes people otherwise wouldn't accept.
 
Since the coronavirus pandemic, politicians all over the world have used their power to implement draconian lockdowns of local populations. Countries such as Italy, Spain, and France announced nationwide lockdowns, ordering all "non-essential" workers to stay home and shelter in place. Draconian restrictions governed when people could leave their homes and who they could interact with. Police raided private residences to break up illegal parties, and many people turned in their neighbors.
 
While the deadliness of the pandemic has waned since the spring, government lockdowns and COVID regulations keep coming. In the United States, governors continue to issue onerous rules for how and when restaurants and other businesses can operate. They regularly trample on the First Amendment freedoms of assembly and worship. In fact, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recently said Nevada treats casinos more favorably than houses of worship. All these government orders are an attack on personal freedom and liberty, drawing us down the road toward dictatorship.
 
The word "coronavirus" doesn't appear in the Bible, and it's not one of the monumental events of the Tribulation. However, the coronavirus is one of the general signs Jesus said to look for. When asked to describe the signs of His coming, Jesus cited pandemics just like the one we're experiencing now as a major sign (Luke 21:11).
 
2) Calls for Government-Backed Cryptocurrencies
 
The coronavirus has also led to something else - an acceleration in the push for digital currency, also known as cryptocurrency. The use of paper currency has declined dramatically in this new era of online ordering and social distancing. Paper currency is a haven for bacteria and viruses, and many claim it could accelerate the spread of coronavirus. Because of this, look for more and more politicians to call for an end to using paper currency.
 
The end of paper currency and its replacement with government-sponsored cryptocurrency will put unlimited power at the fingertips of government leaders. Not only does cryptocurrency offer a way to permanently record every financial transaction, but it will also enable the government to track where you go and what you do. It will track the websites you visit and make note of who your friends are. While most of this information is already available through tracking of credit cards, debit cards, mobile phones, and social media profiles, a state-sponsored cryptocurrency will provide unfettered government access to this information. It will create a closed, government-controlled economic system where you'll be dependent on the government's cryptocurrency to pay for all your needs.
 
If the government decides they don't like you, they'll be able turn off your access and freeze you out of the economic system. They'll be able to decide what you can and can't buy. They'll be able to tell you where you can and can't go. In essence, they'll have complete control over your life. And while I'd like to think we can take measures to avoid it, the rise of government-sponsored cryptocurrency is inevitable.
 
Long ago, the Book of Revelation foretold the establishment of an end times economic system eerily similar to a world dominated by government-sponsored cryptocurrency. The Bible says a time will come when a global dictator will require everyone on earth to receive a mark on the right hand or the forehead (Revelation 13:16). Without this mark, the people of the world will be unable to buy or sell anything (Revelation 13:17). How will this work? It remains to be seen. But the worldwide rush to create government-sponsored cryptocurrencies provides us with a glimpse as to how such a system might work. And right now, the world's central banks are devising plans to roll this system out.
 
3) Peace Treaties with Israel
 
In recent decades, no area of the world has been home to more conflict and ongoing animosity than the Middle East. A cauldron of ethnic, political, and religious clashes, many believe the spark that ignites World War III will come from the Middle East. Central to the region's ongoing conflicts are Muslim hostility toward Israel and disputes over control of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. These are the exact events the Bible says will happen in the last days. The Bible says Jerusalem will be "like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger" (Zechariah 12:2-3). That's precisely what we've seen. Yet, the Bible also says an Israeli peace treaty plays a central and pivotal role in the end times.
 
Over 2,500 years ago, Daniel said a mighty ruler will enter into a covenant or a treaty with Israel for a period of seven years (Daniel 9:27). This treaty will kick off the seven-year Tribulation and make the ruler behind it a major player on the world stage. Who is this ruler? None other than "the man of lawlessness" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) himself - the Antichrist.
 
2020 has brought peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kosovo, Serbia, Morocco, and Sudan - with the prospect of more nations joining in the near future. Do any of the recent peace agreements qualify as the Daniel 9:27 treaty? Some say yes. They point out that the Daniel 9:27 treaty is a covenant made "with many," and that's what we see. But that's where the similarities begin and end. These peace agreements are not the treaty described in Daniel 9:27 - at least not yet.
 
The treaty outlined in Daniel 9:27 is set for a specific period of time - seven years. None of the recent peace deals with Israel mention a period of seven years. Also, the man behind the treaty of Daniel 9:27 is a specific individual - the Antichrist.
 
The driving diplomatic force behind these peace agreements has been the Trump administration, and Donald Trump is not the Antichrist. Despite what many of his political opponents may think or say, he simply doesn't fit the profile. The Bible describes the life and times of the Antichrist. It provides details in regard to his ethnic background and political career. Donald Trump doesn't fit the description.
 
The Bible says the Antichrist will be the leader of a revived Roman Empire (Daniel 7). He will come from among the people of the Italian peninsula (Daniel 9:26), and He will be called the Assyrian (Isaiah 10:12; Daniel 8:9). Furthermore, the Bible says the Antichrist will emerge from a group of ten kings (Daniel 7:7-8), and not all of these ten kings will willingly cede their power. Three will oppose him (Daniel 7:8). None of these verses describe Donald Trump.
 
So unless a dramatic change takes place, the recent Israeli peace agreements are not the treaty described in Daniel 9:27. However, that doesn't mean they don't have prophetic significance. In all likelihood, they lay the groundwork for the treaty Israel will eventually sign with the Prince of Darkness.
 
We'll have to wait and see what further developments take place before we can know for sure. Remember, the Bible doesn't say the Antichrist will "create" a covenant with Israel, it says he will "confirm" a covenant "with many" (Daniel 9:27). So the recent Israeli peace agreements may well be the foundation for Israel's treaty with the Antichrist.
 
What to Look for in 2020
 
Hopefully, Jesus will return in the last few days of 2020. But whether He does or doesn't, expect these same trends to continue in 2021. Look for the coronavirus pandemic to accelerate the trend toward increasing government power. More and more people have come to tolerate government mandates, bailouts, and censorship. Included in these government power grabs will be the eventual rollout of government-backed cryptocurrencies as a replacement for paper currencies. When this happens, all freedom and liberty will disappear. Governments will have complete control over their citizens. Against this backdrop, we see the groundwork being laid for the peace treaty that will kick off the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27). Combine these developments with countless others foretold in the Bible, and we can know the rapture, the Tribulation, and the Second Coming draw near. This is why the #1 thing you should look for in 2021 is the return of our Savior. As we enter a new year, all the signs tell us, "Jesus is coming!"

Gaslighting the Slow Burn - Pete Garcia - https://www.rev310.com/2020/12/gaslighting-the-slow-burn
 
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of reality, or memories. People experiencing gaslighting often feel confused, anxious, and unable to trust themselves. (Source)
 
Slow burn is a gradual building up of anger, as opposed to an immediate outburst.
 
The political year 2020 was the culmination of a nearly four-year coup d’état by the left to depose President Donald J. Trump and his MAGA agenda from office. By the left, I mean Democrats, Progressives, Globalists, Deep State Intelligentsia, Swamp bureaucrats, Technocrats, Hollywood elitists, and socialist Academia. Their unconstrained, belligerent, and irrational hatred for the man himself eroded any pretenses that we were a united nation. What their increasingly irrational behavior exposed, was the two separate agendas vying for control over these United States. Their increasingly unhinged behavior also signaled they would stoop to any level, use any tactic, and destroy everything in their path to achieve said stated goal of dethroning Trump.
 
The defeat of their presumptive progressive queen in 2016 was tragedy beyond measure. It was unthinkable. It was unfathomable. For nearly a year leading up to the election, leftists and liberals in their mainstream echo chambers had been fed a continual firehose of propaganda promising nothing short of landslide Clinton victory. From pollsters and experts to movie stars and the state-run media, the Clinton victory was as sure as the sun rising in the east the next morning. These same experts had Trump’s chances of winning hovering somewhere south of zero. Yet, by 2 AM on November 7th, Hillary Clinton had conceded and Trump won the office as the incoming 45th-president with 304 Electoral College votes.
 
His victory was so shocking that even Trump himself was surprised. He, along with his campaign chief Stephen Bannon, were sure the fix was in for HRC from the outset. He must have assumed, like the two-failed Republican establishment candidates before him (McCain and Romney), he too would lose against the overwhelmingly crooked Democrat political leviathan. Yet the media, the Democrats, and even Trump underestimated the righteous anger of the so-called deplorables residing in flyover-country.
 
Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was once purported to have said (upon their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor), I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve. In 1941, this sleeping giant was the United States writ large. In 2016, this sleeping giant was the forgotten man. By 2020, this sleeping giant was American’s of all stripes, mortified at what the left was selling, and where they were promising to take us. This prospective future filled us with a terrible resolve.
 
Trump won in 2016 with 68M votes. Trump won in 2020, with nearly 80M votes. This increase of nearly 12M votes, was because Americans of every stripe were finally waking up and realizing just how off course our nation had become prior to 2016. Trump understood there was real anger out in the hinterland, but even he initially underestimated just how much anger was out there. Nor would he realize just how momentous his actions as president would come to be over the next four years.
 
Prior to 2020, most Americans, particularly those who never served in the military before, had no idea just how draconian our own government could be. Thus, life under the new normal of COVID-19(84) restrictions and subsequent state and national lockdowns was shocking. Most had innocently assumed the Constitution and our Bill of Rights were safeguards against tyranny. However, what Americans failed to understand was the insidious nature of the slow creep of tyranny growing like mold in the dark, damp, corners of our nation. Little did we know that the tyranny would not always come from our government, but from the technocracy, which grew in its shadow, being nurtured primarily by a transforming Democrat party. We did not understand how the left would use technology to silence and censor dissenting voices until they started doing it to people beyond the Alex Jones’ of the world.
 
Most Americans are unaware of a decline in individual liberty, and the reason is obvious: the decline rarely takes the form of sudden personal deprivations but, instead, takes the form of unnoticed erosion, and thus we come, as do the Russians, to regard whatever state we are in as a normal condition. Leonard E. Read
 
Most law-abiding citizens, believed the government excuse for this gradual encroachment upon our civil liberties, was ‘necessary’ for our own safety (e.g., Patriot Act). Fair to say, by 2020, the average American, who just wants to live peaceably, make an honest living, raise a family, and leave his children in a better place than he inherited, is increasingly frustrated and disenfranchised. Something was wrong with our nation. Something was turning sour, and many could not put their fingers on exactly what that was until just recently.
 
For example, let us symbolize the United States as a sickly woman. She wasn’t always sickly, but due to decades of neglect and a steady, force-fed diet of globalism, socialism, post-modernism, atheism, and other assorted ideological toxins, she began to succumb to the poisons. The Republican establishment was content to ignore the cause and simply apply bandages to the wounds. The Democrats, not content with just bandages, also insisted on doping her with an assortment of drugs. Trump’s treatment called for pulling the bandage off, treating the festering wounds directly, and exposing the problem causing the problems in the first place. The treatment was painful and unpleasant, but it was necessary. He had campaigned on the promise to drain the swamp, but even he could not have known just how deep and dark the swamp had become.
 
By the end of 2020, any pretenses that we were still a united, civilized country, died on the vine. What the faux pandemic provided globalists in terms of crisis management, was the opportunity to exercise naked aggression in the form of draconian governance. Similarly, the death of George Floyd provided anarchists and communists the opportunity to tear down the remaining foundations of our shared history. Not only were these anarchists and globalists supported by the usual suspects, Democrats, and establishment-type ‘squish’ republicans, but also, ironically, by corporate America. Professional social media sites like LinkedIn began filling up with social justice propaganda as one Fortune 500 company after another kowtowed to the pressure of the masses, even if diametrically opposed to their bottom line.
 
Leftist terrorists (BLM, Antifa) were finally given full license and political top cover from their Democrat handlers to go on a scorched earth mission. Nothing was sacred. Not the statues of Frederick Douglass, Christopher Columbus, George Washington, nor iconic brands like Aunt Jemima, Gone with the Wind, or the Washington Redskins. Cancel culture reigned supreme for the waning months of 2020. Average Americans watched both in amazement and disgust, at the hypocritical silence of the media and the politicians who said nothing about the dangers of super-spreading events like riots and lootings, yet chastised us on the dangers of mom-pop stores, churches, and having family over for holiday.
 
For leftists, facts do not matter. They did not care that Trump was reviving the economy at a record pace after eight years of mismanagement by the Obamanation. For leftists, truth does not matter. They do not care that there are biologically only two-genders or that the family is the building block of a nation. All that matters to the left is restoring their nearly century-long goose-stepped march toward a one, world government.
 
Sounds crazy, because it is crazy. The left wants a one-world government. But why?
 
First, we must just accept the reality that we are in a spiritual battle. The modern military prides itself in trying to master every domain of battlespace: land, sea, air, cyber, subterranean, and space. However, the most important battle space they are purposely ignoring (due to political correctness) is the spiritual domain. There is no getting around this reality- spiritual warfare is the primary and dominant form of warfare on the planet. It is the WHY communism exists; WHY terrorists do what they do: WHY globalists are so compelled to rush towards a one-world government: WHY everything becomes corrupted.
 
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
 
Second, to achieve this, leftism (left of center politics) advocates for strong, governmental control. Let me rephrase, they want strong governmental control, as long as they control the government. The idea that ‘government knows better,’ is rooted in the human politics of envy and bitterness. Like any good cult, leftists never speak plainly nor honestly. They hide the true definition of their intent behind the common, non-offensive language. If the left really said what they meant, leftism as an ideology would be vanquished like a fart in the wind.
 
However, the foundation of leftism is really, rather simple, and it is the pettiest of sins, envy (you have, I want). Rather, leftism (in all its varying shades) is redefined and masked with honorable terms like equity, equality, community, sustainable development, and so on to hide its true intentions. Even terms, which in the past always had negative connotations such as socialism, have come full circle and been linguistically spun as some new noble endeavor. However, what is socialism? Let us go to an expert on the subject and see.
 
The goal of socialism is communism. Vladimir Lenin
 
The 20th-century is chock-full of examples of the absolute misery and devastation, communism wreaked upon a given population. Anywhere from 100-200M, people have died under communist regimes, whether through governmental violence, war, or just outright incompetence. Communism is the worst form of government ever constructed by mankind. It is the worst, because its foundations are built entirely on the false premises that man is inherently good, and we can rule ourselves apart from our Creator. Socialism always leads to tyranny, and this tyranny always ends up in the hands of one person. This is the world leftists want to make for the 21st-century.
 
By 2020, anyone who dared speak out against the growing tyranny was quickly labeled conspiracy theorists and kooks. These political watchmen were quickly silenced, shunned, and relegated to the fringes of society in the hopes they just go away. The marketplace of ideas, once a beacon of free speech and opposing opinions was quickly becoming cluttered with catchy marketing ads, memes, and soundbites drowning out any single individual from being heard. It also became intolerant to any who spoke against going with the flow. We then began to discover through WikiLeaks, Project Veritas, and other truth-forums just how bad the corruption really was. Our nation was founded on the rule of law, however, what we have come to discover, is that “the law” was not equally applicable. There was a privilege to be had; yet, this systemic privilege was not based on race, but on wealth and title. Especially if you were a democrat.
 
The results? We are witnessing in real-time, the dissolving, or dissolution, of the United States from within. There will be no happy ending to our American dream. This is not just my pessimism run amuck; this is war. The three parties involved in this cultural, governmental, and societal war, are the Republican Party (who is content to fight this war to a stalemate), the Democrats (willing to suicide the nation for total victory, and Trump (in it for total victory to preserve the nation). This leaves us with three opposing agendas and three destinies.
 
Conclusion
 
There is good news and bad news.
 
The bad news is, even if Trump wins reelection (as I believe he will), the left will reconstitute their forces and either try more desperate measures to destroy the man and his legacy. They are left with three options: assassinate him, suicide our currency or civil war. As of 2020, the US is $27T in debt. Our national debt is both a massive, unstable, unsustainable liability, as well as a threat to our national security that nations like China, Iran, Russia, etc., will seek to exploit. This seems like the next most likely vulnerability they will go after.
 
With nearly half of the US population ideologically opposed to both our history and our future as a nation, leftists have already mentally seceded from our nation and are increasingly comfortable with open conflict. The right (or just average Americans) are equally becoming more emboldened to fight back against the dying of the light. This does not bode well for our nation, and as President Abraham Lincoln once said (quoting Jesus Christ), a house divided cannot stand. I think either way this election turns out, civil war is a growing potentiality.
 
To play devil’s advocate, if I were a globalist elitist and I wanted a one-world government, my first agenda is to create a one-world economy. This begins by multinational and transnational banking and economics. However, my main obstacle would be the United States, which means I need to make the US a non-factor in global affairs. If I could not get my Manchurian candidate into the highest office to help suicide the nation (e.g., Obama/Clinton/Biden/Harris), then I would need to make such a crisis that the US was permanently sidelined. Many believe that the China-virus was created to do just this. Others believe it is a precursor (or test run) for a coming future crisis. Since the left has already tried personal smears, investigations, impeachment, and stealing the election (theft from a thousand frauds) to stop Trump, the only options they have left are to kill the man, kill the currency, or create a civil war. If Trump is reelected, then any of these last three avenues are on the table. Regardless, these are simply means to an end. Ultimately, their goal is the dissolution of these United States.
 
The good news is they do not get to control the narrative; God does (see also Psalm 2).
 
God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings. Acts 17:24-26
 
The nation(s) may rage and the odds may seem overwhelmingly stacked against us, but this is ALL smoke and mirrors. The truth is Christ has already won the victory back on Calvary some 2,000 years ago. Everything since has been the writhing and thrashing of a headless snake. When God spoke to Satan just after Adam and Eve’s fall, He told Satan that he would bruise His (Jesus’) heel, but He (Jesus) would crush his head (Genesis 3:15). Satan is defeated and is frantically trying to counter this reality by using humans to bring this final kingdom into play earlier, rather than at its appointed time (the 70th Week). God sets the times and boundaries for nations, not Satan.
 
However, God has allowed Satan to temporarily run this world. He is completely devoted to gaslighting the redeemed in these last days into believing either we are crazy or delusional for believing God is in control. We exist in a physical, natural, fallen creation that operates under the constraints God put in place after the fall of Adam. Thus, we are confined to enemy territory. I see us very much like prisoners of war in a concentration camp, grinding out an existence while the guards and everyone else walks free without a care in the world. However, the war is already over, and their side lost. We are just waiting for the victors to come through and crush them, and liberate us.
 
God will control what the final crisis is that brings about the conditions for the Tribulation, not Satan. God will continue to use Donald Trump (as He has been) for as long as He wants to, regardless of how impossible His reelection seems now. Remember, God, specializes in the ridiculous. God flooded the entire world. On two separate occasions, God took a slave and made him the second most important leader in two different superpowers (Egypt and Babylon). God parted the Red Seas. He used a young boy to kill a seasoned, giant, warrior. He used a burning bush to speak. God has taken people alive (bypassing death) into heaven and translating them from mortal to immortal on the way up. God has promised to do that with an entire generation of believers.
 
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. Revelation 3:10-11

​Apocalyptic Overtones - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/12/20/apocalyptic-overtones-by-daymond-duck/
 
The word “revelation” comes from the Greek word “apokalupsis,” and it means the unveiling or disclosing.
 
The Book of Revelation begins with these words: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John” (Rev. 1:1).
 
This can be taken two ways: 1) As the disclosure of information about Jesus, and 2) As the disclosure of what God intends to do, starting with the Church Age and running through the beginning of the New Heaven and New Earth.
 
It is my opinion that current events are pointing the world to what the Book of Revelation says, and the Book of Revelation tells us what God said must shortly come to pass.
 
Put another way, we are no longer in a normal world; we are in a world that is in transition.
 
We are receiving apocalyptic overtones (or warnings) from God, and as disturbing as this transition and these warnings are, they are child’s play compared to what is coming.
 
Here are some of the most recent events that caught my attention:
 
One, on Dec. 11, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Texas’ lawsuit against Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia.
 
The court did not deny that Texas has evidence of widespread voter fraud (Texas had an abundance of evidence, and other groups do too); the Supreme Court just refused to hear the evidence (this is what most courts have done).
 
The battle is not over, but it will take a miracle for Trump to win, and that is in God’s hands (Sydney Powell still has cases pending in Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia; Republicans seated delegates in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona that voted for Trump in opposition to the Democrat delegates; an evaluation of the Dominion voting system used in Antrim County, Michigan, found an error rate that exceeded 68% by shifting thousands of Trump votes to Biden, and a judge has issued an order for the evaluation data to be released).
 
As I see it, Trump has been standing in the way of the shadow government’s plan to establish a world government.
 
There are people (called globalists) that want all the power, all the money, and to tell everyone what to believe and how to live.
 
This is not a conspiracy theory.
 
Politicians issuing unscientific job-destroying lockdown orders and social-distancing orders (that they themselves do not obey) to enrich their rich friends and doners, and impoverish the middle class, are evidence, and it will get much worse.
 
It is a forerunner of the Apocalypse with its Satanic world government and religion.
 
It is an effort to fundamentally change this world (legalize abortions, LGBTQ rights, drugs, rebellion against the God of the Bible, divide Israel, etc.).
 
The world’s most powerful people are trying to establish a government that owns everything and leaves ordinary citizens with owning nothing.
 
Sydney Powell recently said powerful elites have been using the Dominion voting systems to stay in power around the world for 15-20 years to control elections and elect and re-elect themselves and their friends.
 
Globalists intend to number people, mark people, subdue people, control people, change people’s DNA, control people’s healthcare, replace cash with a digital currency, decide who can buy and sell, lockdown and silence the Church, tell people who to worship, etc.
 
Trump was a major impediment to their plan from Hell (Biden supports most of it), and it now looks like America’s corrupt election has put the globalists’ “Great Reset” on a fast track.
 
Many Americans will never accept Biden’s presidency as legitimate; his health and corruption will not let him be president very long. He will be replaced, and America’s leading role in the world will likely be replaced by several leaders (perhaps 10) from a handful of nations.
 
Here is the good news: This world is not the Christian’s home, and the success of the voter fraud seems to indicate that true Christians will soon be going home.
 
Dislike their sin if you want, but pray for them because the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, will soon hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And they will say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Rev. 6:15-16).
 
Two, it has been reported that Gen. Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor to Pres. Trump, said in an Op-ed that was published on Dec. 10, 2020, “We do not want a world governed by tyrants whom no one has elected and who want to have power to destroy us. We understand what their plan is: to eliminate dissent, subdue any criticism and outlaw those who do not submit unconditionally to the dictatorship of the ‘new world order.’”
 
These are apocalyptic overtones from a former advisor to the Pres. of the U.S., or I don’t know what the words mean.
 
Three, on Dec. 6, 2020, Israel’s Prime Min. Netanyahu displayed a proclamation that will be prominently displayed on the wall of Israel’s Cabinet room to honor Pres. Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
 
The proclamation will be displayed next to a proclamation recognizing Pres. Truman’s May 14, 1948, recognition of Israel as a nation.
 
What these two presidents have done is considered two of the greatest events in the history of Israel.
 
Pres. Trump has also recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Israel’s right to large areas of Judea and Samaria, withdrawn from the Iranian Nuclear Deal, and obtained normalization agreements between Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE.
 
Sudan and Morocco have agreed to sign a normalization agreement.
 
On Dec. 12, 2020, the Kingdom of Bhutan signed a normalization agreement.
 
If Jordan and Egypt are included, Israel will soon have agreements with 7 nations (Two more appear to be waiting in the wings: Oman and Indonesia, making it 9).
 
We are not seeing the covenant with many, but we are seeing many nations moving toward peace with Israel and agreeing to a covenant of peace that will allow all faiths to worship on the Temple Mount (this is opening the door for a rebuilt Temple, and I believe it will be hurriedly rebuilt during the Apocalypse).
 
Four, I do not know what to think about this next item, but it is so serious, I have decided to pass it on just to make people aware in case something happens.
 
On Dec. 8, 2020, it was reported that the U.S. has been positioning large numbers of troops, equipment and supplies in the continental U.S. and Aircraft carriers off the east and west coasts of the U.S. in case the U.S. Supreme Court voids the election (see raptureready.com End Times News, Dec. 11, 2020).
 
According to the report, rumors are circulating that some Democrats are planning to ask the UN to remove Trump from office, if the U.S. Supreme Court voids the election.
 
This sounds absurd, but absurdity is becoming common in the U.S., and considering everything the Democrats have done to remove Trump in the last 4 years, why would they stop just because the U.S. Supreme Court voids the election?
 
Five, on Dec. 6, 2020, Pastor John MacArthur told his congregation, the world’s governments “have done something that’s never been done in human history. That is, they have made the issue (of Covid) and the response global. Now we are a global world. And that is a setup that we’ve been waiting for through redemptive history since the Lord promised that there would come, in the future, an Antichrist who would have a global government.”
 
Six, on Dec. 9, 2020, it was reported that former VP Biden said he will sign an order on day one of his administration (if he has one) to require people in federal buildings, on planes, trains, buses, and wherever possible to wear masks for the next 100 days as a patriotic act, and this is just part of what he intends to do.
 
The big question here is will citizens be required to be vaccinated as a patriotic act.
 
Seven, here is a link to Dr. Pierre Kory’s interesting testimony (10 min.; hundreds of thousands of views) before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about a cure (Ivermectin) for Covid.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8SXOBy-4w
 
It is obvious from the comments that many citizens believe that some government officials are not interested in a cure for Covid because they view Covid as part of a globalist scheme to bring in a world government.
 
Finally, God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.
 
Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc.
Daymond Duck
duck_daymond@yahoo.com