Prophecy Update Newsletter
June 2, 2017
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Them That Dwell Upon the Earth - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com
According to Webster's dictionary, "tribulation" means "a state of great trouble or suffering." The Tribulation is a period of time set aside for two purposes; the judgment of a Christ-rejecting world and the national redemption of Israel. I've searched the Scriptures on this particular topic and nowhere can I find a third purpose that could involve the Church. The twenty-one judgments of Revelation are the culmination of the Edenic curse; there are environmental judgments against the earth and sea, judgments against animals and fish, and judgments against those whom the Apostle John says "dwell upon the earth." Uniquely, Revelation uses this curious phrase "dwell upon the earth". John is carefully distinguishing those that "dwell upon the earth" from those that are 'dwelling' elsewhere. The word "dwell" means 'to inhabit' in the sense of a physical home and came to Old English from the Middle Dutch word "dwellen" which means "to stun or perplex" according to the on-board dictionary that comes standard on a Mac. (I'm not doing an ad for Mac here -- I want to be clear that my source here is an ordinary dictionary which has no point to make) The phrase "they that dwell upon the earth" is used in Scripture exclusively within the framework of the Tribulation Period. Revelation 3:10 draws a distinction between those who dwell upon the earth and those the Lord will keep from the trial specifically designed for them: "Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." I've heard every possible refutation of that verse as it pertains to the Church and the Rapture. However, one cannot explain away the fact the Lord is drawing a distinction -- those that dwell upon the earth will undergo a period of 'trial' whereas, somebody else will be kept from it. In Revelation 6:10, the martyrs slain for the Word of God ". . . cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Again, we have a distinction between the martyrs for Christ and those that dwell upon the earth. The phrase "them that dwell on the earth" is used to describe those responsible for shedding the blood of the martyrs. They "that dwell upon the earth" are identified in Revelation 11:10 as rejoicing over the deaths of the two witnesses; "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." In Revelation 13:8 they are identified as the unsaved who will worship the antichrist: "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." The Scripture says specifically that 'they that dwell upon the earth' during the Tribulation are those against whom the Two Witnesses prophesied, which is why they that dwell upon the earth during the Tribulation will rejoice. It also links "all that dwell upon the earth" to the antichrist and says that their names are NOT in the Book of Life. In Revelation 13:14 John says the False Prophet: ". . .deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." Those that dwell upon the earth will be universally deceived by the means of miracles and will worship the beast as a god. Meanwhile, Revelation 14:6 further identifies they that dwell upon the earth as those in need of salvation . . . "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Note also that while 'them that dwell upon the earth' are in need of the Gospel, there appears to be nobody around to preach it to them. That job has been assigned to an angel. Revelation 17:8 provides further insight into both the Beast and who they that dwell upon the earth might be. "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." I believe John is identifying the Beast in all its forms, political, religious and systematic; Political Rome was, but then collapsed, went 'underground' so to speak, transferring power to the papacy temporarily -- until the political Beast reemerges as leader of the revived Roman Empire. John identifies "they that dwell upon the earth" once again as being those whose names are not in the Book of Life and who will join the Beast 'in perdition'. Assessment: It is fairly obvious from these Scriptures that they that dwell upon the earth during the Tribulation Period are not Christians. Those who are Christians are pictured in heaven. Those who get saved during the Tribulation, whether through the 144,000 evangelists of Revelation 7 or the angel of Revelation 14 cannot be included among those "that dwell upon the earth" because they will be executed. ". . . cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. " Revelation 13:15 says. That is another way of saying "all" -- although John gets more specific on that point in the next two verses. "And he causeth ALL, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that NO man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:16-17) That seems pretty inclusive. One can find within this structure those whose names are not written in the Book of Life, those who by taking the mark will have their names blotted out and those who are killed for refusing the mark. But those who are killed are NOT those that 'dwell upon the earth' -- they are the ones dwelling with John in heaven. In 2009, a crowd estimated at 1.7 million marched on Washington to protest the government plan to impose health care. Can you imagine the protest that would come if the millions of Christians in America were given the ultimatum of denying Christ and worshipping Obama? However, if those millions suddenly vanished into thin air and Obama claimed credit for it, them 'that dwell upon the earth' would line up to get their mark as quickly as they lined up for Cash for Clunkers. If one begins from the perspective that the Church is not uniquely exempt from judgment by virtue of being saved, then it isn't really too hard to find verses in Tribulation that might be interpreted as the Church. Tribulation saints easily become born-again Christians in this view. But if one begins from the perspective that judgment for sin means sins both forgiven and unforgiven, then again, it might be possible to argue that the Church qualifies for the twenty-one judgments of the Tribulation. But if one simply tries to figure out who John is referring to when he speaks of "them that dwell upon the earth" it is abundantly clear that the one thing they ALL have in common is that their names are not found in the Book of Life. And according to the Scripture, they are the only ones dwelling here. The Church is present with John from the moment that John hears a voice from heaven saying "Come up hither" in Revelation 4:1. It would be a simple matter to delve into Revelation and interpret a few verses a bit differently and build an argument for a pre-wrath or post trib Rapture -- I am anticipating getting a few in response to this column. What is not so simple, however, is coming up with verses that suggest the indwelt Church is numbered among "they that dwell upon the earth" during this period. And if the Church isn't among those dwelling upon the earth, then where is it dwelling? There is only one answer that fits both the Scriptures and the chronological and logical narrative presented by Revelation. "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. . ." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17) ". . . .And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming." (2nd Thessalonians 2:8) The Tribulation is specifically set aside for "them that dwell upon the earth". "Them that dwell upon the earth" are specifically identified as the unsaved whose names are not in the Book of Life. The Church is not there. The Church left, along with John in Revelation 4:1. "Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." Trump Officially Vetoes Embassy Move, Disappointing Millions of Pro-Israel Voters - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - https://www.breakingisraelnews.com
"Blessed be Hashem out of Tzion, who dwelleth at Yerushalayim. Hallelujah." Psalms 135:21 (The Israel Bible™) In direct contradiction of a key campaign promise, US President Donald Trump signed a waiver on Wednesday, delaying the enactment of the Jerusalem Embassy Act for another six months. The move is a blow to millions of pro-Israel voters who were instrumental in helping Trump win the presidential election. The Jerusalem Embassy Act, passed in Congress in 1995, authorized moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but allowed for a presidential veto lasting six-months based on security concerns. Since the law was passed, every president has signed the veto preventing the move, the last time being in December by former President Barack Obama in his final days in office. The veto expired on Wednesday at midnight. The White House released a statement explaining the decision was to enhance the possibility of successful negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, and the president has full intention of ordering the embassy move sometime in the future. While President Donald J. Trump signed the waiver under the Jerusalem Embassy Act and delayed moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the President's strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel alliance. President Trump made this decision to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, fulfilling his solemn obligation to defend America's national security interests. But, as he has repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that move happens, but only when. Trump garnered strong support among pro-Israel Jews and Christians during his run for the presidency by promising to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, most notably during his speech at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual policy conference in March 2016, when he declared that if elected, "We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem." As rumors increased that the administration was distancing itself from the promise in recent months, evangelical and Jewish leaders stepped up to urge Trump to fulfill his promise. "President Trump's promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem was of critical importance to millions of Christian Zionists who ultimately supported his bid for the White House. They will be watching what the president does very closely," Pastor John Hagee, founder of influential Christian Zionist group Christians United for Israel, said last week. Nathan Diament, executive director for public policy for the Orthodox Union, echoed the sentiment on behalf of Trump's Jewish supporters. "A majority of American Orthodox Jews voted for Mr. Trump because of the expectation that he would be a more supportive president for Israel," he said. Iran Accelerating Efforts To Capture Iraqi-Syrian Border From IS, Says Arab Intel Source
- Aaron Klein - http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/06/01/exclusive-iran-accelerating-efforts-capture-iraqi-syrian-border-says-arab-intel-source/ The Syrian army is accelerating its efforts to regain control of the border area between Syria and Iraq with the help of Iranian forces and elite Hezbollah units, an Arab intelligence source has told Breitbart Jerusalem. The source said that even as the international coalition expects to liberate Raqqa with the help of Kurdish forces, the Syrian army and Iranian and Hezbollah fighters are taking action to liberate the area from IS control. According to the source, "Iran's main fear is that the international coalition's capture of Raqqa led by the U.S. will disrupt Iran's strategic plans to complete the connection between Tehran, Baghdad and Damascus, which would secure the flow of arms from Iran to Syria and from there to Hezbollah in Lebanon." Over the past few weeks, according to the source, the Iranians, disregarding agreements with Russia, are stepping up their efforts on the Iraqi side of the border, using Shi'ite militas to lead the offensive against IS in Mosul and the border region with Syria. "The Iranians want to make sure that their followers are directly involved in carrying out the plan," the source said. "As far as the Iranians are concerned, this plan is an entire outlook on the war in Syria and even the reason for the outbreak of the war - that is, the attempt of Iran's enemies in the Arab world and internationally, the Iranians believe, to detach Syria from the Iranian axis politically by severing the territorial contiguity between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in order to harm Iranian interests by harming Iran's allies." The source noted that two offensives are taking place in the region at the same time: "A campaign initiated by the international coalition led by the U.S. and supported by Kurdish forces in the field, and a campaign led by the Iranians to take control of the border area and ensure territorial contiguity." According to the source, "The Russians' position isn't clear. On the one hand, they aren't supporting the move, but on the other hand they aren't doing anything to prevent it, even if it may lead to clashes between the international coalition led by the U.S. and the Iranian-Syrian forces and Hezbollah." In Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Afghanistan, said the source, the recruitment of volunteers and fighters for the battle to liberate Raqqa and the border area has accelerated. Hundreds of fighters are arriving almost every day to military camps, especially in Iraq and also in Syria, in order to take part in this military offensive. American-Iranian proxy violence in this area is not another imaginary scenario because we're witnessing that the Americans are accelerating the arming of Kurdish forces so that they will be the first to capture Raqqa and the border area with coalition air cover. In all issues concerning the Iranians, the key is in the hand of the Russians, but also the coalition air force has in its hand the option of stopping the advancing Iranian-Syrian forces. But at the moment, despite the commitment to stop an Iranian takeover, it's not clear if this commitment will translate into a war of American/Western forces against Iranian forces. What can be said: At the level of coordination between coalition members, there is a clear intention to repel Iran and its efforts. Our World: The Limits of Israeli Power
- Caroline B. Glick - http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Our-World-The-limits-of-Israeli-power-494575 The crowd at the King David responded enthusiastically to Bolton's proposal. This is not surprising. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump bowed to the foreign policy establishment and betrayed his voters. He signed a presidential waiver postponing the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem for yet another six months. Ahead of Trump's move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a last-ditch bid to convince Trump to move the embassy to Jerusalem. But it was not to be. Israel's failure to convince Trump to do what he repeatedly promised US voters he would do during his presidential campaign shows the disparity in power between Israel and the US. Israel lacks the power to convince foreign nations to recognize its capital - much less to locate their embassies there. The US, on the other hand, not only has the power to recognize Jerusalem and transfer its embassy to Israel's capital whenever it wishes to do so, it also has the ability to convince dozens of other countries to immediately follow its lead. The disparity between what the Americans can do and what Israel can do was on display on Monday evening in a glittering hall at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. There, Bar-Ilan University conferred its Guardian of Zion award on former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton. In his acceptance speech, Bolton presented his vision for the resolution of the Palestinian conflict with Israel. Bolton's views are important not merely because his past work at the State Department and the UN brought the US some of its only diplomatic victories in recent decades. His views are important as well because of his close relationship with Trump. Bolton began his discussion Monday evening by rejecting the "two-state solution." The two-state model, he noted, has been tried and has failed repeatedly for the past 70 years. There is no reason to believe that it will succeed now. This is particularly true, he said, given the lack of Palestinian social cohesion. Hamas controls Gaza. The PLO, which is supposed to be Israel's peace partner, barely controls parts of Judea and Samaria. At a time when more cohesive Arab societies are unraveling, the notion that a Palestinian state would survive and advance regional peace and stability is laughable, Bolton argued. Bolton then turned to his preferred policy for resolving the Palestinian conflict with Israel, which he dubbed "the three-state solution." Under his plan, Egypt and Jordan would work with Israel to solve the Palestinian conflict. Egypt would take over the Gaza Strip and Jordan would negotiate the status of Judea and Samaria with Israel. The crowd at the King David responded enthusiastically to Bolton's proposal. This is not surprising. Since 1967, Israelis have hoped for Jordan and Egypt to work with them to solve the problem of the Arabs of Judea, Samaria and Gaza who lived under Jordanian and Egyptian occupation from 1949-1967. Unfortunately, Israel's support for Bolton's plan is irrelevant. Israel is powerless to advance it. Israel cannot convince Arab nations to help it resolve the Palestinian conflict any more than it can convince the PLO to cut a peace deal with it. Like PLO leaders, the leaders of the Arab world know that they cannot help Israel with the Palestinians. Doing so would involve disowning the Palestinian narrative. The Palestinian narrative claims that the Jews of Israel are colonialist interlopers who stole the land from the Palestinians, its rightful owners. The narrative makes no distinction between Tel Aviv and Hebron. All of Israel is a crime against the Arab world. All of Israel is illegitimate. The overwhelming majority of the Arab world believes the Palestinian narrative. For an Arab leader to walk away from it or even to signal an attenuation of his fealty to it in the interest of regional peace would be the riskiest of moves. Israel has nothing to offer Arab leaders that could induce them to take that risk. Although it is far from certain, the US may very well have the ability to convince Arab leaders to do so. If Trump decided that this is the way to advance peace in the Arab world, chances are he would make some headway. In other words, Bolton's three-state plan is a plan that only America can adopt. It cannot be an Israeli plan no matter how enthusiastically the public supports involving Jordan and Egypt in solving the conflict. Given Israel's inability to offer the Arabs anything valuable enough for Arab leaders to risk life and limb to accept in exchange for helping to solve the Palestinian conflict, as Israel considers its own options in relation to the Palestinians, it needs to limit its goals to things that it can achieve without them. In other words, the only steps that Israel can take in relation to the Palestinians are unilateral steps. For the past 50 years, hoping that the Arabs - and since 1993, the PLO - would finally make peace with it and so settle the permanent status of Judea and Samaria, Israel refused to take any unilateral actions in relation to its permanent interests in Judea and Samaria. Rather than apply its legal code to Judea and Samaria, it opted for the stop-gap measure of installing a military government to run the areas on the basis of Jordanian law. Between 1994 and 1996, Israel canceled the military government in the Palestinian population centers in Judea and Samaria and Gaza. In 2005, when it withdrew, it canceled the residual military government in the rest of Gaza. Since then, the only area that remains under the Israeli military government is Area C in Judea and Samaria. Area C includes all of the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, and strategically critical areas including the Jordan Valley, the Samaria mountain range and the south Hebron Hills. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu gave an interview with Army Radio where he set out part of his vision for the permanent status of Judea and Samaria. He limited his statement to the military status of the areas. He said that under any possible future scenario, Israel must retain full security control of the areas. This, he said, is the lesson of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. That pullout led to the transformation of Gaza into a Hamas-controlled hub of global jihad. Moreover, under Hamas, the Palestinians turned Gaza into one big, densely populated missile-launching pad against Israel. While justified, Netanyahu's position obscures more than it illuminates about his long-term vision for Judea and Samaria. What does he mean by security control? Would the IDF remain in sole control over Israel's eastern boundaries or would it serve as an overall coordinator of foreign forces operating along the border? Would IDF forces be confined to fortified positions while the Palestinians reign free in the open areas, as was the case in southern Lebanon in the years leading up to Israel's disastrous withdrawal in 2000? Or would the IDF have freedom of action and maintain the initiative throughout Judea and Samaria? Moreover, does Netanyahu envision the IDF remaining the only military organization operating in Judea and Samaria in the long term? Beyond the security issues that require clarification, Netanyahu's statements make no mention of the rights of Jews to live in Judea and Samaria. Does he believe that Jews should be permitted to live permanently in the areas that Israel controls? If so, why are they subjected to the Jordanian legal code used by the military government and which proscribes their right to purchase land and register land sales? This brings us to the issue of governance. What does Netanyahu think about the military government in Area C? Does he believe that the 50-year reign of generals should continue until the Arabs choose to resolve the Palestinian conflict with Israel? What if this means that the generals will continue to rule over hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens for another 50 or 100 or 150 years? Does he, on the other hand, prefer to transfer governance responsibility in Area C to the Palestinians and place the nearly 500,000 Israelis in the area under Palestinian control? In the course of his remarks, Bolton noted that if Jordan is responsible for the Palestinians of Judea and Samaria, the issue of Jerusalem will be removed from the equation. After all, if their capital is Amman, Israel has no reason to divide its capital city. And this brings us back to Jerusalem, which Trump spurned on Thursday. As is the case today, 50 years ago, Israel had no power to influence the positions of foreign governments regarding its capital city. But in contrast to its decision to establish a military government in Judea and Samaria, Israel didn't wait for foreigners to give it permission to act where it had the power to act in order to change the status of the city and ensure its ability to govern and control its capital for generations to come. In 1967, the government voted to expand the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem to include the eastern, northern and southern quarters that had been under Jordanian occupation since 1949. Everyone benefited from the move - including the foreign powers that still refuse to recognize the simple fact that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Washington and the rest of the governments of the world know that their refusal to recognize Israel's capital does not endanger Israel or its control of Jerusalem. They are free to bow to Arab pressure, safe in the knowledge that Israel will continue to protect the unified city. Trump's decision to sign the waiver delaying the embassy move is a betrayal of his campaign promise, but it doesn't change the situation in Jerusalem. Last week, Israel celebrated 50 years of sovereignty over its united capital. Jerusalem will be neither more nor less united if and when the US moves its embassy to the capital. Perhaps Trump will eventually keep his word and move the embassy. Perhaps he will continue to breach his promise. And as far as the Palestinians are concerned, perhaps Trump adopts Bolton's three-state plan in relation to Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Perhaps he will maintain his predecessors' slavish devotion to the establishment of a PLO state. Israel can't control what Trump will do any more than it can influence what the Arabs will do. And so it needs to take a lesson not only from its bitter experience of withdrawing from Gaza, but from its positive experience of taking matters into its own hands in Jerusalem. The time has come, at the outset of the second 50 years of Israeli control over Judea and Samaria, for Israel to take matters into its own hands. Our leaders must stop beating around the bush. They need to use the powers they have to secure Israel's military and civilian interests in Judea and Samaria for the next 50 years as best they can. And they need to stop waiting for someone else to solve our problems for us. News from Hal Lindsey Media Ministries
- Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com Remember Paul Harvey? "Hello, Americans. This is Paul Harvey. Stand by for news!" They say as many as 24 million Americans each week listened to Paul Harvey's daily radio broadcasts of the news; not because they wanted to hear the news, but because they wanted to hear what Paul Harvey thought about the news. And his comments about the events of the day were not overt expressions of opinion. Instead, they were often communicated by his tone of voice, his chuckles or moans, or the way he introduced a story or transitioned to another. He might say that something someone had said was, "Today's quote worth re-quoting." After a disgusting story, he might offer something refreshing. He would say, "Now wash out your ears with this." Sometimes, before or after reporting on a story from cultures utterly alien to the American experience, he might say, "It's not one world." His point was that even though we all live on one planet, our differences might as well imply that we are not from the same world. He would assure us that we shouldn't be surprised by what we had just heard -- or were about to hear -- because it's the same planet, but not the same "world." Our "worlds" are different. And that planet seems to be getting smaller every day. Amazing developments in transportation and communication technologies guarantee that. For instance, progress in Iran's missile technology may make a significant reduction in the practical size of Planet Earth. In 2016, in defiance of U.S. and Western sanctions, Iran test-fired a series of ballistic missiles. Western analysts say they were actually ICBMs, or Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. An ICBM is capable of carrying a nuclear weapon from Tehran to New York -- in less than half an hour. And if Paul Harvey were reporting this story, he might well say, "But it's not one world." Why? Because the Iranians have a value system that is an upside down version of our own. Consider this. Last year, Iran's ambassador to Lebanon admitted to the press that Iran pays $7,000 to the family of any terrorist who is killed in the "Jerusalem Intifada." In other words, if you die while killing Israelis or visitors to Israel, Iran will pay a bounty to your family. The government of Israel has long had a practice of tearing down the house of the family of a terrorist who has attacked Israelis. It is intended to deter future terrorists. But if your house is torn down by the Israeli government because you killed Israelis in an act of terror, the government of Iran will give your family an additional $30,000 to rebuild an even better house. That's an incentive to cause carnage. It's not one world. And as the numbers of mostly male Muslim migrants arriving in Europe from the Middle East soar, so do the numbers of sexual crimes. The respected newspaper, Finland Today, reports that even though immigrants comprise less than 4% of Finland's population, they account for three times as many rapes as the other 96% of the population. It has long been acknowledged that sexual politics and sexual crime run rampant throughout the Islamic cultures of the Middle East. It's not one world. But it is a shrinking planet and that means the evil over there will someday arrive here. In the last few years, Islam has brought us yet another horror: the genocide of Christians. This is especially alarming in the areas controlled by ISIS. For instance, Mosul is the second largest city in Iraq. It was the home of one of the first Christian communities outside of Israel. It's a heritage traced back almost to the time of Christ. In 2015, ISIS captured Mosul. As far as anyone outside of Mosul knows, there are now no Christians left there. The more fortunate were forced to leave, convert, or be executed. The less fortunate were given no choice. They were simply executed. Christianity Today estimates there is intense persecution of Christians, much of it ending in execution, in more than 50 nations of the world. Knowing that he has only a little time left, Satan is intensifying his assault on the Gospel all over the world. New Testament writers admonish us to, "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." (Hebrews 13:3 NASB) Thousands daily face the threat of death because of their faith. We are instructed to remember those who are in chains as though in chains with them. That should not only affect how we pray, but the action we demand from our government in their behalf. American Christians do not presently face genocide. But that doesn't mean we don't face significant problems right now. Whether it's ISIS threatening to kill you or cancer threatening your life, it's still your life on the line. Whether you're in Iraq or Kansas City, some of you face challenges that are monumental. No matter. The Answer is the same: Jesus. Your hope, your consolation, and your direction all lie in Him. On this week's program, I am going to share with you what to do if "Your God is Too Small!" And finally, I want to take a few minutes to consider the lesson Jesus taught us when He humbled Himself to wash the feet of His disciples. It's not nearly as mysterious as many believe. I think it will help you to understand what you need to do to remain in vibrant daily fellowship with Jesus Christ. Don't miss this week's Report on TBN, Daystar, CPM Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com . Check your local listings. A NOTE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WATCH "THE HAL LINDSEY REPORT" ON TBN: Remember, the Report is now seen 30 minutes later, beginning at 6:00 pm Pacific/9:00 pm Eastern each Friday. A NOTE FOR THOSE WHO WATCH "THE HAL LINDSEY REPORT" ON THE WORD NETWORK: Last Sunday, May 28, was the Report's last airing on The Word Network. We enjoyed our years of association with Word and thank Word's management and employees for being such terrific and faithful partners of The Hal Lindsey Report. I hope you will continue to watch the program on one of our other outlets. Global Warming. The Bible Has The Answer
- David Pepe - http://www.theignorantfishermen.com/2008/04/global-warming-bible-has-answer.html Almost overnight, the concept of man-made global warming has become an accepted fact. Debate on this issue is rarely tolerated and millions of people are fearful that man's activities are leading to a gradual global catastrophe. Cries to reduce auto emissions, burn less fossil fuels and shrink our carbon footprint have made people uncertain what the future holds for planet earth. The Bible however, speaks quite clearly of God's sovereign control over the earth's climate. Jesus said, "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45) God promised Noah, "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22) This pattern of cyclical seasons has been faithfully kept by God since the Genesis Flood. But the phrase, "while the earth remaineth," warns of a future day spoken of by the Apostle Peter : "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:7) Peter was simply echoing the Old Testament Psalmist who wrote, "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shall endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end" (Psalm 102:25-27). Peter further warned, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10) While this will certainly be global warming, it will neither be gradual nor the result of auto emissions. What then is the reason for God's coming judgment? While He walked the earth the Lord Jesus Christ never warned of the effects of environmental pollution but rather of the inward pollution of a person's heart. "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" (Matthew 15:19) The Lord's mission was clearly stated by the Apostle Paul when he wrote in the book of Galatians, Jesus Christ "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God our Father" (Galations 1:4) The Bible declares Jesus Christ is both Creator and Redeemer. "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:10-12) Yes, Christ's work when He shed His blood on Calvary 's Cross can save a sinner from God's righteous judgment. And if the Lord will save those who trust Him from an immoral and bankrupt heart, how much more shall He save them from the wrath to come? Won't you trust Him today? For, "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9) The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! Daily Jot: Trump removes US from climate change scam - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
World leaders and Democrats are enraged that President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accord. Trump says, "It was a terrible deal that crushed hardworking Americans and handed over our country's future to global power brokers. Now those very same special interests-the fake news media, Hollywood lobbyists, and the entire corrupt establishment--is attacking us from all fronts." Climate change is a globalist money laundering scheme to redistribute wealth using scare tactics of unproven and fraudulent "science." Trump is putting an end to it and the fallout is immense. In 2008 the very scientists working on climate change denounced it. But the lie was repeated. Here is the truth. Scientists at the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (CRU), the official source of global warming/climate change data, fabricated the data. It is a lie perpetuated by politicians. The UK Telegraph, once an advocate of global warming, had a turn about in 2008. Environmentalist reporter James Delingpole blew the whistle on scientists after he obtained 1079 emails and 72 documents from the CRU. He wrote in 2009 that scientists were practicing "Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organized resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more." Also in December of 2008 some 650 scientists refuted the concept of global warming. Nobel Prize winner for physics Ivar Giaever said, "I am a skeptic. . . Global warming has become a new religion." One of the UN's own IPCC scientists from Japan, Dr. Kiminori Itoh, said in the report that global warming fears are "the worst scientific scandal in the history...When people come to know what the truth is, they will feel deceived by science and scientists." Environmental scientist Delgado Domingos of Portugal says, "The present alarm on climate change is an instrument of social control, a pretext for major businesses and political battle." These are the earthly facts behind the climate change fraud, but there is also Biblical truth. Genesis 1:28 defines man's role in the environment, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion . . . over every living thing that moves upon the earth." And after the great flood of Noah's time, God promised in Genesis 8:22, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Jesus said in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you." We should not be deceived by those using fear of the earth's destruction to create a new religion and a new social order. We should use these earthly facts and the Biblical truth to educate others about this political scam. Daily Devotion: A Christ-Centered Gospel
- Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org "It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it." -Isaiah 55:11 From time to time we hear of quack doctors who perform surgeries they aren't qualified for. But there are some quack preachers out there too. They are guilty of spiritual malpractice because they present a gospel message that lacks the essentials. They tell people to just believe, but they don't warn them of Hell. They don't tell them of the importance of repentance. They don't emphasize the death of Jesus on the cross. They don't share that Jesus is the only way to God. Instead, they offer Jesus as though He were a product to buy that will make life a little bit better. Sometimes people embrace a watered-down version of the gospel, and they have false hope as a result. That is why God said of false prophets, "They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14). When God led Philip to the desert to share the gospel with a government official from Ethiopia, his message was centered on the Scriptures. We read in Acts 8:35, "So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus." Any effective presentation of the gospel must be biblical, because God's Word will not return void (see Isaiah 55:11). Our words will return void, but God's Word never will. Philip's presentation of the gospel was centered on Jesus Christ. It is all about Him. The gospel is Jesus. It is Jesus born, crucified, resurrected from the dead, and coming again. It is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the only way to the Father. The gospel, in a nutshell, is this: Christ died for our sins and was raised again on the third day. Embed that thought deeply into your mind-and then share it with others. Daily Devotion: Care before You Share - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. -Acts 8:5 I was listening to a Christian radio broadcast the other day, and someone said he had come up with a lot of new conversation starters to turn a dialogue toward evangelism-clever little things we can say to get a person interested in hearing the gospel. That is all good, but none of it matters if we don't care about people. People can tell whether we care about them. (Even a dog can tell.) And people know whether we're sharing with them out of sincerity or doing it out of a mere sense of duty. Philip had a heart for nonbelievers. We read in the book of Acts that Philip, along with Stephen and others, were called to be deacons in the church. Stephen was martyred, and Saul of Tarsus began to attack Christians, so they spread out. And where did Philip go? He went to Samaria. That is significant because Philip was a Jew. Jews hated Samaritans, and Samaritans hated Jews. They had a conflict that never ended, which was passed on from generation to generation. Yet Philip went to Samaria. He went to these people, the untouchables, that a Jew normally would not even have a conversation with, much less want to reach. If we want to be effective communicators of the gospel, we need to be willing to go to people who are different from us. We tend to want to hang around people who are just like us, people who look like us, talk like us, and have the same interests as us. Are you willing to leave your comfort zone and go to a person completely different from you with the message of the gospel? Everyone needs Jesus. May God give us a sense of compassion for people who do not yet know the Lord. FROM THE HEART
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