Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Observing the Death of a Nation - By Gene Lawley -
https://www.raptureready.com/2019/04/07/observing-death-nation-gene-lawley/ Writing an article with this title and subject is admittedly risky, almost so as "date setting," but I have taken the position of a contrarian in other instances as well. Why is it as a contrarian? The upsetting drama of "Make America Great Again" has proven successful on many fronts despite heavy resistance from both sides of the political arena and has sparked a subsequent rallying cry of "Keep America Great." It must be so painfully apparent to many of the Marxist-leftists threaded in our judicial, legislative and executive branches of the government that their ideas just do not work. Or perhaps they have not taken a look at others who have tried Socialism-Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba and, oh yes, Venezuela. The latter, so fresh in the news, is a pitiful example of the final end of an experiment in Socialism. The "more equals" who want to control those "lesser equals" only know how to spend their resources and never how to employ those resources wisely. Thus, it is the same as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once observed: "Socialism works until they run out of other people's money." That proverb of Solomon's is worth noting in this connection: "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." It is clear that the principles of freedom stated in our Declaration of Independence of the individual rights of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are those that work. It is on the foundation of John 10:10 in the words of Jesus Christ that I venture into this subject: "The thief only comes to steal, kill and destroy; I am come that they may have life and have it more abundantly." I have no medical expertise in the academic or professional sense, but I will soon arrive at my 85th birthday, and observations over those years may be effective enough for the comparisons I will make in this article. (I am referring to the matter of the processes of dying.) When a person begins to die, the body starts shutting down its automatic operations. His immune system is overcome with disease, perhaps, which results in the shutting down of strategic organs that support other body functions. Eventually, this body, which was destined to die the moment it was born, comes to an end. Those final gasps for breath may well be the automatic reaction of the built-in defense system in the human body to hang onto life, though the spirit and soul have already departed-for the believer, "absent from the body, present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). At the conclusion of this article, we will be left with the question of the nation, "Are we now in those last gasps for life?" While the God of the universe is sovereign over the nation, it is the Constitution that is the common document that all elected officials swear to uphold in their official duties. It is the foundation, or life-core for the nation's existence. Like the human body, it is the immune system that holds the nation together. Many, I feel sure, swear that oath of office with no intentions of obeying it. There should be a requirement that a review of an official's performance in respect to that oath be made before he is allowed to run for office a second time. Charisma and popularity are not enduring qualifications for truth in job performance. Results of the next election do nothing to vet the aspiring candidate's job performance in his prior term of office. One very heavy identification of a dying nation is revealed in Isaiah 5:20 which says "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" That is a common recurrence in the nation today, turning our justice system upside down. A justice system that favors one person or party over another is not true justice as God would define it. Someone has said "we have the best government that money can buy," and that comment is proving itself, seemingly, more and more every day. Many years ago, President Madison and others noted that the Constitution was made for a moral people. Following are areas that are like the gasping of a dying person; and a nation hanging onto its sovereignty with a Constitution constantly under attack is comparable to the struggling immune system of a human being. Closest, probably, to the heartbeat of the Constitution is the now transparent attempt to undercut our system of justice with the one-sided effort to reverse the Trump election win. It is becoming steadily clearer that even the obviously biased special investigation into a "Trump-Russian collusion" to steal the election from Hillary Clinton has turned up more collusion in the Department of Justice by the Democrats to benefit her election results. It is a testimony to the forward thinking of the framers of the Constitution to create a Constitutional Republic not based on a popular vote. When the system of justice is not equal to all citizens at the highest level of leadership, then the gasping for a breath of life becomes painfully evident. When Chief Justice Roberts changed the issue in the Obamacare case that was before the high Court, my heart sank with the realization that an apparent violation of procedure had been done that would impact the integrity of the Court forever. The chief justice changed the question of the penalty provision in the Affordable Care Act to a tax issue and not a penalty one, as I understand the circumstance at hand. It seems proper procedure that he should have remanded the case back to a lower court to determine the real issue. The question also arose as to how a tax bill now had been created and which branch has the authority to originate a new tax law. Another glaring circumstance that is sucking the life out of the nation is the drive for open borders to the country. It is subtly apparent that the leftist desire for more and more illegals to be here is for their votes. The resounding cry against any requirement to show citizenship at the voting booth is evidence enough for that conclusion. It might be added that it would be easier to control a population heavily infiltrated with illegals as menial laborers or on welfare who are available to support the "elite" who are "more equal" than others. It should be noted, as well, that "sanctuary cities" that harbor criminals from rightful prosecution are evidence of disdain for our justice system and concern for the lawful citizenship. A third evidence of gasping for life is the almost rush to legalize habit-forming drugs-marijuana-for recreational use. Statistics show that such use dulls the intellect, and the user becomes less productive in whatever area he is engaged. That problem is multiplied when other people are affected by the user, such as driver safety. Dumb down the nation to kill its obvious domination in the world-one of the Saul Alinsky rules for rebels, no doubt. A nation of low-level peons is more easily controlled for benefit of the elite status. Another sickness in the nation is the reckless defiance of the law in riots as "so-called protests" funded by high-level leftists who favor the breakdown of responsible citizenry. One alarming aspect of this sickness is the problem that a leftist-liberal judge in one district court can issue an injunction order that it alone can bind the whole nation. It is clearly a malfunction of the system of rightful justice. The sexual revolution demands that everyone must surrender his moral integrity to the perverted lifestyles of the LGBTQ+ community, which stands for Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer-+. Perhaps most noticeable in this struggle is their attack on Christian facilities-businesses, schools and organizations-on the basis of civil rights for services that do not match the beliefs of those entities. The First Amendment to the Constitution clearly says that Congress shall make no law affecting the practice of a particular faith. The sexual revolution seems to bypass Congress by way of the courts to make their demands for conformity to their wishes. Yet, the courts are not the law-making branch of our Constitution. Since the advent of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 1973, it appears that the heartbeat of our nation's life has been greatly injured beyond repair. This introduces the most horrid sector of our society, the destruction of a life in the womb-abortion. Abortion-providing entities have asserted dominance they don't deserve but have because of fear of the cost of challenging them in court. There have been over 60 million abortions in America since 1973, and it is an industry in itself. But it is wholesale murder, no less. The captivating demand for freedom for abortion at any time has taken on the appearance of the ultimate birth-control procedure. It is becoming likened to tumor-caused disease, and the offensive growth must be removed. This obvious rejection of the sanctity of life can only spread to include every person in the nation. The judgment of God is hovering over this nation, ready to be revealed. In another arena, the incessant warnings of impending disaster from climate change, formerly known as global warming, demand that the world must turn from all energy sources except wind and sunlight, along with a host of other things that are said to be the cause of all these horrific natural disasters. Of course, those proponents do not take into account the prophecies of the Bible; for to them, God does not exist and man has utterly failed to take care of the planet for the benefit of his longevity. God says that all creation is groaning within itself in eagerness for the redemption of mankind-those who are to be redeemed-and the Bible predicts upheavals in the earth and atmosphere such as described in Luke 21:5-28 and in the preceding text, along with Romans 8:19-22 as referenced above. Turning back the clock on modern developments to conditions as they were a century or more ago would not solve such problems as those believers hold. Some of the solutions are downright silly and thoughtless as to their implications, thus showing the lack of wisdom that denial of God reveals. Proverbs 9:10 says, "Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Finally, the surrender of convictions of honor and righteousness and embracing the world, as the whole of Christendom has done, compares to an individual on his deathbed having refused the medicine and treatments that would restore his energy and vitality. Deviant sexual behavior among high-level clergy and pastoral personnel shows an undercurrent of falling away from the faith in these last days, just as the Scriptures predicted. We are reminded of the Scripture that says, "Now these are the ones (seeds) sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful" (Mark 4:18-19). Has it come to the place that fewer and fewer people are guided by the fear of God, that is, a reverence for His moral character and holiness, His eternal attributes, and a respect for His ability to exact judgment upon man's sinfulness? It comes to this: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36). As applied to a nation, to what end do these many detractors think they will achieve? Contact email: [email protected] Palestinians Prepare To Rally Arab World Against Trump "Deal Of The Century" - By Bassam Tawil - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=3110 Peace with Israel is purportedly a form of surrender and submission that will harm the dignity of Arabs and Muslims. This is the theme of a massive campaign being waged by Palestinians and other Arabs in preparation for the announcement of the US administration's plan for peace in the Middle East, also known as the "deal of the century." The plan, according to US officials, is expected to be announced sometime after the general elections in Israel, slated for April 9. The latest campaign is designed to thwart the "deal of the century" and terrorize Arabs and Muslims who may wish to accept the US administration's peace plan. As part of an effort to raise awareness to the dangers of the "deal of the century," an increasing number of Palestinians and Arabs are now trying to explain to their people why peace and normalization of ties with Israel is totally unacceptable. The latest effort came in the form of an online campaign called "The International Anti-Normalization Campaign." The organizers of the campaign say they are worried that some Arab states and leaders may cooperate with the "deal of the century." They are concerned because they see that some Arab states and leaders are already engaged in various forms of normalization with Israel. The campaign clearly aims to send a warning not only to ordinary Arabs and Muslims, but also to their leaders, about the "dangerous repercussions" of making peace with Israel. According to the organizers of the anti-peace campaign, "normalization [with Israel] is the miserable outcome of a culture of surrender and submission" -- and concessions and peace are only shameful and degrading. For them, the words peace and compromise (with Israel) seem associated with extremely negative connotations such as retreat, defeat and surrender. Recognizing Israel's right to exist is also seen by many Arabs and Muslims as a humiliation to their values, their culture, their political power and their economic traditions. They have been educated to see Israel as an alien body and a "colonial project" planted in the Middle East by Western powers. They therefore cannot accept the presence of Jews -- in what they regard as their own sovereign state -- on lands they believe belong solely to Muslims. Even Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is often described by Western media outlets and officials as a "moderate" and "pragmatic" Arab leader, shares the view that Israel is nothing but a "colonial project." In a speech before PLO delegates in Ramallah last year, Abbas quoted Egyptian intellectual Abdel-Wahab El-Messiri, saying: "The functional nature of Israel means that it was evoked by colonialism in order to fulfill a specific function, and thus it constitutes a colonialist enterprise that has nothing to do with Judaism." Abbas added: "[Oliver Cromwell] came up with the idea of transferring the Jews from Europe to the Middle East... because they wanted this region to become an advanced post to protect the interests and the convoys coming from Europe to the East... He asked Holland, which owned the largest fleet in the world, to transfer the Jews, but the project was unsuccessful. This was in 1653." In the past year, Abbas has also repeatedly announced his rejection of the unseen "deal of the century." He has referred to the plan as a "conspiracy" and the "slap of the century." How then can he turn to his people and suddenly accept it -- or any deal that might recognize Israel's right to exist? "Normalization [with Israel] is tantamount to defeat," explained Mohammed al-Adloni, secretary-general of an anti-Israel group, "The International Coalition for Supporting Jerusalem and Palestine." He went on to warn that making peace or normalizing ties with Israel would constitute a threat to the "consciousness" of Arabs and Muslims. Making peace with Israel, al-Adloni said, would be like "a complete occupation of the consciousness [of Arabs and Muslims]." Al-Adloni and other anti-Israel activists in the Arab and Islamic countries appear worried that, should they make peace with the "Zionist entity," their people might be exposed to democratic values and freedom of expression. They seem concerned that Arabs and Muslims wake up one morning and start demanding free and democratic elections like the ones held every few years in Israel. The anti-peace camp in the Arab and Islamic world appears not to want its people exposed to advanced Israeli technology, including medical care. This camp seems to want its people to continue living in misery and under dictatorships, so that it is easier to recruit people to jihad against Israel and the West. Also, if people are lifted from poverty and misery, and their living conditions are improved so they begin to enjoy the fruits of modern civilization, there is a chance that Arabs and Muslims will move away from Islam and even start endorsing the inadmissible values of the West. This camp, extremists, seem not to care about lowering the high rate of unemployment among Arabs and Muslims, improving the living conditions of its people or offering young Arabs and Muslims hope for a better future. They seem instead to want their people to continue living in misery so that their anger, again, can be directed more easily towards Israel and the West. The anti-Israel campaign in the Arab and Islamic world sees peace with Israel -- and not failed leadership, bad economic policies and corruption -- as the biggest threat to Arabs and Muslims. The message that the anti-peace activists are sending to their people says: "Peace with Israel is the worst thing that could happen to us Arabs and Muslims because these Jews will invade our minds and our culture." Yasser Qadoura, who represents a Lebanon-based group called "The Popular Committee for Palestinians in the Diaspora," says that his organization is now making a big effort to educate Arabs and Muslims about the "dangers" of peace and normalization with Israel. He said that his followers and he are planning to publish a "list of shame" containing the names of Arabs and Muslims who are caught promoting peace and normalization or trying to make peace with Israel. Anyone whose name appears on the list will immediately be denounced by Arabs and Muslims as a "traitor." Treason, in many of the Arab and Islamic countries, is a charge punishable by death. The "list of shame" would therefore be seen by Arabs and Muslims as a license to kill anyone who dared even to talk about peace with Israel. Last month, a large group of Arab and Islamic activists who met in the Lebanese capital of Beirut ruled that "all forms of normalization with the Zionist entity are an act of treachery." According to the group, an Arab or Muslim who even engages in sports, cultural and artistic activities with the "Zionist entity" would be considered a "traitor." In the eyes of the Arab and Islamic activists, including Islamic religious leaders, anyone who plays soccer or attends a cultural event with a Jew would be condemned as a "traitor." If and when US President Donald J. Trump's administration finally publishes its plan, it will discover that many Arabs and Muslims have already launched a campaign of intimidation to stop their leaders from making peace with Israel. If an Arab or Muslim child is prohibited from playing soccer with a Jew, how can the Trump administration expect the Arabs and Muslims to recognize Israel's right to exist? The Trump administration will soon discover what every child in the Arab and Islamic world already knows: that the Israeli-Arab conflict is not about a settlement or a checkpoint or a security fence, but about Israel's very right to exist in the Middle East. The Trump administration will also learn that peace with Israel is seen by many Arabs and Muslims as nothing but an unacceptable threat that must at all costs be stopped. Nearing Midnight: End-of-World Mindset? - Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ There is, according to some observers, a developing mindset among people in general that something wicked this way comes, as William Shakespeare put it. This developing mindset is particularly pronounced among the Millennials. We can see this growing angst reflected in the words of U.S. House of Representatives Congresswoman Alexandria Ocassio Cortez (29, I think she is) and others of her politically ideological ilk. They are so concerned about the coming destruction of planet Earth-within twelve years, Cortez says-that they offer insane fixes to prevent the earth's demise. She and some others have declared they will work to do away with all airplane travel. They are determined to stop, or curtail at least, the eating of meat. We need, they believe, fewer cattle on the planet because of the cows' ...ahem... flatulence, which, they believe, adds to the methane buildup and other things destroying the breathability of air. Their plans, if they were possible to accomplish and were implemented, would cost upwards of $100 trillion. This amount is considered woefully low in estimation by many who study such things. The doing away with airplane travel, travel by automobile, and many other brilliant such stratagem for saving the planet are just the tip of the supposedly melting iceberg in their plans to change the way life is conducted on earth. Worries of future, worldwide, catastrophe isn't confined to Ms Cortez and her lot. A recent news item tells of a growing anxiety that something wicked this way comes. In what may be seen as an ominous case of synchronicity, earthquake and tsunami drills were held all over the world in the last month. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of residents of Oakland, California were shocked when their cell phones buzzed with a message: there had been no earthquake. Though intended to reassure them that the earthquake warning system was operational, many took it is an ominous reminder that they lived in a region with a history of seismic catastrophes... Earthquake drills were also held in other places around the U.S including Connecticut and Colorado. On Tuesday, sections of the East Coast, including New Jersey and the Virgin Islands, held tsunami drills. Over the last month, a major drill preparing for earthquakes and tsunamis was held throughout the Philippines for the first time. Over the last two months, drills were held in Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and several other nations. Israel was also part of this informal global seismic drill. Two weeks ago, the Home Front Command held a tsunami exercise in schools throughout the country for the first time. ("End-of-Days Expert: Disaster Drills, Sign 'Governments Know Something Big is Coming'" by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Breaking Israel News, March 29, 2019) The growing alarm among those in Israel as well as among the people of the world at large was brought to the attention of journalists by Yuval Ovadia. He is an Israeli writer/researcher who has produced films on feared disasters that might be in prospect for the planet. Ovadia has been tracking such drills and government preparations as part of his research into the subject of the pre-Messiah astronomical event. Ovadia commented, "Everyone, secular and religious, from every country, is talking about the end-of-days. It is clear that there is some knowledge out there driving this. So many governments are preparing for a global crisis, something unprecedented. The governments making these drills know that something big is coming." "It is understandable to hold hurricane drills or the like in a specific season," Ovadia emphasized. "But there is no season for earthquakes. It is remarkable that so many countries decided to hold earthquake drills at the same time." While Ms. Cortez and her millennial brothers and sisters are looking for a coming calamity upon the planet within twelve years and the nations are expecting earthquakes and tsunamis of prodigious proportions, there seems no such mindset among-of all people-the people who call Jesus Christ their Savior and Lord. I'm not talking about the fact that these people simply are not worried because they know they are safely within His wonderful arms. No. I'm saying here that these don't seem to have even a clue-nor do they seem to think deeply enough on the matters to care-that there is in fact coming upon this planet a catastrophe so enormous that only a few creatures of flesh and blood will survive. In America, the ignorance seems willful. It starts in the pulpits, with preachers who won't touch Bible prophecy. Or, if they do touch on it, it isn't even near the truth about what God's Word has pronounced on this rebellious, judgment-bound world. Of course, it is equally the fault of Christians who prefer to not think about the things we are supposed to be discerning, especially as the day of Christ's return is appearing on the near horizon. Such things are gloom and doom-a downer. Best to just go about life ignoring such things. What will be, will be... The end-of-the-world mindset held by those who are totally of the world-not Christ's-is right, that something wicked this way comes. There is coming upon the earth the terrors they are expecting-and much worse. But it will not be a tsunami that crashes across the upper east coast of the U.S. and destroys their precious New York City. It won't be the man-made, climate-change, rising sea level that chokes the life out of them and all that is upon the earth. And it is not necessarily due twelve years from now. The catastrophe that is coming is from above. It is the harpazo-the snatching away of millions of Christians in the Rapture. Jesus said that the very moment it happens, God's judgment will fall-just like in the days of Noah and Lot's day in Sodom. Thankfully, God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. May all of those with the end-of-the-world mindset look to Christ, for He is the only salvation available to them. May the Church begin to truly watch for their Lord, who could call them to Himself, literally, at any moment. And may we who belong to Christ begin living life accordingly. Did The Pope Just Evoke the Prophetic Alliance Between Esau and Ishmael Against Jerusalem? - By Dr. Rivkah Lambert Adler - www.breakingisraelnews.com "So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Avraham, sister of Nebaioth" Genesis 28:9 (The Israel Bible™) It is a well-known Jewish idea that the clashes among Jacob, Esau and Ishmael that began in the book of Genesis continue throughout history. Objectively speaking, the primary political and spiritual adversaries of the Jewish people (the descendants of Jacob) have always been Christians (the descendants of Esau) and Muslims (the descendants of Ishmael). There is an ancient Jewish teaching that, during the End Times, the descendants of Esau and the descendants of Ishmael will unite in their desire to destroy the descendants of Jacob. Since ascending to the papacy in 2013, Pope Francis has been working openly to bring Esau and Ishmael together by enhancing Christian-Muslim relations. On the return flight from a recent visit to Morocco, where the official state religion is Islam, the Pope spoke with journalists about his vision for uniting the descendants of Esau and the descendants of Ishmael. Pope Francis referred to harmony between Christians and Muslims as "a beautiful flower that promises to bear fruit." In that interview, which was published last week, Pope Francis shined a light on an alliance between the Muslim country of Morocco and the Vatican regarding the status of Jerusalem. On his first day in the country, Pope Francis and Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, signed a statement about Jerusalem. In essence, the statement, which references Al-Quds Acharif, the Arabic name for Jerusalem, minimizes the distinctive relationship between Jerusalem and the Jewish people and calls for Jerusalem to become, "the common patrimony of humanity and especially for the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated." As is well-known, the Vatican is a supporter of a two-state solution, further diminishing the singular connection between Israel and the Jewish people. The Pope calls for Christians and Muslims to see themselves as equally entitled to Jerusalem. "We are all citizens of Jerusalem, all believers," he said, referring to Muslims and Christians. Couched in language of peace, harmony and fraternity, the call for greater cooperation between Christians and Muslims, and this specific statement calling for the universalization of Jerusalem, would effectively strip Jerusalem of its uniquely Jewish identity. According to Rabbi Yechiel Weitzman author of The Ishmaelite Exile, this alliance of Christians and Muslims was predicted hundreds of years ago and is a sign of the End Times. According to Rabbi Weitzman, "the last stage in the process of Israel's perfection will be characterized by the alliance between Ishmael and Esav (Esau), an alliance aimed at tormenting the entire world and the Jewish people in particular." The ancient Biblical connection between Esau and Ishamael is stated plainly in Genesis. Ishamael became Esau's father-in-law when Esau married a daughter of Ishmael. So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Avraham, sister of Nebaioth. Genesis 28:9 Rabbi Weitzman concluded, "At the very outset of history, Ishmael and Esav forged a bond through marriage. And so it shall be at the End of Days. The alliance between them will bring history to its culmination in the redemption." Daily Jot: Stuck between a wall and hard heads - www.dailyjot.com What is a leader supposed to do when detractors happen to be more interested in destroying you personally than doing what they were hired to do? Such is the case with the President. There is story after story about how the loyal "resistance," the coup-makers, are wanting Donald Trump's income tax returns and to continue a needless investigation into a phantom collusion scandal costing taxpayers millions. Meanwhile, the invasion of the United States at its southern border with Mexico continues because the coup-makers refuse to work with the President on securing America's borders. This is insurrection and seditious because it is putting all Americans at risk from crime, disease and more. Neo-communist New York state legislators are slated to introduce a bill allowing the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to release any state tax return requested by leaders of the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Joint House-Senate Committee on Taxation. The New York Times reports that the bill's sponsor, State Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), says it is "a safety valve for any attempt by the White House to block the Congress from doing this at the federal level." These people are more interested in obstructing government and personal vendettas than they are in doing what is best for the nation. Meanwhile, the President is cleaning house in the Department of Homeland Security and Citizen and Immigration Services in an attempt to get stricter administrative control over border security. Yet, everything he does is frustrated by Democratic Party coup-makers in the courts and Congress. Trump has diminishing options to deal with the border crisis because of government insiders, court challenges, immigration laws, and Congressional democrats. For example, AP reports Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said, "The purge of senior leadership at the Department of Homeland Security is unprecedented and a threat to our national security." Feinstein is doing what most of the coup-makers do all the time: point out the obvious without admitting any responsibility for causing the problem. The "resistance" blames Trump for a lack of leadership in enforcing border security, yet they use their positions to block building a wall and every other possible solution to the problem. Meantime, they focus their attention on Trump's personal taxes, promoting legislation that nationalizes elections, weakens voter identification laws, requires mandatory automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, no-fault absentee balloting and early voting, as well as forcing taxpayer subsidization of political campaigns, and regulating political speech-all designed to foment a socialist takeover of America. So the President is stuck between a wall and hard heads. Let us be mindful of Romans 12:21, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Either we engage or be overcome. Even though there is no wall, our backs are against it. Daily Devotion: Certain of His Death - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. - 1 Corinthians 15:3 An advice columnist received this letter about the Resurrection: "Dear Uticus, Our preacher said on Easter that Jesus just swooned on the cross and the disciples nurtured Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered." Here was the response: "Dear Bewildered, Beat your preacher with a cat of nine tails with 39 heavy strokes. Nail him to a cross. Hang him in the sun for three hours. Run a spear through his heart. Embalm him. Put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours, and see what happens. Sincerely, Uticus." Inevitably, unbelievers will offer their own concepts regarding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in an attempt to discredit the Bible and its message. Among the most commonly held theories is "the swoon theory," proposing that Jesus didn't actually die on the cross, but went into a deep coma, or swoon. It further proposes that He was revived in the cool atmosphere of the tomb, was somehow able to get out of the tightly-wrapped strips of cloth, and appeared to His disciples. Yet the Roman guards were the first to report the death of Jesus. They were experts at execution, and they would be put to death themselves if they allowed a condemned man to escape death. These soldiers were so certain Jesus was dead, they did not bother to break His legs. They thrust a spear into His body and out came blood and water (which occurs when the heart stops beating), giving them the final proof they needed. We can either believe or hang our doubts on some flimsy theory. But the death and resurrection of Jesus means that one day, we all will stand before God and be held accountable. FROM THE HEART
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