Prophecy Update Newsletter
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Featured Article: The King is Coming
The King is Coming - By Daymond Duck -
https://www.raptureready.com/2020/08/02/the-king-is-coming-by-daymond-duck/ This article is different from what I usually write, but I decided to present some Scriptures and comments that will hopefully help readers understand the situation. I do have a reason for presenting these Scriptures. First, concerning the signs of His coming and the end of the age, Jesus said, "Learn a parable of the Fig Tree" (Matt. 24:32-35). There is wide agreement among prophecy teachers that the Fig Tree is Israel, and Jesus was saying, "Watch Israel" (Hos. 9:10; Jer. 24). Jesus was talking to His Jewish disciples when He revealed the parable of the Fig Tree, and this was before the Church and the New Testament came into being, so I want to examine a prophecy from the Old Testament. Second, the prophet Isaiah wrote, "For unto us a child is born [first coming], unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder [Second Coming]: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this" (Isa. 9:6-7). The birth of Jesus and His first coming literally happened, so it is not unreasonable to believe that the Second Coming of Jesus will literally happen. Isaiah even said, "The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." God performed a virgin birth to make a physical first coming happen, and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead makes a physical Second Coming possible. Third, God promised to raise Israel from the dead in one day so Israel could go through the 70th week of Daniel (so Israel can go through the Tribulation Period; Isa. 66:7-8; Dan. 9:25-27). God showed Ezekiel a Valley of Dry Bones that He said represented the whole house of Israel (Ezek. 37:1-11). God said He would bring those dry bones out of their graves among the heathen. God would raise Israel from the dead (like Jesus at His first coming) and take Israel back to the land of Israel (Ezek. 37:12-21). Fourth, God said, "I will make them one nation" (not a Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom) . . . "And David my servant shall be king over them . . . And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore" (Ezek. 37:24-28). It looks like the Tribulation Period is shaping up; and according to the Bible, it will end with the return of the resurrected King of kings to the resurrected nation of Israel to take the government of the world upon His shoulders (Rev. 19). Fifth, now let's read something from the New Testament, "And the angel [Gabriel] said unto her [Mary], Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:30-33). This kingdom is mentioned in the Book of Revelation. There will be 7 seal judgments and then 7 trumpet judgments. Listen to what happens when the 7th angel blows the 7th trumpet "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever" (Rev. 11:15). When the 7th trumpet sounds near the middle of the Tribulation Period, God will begin to destroy the nations to take possession of this world. He redeemed this world at the cross, and He will take it back during the last half of the Tribulation Period. Then, He will come back at the end of the Tribulation Period to establish His throne. God may be giving us a preview of some of the Tribulation Period events to let us know that it is getting close. Sixth, notice God's fulfilled promises up to this point. God promised to raise Israel from the dead; to raise Israel from the dead before the Tribulation Period; to raise Israel from the dead in one day; to take Israel back to the land of Israel; to make Israel one nation (not two); to cause Mary to bear a Son, and that He should be named Jesus. Seven, notice what must still happen. God promised to give Mary's Son the throne of David (an earthly throne in Jerusalem, different from being seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven); to make Mary's Son the King of Israel; to sanctify Israel; to dwell in the midst of Israel; that Jesus will reign over the house of Jacob forever (the house of Jacob is not the Church; it is Israel), and that there will be no end to the kingdom that will be ruled by Jesus. Eight, there is more about the King and Israel in the Old Testament, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jer. 23:5-6). "I will take you [Israel] from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you [Israel], and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you [Israel], and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you [Israel] an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you [Israel], and cause you [Israel] to walk in my statutes, and ye [Israel] shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye [Israel] shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye [Israel] shall be my people, and I will be your [Israel's] God" (Ezek. 36:24-28). "And it shall come to pass in that day [at the Battle of Armageddon], that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem [the Jews], the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn" (Zech. 12:9-10). "And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one" (Zech. 14:9). Jesus is the King of the Jews, but He is also the King of kings and Lord of lords. The government that will be upon His shoulders will include Israel and all of the nations (Jews and Gentiles). Nine, the New Testament contains more about the salvation of Israel. Paul wrote, "...blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Rom. 11:25b-27). Israel's blindness is temporary; all Israel will be saved; God will cause Israel to repent (give up her ungodliness), and God made a covenant to take away Israel's sins. Ten, Psalm 2 may be relevant for our time. Verse 1: "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?"
Verse 2: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,'
Verse 3: 'Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.'
Verse 4: "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."
Verse 5: "Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure."
Verse 6: "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."
Verse 7: "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."
It is a mistake to try to ignore the God that raised Jesus from the dead. Verse 8: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."
Verse 9: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
Verse 10: "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth."
Verse 11: "Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling."
Verse 12: "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."
Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc. Daymond & Rachel Duck [email protected] Riots and protests from Portland to Jerusalem - Caroline Glick - https://www.jns.org/opinion/riots-and-protests-from-portland-to-jerusalem/ As in the United States, left-wing protesters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have hitched a ride on the economic distress the pandemic has induced with the full support of the media. Over the past several years, public discourse in the United States has seen a lot of new lows. It saw another one this month when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to federal officers in Portland, Oregon as "stormtroopers," that is, Nazi Brownshirts. In a tweet on July 18 and in subsequent remarks, Pelosi accused the federal forces deployed to Portland of "kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti." Pelosi's allegations would cause a political earthquake-if they were true. But they aren't true. And the fact that she slandered federal officers as Nazis is a deeply disturbing testament to where the Democratic Party-of which she is the senior elected official-stands today and what its intentions are. For the past two months, the progressive city of Portland in the progressive state of Oregon, has been the scene of chaos and rioting. The liberal media have misleadingly characterized the riots as "peaceful demonstrations." Night after night, hundreds of "peaceful demonstrators" have vandalized and destroyed stores and other businesses, transforming downtown Portland into a war zone. Over the past five weeks, the focal point of the violence has been the federal courthouse. "Peaceful protesters" from Antifa and other radical groups have been attacking the federal courthouse in Portland with incendiary devices including pipe bombs and commercial grade fireworks. Federal officers charged with guarding the courthouse have been blinded with lasers and attacked with stones, metal balls shot from slingshots, bricks and two-by-fours, among other things. The rioters are backed in their efforts by city and state officials as well as national Democrats, who have castigated federal forces protecting the courthouse as "occupiers," the "Gestapo" and of course, "stormtroopers." As for the alleged "kidnapping" of peaceful protesters, local journalist Andy Ngo explained this week that Pelosi's statement channeled Antifa propaganda. Ngo told Fox News, "That's an Antifa talking point that is being repeated by sympathetic media." He explained that federal officers charged with protecting federal property are using plainclothes agents in unmarked vehicles to peacefully apprehend leaders of the violence. This is a routine, entirely legal tactic which Ngo explained is only being castigated now is because "it is quite effective." On the face of it, as Democratic politicians, Pelosi and her colleagues in Congress and Oregon should support the federal forces trying to end the riots. After all, like New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles, Portland is a Democratic city. The businesses being destroyed are owned by their voters. So why are Pelosi and her partisan colleagues and their media adjuncts instead depicting the rioters rendering downtown Portland a war zone as "peaceful protesters" and slandering the law enforcement officers defending federal property as Nazis? The obvious answer is politics. The Democrats support the rioters because as they see things, the longer chaos reigns in the streets of America's cities, the better their chances of defeating President Donald Trump in November. The Democrats have a number of resources that the Republicans lack and the riots bring them all to bear. They have fanatical progressive activists angry that Bernie Sanders isn't the nominee but willing to burn America. They have wall-to-wall support from the media, from NBC to The New York Times to Facebook and Twitter. The Democrats have limitless funds to maintain the violence and mayhem indefinitely. This week, Alexander Soros, George Soros' son, announced that the family foundation has earmarked another quarter billion dollars to Black Lives Matter. And the Soroses are not alone. As the past four years of Trump-Russia mythology and legally baseless, politicized prosecutions and investigations have shown, the Democrats control much of the so-called deep state that controls the levers of the permanent bureaucracy. The Trump-Russia collusion narrative largely disintegrated under the weight of evidence and the absurd impeachment process over the past several months. And with its decline the Democrats began casting about for a new cause. They found it with the coronavirus pandemic. In one fell swoop, the virus from China swept away Trump's fast-growing economy with record low unemployment across all ethnic and racial groups. With schools abruptly closed and jobs abruptly lost, the optimistic America of 2019 became the destabilized, poor, frustrated and insecure America of 2020. Yet, despite the best efforts of the commentators, support for Trump was not falling apart, at least not enough to ensure an electoral victory for Joe Biden. And Americans were beginning to figure out a way through, as the rising stock market indexes indicated. But then came the riots. The proximate cause of the riots and protests was the police killing of George Floyd. But their context was the pandemic and the elections in November. The riots gave the Democrats a way to galvanize their radical progressive base (on the streets, in Congress and in the media) around their favorite issues-race and identity politics. For the Democrats, the best part of the riots is that unlike the pandemic, for demonstrators and their media flacks, it is easy to make the case that Trump is to blame. Trump's in charge and America is burning. Trump's to blame. Trump's in charge and there is racism in America. Trump's to blame. If Trump quells the riots, he will be guilty of police brutality (with stormtroopers)-thus proving the point. If he fails to quell the riots, he is an ineffective boob. And so, with a bottomless pit of money, the riots will continue, at least so long as the Democrats feel they benefit from them and haven't figured out something else to do. The demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that have been going on for weeks outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, with satellite demonstrations in Tel Aviv, serve a similar function in Israel. Like their American counterparts, the Israeli demonstrations are massively and sympathetically covered by the media, and enthusiastically supported by politicians from leftist parties. Like their American counterparts, they are disruptive and incredibly loud. The Israeli protesters aren't as violent as their American peers, but their messages of hatred of Netanyahu are violent and there have been some violent incidents, which seem to be growing, over the past week or so. Certainly, the number of death threats against Netanyahu and his family published by leftists on social media has grown steeply over the past several weeks. The protests in Israel serve the same purpose for their Israeli organizers as the American ones do for their organizers. The demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are being conducted to incite hatred of Netanyahu as the enemy of the people and to instill the sense that the country is spinning out of control. Just as Pelosi and her colleagues demonize law enforcement officers trying to restore order and safety in places like Portland, Seattle and Chicago, the media and Netanyahu's opponents in Knesset condemn the police for any effort to arrest demonstrators. If federal officers are "stormtroopers," the police outside the Prime Minister's Residence are the "personal protection force for the Netanyahu family." There are stark differences between the U.S. and Israeli left, which point less to the goals of the protests than to the threat they pose to the long-term stability of both societies. The main difference is the ideological nature of the two lefts. The American left has an ideological/religious bent. Progressivism, the creed of the American left, is a hybrid of political rather than economic communism and totalitarian messianism. It is anti-American and anti-Semitic. And while its popularity has grown, it doesn't enjoy the support of anything close to a majority of Americans. In Israel, in contrast, the left is post-religious and ideologically bankrupt. Its two gods-peace and surrender-came crashing down 20 and 15 years ago, respectively. The failure of the Camp David peace summit in July 2000 and the start of the Palestinian terror war in September 2000 killed the religion of peace. The left's "unilateral withdrawal" god was shattered when months after Israel expelled its citizens from Gaza and handed the area over to the PLO in August 2005, Hamas seized power and embarked on a war against Israel that has yet to end. Although bereft of an ideological message to sell the public, the left in Israel has considerable power. Its control over Israel's deep state-including the entire legal system-is far more comprehensive than the American left's control over its state apparatuses. The Israeli left controls most media organs, the universities and cultural institutions. It has limitless funding from foreign governments and private foundations in Europe and the United States. And the Israeli left has demonstrators who are willing to cause mayhem to promote hatred of Netanyahu. Like their American counterparts, the demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are happening in the context of the pandemic. The demonstrators have hitched a ride on the economic distress the pandemic has induced. They also benefit from the closure of the public sphere. With the bars and nightclubs shut down-and all travel abroad blocked until further notice-young people looking for a way to get together have only one option. The anti-Netanyahu demonstrations are the only parties in the country. No matter who wins in November, it's hard to see how the situation in the United States will stabilize and how order will be restored. The rise of progressive politicians at the expense of moderate Democrats indicates the radicalization of the American left is not a flash in the pan. One electoral cycle won't fix what has been broken incrementally over five decades. In Israel, in the absence of an ideological left, the main and most tangible danger posed by the demonstrations is that one of the incited protesters will try to kill Netanyahu and his family. Threats to assassinate the prime minister and his wife and children have proliferated on social media as the massively and sympathetically covered protests have grown more incendiary. But as far as Israeli society as a whole is concerned, so long as Netanyahu and his family remain safe, the protests are not likely to gain much traction. The public on both the right and the left are more moderate than they were 25 years ago. Netanyahu's public resilience-despite the left's 25-year campaign to destroy him-is proof of the limits of the left's power. There are many conservative commentators on the right side of America's unbridgeable political divide that believe the U.S. public will respond at the ballot box to the violence in their streets by reelecting Trump. Author Victor Davis Hanson wrote this week about the coming "counter-revolution." In Israel's case, elections, and counter-revolutions, while necessary to enact the reforms required to rein in the deep state and restore Israel's democratic order, probably won't be needed to end the demonstrations. How many people will choose to stand outside screaming once the pubs reopen? Economic Devastation On A Scale That America Has Never Seen Before - Michael Snyder - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4205 For a very long time we have been warned that a U.S. economic collapse was inevitably coming, and now it is here. Fear of COVID-19 and unprecedented civil unrest in our major cities have combined to plunge us into a historic economic downturn, and nobody is exactly sure what is going to happen next. On Thursday, we learned that U.S. GDP was down 32.9 percent on an annualized basis last quarter. That officially makes last quarter the worst quarter in all of U.S. history, and many people believe that this new economic depression is just getting started. But of course not all areas of the country are being affected equally. According to USA Today, states such as Hawaii, Nevada, Michigan and New York were hit particularly hard last quarter... Every state was walloped last quarter, though ones that rely heavily on travel and tourism, such as Hawaii and Nevada, were hit hardest by the downturn, according to employment figures analyzed by economist Adam Kamins of Moody's Analytics. Michigan, the heart of the nation's auto industry, was slammed as consumers put off car purchases. And densely populated Northeast states struck by the most severe virus outbreaks - like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts - absorbed among the heaviest economic losses as governors shut down earlier and residents stayed home. Originally, the mainstream media was telling us that the U.S. economy would come surging back to life during the third quarter, but we continue to get more signs that indicate that the economy is starting to slow down again. For example, the Labor Department just released some new numbers that were more than just a little bit startling. If you can believe it, another 1.434 million Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week. That was an increase over last week's revised number, and it represents the second week in a row that initial claims have risen. Overall, new claims for unemployment benefits have now been above one million for 19 weeks in a row. Personally, I don't know how this is even possible. Prior to this year, the all-time record for a single week was just 695,000. The numbers that we have been getting week after week are so obscene that they are truly difficult to believe. Overall, a grand total of more than 54 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits during the last 19 weeks. But there were only 152 million Americans working when employment peaked back in February. So how is it possible that 54 million workers have filed initial claims for unemployment benefits so far this year? Have things really gotten that bad? Maybe they have. Bloomberg just reported on a recent Census Bureau survey that found that 30 million Americans claim that they did not have enough food to eat during the week that ended on July 21st... Food insecurity for U.S. households last week reached its highest reported level since the Census Bureau started tracking the data in May, with almost 30 million Americans reporting that they'd not had enough to eat at some point in the seven days through July 21. In the bureau's weekly Household Pulse Survey, roughly 23.9 million of 249 million respondents indicated they had "sometimes not enough to eat" for the week ended July 21, while about 5.42 million indicated they had "often not enough to eat." Once again, those numbers are so shocking that they are hard for me to believe. Are there really tens of millions of Americans that cannot afford three meals a day right now? Maybe there are, but it is still difficult to grasp the fact that we have fallen so far in such a short period of time. Meanwhile, we just got more bad news about the restaurant industry. According to the National Restaurant Association, at least 15 percent of all restaurants in the entire country will be shutting down. The following comes from Zero Hedge... The National Restaurant Association has determined that at least 15% of all restaurants will close. This number could be a lot higher at the end of the year as Goldman Sachs reports the economic recovery is now reversing. Small restaurant operators, who fear a double-dip recession, have now resorted to liquidating their eateries on Facebook Marketplace. A simple search of "restaurant" on Facebook Marketplace, within 80 miles of Trenton, New Jersey, comes up with dozens and dozens and dozens of mom and pop eateries that are trying to get out of the game. Actually, if we only lose 15 percent of our restaurants we should hold a massive celebration, because that will be a rip-roaring victory. As fear of COVID-19 stretches on month after month, and as civil unrest becomes even worse, it will become increasingly difficult for restaurants, bars, movie theaters and other establishments where the public gathers to survive. In the end, I think that we are going to lose hundreds of thousands of restaurants, and it deeply grieves me to say that. Of course every industry is going to be devastated by this new economic depression, and even the biggest names are going to get hit really hard. In fact, you know that things are starting to get really bad when even Walmart starts laying off workers... Walmart Inc. is joining the ranks of Macy's and L Brands in eliminating hundreds of corporate jobs in order to cut costs. Employees in the mega-retailer's store planning, logistics, and real estate units have reportedly received pink slips, reported Bloomberg Thursday If Walmart executives truly believed that the U.S. economy was going to be returning to normal, they would not have made such a move. But at this point it should be clear to everyone that there isn't going to be a return to normal. Very challenging times are on the horizon, and what we have experienced so far is just the tip of the iceberg. More big corporations are going to go bankrupt, more businesses are going to fail, more workers are going to be laid off, and the financial dominoes are going to start to fall at a pace that is absolutely breathtaking. So many of the things that myself and so many other economic writers have been warning about are starting to happen. A great unraveling has begun, and it is imperative for all of us to find a way to survive the severe economic pain that is ahead of us. Loosening Our Grip on This World - By Jonathan Brentner - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/08/02/loosening-our-grip-on-this-world-by-jonathan-brentner/ The events of 2020 have uncovered a new list of items in my life of which I had not yet fully let go. Especially during the past five years, I have watched for Jesus' appearing with much eagerness. The Lord has already used affliction and suffering in my life to loosen my grip on many things in this world. However, this year has brought new meaning in regard to letting go of things in my life, and it has not been easy for me. Please know I am not advocating a position of giving up or one of just accepting the changes others impose upon us, not at all. What I am learning this year is to loosen my grip on the fleeting things of this life and tighten my grasp on the wondrous promises of eternity found in Scripture. Here are the areas in which I held on much too tightly before 2020: Freedoms In some ways, I took my rights as a United States citizen for granted. Watching some of them rapidly vanish, at least for a while, has led to moments of despair. "Will this loss become permanent?" I have often wondered. This has been a difficult area for me, one in which I have overreacted at times. Just last week I read two news events that reinforce just how far away we are from the freedoms we enjoyed just seven months ago. In Indiana, the penalty for not wearing a mask in public can result in up to six months in prison. The Supreme Court ruled against a church in Nevada that sued the state so it could have the same freedom in regard to attendance as casinos. By a 5-4 vote, the Court tossed aside the freedom of worship clause in the Constitution and voted against the church. This does not imply that we remain silent on these matters nor stand up for our rights (as I am doing here); it's more a matter of recognizing that we live in the last days of history before the trumpet sounds and Jesus takes us to the place He's preparing for us in His Father's house (John 14:1-3). It's learning not to fret but rather trust the Lord (see Psalm 37:7-9). Public Worship This could perhaps fall under the previous category, but I think it deserves its own heading. Before this year I could not have imagined that the government could so quickly take away our right to public worship. The governor of California recently made singing in church illegal and then prohibited all church gatherings, even to the point of making home Bible studies illegal. Yes, he did. I always thought this might happen in America, but I never imagined it would start with such widespread acceptance among believers. I applaud the churches in California that are continuing to meet. Sports The first blow I endured here came with cancellation of the Big Ten Men's Basketball tournament and later with the elimination of the entire NCAA March Madness. Before these things happened, I thought that I had kept my love of sports in a proper place, and in some ways I had. However, as I watched all sporting events vanish in the spring, I realized the Lord had more work to do in this area of my life. For several months, I had no choice but to let go of my love for sports, and that allowed the Lord to further distance my heart from this attachment. I still hope for college sports to return in the fall, but I know this may not happen. My desire for Jesus' appearing in the coming months has become greater than that of watching my favorite college team play football. Politics This may seem like a rather strange area of letting go, but I recently felt sadness at hearing that because of the China virus panic, President Trump had closed many, if not all of public events during the upcoming GOP convention. I did not realize until that moment how much I looked forward to watching some of the speeches and the excitement of the nominating process at a crowded convention. (I have been a political junkie since I was a child.) I know my future depends solely on the Lord rather than politics or the outcomes of elections. I rest in His sovereignty over all national and world events, especially in the area of politics. Psalm 46:10 has become my "go to" verse as I watch chaos and violence destroy the lives of people of all races. I read Psalms 46-47 at least once a week; someday the Lord will reign in righteousness over this world. We are not helpless in combating the wickedness we see; until Jesus comes for us, prayer remains a vital part of our arsenal in fighting back the demonic wickedness that has overrun cities across the world. One Satanist who came to Christ recently wrote about how the prayers of the saints limited him in his previous life. Personal Safety I always expected that lawlessness and violence would reign supreme during the tribulation, but I did not expect to see such anarchy before it even began, while we remained earthbound. The violence on the streets in the United States this year has led to the loosening of my grip on personal safety. Although no threat currently exists in the area where I live, I know that my future safely is no longer something I can take for granted. If I travel to another city, will I be safe? Is there a threat that Antifa protestors might stop my car and injure my wife or me? When I go out for walks, I sometimes recall the numerous videos I have seen on social media with innocent people attacked and killed by people belonging to the anarchist groups seeking to overthrow the government of the United States. I am not fearful for my life nor of what lies ahead; it's just that my awareness of the transitory nature of this life has grown substantially. I no longer take my personal safety for granted and am taking steps to increase the protection of my home and wife should threats arise where I live. Despite once thinking I already had let go of the things of this life, I find myself continuing to loosen my grip on this world while tightening my grasp on the biblical promises of Jesus' appearing, my home in heaven, my reign with Jesus during the millennium, and eternal joy on the New Earth and in the New Jerusalem. I do not believe that enjoying our freedoms, sports, politics, or a trip to our favorite restaurant are sinful activities by themselves. Although many people idolize these things, especially sports, I believe one can enjoy a good football game without stepping outside the will of God. For me, this year has reinforced the lesson of 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, which teaches us to focus on "the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." If nothing else, the events of 2020 demonstrate the fleeting nature of the things in this world; they can vanish in a moment. As we watch the seven-year tribulation come at us like an out-of-control diesel locomotive, we know the rapture must be ever so close, and it is. Even though I hate what is going on in my country and in the world, I recognize that not only does Scripture tell us these things would happen, but they enable us to loosen our grip on a world headed toward devastation and death amid the outpouring of God's wrath. It's a worthwhile trade-off, is it not? We relax our grip on things that belong to our transitory world system and hold on tightly to the eternal joy ahead for us. Someday soon we will enjoy the pleasures of a restored world during the millennium and the joys of eternity. Until then we groan at times waiting for our hope to become sight (Romans 8:22-25). Maranatha!! Jonathan Brentner Website: Our Journey Home Please consider signing up for my newsletter on my website. Thanks! E-mail: [email protected] Daily Jot: Turning against you - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com Since before the end of the 2016 Presidential election, deep state allies of the globalist agenda, the Democratic Party, and the collective news media have been trying to undermine a duly-elected President and remove him from office. They have tried false dossiers, lying about his ties to Russia, lying about a quid pro quo with Ukraine, employing racial and bigotry tactics, obstructing the workings of government, and impeachment. None of it worked. So now these sinister forces, accusing others of what they themselves, are doing, have turned on the American citizen. They have turned on YOU. YOU are now the problem and YOU will suffer the consequences and "the beatings will not stop till morale improves." Democrats, Democrat-controlled states and cities, some Republicans, the media, the deep state, high tech, leftists in the federal government, big pharma are for various reasons against YOU. Until YOU succumb to getting rid of this President, they will take away your rights, your jobs, your freedom, and make your life miserable and a fraction of what it once was. YOU are the enemy. Bringing down America as a free market, religiously free, free speaking nation and replacing it with a communist utopia is the goal. They will use any group, no matter how well intended or ill intended, to advance their cause. They believe they now have the upper hand to do so. YOU are what stands in their way of having their way. Please understand. And once they take away these rights, mark my words, they will do all they can to keep them. Look at the trend since they have sold America and the world on the fear of flu: Defund Police and replace them with a "civilian led department of community safety and violence prevention"; Wear masks, don't wear masks-Fauci; Wear masks or be fined-many states and cities; Walmart remains open while businesses that sell similar products must close; Government deciding which businesses are essential and nonessential-isn't every business essential to those who own it and work for it?; Defund police and encourage violent protests by Antifa and Black Lives Matter Organizations; Lockdown healthy citizens, and prevent Americans from gathering even in small groups, but encourage protestors in mass numbers; Release prisoners into society who have been exposed to COVID 19; Place citizens under house arrest; Sending COVID 19 positives to nursing homes where high risk people die from being infected; Censor or ban hydroxychloroquine, an effective way to combat COVID 19, because we are waiting on an unproven vaccine to be produced; Antifa and Black Lives Matter organization protesters burning Bibles and the American flag in Portland in the name of anti-fascism, but isn't that what the Nazi fascists did in World War II Germany; The government using big tech-Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.-to censor dissenting opinions on COVID; Mainstream media censoring dissent against the leftist movement, and only promoting the leftist view and ridiculing or labeling dissent as hate speech, bigotry, racism, etc.; Shutting down church meetings in the name of public health and safety-AND the Supreme Court upholding them; These are just part of a short list. When you look at this from a high level, you can see the strategy in play. And it comes down to you. And these powers collectively believe that you can do nothing about it. Now, what to do? When everyone is against you, who is for you? Romans 8:38-39 says, "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor thing to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Deuteronomy 31:8 says, "And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed." YOU are under attack by the enemies of God. Pray for our leaders to have righteous wisdom. Pray for direction. Pray for the action you should take. Then take it. Daily Devotion: Fear Nothing but Sin, Desire Nothing but God - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Galatians 2:20 The 18th-century preacher John Wesley once wrote to a fellow believer, "Give me one hundred who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen. Such alone will shake the gates of hell, and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth." It reminds me of the complaint an angry mob in Thessalonica brought to the city leaders: "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6 NLT). Although this was a criticism, it was a supreme compliment as well. It acknowledged the impact that Paul and Silas were making on their first-century world. Jesus said, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Mark 8:34 NKJV). His disciples would have easily understood this illustration. In the first century, when they saw someone surrounded by Roman guards and carrying a cross through the streets of Jerusalem, there would have been no question in their minds as to what was going to happen. That person was about to be laid down on that cross and crucified on it. Someone who carried a cross was someone who was going to die. The person Jesus was describing is someone who wants God's will more than their own. The apostle Paul said, "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20 NLT). If ever there was a time when the world needed to be turned upside down, so to speak, the time is now. But fair-weather followers need not apply. It will have to happen through committed believers like those whom John Wesley was looking for: people who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God. 
FROM THE HEART
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