Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Can We MAGA? - By Pete Garcia -
https://www.rev310.com/2020/05/can-we-maga YOU are not just in the last days. YOU are in the last moments of the last days. THE world as you knew it, is no more. THE world that is to come is here. Sound shocking? Perhaps. Am I being sensational? Not really. If you have read your bible (I am assuming you have), then you know I am correct. Not only is there no mention of the United States (as a sovereign superpower) in the Bible, but there is no nation resembling the United States either. In fact, the last gentile superpower is a hybrid, dragon-like chimera, made up of seven heads, ten horns (plus one), and ten crowns. Oh, also, it is made out of iron and miry clay. Doesn't sound like the good ole' US of A, does it? I know, I know, I'm mixing up my prophecies. Daniel 2 vis a vis Daniel 7-8 and Revelation 13. But they're all ultimately referring to the right thing...right? I am referring to the final kingdom, which will ultimately come to conquer and enslave the entire world. Now, the USA has been around officially, since 1776. We have yet to try and enslave the entire world...not necessarily at least. We have since the end of World War II, ruthlessly enforced the Bretton Woods Agreement, which established the US Dollar as THE world's global reserve currency. However, we later had to abandon that for the more liquidable assets such as the Petrodollar initiative. OPEC Oil, which would replace physical gold as the peg, allowed the US Dollar to remain the global reserve currency. I mean, but other than that pesky money thingy, we haven't enslaved the world right? Well, not directly. We, more or less, opened Pandora's Box. We created both a nuclear arms race and a space race. We helped foster a forty-year Cold War with our next closest rival. We pushed the world headfirst into the information age with the advent of the computer. We then either willfully shared, or unwittingly allowed this technology to be strewn across the world. Part of that was done under the guise of being a benevolent superpower (a rising tide raises all boats) and would help shore up our fight in flattening the curve of a viral communism. The other motivation for this was because being capitalists; we saw the market demand and had dollar $ign$ in our eyes. However, our allies also had dollar signs in their eyes and sold their versions to their friends. Their friends sold to their friends and so on. Pretty soon, everyone had the goodies, which in turn, fed the beast of the military-industrial complex. After a while, we decided to cut out the middlemen entirely and just sell directly...even to countries whose own ethical and moral governance were no better than our enemies were. We decided to level the playing field for the rest of the world, while we kept the latest and greatest toys for ourselves. Simultaneous to this, we created the internet and advanced scientific output in all areas of communications, electronics, robotics, and genetics. We then got all benevolent again, ignoring the tried and true understanding that not all cultures are equal. Some cultures still favor despotism, human trafficking, human testing, Sharia Law, and countless other forms of barbarism. Nevertheless, after a century of liberalism and political correctness being crammed into every orifice of every major university in America, we came to believe that terrorists and despots were just victims of their environments. With a little prosperity, they would change their ways and come to think as we do. Besides, doesn't the theory of comparative advantage ensure nations who engage in trade never wage war against each other? "Some day all barriers will fall; some day mankind, constantly united by continuous transactions, will form just one workshop, one market, and one family. . . . And this is . . . the grandeur, the truth, the nobility, I might almost say the holiness of the free-trade doctrine; by the prosaic but effective pressure of [material] interest it tends to make justice and harmony prevail in the world." French economist and Classical Liberal, Frederic Passy < I mean, who doesn't think that the world has become more peaceful since 1840? > Perhaps the world just needed more entertainment. Not only did the US open the floodgates of information to the rest of the world, but we also helped corrupt it. We corrupted it with our abandonment of God through the secularization of academia, and the gratuitous promotion of godless television, books, music, and cinema. Well, that is not a fair assessment. We didn't entirely corrupt it, because the world was corrupt before we became a nation, but Hollywood sure as heck glamourized the corruption like no other. America was supposed to be a shining city on a hill. America was supposed to be the last refuge of free peoples left in the world. We were supposed to be the gold standard by which all other nations could measure their worth and their backbones. After our victorious triumph of World War II, we let our guard down. Sure, we continued to stand toe to toe with any enemy who dared challenge our geopolitical hegemony. But in our pride, we assumed, like every other great empire before us that we would never falter. Our nation would live on forever. We let our guard down. We quit paying attention to the enemies slipping in through the cracks of our soft underbelly. It was in our prosperity that we became a nation of toleration. At first, we vigilantly fought back the shadows were evil and wickedness attempted to flourish. However, as time marched on, what had been unthinkable to one generation simply became acceptable to the next. In that permissiveness, came the requests for normalization. Shortly thereafter, the normalization came the legalization. After the legalization, came the demands for total acceptance. In the process, we came to accept the normalization of divorce, infanticide, homosexual marriage, transgenderism, drug use, paganism, euthanasia, and dozens of other counter-culture aberrations detrimental to a healthy society. After this, our nation quickly moved towards the complete abandonment of God. Then a curious thing happened. God's providential hand of protection was removed. We were rapidly becoming a post-Christian, Romans-1 nation. A nation both consumed and destroyed by our lusts. These were not just sexual lusts, but lusts for power, money, efficiency, convenience, and the almighty dollar. We became our own worst enemies. Worse yet, we were blinded by secularization, and unable to identify the root cause of what really ailed us, sin. Thus, it became politically incorrect (and inconvenient) to call sin, sin. We began to rationalize our troubles and began earnestly seeking out scapegoats we could lump our problems upon inequality, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, white people, rich people, men, Jews, and lastly Christian evangelicals. We began moving from crisis to crisis. Each one, further eroding our civil liberties for the betterment of the whole (they said). 9/11 shook our confidence in our security, so we gave the government more authority to spy on us. The 2008 mortgage crisis shook our confidence in the economy, so we indebted ourselves by trillions of dollars to prevent the 'too big to fail' banks from failing. We were led to believe that our healthcare system was no better than Uzbekistan's, thus, we federalized our healthcare system. However, 2020 takes the cake for the most blatant example of being rolled into subservience by a manufactured crisis. We, freedom lovers, were quickly laid low by the Chinese flu. We abandoned our livelihoods, closed up our shops, shuttered our churches, and crawled inside our homes and let our state and local governments rule us like a 13th-century fiefdom. We took Ben Franklin's timeless warning that people, who desire safety over freedom, deserve neither, and quarantined it. Hey, friend listen; I am not pointing a finger at you. I'm pointing a finger at myself. We all fell for the charade-con-corona and the ever-shifting advice of the deep state medical experts. Just be thankful that this happened now, and not in October of 2020. At least now, there was time to expose the democrat governors and their leftist, socialist, godless party for what it was all along...the fourth coup. I love my country. Much of what is mentioned here happened long before Donald J. Trump ever became President. Furthermore, this was not an attempt to lay blame on him or on conservatives in general either. Political conservatives and Christian evangelicals (as substrata of American society) have in general, loved America and what she has represented, for centuries. Moreover, despite her flaws, the United States has long been a safe-haven for both Christianity and Judaism since our founding and has done more to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every corner of the world than has any other nation in history. Part of why the leftist and liberals absolutely and irrationally hate Trump, is because he fundamentally believes in the greatness of America. He, despite having the odds severely against his administration, has had the most economic success of any American president in history. Therefore, it was in 2016 that the most unlikely candidate wins the most unlikely election, in the history of the United States. It also just so happens that he is the most: pro-life, pro-Christian, pro-Israeli, and anti-globalist president in the history of the United States. Against all odds, against an overtly hostile liberal media, and against a deeply embedded and relentless, shadowy deep state, Donald J. Trump won a decided victory against Hillary Clinton. Since then, DJT has endured three separate coup attempts by the Democrat party. The last attempt, ended in a failed impeachment attempt in the Senate, just as a newly minted global pandemic was about to begin. Coincidence? Hardly. However, this begs the question: can we really make America great again? Is it too late? What does the Bible say about America in the last days? Can We MAGA? A Treatise on the Rapture and the role of the United States in Bible Prophecy: Part II In both Acts chapter 2 and Hebrews chapter 1, the Bible uses the term "the last days" as beginning when Christ first arrived to this world in the tiny manger in Bethlehem at His Incarnation. That is when the Bible states the world entered into the last days. So for all intents and purposes, we here now, some 2,000 years later, are most definitely in the last days. You could even say that we are in the last moments of the last days. The Bible uses the nation of Israel, not only for the central purpose of having a separate people set aside by God through which a Messiah could come through, but also as a time-bearer. In fact, there are only 11 chapters in the entire bible where the nation of Israel is not in existence in some form or fashion. To that point, God gave the nation of Israel, 490 years by which it would usher in the end of days (Daniel 9:24-27). Beginning with Nehemiah, 483 years concluded with the death of the Jesus on the cross, leaving only seven-years remaining. Clearly, since we are still here some two-thousand years later, the world did not end. That left theologians and scholars to debate the where and when of the final seven-years. Did they end with the Roman sacking of Jerusalem in AD70? Alternatively, are they yet future? I lean toward the latter, simply because there is nothing historically that line up with the descriptions given in either the Gospel's Olivet accounts or the entirety of the book of Revelation (Rev. 4-22). Understanding that, we are witnessing the world rush headlong into all the cultural, geopolitical, economic, and religious conditions necessary for that final week of years to begin. In fact, there is only one barrier left for that last week of years to begin; that is the Rapture of the Church. To be clear, the Rapture does not begin the 70th Week, but it does set things in motions for that last week to begin. However, that is not to say that all will be smooth sailing between now and the Rapture. The devil is also trying to impose his will into the last day's events. He knows his time is short. He is actively trying to both stall events from proceeding any further until he can get his affairs in order. He needs a leader who can quickly assume the mantel of the global leadership. In order to do that, he needs a crisis on a global magnitude designed to dismantle national sovereignty, national currencies, and separate religions. In truth, this effort began in earnest back in World War I, but has only escalated to a fever pitch since then. Let us first look at the requirements for the Last Days. "It shall come to pass that in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall dream dreams. And on my menservants and on my maidservants, I will pour out my Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whosever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved." Acts 2:17 1. God first began to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh at Pentecost, some fifty days after the Resurrection. Since then, God the Holy Spirit has been working throughout the earth drawing all mankind unto Himself from every tongue and tribe (Matt. 28:18-20). The Holy Spirit is moving through His people awakening them to the nearness of the hour of the Son's return through the convergence of these signs, especially since 1948. This is why so many of us are coming to the same conclusion that we are indeed, very near to the Lord's return. 2. The Church was birthed at the cross (John 19:34) and given its first breath of life at Pentecost (Acts 2:2). During the Church Age, the role of the Holy Spirit is to baptize each believer into the multi-membered, corporate, singular body of Christ (Matt. 3:11, 1 Cor. 12:13, Eph. 4:30). However, the same eternal Holy Spirit who had been given so dramatically at Pentecost had already been operating on the earth since Genesis 1:2 Creation. So why all the dramatics of Pentecost in Acts 2? Aside from energizing Creation, the Holy Spirit's role in the Old Testament was to draw individuals (ex. Samson, Saul, David, etc.) to do specific things. However, His role from Pentecost until the Rapture has been to draw and seal into the body of Christ, all who calls upon the name of the Lord. This "pouring out" of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2 to present) will change when God brings His Church back to Himself (John 14:1-3). The Holy Spirit's role will then return to that of the Old Testament, empowering individuals to do specific things to advance God's agenda of judgment and fire (Revelation 7 & 11). 3. Since the rebirth of the nation of Israel, the physical signs (in heaven and on earth) have begun intensifying like contractions in a pregnancy (Isa. 66:7-11, Matt. 24:8, Romans 8:22-23). Most physical signs, whether speaking to the increase or intensity, are debatable. However, there are things that are not debatable, such as the blood moons. Regardless of whether most reputable theologians shrugged these blood moons off as non-events at the same time fringe-theologians tried to capitalize on them (see Hagee, Biltz, etc.), these events probably did mean something in the grand scheme. See the following excerpt below from earthsky.org (a non-Christian website) (Begin quote) For instance, in our 21st century (2001-2100), there are a total of eight tetrads, but in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, there were none at all. If we include all the centuries from the 1st century (A.D. 1-100) through the 21st century (2001-2100), inclusive, there are a total of 62 tetrads. The last one happened in 2014-2015, and the next one will happen in 2032-2033. The 2014-2015 tetrad fell on the Jewish feasts of Passover and Tabernacles. That happens a total of eight times in these 21 centuries: 1. 62-163 C.E. (Common Era) 2. 795-796 C.E. 3. 842-843 C.E. 4. 860-861 C.E. 5. 1493-1494 C.E. 6. 1949-1950 C.E. 7. 1967-1968 C.E. 8. 2014-2015 C.E. (end quote) Is the timing on the last four coincidence? They were all significant years, not only for Israel but also for the world in general. Curiously, the next set of tetrad falls in the years 2032-33. "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good"....2 Timothy 3:1-3 The signs that Paul lists out is par for the course these days. Simply following the news for the past forty years, and you can see how quickly our nation has descended into the godless nation we are today. Because of biblical ignorance, a growing number of cults since the mid-1800s have tied their flawed and deadly teachings to the Second Coming. They are able to do this since people have largely become unlearned in regards to sound doctrine (see Acts 20:27-31). If we were to continue reading Paul's letter to Timothy, we would have seen in verse five, that those professing religiosity, had a form of godliness but denying its power. This parallels Jesus' letter to the church at Laodicea, being luke-warm, self-reliant, and absolutely nauseating to Christ. The growing majority of mainstream Christian churches refuse to teach on bible prophecy and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such an odd time for the churches to go silent about the Lord's soon return don't you think? "Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth"...James 5:2-4 Around eight men control more than half of all the wealth in all the world (source). Nationally, the United States overwhelmingly controls the wealth in the world ($105.99T or 29% of the world's wealth) The world is rampant with fraud. There are simply too many instances of greed to list, but we have seen four separate financial reckonings since 1987.
The world (writ-large) is so far into debt, that the ONLY possible solution, is get rid of all fiat, paper-backed monies, and move exclusively to a digital currency. The US is already looking at being within spitting distance of $30T of debt. "...knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." 2 Peter 3:3-4 1. According to the last study I could find on the subject, (2013 Pew Study) around 52% of professing Christians either believe that Jesus will definitely not return, or are unsure/don't care whether He does. A 2010 study (source) showed that 46% of American evangelicals did not believe that Christ would return in their lifetime. 2. Although we only see an increase of 6% in three years of those who do not believe that, the Lord will return within the next forty years. While that is no conclusive evidence to point towards growing skepticism, a reasonable assumption is that as America continues to become less Christian, that disparity between belief and skepticism has and will only grow more distinct. 3. Hollywood, the media, and the rest of pop culture continue to mock Christ, Christianity, and His return with increasing vigor and intensity. Conclusion FIRST, given these verses and the subsequent scenarios, we can reasonably conclude that we are in fact, in the last moments of the last days. Although not highlighted in the above passages, there are several notable things about the conspicuous absence of a nation like the United States in Bible prophecy. The final, dominant, gentile kingdom will be a regional power structure, most likely based in Europe, not the United States (Daniel 2:41-43, Dan. 9:26-27, Revelation 13:1-5). Given the dominance of the United States over the past seventy years, it appears that our global dominance (political, economic, and military) was part of God's overarching plan to rebirth the nation of Israel. The US was the first nation to officially recognize Israel (Pres. Truman-May 14th, 1948), and the first to move our embassy to Jerusalem seventy-years later (Pres. Trump-May 14th, 2018). The number seventy is often used and always symbolizes the spiritual completeness or perfectness of something. Could it be that the United States dominance on the world stage is set for 70 years and no more? Given the 2020 novel-coronavirus (Wuhan variation) and the subsequent global shutdown, it seems that a global reordering is in the works, and the US may not find itself atop the food chain much longer. SECONDLY, when the Rapture does happen, it will remove a certain percentage of believers from each country. I also happen to believe, that children will be removed as well, given the fact they will not be able to come to an age of accountability during the 70th Week (aka...the Tribulation). However, that is my opinion, but we shall wait and see how that all transpires. Regardless, the Rapture to one degree or another will affect every nation. Even if only 10% of Americans are raptured in the blink of an eye, that is still (by today's population standards) around 3.5 million Americans. Not just the amount, but also that is Christian's from every stratum of society. Our absence will have a devastating and irreparable impact to the economy. LASTLY, it could be that Satan has hatched this novel-coronavirus scheme ahead of the rapture, to get the world postured for such an event. He has to get the world using one currency, united in one religion, and organized for global government in short order. If he can get the governments aligned under a regional control structure, it is much easier to co-opt into a singular world govt. then from 193 autonomous nations. The likelihood of a gap in time between the Rapture-event and the official start of the 70th Week could be in the realm of months to years. For Satan, the longer the better. Given that the last set of blood moons occur in the years 2032-33, if we were to subtract seven years (for the last week of years), we would be looking at the start of the Tribulation beginning sometime between the years 2025-26. So where is the United States? It begins with the Rapture of the Church, creating mass societal and economic chaos, primarily in North America. During the gap in time and presumably through the Seal Judgments, the Antichrist's forces begin to consolidate America's wealth and resources back over to the Old World. Here we see the massive migration of tech companies and the military-industrial complex corporations begin to relocate as the US (or what remains) folds in on itself. It is this author's opinion that the America's (north, central, and south) are largely taking out of commission during the Trumpet Judgments.
The America's (north, central, and south) make up around a third of the earth's landmass. They also make up a third of the earth's vegetation. If we look at the waters surrounding the America's in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, we could see how one-third of the ocean waters are rendered lifeless and unusable. If this asteroid/comet Wormwood impacts the America's, it could very easily render the water and the skies above the Americas bitter and darkened. In other words, something divinely appointed happens during these judgments that have very physical and geological ramifications. From a strategic perspective, God is confining the beast to a specific geographic region of the world. This is why Armageddon happens in the Valley of Megiddo, rather than in Kansas. Satan will not be able to use the America's anymore, and anyone left there would long since have died regardless of how well prepared they thought they were. So given all these thoughts, the US has run its course of usefulness according to God's prophetic purposes. Despite her flaws and failings, the US has largely been a force for good in the world. Nevertheless, God appoints the times and boundaries of nations (Acts 17:26) and when America's purposes have run their course, God will end her just as He has every kingdom, empire, and nation before. Once the Rapture removes the bride of Christ from the world, it is my opinion, that the gap of time leading up to the beginning of the official start of the Tribulation will see a tremendous harvest of souls. It is a grace period because of God's long-suffering that none perishes (2nd Peter 3:9). Those people, who come to faith in Christ after the Rapture and because of it, will cost them their livelihood as well as their lives (Rev. 6:9-11, 13:7). It is very likely that the work we are doing today talking, writing, preaching, and teaching about the Rapture, will likely be part of why this harvest is so great. Perhaps it is still why we still have the freedom to write, teach, and preach on this now. For those that remain and do not repent, and are unpersuaded (hardening their hearts) by the compounding judgments, will believe the lie (presumably about what the Rapture was) so as not to be saved (2nd Thess. 2:9-11). These will flee the Americas and will join forces with the rising Beast system, and will take his mark and be forever damned. If Trump is reelected in the fall of 2020, it is because God is continuing this grace period for people to come to Christ and for God to continue staging Israel for what comes after up to the year 2026. If Trump is not reelected (due to fraud or some other crisis), then I see the Rapture coming much sooner than 2024. Lastly, I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet. These thoughts are my own opinions, based on what seems biblical, reasonable, and strategically logical. Maranatha! Palestinian Leaders: A Policy of Piracy, Blackmail and Plunder - by Khaled Abu Toameh - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16005/palestinian-leaders-piracy-blackmail Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has spent the past few years accusing Israel of "piracy," "theft" and "blackmail." What is all the name-calling about? Abbas, it seems, is furious about Israel's decision to deduct millions of dollars from the Palestinian Authority's tax revenue dues as a punishment for paying part of the money to families of Palestinian terrorists. Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, signed between Israel and the PLO in 1993, Israel collects duties on imports that reach the West Bank and the Gaza Strip via Israeli ports, in addition to other taxes, and forwards a large sum of it to the Palestinian Authority, after deducting payments for water and electricity. Abbas has repeatedly condemned Israel for also deducting some of these payments to compensate Israel for a Palestinian policy of "pay-to-slay" -- which incentivizes terrorism as a seductive job -- and has vowed to continue paying salaries to the families of Palestinian terrorists who are in Israeli prisons or were killed while carrying out terror attacks against Israel. "Even if we have only a penny left, we will give it to the martyrs, the prisoners and their families," Abbas said in July 2018. "We view the prisoners and martyrs as stars in the skies of the Palestinian struggle, and they have priority in everything." On several occasions, Abbas has used the words "piracy," "theft" and "blackmail" to denounce the Israeli move. He claimed that by deducting the same amount of money paid to the terrorists' families from the tax revenues, Israel was "waging war" on the Palestinians. In a parallel worth noting, the Palestinian leader's critics and political rivals say that Abbas is the one engaged in piracy, political extortion and theft of Palestinian money. While Israel is deducting these funds to stop the Palestinian Authority from paying reward-money to families of terrorists, Abbas is trying to silence his critics and political opponents by cutting their salaries or depriving them of their pensions. This suppression has, in fact, been a longstanding policy for Abbas, but it has failed to capture much interest on the part of the international community and media. Abbas's policy aims to send a warning to all Palestinians: "If you say a bad word about me, I will cut your salary and deprive you of your pension and other financial and social privileges." One of the victims of this policy is Sufyan Abu Zayda, a senior Palestinian official and member of Abbas's ruling Fatah faction. Abu Zayda, who previously served as a minister in the Palestinian Authority cabinet and was involved in peace talks with Israel after the Oslo Accords, discovered last year that the PA had halted his pension payments without any explanation. Although he obtained a court order for the PA to rescind its decision, Abu Zayda has still not seen a penny in his bank account. Now Abu Zayda is accusing Abbas and the Palestinian leadership of stealing his pension and is threatening to take his case to international institutions. In a letter to PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat, Abu Zayda wrote: "I know that you personally have nothing to do with the evil decision to cut my salary, but that does not relieve you of responsibility by virtue of your position. For me, money is not the only issue. Rather, this is a matter of rights and an issue of dignity. I'm not someone who surrenders to the theft of his rights in broad daylight." Abbas has not offered any explanation for having cut the pension, but Palestinians believe the punitive measure came in response to Abu Zayda's recurring criticism of the Palestinian Authority and his affiliation with Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, an arch-rival of Abbas currently living in self-exile in the United Arab Emirates. Dahlan fled the West Bank in 2011 after falling out with Abbas and his sons. Abu Zayda, however, is not the only senior official who has been deprived of his salary because of his political views or criticism of Abbas and the Palestinian leadership. Last year, 47 members of the Palestinian parliament (Palestinian Legislative Council) also awoke one morning to discover that they had lost their salaries, apparently because of their affiliation with Hamas and other opposition groups. Hassan Khraisheh, an independent deputy speaker of the parliament and longtime critic of Abbas and corruption in the Palestinian Authority, was among those whose salaries had been trimmed. Khraisheh denounced the move as "flawed and irresponsible" and said that "killing a person was easier than cutting off his or her source of livelihood, against the backdrop of political rivalry." He called on Abbas to assume responsibility and end "the catastrophic situation that our Palestinian people have reached due to the state of division [between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas] and the hatred that is growing day by day. Real leadership is one that transcends unity and achieves cohesion among the people. Those who practice hatred are not leaders and they will never be." In 2017, another five members of the parliament complained that Abbas had cut their salaries because of their outspoken criticism of the Palestinian Authority and its policies. The five, who belong to Abbas's Fatah faction, are: Majed Abu Shamaleh, Ala' Yaghi, Abdel Hamid al-Eileh, Najat Abu Baker and Ni'meh al-Sheikh. In the past five years, thousands of Palestinian civil service and security employees in the Gaza Strip have also fallen victim to Abbas's policy. Abbas's move is seen by Palestinians in the context of his repeatedly failed attempts to undermine his Hamas rivals and punish them for their violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, a move that resulted in the humiliating toppling and expulsion of the Palestinian Authority from the coastal enclave. Palestinian human rights organizations have strongly condemned Abbas for using the salaries and pensions as a means of extortion against his political rivals and critics. The Palestinians who have been deprived of their financial rights and privileges continue to protest Abbas's measures, and refer to them an act of piracy and theft on his part. In the past few weeks, it turned out that Abbas was also using money to punish his partners in the PLO, but for the wrong reason. He halted funding to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist terrorist group founded by George Habash in 1967, and one of several Palestinian groups forming the PLO. As such, the PFLP, like the other groups, receives monthly funding from the PLO. Abbas did not halt the funding to the PFLP because of its rejection of peace with Israel or involvement in terrorism. Instead, he cut the funding because of the PFLP leaders' frequent criticism of his policies and decisions. Abbas is also reported to be at odds with the PFLP because of its refusal to recognize the PLO as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." The PFLP is now accusing Abbas of "piracy," "political extortion" and "theft" because he stopped the PLO funding to the group. Abbas, in other words, is not reining in the PFLP. He is simply retaliating against it as part of his long-term project to silence critical voices and political rivals. While he appears unfazed by the PFLP's continuing terror attacks against Israel, he is quite up in arms about the group's dissatisfaction with him. The Palestinian leadership's ongoing efforts to muzzle its critics not only deprives Palestinians of their salaries and pensions, it also involves intimidation and arrests. Defunding a terrorist organization is a good thing, but when it is done for the wrong reason -- political pressure to force the organization to stop criticizing the leadership -- it actually plays into the hands of extremist groups such as the PFLP and Hamas, wins them further sympathy among the Palestinian people and actually encourages people to join those radical groups. Similarly, cutting salaries and pensions to political opponents for daring to speak out against corruption, in addition to the epic policy failures of the Palestinian leadership, are also doomed to drive these people into the open arms of terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The next time Abbas accuses Israel of "piracy" and "theft" of Palestinian money, the international community might inquire into the Palestinian leader's own practice of depriving his people of their livelihoods because of their political affiliations and resistance to his policy of plunder. Nearing Midnight: Still Not Yet - Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ Some weeks ago I wrote in my blog a commentary I called "The End Is Not Yet." It began as follows: Even those who operate issues and events from Christian and even prophetic perspectives are painting a picture that the world is now almost certainly already in an era not unlike that described as the biblical apocalypse. Aside from the fears about the millions who might die from coronavirus are the just-as-feared economic ramifications of the now officially declared pandemic. As the weeks progress, I continue to get many emails that want me to reconsider my pre-Trib position regarding the Rapture. Realizing most who come to Rapture Ready comprehend the term, to make sure everyone fully understands what is meant by the term "pre-Trib Rapture," I'll try to make it clear. The Rapture is the instant (in the twinkling of an eye-that is, a time that cannot be measured) when Jesus Christ will call all believers of the Church Age (Age of Grace) to Himself. Paul the apostle prophesies that stunning event: Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) Paul further explains: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) This promise from God of deliverance from history's most terrible time (Revelation 3:10) is for all who believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation (Romans 10:9-10). Those who have trusted Christ for salvation of their souls and who have died during the Church Age and all who are alive when the great event of Rapture takes place will go instantaneously to be with Jesus when He shouts "Come up here!" (Revelation 4:1). In that second of time, all of these saints will be lifted into the clouds and will return with their Lord Jesus to the Father's House, where He has been preparing "dwelling places" for us (John 14:1-3). Back on planet earth, terrible things will be taking place. Ultimately, history's last and most terrible dictator will arise and implement his rule of terror upon most all of earth's inhabitants. This will be the Tribulation. So, Christians will be removed, as we have seen, before that Tribulation takes place. Thus we term it the "pre-Trib Rapture." This is why Paul writes just after telling of this glorious going home: "Wherefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:18). So the emails continue to indicate that some are now beginning to doubt this rescue. More are trying to get me to read theories that the Rapture is delayed until sometime into the Tribulation-which these contend we've now entered. One such email begins: "I know many have been soured on the subject of what is known as 'the rapture,' but 1 Corinthians 15:52 makes this a biblical event, despite the confusion around the subject. In this message, I have included a link to the book, in magazine format, that I wrote after God showed me how 1 Corinthians 15:52 would actually occur. This is worth your reading, because it will shake and wake the Church!" Not to be rude or pompous, but the title of his book, Delayed Rapture, told me all I needed to know. I have long ago ceased to chase after these alternate theories or debate them. There simply isn't enough time to devote to things contrary to what the Scripture plainly teaches. It is so important at this late date at the end of the age to just plainly teach and believe what God's Word says on this most important matter. While we are not in that dreaded Tribulation era, as many believe, issues and events coming at us minute by minute in the news show how close we must be to that moment of Rapture and the beginning of that era of horror which will certainly follow. One such indicator in the news of where we stand that isn't talked a lot about today was sent to me by a friend who helps keep me up to date on breaking news. The Tribulation, in large part, will come upon the earth because of God's desire to bring about a remnant of believers from the House of Israel-His chosen people. They are "chosen" because He brought into the world through them the Savior-Jesus Christ-in order to be the slain Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. God has promised to save one-third of the Jewish race as a remnant to be His chosen nation, Israel, during the millennial reign of Jesus on the throne of David. That one-third will come from the Lord bringing Jewish believers through the time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30: 7). This will be the last half of the seven-year Tribulation era. So the article my friend sent is an important one dealing with the Jews, as God begins preparing that people for this horrific time to come. Brooklyn, NY: Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Frankel, also known as the Rime over Rebbe, issued an unequivocal order last week for Jews in the diaspora to leave their homes and immigrate to Israel before a civil war breaks out in the United States reports Bhadrei Haharedim. Rabbi Frankel is an heir of Menachem Mendel of Rimanov-who was among the early promoters of the Hasidic movement in Poland. He has been active recently years on social media, especially with his lectures on YouTube, which are usually on the subject of the coming of Moshiach. But while on a visit to South-American and French Jews who have moved to Florida, Rabbi Frankel was unusually specific about the urgent need to return to Israel and aliyah now: "Leave while it's possible. Things will get worse and it will be difficult to move from one country to another" the rabbi said. "After World War II, the survivors came and asked why the Gedolim and the Rebbes (rabbis) did not order European Jews to leave while there was still time and emigrate to Israel or the United States before the war broke out," Rabbi Frankel told the audience attending his lecture. "Truth be told, they (the rabbis) said and then some, they begged the Jews to flee the scorched earth, but part of the decree was that the Jews didn't listen." "Today," he continued "Listen to me well, dear Jews, whoever can afford to rise and ascend to the Holy Land should it as soon as possible, and this includes large parts of South America and most of Europe. The US will also become a dangerous place mired in war, and it is still too early to tell which US state will survive, but many parts will be destroyed and poisoned, and a civil war will break out within the US. And states will secede from the federal government. (David Sidman, "Fearing Civil War, Prominent NY Rabbi Suddenly Urges American Jews to Leave for Israel," Breaking Israel News, April 29, 2020) Most who study Israel and its end-times juxtaposition within the nations of the world believe God will move most into Israel for the coming Tribulation. The prophecy seems wrapped up in the following. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. (Jeremiah 31:16-17) There can be little doubt that God's hand is moving, especially upon His chosen people of the House of Israel. But, the end still is not yet. We are witnessing spectacular stage-setting for that time of Tribulation and Jacob's trouble. But the apocalyptic play has not yet begun. It won't begin until God first raises the curtain with the Rapture of His other chosen people-all believers of the Age of Grace. And when you see all these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your head; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28) Earthquakes Hit both Vatican City and Israel at the Same Time - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - www.breakingisraelnews.com "Who removeth the mountains, and they know it not, when He overturneth them in His anger. Who shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble." Job 9:5 Three earthquakes, two in Israel and one in Italy, took place in the same hour. One rabbi with an auspicious lineage, linked their coincidence with the current pandemic, suggesting a timely divine message with ominous implications. ONE HOUR; THREE EARTHQUAKES On Monday morning, two minor earthquakes shook northern Israel. At 5:38 am local time, a 3.2 magnitude shook the Lower Galilee with its epicenter some 8.6 miles north of Beit Shean in the Jordan Valley. The second Israeli earthquake on Monday, 2.7 in magnitude, took place around 6:53 am. Its exact epicenter was believed to be in Lebanon, about 33 miles north of Nahariya, the northernmost coastal city in Israel. At 5:03 am local time on Monday, less than half an hour after the Jordan valley stopped shaking and half an hour before Nahariya began shaking, a 3.2-3.7 magnitude earthquake shook Vatican City in Rome. Though there were no injuries and no damage reported, reports on social media described panicked residents running into the streets. Italy is seismically active with frequent earthquakes and several active volcanoes. A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hitting in 2016 some 50 miles outside of Rome left 15,000 people homeless. After a relatively quiet period of 36 years without any major earthquakes, three major 6+ magnitude earthquake hit the area in three months. A major earthquake in Rome could bring its signature ancient stone ruins tumbling to the ground. It would, of course, also shake the seat of the Catholic Church. After the 2016 shake-up, several major sites were temporarily closed. After the largest of the 2016 quakes, cracks appeared in the ceiling of St. Paul's Basilica and plaster fell to the ground. GOD IS SHAKING THE CROWN OFF THE HEAD OF THE VATICAN Rabbi Yosef Dayan, a former member of the Sanhedrin ann descendant of King David, noted a direct connection between the two earthquakes linking the Vatican and the Holy land. "We are currently in a reality dominated by the coronavirus," Rabbi Dayan noted. "By its very name which means 'crown', Corona hints at God's aspect of מלכות (malchut, kingship). The entire purpose of the coronavirus is to awaken all of mankind to the perversion of the concept of kingship in the world. Rulers may only rule by the grace of God. The moment a government rejects God, becomes anti-God, then God will step in and show them who is really in charge." Rabbi Dayan explained that the name of God, "Elohim", refers to His aspect revealed through nature and linked to judgment. "Even today, every natural phenomenon can literally be an awe-inspiring experience, an occasionally fearsome reminder of our mortality and limitations. The near-simultaneous earthquakes were God shaking the one who stole his crown while pointing to where the crown truly should be." "In this case, the Vatican was established as a replacement for Solomon's Temple, as if there could ever be such a thing. As the true Temple becomes imminent, the existence of the Vatican, a fake version of the Temple in Jerusalem, becomes more offensive to the king whose throne was in Israel. This gentle earthquake was like shaking Rome awake. Remember, Italy was hit very hard by the corona-crown virus." EARTHQUAKES IN ISRAEL OPENING UP AN AGE OF PROPHECY Israel is experiencing a period of many minor earthquakes. On Wednesday, a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was reported in the Negev. Just before the holiday of Passover about one month ago, a 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck the southernmost city of Eilat near where some believe the sea split after the Exodus from Egypt. The Geophysical Institute said the earthquake's epicenter was about 62 miles south of the city, in the Gulf of Eilat. Also about that time, a 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of the Mediterranean near the border between Syria and Lebanon. About three months ago, a 4.0 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter about 15 miles off the coast of Haifa shook Israel. According to statistics and seismic history, the region should experience a major quake every 80-100 years. The last major quake was on July 11, 1927, and registered 6.2 on the Richter Scale killing 500 people. Another major earthquake is therefore now due. As terrifying as earthquakes can be, there may be a silver lining to an increase in regional seismic activity. In a 2007 article in the J-Post, Dr. Shmuel Marco, Head of the School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Tel Aviv University, noted that prophets became active a certain number of years after major earthquakes. Major earthquakes were recorded in the Jordan Valley in the years 31 BCE, 363 CE, 749 CE and 1033 CE. "So roughly," wrote Marco, "we are talking about an interval of every 400 years. If we follow the patterns of nature, a major quake should be expected any time because almost a whole millennium has passed since the last strong earthquake." Dr. Marco went so far as to attribute Joshua's victory at Jericho to divinely directed seismic interference. "The destruction of the walls of the city and the damming of the river, as described in Joshua 6:1-16, is generally agreed by most archeologists to be the result of an earthquake, possibly on the Jericho Fault," Dr.Marco wrote. Dr. Marco's theory is certainly consistent with the Prophets Amos and Zechariah whose periods of prophecy were expressly oriented around a major earthquake. The words of Amos, a sheepbreeder from Tekoa, who prophesied concerning Yisrael in the reigns of Kings Uzziyahu of Yehuda and Yerovam son of Yoash of Yisrael, two years before the earthquake. Amos 1:1 PRE-MAGOG ISRAEL EARTHQUAKES Massive earthquakes in Israel are prophesied to accompany the multinational Gog and Magog conflict that will signal the end of times. Earthquakes and volcanoes are explicitly mentioned by the prophets as playing a role in the end of days, preparing the world by burning away impurities as a crucible is used in metallurgy to purify metal. But Hashem God is the true God, He is the living God, and the everlasting King; at His wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide His indignation. Jeremiah 10:10 This multifaceted natural catastrophe scenario facing that region of the country conforms to the prophet description of the period preceding the Messiah, which will serve as a process to purify the inhabitants of the earth for the Messianic period to follow. "And I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on My name and I will answer them; I will say: 'It is My people' and they shall say: 'Hashem is my God.'" Zechariah 13:9 These earthquakes will be so severe as to cause geographic changes in the Temple Mount, requiring the construction of an entirely new city. The quakes will cause springs of water to burst forth around Jerusalem, bringing about the prophecy in Zechariah. And it shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall go out from Yerushalayim: half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter shall it be." Zechariah 14:8 The earthquake will also split the Mount of Olives in two. On that day, He will set His feet on the Mount of Olives, near Yerushalayim on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall split across from east to west, and one part of the Mount shall shift to the north and the other to the south, a huge gorge. Zechariah 14:4 A 2016 report by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee's Home-Front Readiness Subcommittee stated that in the case of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake, an estimated 7,000 people would be killed, another 8,600 injured and 377,000 left homeless. In addition, such a quake could cause up to $55 billion in damages. Daily Jot: Responsibility and common sense - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com As the nation reopens during the COVID-19 era, there are two things to keep in mind: responsibility and common sense. Having been on several calls with those planning how to return to work, open business and at the same time keep people safe, these two acts of character keep resonating. We need to be responsible and we need to use common sense. It's like the commercials say: keep your distance, wash your hands, don't touch your face, try to avoid large crowds. In all of this, our responsibility to one another is not to be a spy and turn in everyone we think isn't complying, but rather to control what we can control-which is ourselves and our response as Christians. One of the main observations that I have made during this time of lockdown is the Christian response. Some have done very well at being the salt and light to those who are fearful. Many have shown Christ through their prayers and actions. There have been many gallant and courageous men and women showing the love of Christ on the very front lines of this virus. They have taken seriously the exhortation of Christ in Matthew 25:35-40 of caring for the sick, providing food and water, and clothing the naked as, "Inasmuch you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." I have witnessed tremendous acts of kindness and courage, love, care and compassion during this time. Another observation of the Christian response has not been as encouraging. So much time and energy has been spent on bad discernment. The fascination with conspiracy theories and fake news, even when proven wrong, Christians are passing them on as if they were truth, without checking the credibility. If they want to believe it, it must be true. During a crisis it is so easy to get wrapped around the axel of deception. Everyone is looking for answers. And in this day and age, people are looking for someone to blame. Christ said in Matthew 24 that there would be wars, rumors of wars, famines, and pestilences and earthquakes, "See that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." When the world is looking for answers, Christians already have the answer in Christ. Think of how much more pleasing to Christ it is to focus on bringing the light of the gospel to the world in word and deed during crisis, than passing along the darkness of undocumented conspiracy theories. As Christians, what is our responsibility and common sense of duty? Are we to have our toes dipping in the spring of living water and the rest of our feet in the burning coals of darkness? As we return from this virus episode, whether natural or planned, let us focus on the task at hand. For the time may be short, and the lost are many. Romans 13:14 says to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Our responsibility is to Christ, not the works of darkness. Let us be responsible and use common sense as prophetic people, both in our walk with Christ and how we walk here on earth. Daily Devotion: If God Calls You to Teach . . . - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. -1 Peter 4:10 People sometimes ask me what it's like to stand up and preach at a crusade. It's an awesome privilege as well as a somewhat scary responsibility because I want to make sure that I represent the Lord well. I want to make sure that what I say is biblical, and I want to rightly divide the Word of God because that's what people whom God has called to teach are supposed to do. By the way, I'm the least qualified person who has ever been called to be a teacher. I was a poor student. I never studied, I failed tests, and I was a big goof-off. But since then, I've learned to study, prepare, and put a lot of effort into the messages I preach. I know that I'll be held accountable for everything I say. Writing about spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul said, "If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well" (Romans 12:7 NLT). In other words, work at your craft. Musicians, for example, work on their skill set. They practice. In the same way, if you're a preacher or teacher, then study, prepare, and get your message ready. It's a privilege to speak for God, and the Bible actually warns that teachers will receive a greater judgment. So, how do you know whether God has called you to teach? It's very simple. I've often said that if you want to find out whether you're a leader, then lead and see if anyone follows. The same goes for teaching. If you want to know whether you're a teacher, then teach and see if anyone listens to you. If you have the gift of teaching, then develop it and cultivate it. And if God calls you to teach, then teach well. FROM THE HEART
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