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IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Becoming Antichrist: Vol. III - By Pete Garcia -
http://rev310.com/2019/05/becoming-antichrist-vol-iii In my first two volumes of Becoming Antichrist, I wanted to ensure that I captured as much biblical and factual information pertaining to this topic as possible. However, there is still so much to discuss. In this volume, we will discuss how Satan loves to operate (i.e., from an angle). We will look at satanic bloodlines. Finally, we will summarize everything into a cohesive summation so that the entire picture can be seen in context to the here and now. However, in order to discuss everything regarding this mysterious world leader who is coming, we will have to delve somewhat into the world of speculation to tease out some potential scenarios. In other words, we are moving from the definitive to the speculative. Where there is speculation, I will add an ** to ensure you can know where I am adding in opinion or unsubstantiated theories. I am caveating this up front as much as possible so that you can know what I am about to say, is my own personal opinion. However, my opinion was not created in a vacuum. I am basing much of what is said here, on a broad study of the topic and where I believe the Holy Spirit is leading me. Again, I am not writing this to glorify or glamourize this future world leader, nor tantalize your ears for the here and now, but as a warning to those who are left behind. Part I: Deception Although many within the Reformed and Catholic circles would disagree with me on this point, but we are not presently in the Kingdom. Much scripture points out that Satan is currently running this world (Luke 4:5-6, 1 Peter 5:8, 1 John 5:19), and has a vast amount of influence over the daily running of the planet. As the Apostle Paul pointed out in his sixth chapter to the church in Ephesus, we are in a fierce battle on a daily basis. Not a battle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual beings, and dark and wicked principalities who seek our demise. These malevolent beings' supreme leader, Satan, primary tactics and strategy centers on deception and confusion. In order for us to even begin to understand the depths of both his depravity and insanity. When dealing with Satan, one must understand that NOTHING is EVER as it seems. Satan never approaches something straight on; he always comes at you from your blind side. If something seems black, you can rest assure it is white. If something appears down, you can trust that it is up. Satan is never on the level with anyone. Therefore, I say all this to ask you (the reader) to ask some strategically significant questions that need to be addressed. We know that... 1. Any religion/belief/philosophy/etc. that does not support the Biblical definition that Christ is God come in the flesh, and that He came to earth through a human (but virgin) birth, lived a sinless life, died for our sins, and rose again on the third day, is by its basic nature, antichrist. So why is the world's second largest religion, Islam, so violent and unappealing? Wouldn't Satan want this religion to be MORE appealing to everyone and less, well, unhinged? 2. How will Satan use atheism/human secularism (a belief system that is overwhelmingly antagonistic to the supernatural) immediately after the Rapture of the Church? 3. How and why is the Evangelical Church seemingly collapsing/capitulating here in the West to a culture bent on suiciding itself? I believe the answer to these, is based 100% in misdirection. 1. Satan is using Islam in a two-fold manner. First, he is using its violent and unhinged nature to prevent the archeological discovery of the historicity and authenticity of the Bible. It is no accident that Satan has the places with the MOST documentable evidence supporting biblical claims, under the darkest protection of radical Islam. This is particularly true in places like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Gaza, Temple Mount (Jerusalem), Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. Secondly, Satan is using Islam as a forcing-mechanism to get people of all faiths to abandon fundamentalism (which the world generously aligns with extremism). 2. For the better part of 170 years, the West has become increasingly atheistic/secular in their seeming rejection of all things supernatural. Part of this has been the educationally mandated enforcement of humanist propaganda (i.e., Darwinian Evolution, Big Bang Theory, etc.), onto the public education system. On the other hand, the west has entered into a renassaisance of all things supernatural within the entertainment industry. One would think that if naturalism/rationalism were so popular, this would be reflected in pop culture, but it is not. The reason it has not, is that atheism takes everything and offers nothing but an empty void. Humans are more than just flesh and blood, and something within us yearns for something more. Therefore, this campaign of humanism is not about abandoning all supernaturalism, but just supernaturalism within Christianity, such as the supernatural aspects of Creation, Noah's Flood, Virgin Birth, and the Resurrection, etc. This void must be filled, and that is where the entertainment industry has been busy infilling the culture with UFOs, eastern mysticism, mythology, spiritualism, the cultic and occult. 3. Much of the Evangelical Churches in the West are folding faster than a row of cheap lawn chairs inside a F5 tornado. For those churches and clergy who chose to stand against the tsunami of the rapidly disintegrating culture, are viciously maligned, battered, and placed in the same category as German Nazis. This seems to be the reason why churches in the West are folding because, a) they want to remain relevant, b) they want to remain popular, and c) because they treat their churches like businesses (where the customer is always right). So what does all these have to do with the Antichrist? This is what we call battlefield preparation or stage setting. One second after the Rapture, the world will enter into a time of signs and wonders unlike any other. Satan is (for lack of a better word) bludgeoning the world into bloody mess right now ahead of the Rapture, so that those who are left behind, are beyond desperate for peace, security, and normalcy. However, in the absence of true biblical Christianity, an ecumenical abomination will arise. Think of it as a global COEXIST campaign on steroids that embraces everything except exclusivity. Even now, we are seeing these things come together with groups like New Evangelicals, Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT), Chrislam, Emergent Church, Gospel Coalition, World Council of Churches, Red Letter Christians, Seeker-Sensitive Movement, and numerous Christian universities. This is the pre-rapture foundation for the Harlot. She is who sits upon many waters and with whom the kings of the earth commit fornication with. What is that fornication? **I believe this is where the kings of the earth will help enforce her persecution of the tribulation saints, and she will reward them with titles, moneys, and land (think back to the Roman Catholic Inquisitions). She will be headed first by the False Prophet, but then he will betray her cause of inclusivity and direct all worship exclusively towards the Beast (the Antichrist) around the mid-point of the 70th Week (Dan. 9:27, Matt. 24:15, 2 Thess. 2:4). This will then be enforced by the Mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:11-18). Lastly, after the Rapture, Satan will have ZERO use for atheism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in their original forms. He will need all hands on deck to support his number one Antichrist candidate, whom he will empower with the false prophet with supernatural powers. Why we are seeing such an uptick in the supernatural now in pop culture and entertainment is a process of normalization; where people are comfortable seeing the supernatural, if on nothing else, the big screen, televisions, and books. He needs his followers to be both wowed by it, but also, not so awestruck that they fear and reject it. By the time the Rapture happens, the people will want their superman. Part II- Bloodlines Since the beginning of time, there has always been an attraction to hidden/esoteric knowledge. This is what Satan offered Adam and Eve in the Garden, that they could "be like God" in knowing the difference between good and evil (Genesis 3:4). The numerous outlets for access to such knowledge has been promised to many seekers in the forms of secret societies, mystery religions, and occult groups who have sought out this knowledge in an effort to gain power, wealth, fame, and control. While I do not pretend to be an expert on secret societies, I have listed below some of the more recognizable ones and their foundation dates. Some of these might seem overtly political or economic and odd to be included in such a list, but they meet the criteria of secrecy, hidden knowledge, and appear to be antichrist in nature.
For those who scoff at me for including political organizations in this list, we might simply look at the common goal most of these groups have ever had, which is, power. More aptly put, the consolidation of power into as few hands as possible. Pagans, Gnostics, cultists, mystics, and later, Fabian Socialists, technocrats, oligarchs, elitists, etc. have all sought power through the acquiring of secret knowledge. In addition, they all currently have the same boss- Satan. Another aspect most of these groups seem to share is this notion of some kind of divine right to rule. Congressman William E. Dannemeyer once quoted David Rockefeller as having said, some men are born to rule, but most men are born to be ruled. Certainly, this is not a stretch to believe knowing history and having seen the world in our own day. Furthermore, since Satan controls the kingdoms of this world (Luke 4:5-6), it is a very short jump to the logical assumption that he would therefore want to orchestrate who controls what in his domain through the use of satanic bloodlines. We see that the bible has a table of nations in Genesis 10-11 from which all of mankind comes after Noah's flood. Since Satan cannot (or will not) mimic things that do not already exist by God, he is using the Twelve Tribes of Israel as a model to promote these twelve familial bloodlines throughout history by means of intermarriage and banking, which he has kept power together by the use of these royal bloodlines. From one of these families is whom many believe that Satan will bring about the final Antichrist candidate(s), who will come from somewhere within the boundaries of the old Roman Empire (Dan. 9:26). This certainly becomes even more reasonable when we consider that this final Antichrist will also control all of the buying and selling over the entire earth. In other words, he will control all the banking (Rev. 13:16-18). **Some names, which readily come to mind, are the Rothschild's and Rockefellers. There are also named the Astor, Van Duyn, Merovingian, Bundy, DuPont, Freeman, Onassis, Kennedy, Disney, Reynolds, Li, and Russell bloodlines. Removed but probably connected are the avowed globalists such as the Soros, Clintons, and the Gates families. Although too many to list, the Bilderberg Meetings, which happen annually and exclude the press, are a mix of politicians, bankers, technocrats, and the who's who of the movers and shakers in the arena of geopolitics. Their goal? A one-world government. The reality? They will end up handing over their long-sought after universal government over to the worst dictator in human history (the Beast). However, their current ambition is blinded by greed and pride. They do not know their end because they have rejected Christ and the Bible. Note the arrogant attitude on display here. We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march toward a world government. . . . The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries. David Rockefeller, Bilderberg Group Meeting, Baden, Germany 1991 Summary In the years leading up to Noah's flood (i.e., the antediluvian era), Satan attempted to corrupt the entire genetic genepool of mankind by having his fallen angels intermingle with human women (Gen. 6:1-4). He did this in an attempt to corrupt mankind so that a Messiah could not come through the race of man (Gen. 3:15). After the Rapture, Satan will attempt this same feat again by use of the Mark. He knows his time is short (Rev. 12:12) and he is seeking to take as many down with him as possible. Of course, the Antichrist and False Prophet will catch the brunt of God's wrath, seemingly, even more so than Satan will, since they will spend an additional thousand years in the lake of fire ahead of him (Rev. 19:20, 20:10). Although we do not know what technology will exactly encompass the mark of the beast, we at least understand that it permanently dooms its bearer to eternal separation from God (Rev. 14:9-11). Presumably, the technology we are seeing being developed today (digital currency, quantum computers, 5G wireless systems, implantable technology, biometrics, artificial intelligence, etc.) will somehow be packaged up into an all-encompassing system that this final world government will use to control ALL buying and selling across the planet. Somehow, Satan will find a way to once again, permanently corrupt the human race through this mark. As stated on previous briefs, I believe it is very likely (and easy) for demonic hosts to possess technology. Perhaps the mark permanently affixes a demonic host to the bearer, who then becomes possessed themselves, unable (and unwilling) to turn to Christ. You might be thinking, wow Pete, this is interesting and all, but what does all this mean for us in the here and now? I have work to deal with, bills to pay, health issues to worry about, and trying to figure out how I am going to make it until the next paycheck, let alone, having to worry about all this Antichrist stuff. What does this have to do with the here and now? I know some of you might think all this talk about the end-times, the Antichrist, a one-world government, Armageddon, etc. is only a fringe topic, or that it will never happen in our lifetime. Some of you might think that is someone else's problem to worry about, but that is only true if you are a born-again believer. If you remember the movie The Matrix, which came out back in 1999, one of the underlying themes of the story was that the world we (they) currently lived in, was really just a façade. Humans in the world of the real were nothing more than batteries from whom an artificially intelligent god-like system could use to harvest electricity. That system, created a fake-world for the mind (the matrix) so that humans could go on believing they were still alive and free, but in reality, were confined to a pod and hooked up to the system. In regards to the matrix, if you were not physically unplugged from the system, you were part of the matrix. This meant that an agent (an AI enforcer) could possess your body at a moment's notice and turn you into whatever they needed. Although I seriously doubt the creators of this movie intended any kind of biblical connection to their story, but there is a certain level of truth to the premise. You see, we are all born with a tripartite nature (1 Thess. 5:23), into this corrupted reality, in a state of bondage (sin) that keeps us physically enslaved to the matrix (the world). Although we are all given a grace period (until an age of accountability), we are brought into a world where we led to believe we are free to live without consequences. This is the great lie. If you live past your age of accountability and have not become born again, you essentially become a dead-man walking, which is to say, physically alive, but spiritually dead (Romans 7:9). Your spirit is what HAS to be regenerated through believing and trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ- that is His death, burial, and resurrection for our sins (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10, 1 Cor. 15:1-5). If you do not choose to do this, you in a sense, become part of "the matrix" and Satan can use you, torment you, and harden you to the point that you may never be able to come to the knowledge of the truth as to be saved (2 Thess. 2:10-11). Just as Pharaoh hardened his heart against God over and over, there will come a point in a person's life where they will be unable to be saved (Romans 1:18-32), because God will give them over to a debased mind. They will become antichrist, and fit only for eternal destruction. That should be a terrifying thought. Although we cannot see it with our human eyes, there is a war raging all around us, (Eph. 6:12) Satan can and is actively attempting to destroy you every day through whatever means he can. This war is over the souls of man, and Satan is intent on taking everyone he can down to hell with him to spite God. Satan uses the humans he has already turned to be his physical extensions in our reality to prevent the Gospel of Jesus Christ from ever seeing the light of day. Therefore, although there is a literal Antichrist coming, the Apostle John warned us that many antichrists have already come, and that the spirit of antichrist is alive and well in the world today. Every single person reading this knows an antichrist. You might even be one yourself if you have not placed your hope and faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. ...and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 1 John 4:3 Is It Time for The IDF To Inflict 'Massive Damage' On Hamas? - By Israel Kasnett - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=3171 As of Sunday evening, four Israeli civilians have been killed after terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched more than 600 rockets and mortars from Gaza into Israel. By doing so, Hamas and Islamic Jihad commit a double war crime by firing at civilians while hiding behind civilians. A delegation of U.S. ambassadors currently visiting Israel published a joint statement in which they said, "Enough is enough!" The statement also read, "Can one imagine rockets falling on Washington, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Bern or Lisbon today without an appropriately strong reaction?" Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, mirrored their statement, telling JNS, "Enough is enough." He said that while Israel "may not be able to 'solve' the intractable protracted conflict," it needs to "restore deterrence eroded over time versus Hamas, signaling to all bad guys in the Middle East that we mean business." Inbar also said that if targeted killings are not "convincing enough, Israel should escalate its response and "even consider conquering parts of or all of Gaza to eliminate significant parts of the Hamas war machine," which he admitted would likely be rebuilt over time anyway. Palestinian society needs 'profound structural reform' Efraim Karsh, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, told JNS that "the current conflagration in Gaza, like its numerous precursors over the past decade, is a direct corollary of the Oslo peace process that established an unreconstructed terror entity in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip." Karsh pointed to "the creation of free and democratic societies in Germany and Japan after World War II" necessitating a "comprehensive sociopolitical and educational transformation" as an example of the kind of "profound structural reform" that the "corrupt and oppressive PLO and Hamas regimes" need to undergo. He said the PLO and Hamas must be swept from power, eradicating the "endemic violence from Palestinian political and social life." Instead, Palestinians must be taught "the virtues of coexistence with Israel [that] can lead to a lasting peace." Karsh lamented that Oslo destroyed such a scenario, "which seemed to be in the offing in 1993 when the PLO hovered on the verge of extinction and West Bank and Gaza leadership appeared eager to strike a historic deal within the framework of the Washington peace negotiations." He suggested that Israel "seek to establish a long spell of quiet (say five to 10 years) along the Gaza front by inflicting massive damage and intolerable pain on Hamas while seeking to detach it from the long-suffering Palestinian population, on the one hand, and refrain from any concessions that will transform the far more strategically important West Bank into a similarly formidable terror entity, on the other." Inbar agreed that Israel should inflict massive damage against Hamas. "Unfortunately," Inbar said, "the IDF concept of using accurate intelligence for pinpoint airstrikes has proven deficient. A land incursion may be needed to convince Israel's enemies that we are ready to pay a price in casualties in order to secure the well-being of our citizens." Otherwise, he warned, "in the absence of a resolution, we will continue to be blackmailed by Hamas." Nearing Midnight: What Secret Rapture? - Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ One of the invectives employed to denigrate the pre-Trib Rapture view continues, and grows more angry in expression. The charge is that we who believe the pre-Trib view as truth from God's Word claim there will be a secret Rapture. We are, those who oppose the pre-Trib view say, ignoring the prophecy that "every eye shall see him" when Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation (Daniel's seventieth week). It is clear, they proclaim, that God will gather the elect from the four points of Heaven upon the Second Advent. There is, they adamantly declare, only one Second Coming of Christ, not two phases of that great event as we believe Scripture teaches. While listening to a TV preacher the other day, I heard this charge and a number of others. But the scriptural basis for his accusation that we who believe and teach the pre-Trib Rapture are false teachers came primarily from one premise. We, he-like others of the post-Trib teachers-proclaimed that we "pre-Tribbers" have no understanding of the use of trumpets in prophecy yet future. These who clutch the post-Trib view on the Rapture of the Church angrily propose that we who hold the pre-Trib position say the Lord will quietly slip into the clouds above the planet. He will then, in a very stealthy manner, sneak believers into His presence. This would be, they inveigh, totally in contradiction to the "every eye will see" Christ prophecy, regarding when He returns in power and glory at the end of Armageddon. Like those who hold to the mid-Trib view (that the Rapture will occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation) and to the pre-wrath view (that the Rapture will take place immediately before God's wrath in the great Tribulation begins), the post-Trib purveyors declare that those of us who teach the pre-Trib view endanger Christians. We are false teachers and will cause them to not recognize Antichrist when he comes to power. Christians, therefore, will be in danger of falling for the beast's lie of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. They might then accept his number-and-mark system and take the mark of the beast of Revelation 13:16-18. Of course, the question in all of this first comes to mind, as expressed in the title of this commentary: "What Secret Rapture?" Jesus, Himself, we are told, will shout "Come up here!" (Revelation 4:1). His voice will be like the voice of an archangel. It will be like a trumpet or shofar. Every living believer-and even the dead believers of the Age of Grace (Church Age) will hear the Lord's call. There is nowhere in Scripture regarding Paul's prophecies on the Rapture where this call will be without loud acclamation. The world of rebels might not know what it means, but no Scripture says it will be a secret. Much more than this, I am persuaded in the deepest reaches of my spiritual heart that Jesus speaks to this very fact in His Olivet Discourse. Christ will make His insertion into the affairs of mankind known! We have looked at it many times. Here are the most relevant scriptural references in trying to make the point. Jesus foretells precisely the conditions at the time of His next intervention into human history. He first instructs believers about the "twinkling of an eye" moment when He will intervene: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36). "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Matthew 24:42). Notice that this intervention into human history will be completely different from the Second Advent (Revelation 19:11) when "every eye will see" Him. For this great event (the first phase of Christ's Second Coming), there is no notice. No one knows the time of its occurrence. In the case of the Second Advent (the second phase), the exact number of days until its occurrence can be calculated. Then, Scripture records Christ's most profound prophetic indicator to prove the point that this will not be a secret Rapture: Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17:28-30) Again, notice that this could not be the Second Advent at the end of Armageddon. Things are going along relatively normal at the time described in Jesus' prophecy in this case. The horrors as described in the seals, trumpet, and bowl judgments are not in view. People are going about business as usual. Jesus says this will be a time when the Son of man is revealed. Get it? This is not a secret Rapture! It is a tremendously explosive time in human history-like when Sodom and Gomorrah were judged! Here is how we know the pre-Trib Rapture is the truth and not the demonic, imaginative figment of some young witch in the 1800s. God, Himself, tells us precisely that this removal of His people-believers-will happen an instant before His judgment falls. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. It will be just like that judgment, Jesus forewarned. There will be great, planetary troubles beginning at the very time of the Rapture of the Church. Judgment will begin falling that very day. While it will become increasingly more destructive as the time approaches the confirming of the covenant of Daniel 9:26-27 and beyond, God's judgment will begin at the moment (twinkling of an eye-atomos of time) He next reveals Himself to this rebellious planet of earth dwellers. And, about the pre-Tribbers-as the TV preacher I heard called us in a scathing tone-who are, he says, ignorant or deliberately misleading in consideration of the term "last trump," I will add a few concluding words. The charge is that there is only one "last trump" or "trumpet" in prophecy yet future. The post-Trib view most often concludes that it is found in Revelation 11:15-19. This, they declare, is the same "trumpet" found in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52-even though the word "trumpet" isn't mentioned in Revelation 11:15-19. In fact, that passage says: And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. I will let you, the reader, look these up for brevity's sake. Just consider that this is the chief point of their argument against the pre-Trib view, which is based upon many scriptural references, all within specific context. Dr. Thomas Ice has quoted Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost in tearing apart that post-Trib argument regarding the last trump. He first presents facts about iblical trumpets. Throughout the Bible there are a number of trumpets being blown. For example in Numbers 10 there are trumpets being used in order to give commands to the people of Israel. For example, a trumpet is used to assemble the people for their journey and another trumpet that signals the start of their journey. There were trumpet sounds that would tell the people to stop and another sound telling them to assemble. Depending upon whether the people were moving are getting ready to move, the last trumpet would signal them to move or if moving, a second last trumpet sound would tell them when to stop. So even in this context, for example, there are multiple "last trumpets." ("The Last Trumpet," by Thomas Ice, raptureready.com) Dwight Pentecost cites the following reasons as to why the "last trumpet" in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is different from any of the trumpet judgments in Revelation. There seems to be a number of observations that make it impossible for one to identify these two trumps. (1) The trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52...sounds before the wrath of God descends, while...the chronology or Revelation indicates that the trumpet in Revelation 11:15 sounds at the end of the time of wrath.... (2) The trumpet that summons the church is called the trump of God, while the seventh trump is an angel' s trumpet.... (3) The trumpet for the church is singular. No trumpets have preceded it so that it can not be said to be the last of a series. The trumpet that closes the tribulation period is clearly the last of a series of seven. (4) In 1 Thessalonians 4 the voice associated with the sounding of the trumpet summons the dead and the living and consequently is heard before the resurrection. In the Revelation, while a resurrection is mentioned (11:12), the trumpet does not sound until after the resurrection, showing us that two different events must be in view. (5) The trumpet in 1 Thessalonians issues in blessing, in life, in glory, while the trumpet in Revelation issues in judgment upon the enemies of God. (6) In the Thessalonians passage the trumpet sounds "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." In Revelation 10:7 the indication is that the seventh trumpet shall sound over a continued period of time, probably for the duration of the judgments that fall under it, for John speaks of the angel that shall "begin to sound."... (7) The trumpet in 1 Thessalonians is distinctly for the church. Since God is dealing with Israel in particular, and Gentiles in general, in the tribulation, this seventh trumpet, which falls in the period of the tribulation, could not have reference to the church without losing the distinctions between the church and Israel. (8) The passage in Revelation depicts a great earthquake in which thousands are slain, and the believing remnant that worships God is stricken with fear. In the Thessalonians passage there is no earth quake mentioned. (9) While the church will be rewarded at the time of the rapture, yet the reward given to "thy servants the prophets, and to the saints" cannot be that event. The rewarding mentioned in Revelation 11:18 is seen to take place on the earth after the second advent of Christ, following the judgment on His enemies. Since the church is rewarded in the air, following the rapture, these must be two distinct events. (J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958), pp. 189-91) The trumpet blast (Christ's voice) that calls us into His presence for an eternity of joy and glory will be the most profound ever heard! It will not be a secret, but Jesus Christ being revealed as the Savior who keeps promises without fail. Lovers of Israel Find New Use for Rocket Alert App; Call to Prayer - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - www.breakingisraelnews.com "Pray for the well-being of Yerushalayim; "May those who love you be at peace." Psalms 122:6 (The Israel Bible™) Israeli cell phones have been buzzing almost constantly for the last few days, with special apps warning of incoming rocket attacks from Gaza. But foreigners who love Israel have repurposed the app, using it as a call to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. Pastor Victor Styrsky has been a pastor, music director, and pro-Israel activist in Northern California for more than thirty years and is Christians United for Israel's (CUFI) Eastern Regional Coordinator. Despite being on the other side of the world, Pastor Styrsky had total empathy for the Israelis living near Gaza. Rebecca Einstein Schorr wrote about her experiences in America with the app on her blog Kveller. "Now, I know that having my phone bleep isn't the same when my life does not depend on my ability to locate and get to a miklat (shelter) with my kids within seconds," Schorr wrote. "Or, if we were at home, get to our mamad (protected room). Hearing the sound doesn't strike fear in our hearts or give us nightmares," Schorr wrote. "But what it has done is given us a reality check. It has given my children a sense of how disrupted daily life has been in Israel lately and, for those in the south, for the past 12 years." Lisa and Wayne Craig in Texas made the distinctly patriotic gesture of installing the Red Alert app on the Fourth of July in 2014 when Wayne was working at the Intel plant in Kiryat Gat and the Gaza War broke out. The app was literally a lifesaver as it warned them of hundreds of rockets raining down on Israel. They still have the app installed though for more sympathetic reasons. "We cringe with anxiety to hear the siren alarm go off endlessly at times," Lisa told Breaking Israel News. "Last night we put our phones on vibrate, but not to totally silence what was going on. It is hard to listen from afar and feel our hands are tied. We want to give Israel safety but we are feeling bewildered at the same time. Our reading Tehillim (Psalms) will continue as well as our prayers." Despite their experiences living under the threat of rockets, the Craigs plan on returning for a visit next month. Rockets or not. Pastor Trey Graham of First Melissa in Texas has been to Israel many times but he keeps the alerts activated even when back home in Texas. "I have the Red Alert app on my phone and watch the alerts as they come in," Pastor Graham told Breaking Israel News. "They often wake me up in the middle of the night." The pastor sees the alerts as an opportunity for prayer. "I pray for the protection of the innocent victims in their homes," Pastor Graham said. "I pray for the IDF soldiers who will be fighting. I pray for the evil terrorists to be defeated. I pray for Israel's leaders to make bold and wise decisions. I send messages of encouragement to friends who live in these areas under attack. I answer questions from American Christians who see news reports and want to learn more details." Rabbi Tuly Weisz of Israel365 heard the red alert sirens go off in his town of Bet Shemesh for the first time on Saturday. He is grateful for the prayers flowing in to Israel from around the world. "It's heartwarming to know that Christians around the world have downloaded the Red Alert app so they can feel what the Jewish people are feeling during times of crisis," Weisz told Breaking Israel News. "We know that God feels our pain and walks with us in crisis. Psalm 91:15 tells us so, "I will be with him in distress." Once again, our Christian friends are reminding us we are not alone and they are following Hashem's word by also being with us in our distress. I encourage all Christians who care for Israel to download the Red Alert app so they turn their smartphones into prayer devices." Daily Jot: The new slogan of the haters - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com Presidential hopeful Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) came up with a cleaver new slogan over the weekend at a so-called "Freedom Fund Dinner" sponsored by the NAACP. She set it up by first spinning lies to the audience saying, "This guy in the White House said neo-Nazis were fine people when they marched on Charlottesville. He's attacked communities of color and leaders of color by name." Then she delivered: "Let's speak truth here and today. This president isn't trying to make America great. He's trying to make America hate." So in telling lies, and saying they are the truth, Harris rolled out the hate card, just as so many of the actual haters do. Let's examine what she said was true and what is actually true. First and foremost, disagreeing with people is not attacking them. People like congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) have been spreading hate about President Donald Trump and anyone who supports him by saying that they are racists and bigots. Remember she was one of the crowd of leaders of color who encouraged others to confront anyone who supported Trump-at restaurants, gas stations, and other places of business-and tell them they were not welcome. Imagine the outrage if anyone told Waters or other leaders of color that they were not welcome at a restaurant. Yet if you disagree with these outrageous suggestions that people of a certain political persuasion are not welcome in public, you are the hater? The other lie of the "make America hate" spinner was about Charlottesville. The President was not referring to neo-Nazis, or the Democratic Party's militant arm Antifa, when he said there were many fine people on both sides protesting in Charlottesville. CNN's Chris Cuomo deceptively edited Trump's remarks to give the impression that the President said there were "very fine people on both sides" of the protest in support of the white supremacists. Trump actually condemned the neo-Nazis and in explaining that many people were present to protest the removal of Robert E Lee's statue from a park, he said, "You had some very bad people in that group (neo-Nazis). But you also had people that were very fine people on both sides." CNN admitted it edited the video footage to give the impression Trump was supporting neo-Nazis. Trump has said and tweeted enough political fodder that Harris and other Democratic candidates don't have to spin lies about him. Even so, to accuse someone of hate and to stir up those who are predisposed to believe it with lies, is not only horrendous statesmanship, it is extremely bad character. Both Harris and former vice president Joe Biden (D-DE) recently have used this neo-Nazi lie to stir up hate with accusations of hate. If you are looking for offense, you will find offense. If you are looking for hate, you will find hate. It is a sad, sad day when those who are running for our nation's highest office, use lies to pit Americans against one another. Proverbs 13:5 says, "A righteous man hates lying: but a wicked man acts disgustingly and comes to shame." If there is anything we should hate, it's the lie. If you hear a lie, call it out. Daily Devotion: The Threat from Within - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. - Nehemiah 5:1 Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, remarked to the other founding fathers, "We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Franklin knew the greatest threat to the new nation called the United States of America was not the British coming from the outside; it was division and internal strife coming from the inside. This is what was happening as Nehemiah and the people of Judah rebuilt Jerusalem's walls: "About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. They were saying, 'We have such large families. We need more food to survive'" (Nehemiah 5:1-2 NLT). These people had left Babylon at great sacrifice. They weren't builders. They were just people who saw a job that needed to be done, and they wanted to do something about it. However, they were being taken advantage of by their own spiritual family, their fellow Jews. To make matters worse, there was a famine, and these people were paying insanely high-interest rates to their greedy relatives. I've come to know that some people who claim they are Christians don't behave as Christians. It is hard for me to believe they are followers of Christ. They profess faith in Him, but sometimes I wonder. If the devil can't succeed in attacking from the outside, he will try attacking from the inside. Instead of conquering and destroying, he will divide and conquer. Discouragement often happens when a project, plan, or relationship isn't going the way we want it to go. And when we take our eyes off the Lord, we will get discouraged. There will be times when we're misunderstood, misrepresented, and unappreciated. So when you're feeling discouraged, put your eyes on the Lord. 
FROM THE HEART
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