Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Thousand Year Reign - Jack Kinsella -
www.omegaletter.com Scripture reveals that there are still two Dispensations remaining between now and the destruction of universe and its replacement with the 'new heavens' and 'new earth' as described by the Apostle Peter. "But 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." (2nd Peter 3:10) Peter refers to this as the "Day of the Lord" and later, the "Day of God" (2nd Peter 3:12). This is different than the "Day of Christ." The "Day of Christ" is the day He returns for His Church at the Rapture. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand." (2nd Thessalonians 2:1-2) While the "Day of Christ" refers to the ingathering of the Church at the Rapture and the Bema Judgment for rewards, the "Day of the Lord" refers to judgment for sin; judgment against the Gentile nations; judgment against unbelieving Israel and the final judgment at the Great White Throne. It is important to remember that "Christ" is not God's last Name; it is His title. "Christ" is the Greek equivalent [Christos] to the Hebrew Messiah [Mosiach]. The Day of the Lord is therefore significant of judgment, whereas the day of Christ signifies redemption. So, here is the chronology remaining for the human race: the current Dispensation [the Church Age] comes to an end at the Rapture as part of the Day of Christ. The Raptured Church attends the Bema Seat Judgment (2nd Corinthians 3:11-15), the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9) and accompanies Him to the earth at His triumphant Second Coming. (Jude 1:14-15) The Tribulation Period is its own Dispensation, in addition to being a resumption of the Age of the Law - it represents the 70th Week of Daniel. The revealing Angel gave Daniel an panoramic view of Israel's history, beginning with the order to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple and ending with the coming of the Messiah. Daniel's outline is interrupted at the end of the 69th week (of years) with the 'cutting off' of the Messiah and resumes with the revelation of the antichrist when he confirms a seven-year peace treaty between Israel and her enemies. How can we know that the 70th Week is set apart from the Church Age? The angel listed six specific things to be accomplished during the 70th Week, from Israel's perspective: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy." Before going down the list, notice that the 70th week is for Daniel's people, [the Jews] and Daniel'sholy city [Jerusalem] and NOT for the Church. 1. "Finish the transgression" - yet future for Israel/accomplished at the Cross for the Church. 2. "Make an end of sins" - sin loses its power over believers at regeneration - regeneration is a function of the Cross in the lives of believers 3. "Make reconciliation for iniquity" - simply stated, it means to make restitution [payment] for sin. Accomplished at the Cross for believers - yet future for unbelieving Jews 4. "Bring in everlasting righteousness" -- Christ returns to set up the Millennial Kingdom with Himself on the Throne in Jerusalem. 5. "Seal up the vision and prophecy" - the fulfillment of all Messianic prophecy - yet future 6. "Anoint the Most Holy" - the Mosiach is 'anointed' King as per Israel's ancient custom and reigns over mankind for a thousand years - the "Millennial Kingdom." The Church has no role to play during the Tribulation, which Scripture identifies has having two specific purposes; the judgment of a Christ-rejecting world and the national redemption of Israel. The Church was judged at the Cross and found judicially blameless by grace through faith. The Church neither rejected Christ nor has need of further redemption. Consequently, the Church does not remain on the earth beyond the Church Age. Assessment: So, who inhabits the Millennial Kingdom? According to Scripture, there are but two groups who survive the Tribulation - believing Gentiles and believing Jews. In Revelation 19:11-16, we find the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. This is His Second Coming. The Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53) is an appearing of Christ in the air. That is not the same as His Second Coming. This is included, I believe, to draw a distinction between the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ. There is no mention in Revelation 19-20 of any kind of rapture event where believers receive glorified bodies. The prophet Joel, in his description of the Tribulation Judgment, was clear and specific concerning those to come under Tribulation judgment: "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up . . . Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about." (Joel 3:9,11-12) The believing Gentiles are non-Jews who come to faith during the Tribulation. Note that they are distinct from the 'new creature' of the Church Age. Jesus said that He will separate the 'sheep' [righteous, or believing,] nations from the 'goat' [unrighteous, or unbelieving] nations. The goats are cast into the Lake of Fire whereas the sheep [the righteous Gentiles] survive and live on into the Millennial Kingdom. By implication, no unbelieving Gentile will survive the Second Coming. The righteous Gentiles, or sheep, will live on into the millennial kingdom. They will give birth to children and will populate the earth. However, these are not the only ones who will be producing children during the millennial kingdom. The impression is given that when Christ returns, all Israel will trust in Him (Zechariah 12:10). They, too, will not receive glorified bodies (as those did who were raptured prior to the tribulation). They also will produce children during the millennial kingdom. To summarize, the Millennial Kingdom will be populated by believing Gentiles, Israel, and the resurrected/raptured believers whom, according to the Apostle Paul, will hold positions of authority and judgment as well. "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" (1st Corinthians 6:2-3) According to the Prophet Isaiah, during the Millennial Kingdom, the earth is restored to its original ecological balance, and lifespans return to what they were prior to the Flood. ". . . for the child shall die an hundred years old" (Isaiah 65:20) Everyone who enters into the Millennial Kingdom will be a believer, but the Scripture say that children will be born to believing Jews and Gentiles. And, as incredible as it sounds (what with Jesus Himself on the throne and resurrected believers in glorified bodies running around directing traffic, or whatever) many of those born into the Millennial Kingdom will reject Christ, and they will, once again, gather themselves together to do battle against the Lord of Hosts. (Revelation 20:7-10) And with that act, the final curtain comes down on the human race. "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind," writes the Prophet Isaiah. [65:17) Which leaves us contemplating the question asked by the Apostle Peter; "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?" That's a question that each of us has to answer for ourselves in this life. For it will surely be asked of us as we seek admittance into the next. Trump warns Iran - Mike Evans - https://www.jpost.com/printarticle.aspx?id=563296 With President Trump's definitive tweet, it seems that we finally have president with the moral courage to stand up to the Iranian threat, something no previous US president has seemed willing to do. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, accustomed to pacifism from the White House, stirred a hornet's nest when warned against further US sanctions due to take effect next week. Rouhani is said to have told a meeting of Iranian diplomats: "America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars." President Donald Trump responded via a tweet: "To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!" When Hassan Rouhani was selected to follow hard-liner president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran's new leader, he was thought to be a more moderate candidate. In truth, for 35 years Rouhani had served as an unswervingly loyal Islamic cleric and a close aide to the Ayatollah Khamenei. Rouhani was only one of six presidential candidates. After an incredible 678 candidates had been disqualified by the regime as being ideologically unsound, Rouhani was the final choice. Under the continued leadership of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, Iran now exerts domination over a number of proxies: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and Afghanistan. Iran has Revolutionary Guards stationed in Syria and Yemen. Iran is said to be shipping weapons and military advisers either directly to Yemen or through Somalia. And it has long been known that Iran funds both Hamas and Hezbollah, two terror organizations that sit in close proximity to Israel. The Shia nation has quickly become this decade's version of al-Qaeda. For several years, I interviewed a number of Iranian leaders when they traveled to New York City for meetings at the UN. One of the more memorable encounters was with Admadinejad. When I arrived at the Fox News Network interview in New York with the former Iranian president, his spiritual adviser and I discussed the belief in the Mahdi by some Iranians. He related to me that Ahmadinejad travels often to a well in Jamkaran, Iran to pray to the Mahdi, who Iranians believe is the last descendant of Mohammad and will one day dominate a world under an Islamic caliphate. Just before the Fox interview, all Iranian politicians were asked to leave the room as a group of mullahs entered. They sat side by side in a line of chairs facing Ahmadinejad and, I suppose, prayed to the Mahdi. The spiritual adviser said that when Ahmadinejad had previously spoken at the UN the power of the Mahdi came upon him and a green light filled the hall where they sat. According to Ahmadinejad, nobody blinked for 28 minutes. I was assured that he was not exaggerating; it actually happened. Apparently, the hypnotic effect was credited to the mesmerizing presence of the Mahdi on those assembled. TRUMP HAS stated that the Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed, and chaos. The chaotic mix is a toxic poison combining apocalyptic fanaticism with terrorism. One of Trump's initial objectives as president was to reverse president Barak Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. From his first day on the job, Trump was determined to ascertain that Iran was in total conformity with all edicts handed down by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal terms. Trump needed to be certain that all ambiguities regarding site inspections, enrichment levels, and other issues were addressed and rectified. Nixing the deal with Iran would mean restoring massive crippling sanctions until Iran fully dismantled its nuclear weapons capabilities. From the beginning, Trump called the Iran deal the worst deal ever. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: "The president isn't looking at one piece of this. He's looking at all of the bad behavior of Iran. Not just the nuclear deal as bad behavior, but the ballistic missile testing, destabilization of the region, Number One state sponsor of terror, cyber-attacks, illicit nuclear program." When the Obama administration marketed the JCPOA to senators and representatives in 2015, he declared to his constituents that the agreement was limited in scope; that only nuclear sanctions would be affected. President Obama assured the American people that the US would remain a wary adversary of Iran's regional avarice by reestablishing sanctions and other measures if needed. What did the West reap from the deal with Iran? Several things: A suspension, albeit temporary, of that country's nuclear pursuits seemingly increased openness regarding Iran's stockpiles, centrifuges, and research facilities. When the plan was approved by former president Obama, his jubilant remarks were broadcast in Iran. He boasted, "This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction. We should seize it." The "new direction" could be a signal to all terrorists worldwide that if you can outwait the United States it is proof that crime really does pay. It was a clear call that the former administration was fearful of the results of standing firm against terrorism and terror states. This was likely the largest terror bonus in American history. With President Trump's definitive tweet, it seems that we finally have president with the moral courage to stand up to the Iranian threat, something no previous US president has seemed willing to do. PA Leader Abbas Declares: 'We'll Never Stop Paying Martyrs & Prisoners' - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=2431 Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas vowed on Monday that he would not cut payments to families of terrorists despite an Israeli law punishing his government for doing so. "We will never stop paying the families of the martyrs and the prisoners, despite the efforts to prevent us from doing so," he said. He warned that "even if we only have a penny left, we are going to first put it toward these payments." The Knesset recently enacted a law on to financially penalize the P.A. for paying stipends to terrorists imprisoned in Israel and their families. The law allows Israel to withhold various tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians as a means of pressuring the P.A. to stop this practice, which has been referred to as "pay to slay." Israel has long pushed for the Palestinians to halt the stipends and has said the practice encourages violence. Among the beneficiaries are families of suicide-bombers and other terrorists involved in deadly attacks. The stipends total approximately $330 million, or roughly 7 percent of the Palestinian Authority's $5 billion budget in 2018. Abbas's statement on Tuesday was made at a meeting with activists promoting the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Abbas said the prisoners of those who "martyred" themselves for the Palestinian cause were the stars of the struggle against Israel, and that's why they and their families must remain a top priority. Abbas recalled the late Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat's decision to establish an organization to take care of families of prisoners, saying this was one of the first things he did as a Palestinian activist. Abbas went on to award released prisoners honorary medals. Nearing Midnight: Have You Ever Been a Republican or a Member of the Republican Party? - Todd Strandberg - http://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ The hatred of anyone who is a conservative or a member of the Republican Party has become so extreme, it's quickly becoming a now or never moment for people on the right. The Republican Party has ranks that are larger than most any political groups, and yet we are attacked by groups that only have less than one 10th of our numbers. During the dark days of the 1950's Red Scare, it would be a career-ending move to admit to being a card-carrying communist. Despite the risk, numerous writers, actors, and directors were willing to stonewall Washington committees that were seeking to identify their party affiliation. Today, if a member of the Hollywood club admits to being a conservative, they are the ones seen as un-American. Any actor who comes out of the closet as a Republican will quickly find himself blackballed by the entertainment industry. It is very odd that nearly all the major studios are run by liberals. Since the nation is 50/50 on the Republican/Democrat split, you would think that the bias of studios would also be equal. In fact, liberals control 90% of Hollywood. Actor James Woods is a rare conservative who has been active on Twitter. On July 4th, his liberal agent, Ken Kaplan, dropped him as a client. "It's the 4th of July and I'm feeling patriotic," the email from Kaplan began. "I don't want to represent you anymore." Woods fired back, "Dear Ken, I don't actually. I was thinking if you're feeling patriotic, you would appreciate free speech and one's right to think as an individual. Be that as it may, I want to thank you for all your hard work and devotion on my behalf. Be well." At this point, Woods can just as well consider himself retired. Once a person identifies themself in the conservative camp, their career is at an end. It is interesting that liberals are the ones who had been moaning for decades about the investigation in the 1950s over the influence that communists had in Hollywood. The House Un-American Activities Committee destroyed hundreds of careers by asking the basic question, "Have you ever been a communist or a member of the Communist Party?" The liberal media have now become Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, and conservatives are the ones who have to be secretive about their party affiliation. Conservatives are one of the largest voting blocks in America, but we keep finding ourselves marginalized because we don't have the will to fight back. When Tim Allen was on Jimmy Kimmel Live on 3/17/17, he talked about going to President Donald Trump's Inauguration. He jokingly said that "being a conservative in Hollywood is like being a Jew in 1930's Nazi Germany." Allen should have been more forceful in his remarks because he quickly became the Jew in the story by having his top-rated Comedy show cancelled by ABC for his conservative views. Over many years, we have become a punching bag for the left. Today, the most celebrated form of comedy is political attacks on conservatives. If a comedian makes a sick joke about Trump, Yahoo.com will post it as news. If you mock leading Republicans at a correspondents' dinner, they give you your own show, just like Michelle Wolf. Cringe comedy is a specific genre of comedy that derives humor from being socially offensive. Sacha Baron Cohen is perfectly set for this form of vile humor because he seems like someone who is incapable of experiencing shame. He will say or do anything for a laugh. Cohen has recently generated news by duping several Republicans into fake interviews on a show called "Who Is America?" Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican state Rep. Jason Spencer, former Illinois Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, and Senate Republican Trent Lott were some of his targets. In his show, Cohen spends most of his time trying to paint Republicans as gun-loving, racist hypocrites. Since it is off limits to go after the true clowns in politics: Hillary Clinton; Maxine Waters; Nancy Pelosi; and Barack Obama, we end up with a very predictable plotline. The debut of "Who Is America?" attracted only 327,000 total viewers and a 0.1 rating among the key demographic of adults age 18-49, according to Deadline. Showtime's highly popular "Billions" delivered 1.4 million viewers when it launched in 2016, according to Deadline. The network's anti-Trump "My Cartoon President," an animated lampooning of the administration, averages roughly 310,000 viewers, according to Variety, which puts it in the same league as "Who Is America?" What makes a Republican such an easy victim is that they don't realize that the world is a constant battle zone. The left is empowered by Satan, and he fights to win. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Daily Jot: Blood Moon Friday - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com Accuweather is forecasting that the full moon will turn blood red on Friday, July 27, "as the longest total lunar eclipse of the century takes place in the skies from Australia through Africa...For those in North America, the century's longest lunar eclipse will not be visible as it will take place during the day on Friday. "Blood moons, also known as total lunar eclipses, take place about twice a year. This is not to be confused with end times prophecies of the moon turning to blood coinciding with the return of the Messiah. Many Christian teachers often point to these naturally occurring events to predict the end of times or the rapture, however, they do not meet the criteria as prophesied in the Bible. Joel 2:31 says, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes." Revelation 6:12 is speaking of the Day of the Lord, and says, "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." Isaiah 13:10, also speaking of that Day of the Lord's coming, says "For the stars of heaven and its constellations shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine." Many prophets, including Ezekiel, Joel, and Amos, as well as Job and John speak of the same event when the Lord returns. While extremely interesting, the reddish moons we have seen in recent time are not the way the moon is prophesied in the day of the Lord. First, there wasn't a great earthquake. The sun did not turn as black as sackcloth, and the moon really didn't turn as blood. Jesus said in Matthew 24:29-30,"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory." Most importantly, the Lord has not returned after past "blood" moons. He will...eventually. I dare say, however, that there will be no doubt in the heavens when the Lord returns. It will be an awesome moment. But before he returns, there are certain events that scripture says will happen. Paul writes in Thessalonians 2, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition...so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." This is very clear: 1) don't be deceived, 2) falling away, 3) antichrist (beast) revealed, 4) sits in the temple as God. Keep watching. Keep praying. Keep reading your Bible. Keep discerning. And do not be deceived. Daily Devotion: Putting Faith into Action - By Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. -Matthew 13:58 I find it interesting that Jesus didn't do any miracles in His hometown of Nazareth because of unbelief. Jesus had begun His public ministry, but back in Nazareth the people were saying, "He's just the carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers-James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?" (Matthew 13:54-56 NLT). In other words, "We've known Jesus since He was a little dude. He used to work in his dad's carpenter shop. So He's the Messiah? Yeah, no. We don't believe that." The Bible tells us that no miracles happened there. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (NKJV). The Bible tells the story of a woman with a medical condition who had spent all of her money on doctors, to no avail. She believed that if she could just touch Jesus' garment, she would be healed. So when Jesus came walking down through town, she reached through the crowd and touched the hem of His garment. Jesus stopped, the crowd parted, and there she was. Did Jesus want to rebuke this woman? No, He wanted to commend her. He said, "Your faith has made you well. Go in peace" (Luke 8:48 NKJV). She put her faith into action, and we need to do the same. People say things like, "That would never happen for me" or "God would never do that." He probably won't. But then someone else might say, "I'm praying for that. I'm asking for that, Lord." That is where faith comes in. It's impossible to please God without faith. FROM THE HEART
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