Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Wise Shall Understand - By Pete Garcia -
http://rev310.com/2019/04/the-wise-shall-understand But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. Daniel 12:4 Imagine if you will that one-day scientists abandon the flawed and completely illogical theory of Darwinian Evolution. Imagine all that science could accomplish without having that biased monkey hanging on their neck like a dead albatross? For many of these men and women, it would revolutionize the way they analyze a problem. Rapid advances in our civilization came because men like Isaac Newton, Nicolai Tesla, and Albert Einstein did not follow the status quo. Like the harnessing of electricity, or the invention of the printing press...mankind's great leaps forward in time propelled understanding to a new level. A new paradigm opens up and thus spins off subsequent discoveries like an endless Fibonacci Spiral. What has largely kept men at bay was our own preconceived notions about what was logical, feasible, and possible. Because of that reason, knowledge was often bottlenecked at various points throughout the course of human history. A great discovery is made, and there is an explosion of new ideas that spiral out from that one and continue until it reaches a point when further progress becomes frustrated or stifled. And whether that roadblock comes in the form of a government, a church, or just our preconceived notions about how to do something. It would seem that man's capacity for increased knowledge comes in brilliant, brief flashes...followed by long periods of darkness. A great example of this is in our understanding of the prophetic scriptures, or in how we have come to know what we know. Most of the Early Church Fathers (ECF) believed in a literal return of Christ and a literal kingdom that He would establish one day in the end times. (Daniel 2:44-45, Isaiah 65:17-25, Revelation 20). I imagine we would have had considerable more information about what their thoughts on the prophetic texts were, but the ECF soon became valiantly engaged in battling the Gnostics, Judaizers, pagans, and skeptics for the better part of 250 years against them making inroads into the Church. They fought just to keep the basic tenets of Christianity intact. They were able to do all that, and still face ten periods of intense persecution by a pagan Roman Empire. (Smyrna) The Sealing However, beginning in the year 313, Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan. Christianity went from being persecuted and fringe, to being accepted and legal. Over the course of the rest of that century, instead of Christianity going out into the world, the world would come into Christianity. (Pergamum) As Christianity became more acceptable to the establishment (Roman Empire), political correctness got its toe in the door of the church. I imagine it was not very popular to be preaching that Christ would soon return and destroy all the kings and kingdoms of the world, while under the watchful eye of an Emperor. Allegorizing scriptures provided a way for priests and bishops to remain politically correct and still keep their jobs. This had begun in earnest by an early "Christian" mystic named Origen in the 3rd Century. A century later, a Christian priest named Jerome was commissioned to translate the Bible into Latin, finishing around the year 405 A.D. Around that same time, a Christian theologian named Augustine of Hippo (who had been influenced by Origen), had begun applying that same method of allegorizing the scriptures to all of his interpretations of the Bible. This type of hermeneutics would create a new strain in Eschatology called 'Amillennialism'. Like Darwinian Evolution, Amillennialism (a= negative) clung around the neck of that Middle-Ages church like dead weight. For centuries, Amillennialism stifled the prophetic understanding of the Scriptures by dissuading the literal interpretation of the prophetic texts. It denied that Christ would literally return to earth, but that the Kingdom was spiritual and ever-present. Since Augustine was in large part, the 'doctrinal-father' for the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), 'Amillennialism' became THE eschatology for most of Christendom. Moreover, as the RCC gained power and authority, they retained their clerical power by making the Latin Vulgate the only legal and acceptable translation of the Bible. The only people still able to read and speak Latin were the clergy within the RCC, which ensured that they would have a monopoly on anything that was called "Christian" for the better part of 1,000 years. (Thyatira) Removing the Veil However, the times they were a changing. A scholar named John Wycliffe in the 1380's had handwritten a new translation in English. He quickly came under the ire of the Roman Catholic Church. After his death, his works were burned and he was declared a heretic. Another man followed Wycliffe not long after named John Hus who also began handwriting Bibles in English. He did not fair so well as he was arrested and burned at the stake in Germany. The first printing press was invented around 1450 (Guttenberg) and the first book to ever be printed was the Guttenberg Bible in 1455 (in Latin). (The first English Bible ever printed was the Tyndale Bible [1526]) Now that the Bible was becoming more accessible, and eventually available in something other than Latin, there was an explosion of interest into Christianity. For the first time in over a millennia, people could finally read the Bible in their own language. They did not have to rely on a priest to tell them what a Bible said. The early 1500s brought about a long overdue desire for change within Roman Catholicism. The Reformation began as a protest-movement led by a Catholic monk named Martin Luther who was sick of how corrupted the system had become. With the selling of indulgences for the absolution of sins, the "good-works" salvation system, and the abuses by RCC clergy, Luther had finally had enough. On October 31st, 1517, he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. The rest as they say is history. Protestant groups began popping up all over Europe as the word was put into the vernacular of the common-man. Although the "protesters" may have corrected many of the doctrinal abuses on orthodox Christianity by the RCC, their major failing was that they kept the Catholic Eschatological view point of Amillennialism. (Sardis) The First Great Awakening occurred toward the end of the 1700's, and Protestant Missionaries were being sent out around the world to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. An evangelistic movement broke out in Ireland in the early-1800s called the 'Plymouth Brethren'. They came together and began to study their Bibles in a literal manner shaking off the confines of dead denominationalism altogether. Just as Martin Luther rediscovered the soteriological doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, so too did these Plymouth Brethren rediscover some long, lost truths. The result of returning to a literal understanding of the entire Bible, led them to the conclusion that the Bible is a) dispensational, b) Pre-Millennial, and c) that they were somewhere near the end times. Therefore, it wasn't that John N. Darby and company created Pre-Millennial Eschatology out of thin air, but really, only rediscovered what had been hidden in plain sight for almost 2,000 years. (Philadelphia) "About the Time of the End, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the Prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation, in the midst of much clamor and opposition" Sir Isaac Newton Precept upon Precept Sir Isaac Newton wrote more about biblical prophecy than he did on any other topic. He was particularly fascinated by the books of Daniel and Revelation. Nevertheless, even with all his mental genius and boundless energy to write and study the prophetic word, he remained largely "ignorant" of prophetic events that even the average Bible prophecy student today takes for granted. Back when I was at the Omega Letter where I had written for a number of years, many of us had looked (and still do) up to Jack Kinsella as not only a pastor, but also a mentor. He provided a straightforward and simple understanding of not only Bible Prophecy, but of what it means to be a Christian living in these last days. Jack's mentor was Hal Lindsey. Hal's mentors were most likely men like Lewis Sperry Chaffer, Cyrus Scofield, and Clarence Larkin. Larkin and Scofield picked up on what the Plymouth Brethren had been doing decades earlier, which was simply returning to a literal understanding of the Bible. Thanks to those men, we know that we are in that last church age that precedes the coming of our Lord. (Laodicea) Each group or generation of men learned from the previous, and that knowledge was passed on, built upon, and measured against the current events of that day. So we here today, are the recipients of over a 150 years of accumulated learning and study. This learning has been greatly accelerated by the use of the Internet, study bibles, commentaries and teachings. What had been hidden to many in Christianity only a century ago, has come to light with the return of national Israel to their ancestral homeland. But even as early as 1919, Cyrus Scofield noted in his Scofield Study Bible, that Israel HAD to become a nation again because a literal reading of Ezekiel 36-37 demanded it. I imagine he caught a lot of grief for including that in his Bible back then...that was...until 1948. However, we only know what we know today, because we have stood on the shoulders of giants. Not only do we benefit from their diligent study and willingness to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, but also we have accumulated more history then them. We have had the privilege to see Israel become a nation again. We have seen the formation of revived Roman Empire via the Europe Union, coming together into a single political and economic body. We have seen the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reemergence of Russia. We are now seeing Red China rising and the US declining. We are seeing the push for a New World Order that will one day lead to a one-world currency, religion, and political body. We are seeing the signs of increasing natural disasters in both frequency and intensity. We are seeing technology moving at a frightening pace that allows men to play god and computers to become like men. Communications have become global with an instantaneous reach. Artificial intelligence is leaving the realms of science fiction and becoming reality. There is in increased fascination with the supernatural, occultic, and unexplainable. Closing Thoughts Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, "My lord, what shall be the end of these things?" And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Daniel 12:8-10 Once again we are reaching that point in time where the prophetic text has been studied, preached, taught, and dissected so many ways...by so many great teachers, that it seems impossible that we could still pull any new information out of what we already know. Any study, about any verse of the Bible is available many times over in either written, audio, or video formats. I do not know what else can be brought out of the most intensely studied book in the history of the world. These are indeed exciting times, but the watchmen can grow very weary in seeing how rapidly the world is sinking into spiritual and moral depravity. It weighs heavy on our hearts. We are instructed to be ready, to watch, and to lift our heads up when these things begin to happen. Nevertheless, there is one other thing I do know, and that is we will have the privilege of seeing what the prophets, apostles, early church fathers, and those godly men of old, longed to see. If we are patient, and watching, we will be that generation in the not too distant future who hears the shout, the voice of the Archangel, and the Trump of God calling us home. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3 Even so, Come Lord Jesus! The Eastern Gate - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2019/04/14/eastern-gate-daymond-duck/ I wrote this article before going out of town for several days, so most of it is not about current events (there are some current events at the end of the article). In Old Testament times there was a wall around the city of Jerusalem, and there were several gates in that wall. One of those gates was called the Eastern Gate (It was also called the Golden Gate, the Gate of Mercy and the Beautiful Gate). Ezek. 44:1-3 records a very interesting prophecy about the Eastern Gate: "Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same." The Lord was saying that there will come a time when the Eastern Gate will be shut because the Messiah passed through it (Jesus passed through it at His Triumphal Entry), and no one will pass through it until the Messiah comes back. In 70 A.D., the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. In 1517 A.D., the Ottoman Empire (the Turks) took over the Middle East. At some point in the 1530's or 1540's, the Turkish ruler Suleiman the Magnificent heard that the Jews believe that their Messiah would come from the east and pass through the Eastern Gate (Christians believe this will be Jesus' Second Coming). Suleiman didn't want the Jewish Messiah to pass through the Eastern Gate, so he ordered his people to shut it and seal it up. They closed it in with bricks, but that was just one part of the prophecy. The other part of the prophecy said the Eastern Gate will remain shut until the Messiah appears and passes through it. In 1967, both Jordan and Israel almost opened the Eastern Gate; but both nations failed, and the Eastern Gate is still shut. This is how Jordan failed: Jordan controlled East Jerusalem. Jordan's king wanted to open the Eastern Gate and build a hotel against the inside of the wall so that people could enter his hotel through the Eastern Gate. Jordan's king sent workmen, equipment and materials to the Eastern Gate to knock out the bricks and open it up. The workmen moved their equipment and materials to the Gate and left it there for the night. They intended to go back the next day to break the gate open. That night, the 1967 war between Israel and Jordan broke out, and Israel captured East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. The king's crew could no longer break open the gate, and his hotel never got built. This is how Israel failed: The 1967 war broke out, Israeli troops captured the Temple Mount, and some of Israel's military leaders wanted to blow open the Eastern Gate to send tanks and troops through it for an attack on Jordan. Other Israeli military leaders were aware that the Scriptures say that the Gate will remain shut until the Messiah appears and passes through it. Israel's military leaders discussed blowing open the Eastern Gate, but the leaders that were familiar with the Scriptures won the debate. Israel attacked Jordan from a different location. The Jordanian troops were caught by surprise, and Israel won the war. Since capturing it, Israel has not allowed the Eastern Gate to be opened. Following the 1967 war, Israel agreed to let Jordan administer activities on the Temple Mount, and Jordan agreed to let Israel be in charge of security on the Temple Mount. The two nations also agreed to maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount. In 2005, the Palestinians tried to occupy an area on the Temple Mount just inside the Eastern Gate. Israel wouldn't allow the Palestinians to occupy that area, and the Palestinians rioted. The disagreement went to court, and a judge ordered the area next to the Eastern Gate closed to everyone. Israel installed a fence with an iron gate leading to the Eastern Gate, and access to the area on the inside of the Eastern Gate was blocked off with a fence, a gate, a chain and a lock. Calm prevailed on the inside of the Eastern Gate from 2005 until Feb. 2019. On Feb. 22, 2019, the Palestinians rioted, destroyed the lock on the iron gate barring access to the Eastern Gate, and took over the area butting up against the inside of the Eastern Gate. Rumors circulated that the Palestinians intended to build another mosque and hold Muslim prayers inside the Eastern Gate. Prime Min. Netanyahu said he wouldn't allow it. Mr. Netanyahu gave the Palestinians until Monday, Mar. 11, 2019, to leave the area near the Eastern Gate. Palestinian leaders ignored Mr. Netanyahu's ultimatum. A group of Jewish settlers said the Palestinians were breaking their agreement with Israel to keep the status quo by illegally opening the area inside of the Eastern Gate for a mosque and Muslim prayers. They said the status quo that Israel and Jordan agreed to no longer exists. They added that the door is now open for Jews to ignore the status quo and build a synagogue on the Temple Mount for Jewish prayers. They said the Israeli government should not agree to any settlement of this issue unless Jews are allowed to pray on the Temple Mount too. Israel and Jordan started holding high-level talks to resolve the issue, but they couldn't reach an agreement. On Mar. 9, 2019, the King of Jordan went to Washington to seek help to resolve the issue in his favor, but it didn't work. On Mar. 11, 2019, Mr. Netanyahu's deadline came, and the Palestinians were still occupying the forbidden area inside the Eastern Gate. Israel had a large number of police and security forces in the area. On Mar. 12, 2019, a protester threw a Molotov cocktail at a police cart in the area. Israeli security forces closed the entrances to the Temple Mount, arrested some of the protesters, and ordered everyone on the Temple Mount to leave. There was another court hearing, and the court told Israel to keep the area closed; the judge gave Jordan 60 days to respond to the court order. I am not privy to Palestinian secret schemes and motives, and I don't know how all of this is going to come out. But I do know that Jordan wanted to open the Eastern Gate to send in workers, material and equipment to build a hotel in 1967, and I tend to believe that opening the Eastern Gate is what the protesters want to do now. I believe their ultimate goal is to thwart the prophecy in the Bible. Nevertheless, the issue hasn't been settled; and I rejoice over the fact that the Eastern Gate is still closed and that it could soon be opened to greet the coming Messiah. Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc. Daymond & Rachel Duck [email protected] Easter Rapture? (Interesting Theory) - By Randy Nettles - http://rev310.com/2019/04/easter-rapture-interesting-theory Today is the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as the king of the Jews, but was rejected as such. Today is Nisan 10 on the Jewish calendar as it was in AD 33. It is also a Sunday, as it was back then. The date was March 27, 33 BC on our modern Gregorian calendar. 4 days later, on Nisan 14, Jesus was crucified on the cross. It was the Passover feast and occurred on a Thursday in the year AD 33. This year's Passover will occur on April 18, 2019 and will also be on a Thursday. The date was March 31, BC on our Gregorian calendar. 3 days later, on Nisan 17 Jesus was resurrected from the dead. It was the Feast of Firstfruits and occurred on a Sunday. The date was April 3, 33 BC on our Gregorian calendar. This year's F.O.F. will occur on April 21, 2019 and will also be on a Sunday. It is also known as Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday. I think days of the week might be important in Bible prophecy. I will show this in the example below. This year of AD 2019 mimics AD 33 in regards to the Jewish calendar and the days of the week calendar. The Rapture is imminent (possibly very imminent) and could happen anytime. What day of the week will it occur on ...who knows? What is your best guess? Maybe lucky number 7 or 3 (third time is a charm) could be the day. 5 is the number for grace, etc., etc. What year...who knows? Let's hope and pray it is this year. Let's say the Rapture happens between now and the end of November in AD 2021. That is when the Tribulation (Jacob's Trouble) will begin in the following example. This example is based upon Israel being 80 years old in 2028. It is also based upon the 1230 days - 1290 days "in the midst" theory regarding the 2520 day duration of the Tribulation (go to https://www.raptureready.com/2019/01/18/ancient-calendars-feast-days ) . The product of 360 X 7 is 2520...so whatever day of the week the Tribulation starts on, it will end on the same day of the week. 1) The A.C. will confirm the covenant with the many on November 26, 2021; Kislev 23; Friday. It is interesting that it occurs on a Friday because of the "seventy sevens" prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. Think about it. Jesus' last day (when he was "cut off") was on a Thursday (go to https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/holidays-and-holy-days/solving-the-three-day-three-night-mystery/ ). This was the last day of the 483rd year of Daniel's prophecy. The time of day was 3:00 pm (Jerusalem time). There would only be 3 hours left in the day before they could bury Jesus for they could do no work the following day which was a Sabbath (special Sabbath of the Feast of Firstfruits). So, the last day of the 483rd year was on a Thursday. I think it is highly likely that the resumption of the 483rd year will be on the following day of Friday. This scenario fits. 2) 1230 days later on April 9, 2025; Nisan 12 (2 days after "Palm Sunday"); Wednesday, the A.C. will commit the A.O.D. Israel will be 77 years old in the year AD 2025. Double 7's is perhaps significant. This starts the "Great Tribulation" of the last 3.5 years before Jesus' 2nd Coming to the earth. 3) 1260 days later on September 20, 2028; Tishri 1 (Feast of Trumpets); Wednesday, Jesus will return to the earth at the battle of Armageddon. The A.C. and false prophet will be destroyed at this time and the Judgements of God (seals, trumpets, vials) will have ended. 4) 30 days later on October 20, 2028; Heshvan1; Friday, Daniels' last 7 (Daniel 9:24) will finish and Jesus will then set up His Millennium Kingdom on earth. This will be the 1290th day since the A.O.D. (Daniel 12:11). Israel will be 80 years old at this time. Moses said: "by reason of strength" (Psalm 90:10) a man can live to be 80 years old. Modern Israel will live to be eighty by God's strength, not their own. 5) 45 days later; the 1335th day (Daniel 12:13), December 8, 2028; Kislev 17; Monday, the Wedding Feast of the Lamb will begin. "And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Revelation 19:9). Blessed is the key word as it is mentioned in both Daniel 12:12 and Revelation 19:9. 6) Approximately 1000 years later, God/Jesus/Holy Spirit will create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1) and eternity will begin. How does that sound? Of course it is only a hypothetical example. Abbas Between Rock & Hard Place After Israeli Elections - By Yoni Ben Menachem - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=3127 The top ranks of the Palestinian Authority are greatly disappointed by the results of the general elections on April 9. The hope of P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah leadership that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be defeated by Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White Party, was dashed and ended in disappointment. Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat expressed this view when the final results of the elections were announced by stating, "The Israelis have voted 'no to peace' to preserve the current situation. They have said 'no to peace and yes to the occupation.' " The P.A. leadership was careful throughout the election campaign not to issue statements that could have been interpreted as interference in the elections in Israel and helpful to Netanyahu. However, every child in the West Bank and Gaza knows that the Palestinian leadership wished for Benjamin Netanyahu's downfall. On April 9, Abbas played the supposedly "neutral" game when he said during a tour of a Ramallah hospital, "We are watching what's happening with our neighbor, and we hope they will take the right path towards peace." At the moment, what concerns the P.A. leadership is the strengthening of the right-wing bloc in Israel and the expected publication of U.S. President Donald Trump's "deal of the century." But what worries them the most is Netanyahu's announcement on April 8 that he had informed Trump of his intention to annex territories in the West Bank "gradually and in coordination with the United States." Senior Fatah officials say that the P.A. is powerless against any intention to annex the settlements and additional territories in the West Bank, and it doesn't have any diplomatic options to prevent it. Abbas announced on April 8 that the P.A. rejected Trump's deal--"whatever will be, will be," he stated. He continues to boycott the U.S. administration and is worried about the weakened stance of the Arab countries toward Trump's policy in the Middle East. The Arab countries displayed this weakness when the Trump administration recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and declared Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and it only reinforced the heavy frustration of the Palestinian leadership. The Arab leaders have shown that they are strong in their condemnations, but do nothing when it comes to taking action. The P.A. is concerned about the annexation of large settlement blocs in the West Bank and parts of Area C. P.A. sources state that Israel is not interested in annulling the Oslo accords because it does not want to manage the lives of 3 million Palestinians. Israel wants the actual territory, and the P.A. will be left with the burden of taking care of the daily lives of the residents of the West Bank. Abbas has failed miserably in his determined efforts to create opposition in the international arena to the policies of Trump regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Senior Fatah sources have tried over the past year to persuade him to open a secret channel of communication with the U.S. Administration to soften the clashes between the Palestinian Authority and the U.S. government. However, Abbas stubbornly refused, and he continues to boycott the Trump administration. The result of Abbas's policy toward the Trump administration will only be further harm to Palestinian interests. There is a deep division within Palestinian society, and a rift between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Abbas is in a difficult situation; he is opposed to an armed intifada against Israel, but his strategy of "popular resistance through peaceful means" has been a resounding failure in the West Bank territories. Fatah sources fear that Netanyahu's election victory and the growth of the right-wing bloc in the Knesset will give Netanyahu the impetus to advance the process of imposing Israeli sovereignty over lands in the West Bank and evacuating the Bedouin settlement of Khan al-Ahmar on the road to the Jordan Valley. Abbas's stubbornness forces the Palestinians to get used to any new situation imposed upon them by the Trump administration and Israel. Abbas does not have the political courage to "hang up his hat" and resign from his position. He continues to stick to his seat, and take care of his and his two sons' sizable economic interests. The P.A. leadership is afraid of him, and senior Fatah officials prefer to avoid disputes with him because of the battle for the succession. Abbas is an obstinate politician who does not appreciate criticism. Anyone who argues with his policies will find himself isolated and outside the political game. The Palestinians themselves, rather than their leadership, are paying the price for this. Daily Jot: Standing against human trafficking Part 1 - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com It's been three years since Pastor William Agbeti's ministry saved a young Ghanaian girl from being lured into sex slavery and child labor in Dubai. Here is his report on her progress: "With the support of the DAILY JOT, we have managed to put her out of harm's way to pursue vocational training. Soon she will graduate to start a dignified life. Free the Slaves, a nonprofit organization committed to the eradication of modern-day slavery puts the global modern-day slave trade at a whopping $150 billion per annum, generated by some 40 million slaves, including Ghanaian girls! FTS categorizes modern-day slavery into four sub-sectors: child prostitution, forced marriage, human trafficking and child labor. "In 2018, forensic investigators from the US arrived in Ghana at the invitation of the government to assist the country in resolving developments involving a growing number of missing and kidnapped Ghanaian girls. Investigations we carried out on our own revealed the operation of a syndicate, a member of which approached our young girl to lure her into modern-day slavery. These miscreants look for young and exceptionally beautiful girls faced with social challenges like parental neglect, unemployment, inability to go to school, financial hardship, hunger, lack of accommodation and other forms of hardship. The most sought for girls are virgins, the preferred choice of many slave owners! "Under the guise of lucrative employment opportunities overseas, many of these virgins are sold to wealthy individuals in the Middle East. Sometimes, these girls are auctioned at secret locations or cleverly presented for bidding on social media sites! Those who have passports are told to report at the Accra International Airport for sponsored direct flights to the Middle East. Our very fortunate girl was shown a place in Accra to report at and join a bus to a neighboring country, on route to Dubai. We reported the place and the people behind its operations to the authorities. Fortunately, as she went about preparing for what would have been a fateful journey of no return, she ran into our Ministry and was saved! "Testimonies from some slave girls reaching us in Ghana via mobile phone and WhatsApp voice messages from the Middle East, indicate that many of those who make the journey end up enslaved, sexed multiple times a day, sick and dead. Those who are able to send such distress messages back home can't be helped because they can't be traced. They don't even know their locations or the names of the slave masters. When they become sick, they are not treated. When they die, their bodies are dumped." As you can see, this is just one of the many facets of our ministry work in Ghana. Christ said in Luke 17:2, "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." Our goal is to prevent the offense in the first place. Daily Devotion: What Breaks God's Heart - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.' - Luke 19:41-42 As Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the crowds were celebrating. They were laughing. They were cheering. They were having a great time. And what was Jesus doing? He saw the city, and He wept over it. Here was the crowd, whipped into a frenzy, and Jesus was weeping. The crowd was rejoicing, and Christ was sobbing. Why did Jesus weep when He saw Jerusalem? Being God and having omniscience, Jesus knew these fickle people who were crying out, "Hosanna!" would soon be shouting, "Crucify Him!" He knew that one of His handpicked disciples, Judas, would betray Him. He knew that another disciple, Peter, would deny Him. He knew that Caiaphas, the high priest, would conspire with Pilate, the Roman governor, to bring about His death. And, He knew the future of Jerusalem. Looking ahead 40 years, He saw the destruction that would come upon the city at the hands of the Emperor Titus and his Roman legions. Jesus also wept because His ministry was almost over. Time was short. He had healed their sick. He had raised their dead. He had cleansed their lepers. He had fed their hungry. He had forgiven their sins. Yet for the most part, He had been rejected. John 1:11 says, "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." And so He wept. This broke His heart, and it still does. Unbelief and rejection breaks God's heart, because He knows the consequences. But when the door of the human heart is shut, He refuses to enter forcibly. He will only knock, wanting to gain admittance. He has given us the ability to choose. But when we choose the wrong thing, He knows the repercussions that will follow-in this life and the one to come. And His heart is broken. 
FROM THE HEART
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