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Reversing Babel - Pete Garcia -
https://www.rev310.com/2020/09/reversing-babel Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Genesis 11:1-6 (NASB) After the ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, Noah and his family exited the ark and sacrificed to God (Gen. 8:20-21). God covenanted with Noah and his sons and told them (as well as the animals aboard the ark) to multiply, be fruitful, and fill the earth (Gen. 9:1). So the animals departed from the ark and went and filled the earth, yet man remained. Instead of filling the earth, mankind (Noah's descendants) traveled east and congregated on the plains of Shinar, which is modern-day northern Iraq/Syria. Instead of continuing on and filling the earth as instructed, they settled. In hindsight, we see their rebellion against the Noahic Covenant as an act of defiance. However, it is very likely that at that time, their human reasoning, albeit flawed, led them to believe they were acting out of their own self-preservation. We should remember that the world they left going into the ark, would have looked very different from the one upon exiting the ark. Prior to the flood, the world was one giant landmass. The world was largely flat and with very temperate climates year-round. It was during the flood event itself that the great oceans were formed, as well as the breaking up of the continents and the formation of the world's great mountain ranges. Perhaps they thought they were doing the right thing by settling in Shinar. Again, biblical hindsight proves that our ways are not God's ways. Over time they grew comfortable in Shinar and planted roots and their numbers swelled. Here is where I believe their rebellion begins because even after their population began to grow exponentially, they refused to move on. Instead, they began creating small city-states. Then, about a century after the flood in the days of Peleg, mankind began to place their faith in a man named Nimrod to lead them. The Bible develops a very prominent and notorious character named Nimrod. He was the sixth son born of Cush. His name in Hebrew means to rebel. He was the founder of Babylon and Assyria. He is mentioned in I Chronicles 1: 10, Micah 5: 6 and in Genesis 10: 8-9. The Hebrew text states that he was a mighty hunter before the Lord. This is indicative of his antagonism and opposition to God. He was wicked and made the whole world rebel through the building of the Tower of Babel. He was the first to establish kingdoms. This happened in two stages. The first is in Shinar, which included Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh. The second kingdom is Assyria called the land of Nimrod in Micah 5: 6. After the language was separated and confused by God it drove him to Assyria from Babylon. The two have been intertwined since then... Scripturally speaking, we know that they wanted to build a tower that "reached into heaven." What that means, we are not exactly sure. Most of what is shared on the subject today is more conjecture than fact. However, knowing human nature, and the tendency for the "good idea fairy" to pop out of nowhere, it is likely that some genius came up with the practical idea to create a huge tower (presumably a ziggurat of some kind) so they had a means of escape, apart from God, should another flood happen again. This tells me first and foremost that men forgot God's promise to them. Secondly, it reinforces our basest desire (in the flesh) to live apart from God and find salvation through our own efforts. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Genesis 11:7-8 Now, God is not afraid of, nor feels intimidated by tall buildings. Neither was He afraid of humanity uniting. However, what He saw in his omniscience, looking down through epochs of time, apparently did not bode well for the future of humanity should they continue as one. Therefore, as punishment for not filling their earth, God separated mankind dimensionally. What I mean to say, is that there were three degrees of separation He imposes upon mankind at Babel: linguistically (confused their languages), genetically (how He scattered them), and geographically (where He scattered them to). Thus, Nimrod's demonically charged power grab was thwarted, however, not before the damage was done. Satan didn't risk a fist-fight with God to lose the battle over men's souls without having an underlying agenda. It seems as it were that his mother/wife joined in on the action to make sure that even in her son's death, his legacy would endure. She created the world's first occult system, which spread to every culture and continent on the planet after the forced segregation. ...From various ancient sources, it seems that Nimrod's wife/mother; Semiramis was high priestess of the Babel religion and the founder of all mystery religions as well as goddess. After the tower was destroyed and the multiplicity of languages developed, she was worshiped as a goddess under many different names. She became Ishtar of Syria, Astarte of Phoenicia, Isis of Egypt, Aphrodite of Greece, and Venus of Rome-in each case the deity of sexual love and fertility. Her son Tammuz also came to be deified under various names and was the consort of Ishtar and god of the underworld. Assessment So was God separating mankind at Babel a good or bad thing? Since mankind was separated, man has branched off into some truly wicked cultures. Some cultures are so bizarre, violent, and malevolent that it is hard to even categorize some of them as human. Still, being both omnipresent and omniscient, God foreknew all the troubles the world would have even after moving forward with His decision to segregate humanity. Apparently, as bad as human history has been, had God not separated us, things would have been much worse. Be that as it may, God's separation preserved mankind by adding friction to Satan's plan for global domination. God's separation created a "roadblock" of divine proportions on Satan's highway to hell. Had there been only one system, and had one man gained control of said system, he could have quickly destroyed whatever chances mankind had to survive. Had God not intervened at Babel, it is likely, Nimrod would have created the first, truly global anti-God empire solely dedicated to rebelling against their Creator. But since God separated mankind at Babel, now, all of these different cultures and subcultures would now start competing against each other for relevance and prominence. In effect, God created a global system of checks and balances. Fast forward 4,200 years. 2020 has turned out to be a real dumpster fire of a year. With the global "pandemic," wildfires, racial tensions, lawlessness, hysteria-mongering, murder hornets, and the general overall nastiness by the leftists and communists, it got me thinking about something. Imagine how different the world would be today if God had never separated mankind at Babel? Admittedly, I have a difficult time wrapping my mind around the idea simply by what we see on the news each night. Still, what if the world all spoke the same language? What if the whole world generally looked the same? What if the world had the potential to unite in purpose many times over? Here are some initial theories. First, it would have minimized the ethnic diversity considerably. There would be no distinct "races" per se, only variations within the Middle Eastern genome. Granted, there is still enough variation within human DNA to assume some of the more superficial differences such as skin tone, eye, and hair color, height and build, etc. would be noticeable. However, the human population at large would be considerably more "blended" than anything we see today. Secondly, it would have minimized the varying religions and belief structures considerably. I imagine there would have been some form of super paganism before Christ came, something that would have traced its roots back to Babel. Although there would have been far fewer religions (i.e., conflicting pagan belief structures), I believe the one that would exist, would be as vast and complex as the Hindu faith with their thousands of gods and deities. However, after Christ came, the two major belief structures in the world would have been this super-paganism versus Christianity. Thirdly, it would have minimized the variety of cultures, kingdoms, and nations as well. If nations all spoke the same language and shared the same (or similar) religious beliefs, it would have minimized the variety we see today. Therefore, it would have (theoretically) minimized the variety of cultures and subcultures, thus, reducing the total number of wars and conflict committed over the millennia due to opposing religious or ideological worldviews. However, when the world would unite, it would unite against God. Imagine the Armageddon scenario happening on a more regular basis. Now compare that with what we see today. Global racial tensions, violence, and lawlessness have worsened to the point of unbearableness. Now, doesn't a unified world sound preferable to what we see playing out in real-time? The late John Lennon addressed this in his 1971 song, Imagine. Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today... Aha-ah... Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too Imagine all the people Living life in peace... You... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... You... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one Inevitably, the only way to global unity in a fallen world is through totalitarian rule. Totalitarian rule cannot offer peace; it can offer only the threat of violence if the order is not maintained. Pax Romana thus was not really 'Roman Peace' as it was coined, but the "iron fist in the velvet glove" system of authoritarian rule. World peace apart from Christ is impossible. This is because human nature is deeply flawed, and despite whatever genetic and religious similarities we might share, even nations with largely homogenous populations still fight and kill each other with terrible consistency. Conclusion Now for the first time in history since Genesis 11 and the tower of Babel, globalization is within man's (and Satan's) reach. It is most significant that in the twenty-first century not only does a need for world government exist, but the technology for establishing such a government is now in our hands. Mark Hitchcock From ancient times up until the 14th-century, the primary form of creating a "global" empire was solely through military conquest. The Persians, Greeks, Romans, Islamists, and Huns all attempted it. As they found out the hard way, conquering a land was usually the easy part. Holding it, on the other hand, was nearly impossible. It was during the crusades that this mindset of pure militarism was set to change. The Knights Templars began mixing banking, militarism, and religious duty altogether, and the results were rather impressive. It's sometimes said the Templars were the world's first bankers. There was a system of banking of deposits - King John of England deposited the crown jewels with the Templars in London when he was in trouble before the Magna Carta. But that doesn't do them justice. They weren't the first world's bankers. They were providing the world's first financial-services company. From the 14th-century going forward, the global banking system started to come into its own, and a valuable lesson was learned. He who controls the money of a nation controls the nation. From here was see a series of European superpowers rise and fall in short order: Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English. All of these quickly began establishing international trade routes, colonies, and developing a market-based conquest through international trade, backed by military power. This worked for a few centuries and allowed for vast amounts of wealth to be accumulated in these European countries. Under the rise and fall of the European superpowers, the great banking families of Europe began solidifying their hold over their respective nations by financing all manner of social-engineering projects. They financed wars (both sides), currency collapses, political uprisings, and revolutions; whatever they had to do to maintain control of the money systems. However, since 1900, there has been a shift in the geopolitical winds. The first shift was the revival of the dead language of Hebrew among the Jews who were stirring under a revived sense of Zionism. The second, presumably in response to the first, was the anti-Semitic shift in the zeitgeist; a spiritual one that the prince of the power of the air began using to counter Zionism. He (Satan) began moving human leaders about like pieces on a chessboard, and in particular, one Adolph Hitler. However, Satan's tactics were multifaceted. The rabid antisemitism was not the end state, but a means to an end. It was no longer about individual nations rising up, but an intense effort on reversing Babel. It was here that these dark, demonic forces began using Germany (later Italy and Japan) as the pièce de résistance by which they would create the crisis to drive men to unite as one. This was a classic case of the Hegelian Dialectic (Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis) by which Satan would use crisis to achieve his geopolitical goals. This is why from the conclusion of World War I to our present day, the world leaders (e.g., global and transnational governments, corporations, financial centers, etc.) have been intensely focused on uniting mankind together under a variety of common causes. They first created the League of Nations to prevent another war from happening. Obviously, this failed due to the onset of World War II. However, after WWII, the atrocities of the Nazi Regime so shocked Western Civilization that it compelled them to unite under a variety of different global and regional organizations, chief of which, was the United Nations. Since then, we have seen the rapid explosion in every facet of global development. Globalism is generally defined as the architectural merging of national governing bodies, into an international one. These generally come about on the heels of some major crisis (war, terrorism, poverty, global warming, pandemics, etc.) Globalization, on the other hand, comes more gradually through corporate acquisitions in the global markets, through banking operations opening market ventures into international trade, financial development (banks too big to fail), and so forth. Granted, most of these organizations truly believe that by working together, they can overcome most, if not all, the problems that have plagued mankind for millennia. Their intentions, much like the practical intention of building a flood-proof tower, are misguided. They are continually seeking to break down the barriers of national sovereignty and independence from the countries they are currently based in because they are hindrances to their own authority. Despite the fact, that these hindrances were put in place for a reason. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; Acts 17:26-27 Nevertheless, any system that promises peace and security, apart from Christ, is at its core, anti-Christ (1 John 4:3) no matter how well-intentioned. In fact, Satan's goal since Nimrod has been to unify the world into a singular system...so long as he controls it. If we actually had to live out what Lennon wrote, I imagine, we would have seen one tyrannical kingdom after another come to power. Imagine an imperial Rome at its worst, existing on a global scale, and lasting for thousands of years. And make no mistake, the world is absolutely heading toward this one-world 'pre-Babel' system again (Revelation 6:1-2; 13, 17, 18). We've seen how globalists use crisis after crisis to solidify their power from the many to the few. Point of fact, every time there is a financial crisis, the smaller banks always get bought out by the bigger banks. The Bible foretells a time when, after a great crisis, the world rushes into the arms of ten-kingdom, new world order (Luke 21:10-11; 1 Thess. 5:1-9). I believe that great crisis to be the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. After this, the ten-kingdoms will form, but just as quickly succumb to the authority of just one man, who heralds himself as a savior on a white horse (Dan. 7:24; 2 Thess. 2:1-8; Rev. 6:1-2, 17:12). He will have his own religious authority that garners and directs all the world's worship to this new messiah figure. He too, like Nimrod, will be a mighty hunter of men. He will also, like Adolph Hitler, divert all of his attention and wrath toward the Jewish people, whom he deceived into receiving him at first as their messiah. What will be unique about this final ruler, is that he will take the existing technological, financial, cultural, military, religious, and privileges, and fuse them together into a 'mark' of loyalty that will allow one to become a citizen of this new world. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. Revelation 13:16-18 Thus, the only way this final ruler will reverse the damage done at Babel is to capitalize on the existing technology to force the world to act as one. While we don't yet know what the 'mark' will be exactly, I imagine it will be a combination of the following rolled up into one. It could be a quantum-based RFID chip or 'electronic tattoo' that is used both as a data bank for digital information (personal identification, medical and financial history), as well as our digital persona (what we present online), backed by both cloud technology and the wearer's own DNA storage. It will serve as the ultimate biometric system allowing for the wearer to be recognized both near and far, allow the wearer to interact freely with anything connected to the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as access to artificially intelligent systems (think Siri or Alexa), as well as holographic representation whenever they choose. It will be tremendously powerful, highly appealing, and a form of status symbol that provides "peace of mind and security," in a world that is unraveling at the seams. Like our present small day scenario regarding masks and vaccines, it will start out voluntarily, but will in short order, become mandatory. Anyone who refuses to get it, will increasingly find themselves shut out of society. Unable to buy or sell, travel, get medications, fuel, or even hold a job. Without it, you will slowly suffer the effects of starvation and societal neglect. With the mark, you live a privileged life (albeit a short one). To add insult to injury, all those who receive the mark will find out that these 'marks' cause "foul and loathsome" sores when the first bowl judgment is poured out. Worse still, those who take the mark, damn their souls to an eternity in the lake of fire. Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." Revelation 14:9-11 A Delay, Not a Do-Over - By Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/09/09/a-delay-not-a-do-over-by-terry-james/ An emailer, expressing fears over the current conditions in America, asked: "Do you think we will ever return to normal life?" It's an interesting question, and it represents a number of such questions I've gotten lately. I must admit that, for a while, it was one I, myself, thought about as I looked across the prophetic horizon. Will life ever return to the way things were before COVID-19 disrupted our lives like nothing in America has before? It's true that the Great Depression of the 1930s caused great troubles that were made worse by the advent of the Dust Bowl, which decimated great swaths of middle America. Many folks lost their livelihoods and even their lives during that catastrophic era. But all the while, life had a sense that normalcy was again just around the corner. People still came together. As a matter of fact, they clung closely to each other in order to get through the dark days, weeks, and months of that time during America's early twentieth century. They weren't told to not congregate. Particularly, they weren't told they couldn't go to church. They were encouraged to come together and pray, imploring the Lord to deliver them from the plague of the fiscal and physical disaster that afflicted them. Now within the country we're seeing a sense of foreboding that nags at many, even within the ranks of devoted believers. Will we ever see a time like that we enjoyed before the coronavirus? -Before quarantining and social distancing? Before churches were told not to meet at full capacity? Before wearing masks that almost in a sinister way obscure smiles and expressions of hope we previously were allowed to see on the countenances of fellow human beings? Will we ever again return to a time like before, when we received no glares of fear and even anger from eyes peering at us from behind the masks if we choose not to wear them? The question is legitimate. Fear of this microscopic entity has more than 90 percent of Americans polled indicating that they would like to have government make the mask-wearing mandatory in all public places. Over 90 percent! Most of those polled want the masks to be required, despite statistics from the CDC itself-figures just released-that show the harmful effects of the disease have been grossly overblown. Of the 180,000 people reported to have died of COVID-19, only some nine thousand-plus have actually died of COVID itself. The majority died, in fact, from age-related and or other health complications. This is greatly under-reported by mainstream media. I've written many times about the reasons for such muddling of truth. The deception involved in the COVID-19 matter, the sequestering of individual Americans one from another (the masking of America-and the world, for that matter) is all part of the answer to the question: "Will we ever return to normal life?" While the coronavirus is real, it hasn't proven to present the world-endangering virulence the would-be world masters have claimed. In fact, the flu in its various strains has been much greater in deadly effects than this virus unleashed by China. COVID-19 has been contrived for specific purposes in what I believe the Pre-Tribulation Bible prophecy view presents. However, while COVID-19 hasn't been nearly as world-endangering as propagandized, it certainly has been the most world-changing pandemic in history. That's saying a tremendous mouthful, to be sure. The Spanish Flu of 1917 killed millions. Many plagues of the past have devastated entire continents and even brought civilizations to an end. Pestilence such as the Bubonic Plague have wiped out many in Europe and elsewhere. Diseases have brought the Incas and others to an end. But COVID-19, as minor as it is in its virulence, comparatively speaking, has literally been the catalyst for bringing all elements together for the wind-up of the age. I and others who hold a Pre-Tribulation Rapture view believe this pandemic is in place to manipulate the masses across the world into being receptive to the post-Rapture world deception. In this, the COVID-19 ruse has been immensely successful. Will we ever return to normal life? Converging developments answer with a resounding "no." The stage is setting for the powers and principalities of Ephesians 6:12 to bring their satanic world order to the world of God-rejecting earth dwellers. People worldwide have fallen for the fear-engendering pandemic of pandemics. No matter the political outcomes in November or any other election at any other time, we can't expect a "do-over." The nation and the world will not be made better through the human political process. No human government will make things as they have been, in the sense the founding fathers of America intended. We are deep into the end of this decaying, darkening age. This being the obvious case-that things will not get back to "normal"-how should we deal with everything evil permeating today's society and culture? What is to be our part, since we've been providentially placed here at this late moment of the Age of Grace? We are to fight a delaying action. We're here to be salt and light in this corruptive, decaying time in human history. The Restrainer-the Holy Spirit-indwells each believer. Each of us is supernaturally equipped to fight as described in Ephesians chapter 6. The purpose for fighting the delaying action is to restrain evil that we've seen increasing over the past several years, months, weeks, and days. That wickedness in high places will only increase, the nearer to the Tribulation the world gets. The purpose for restraining the evil is so that the gospel can be offered to as many as possible. Pray the prayer prescribed in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Stand up for righteousness at all cost. Make God's Word, the Bible, your sword that He's given you to battle evil. We can't expect a "do-over" of the way things were before this end-times battle ramped up. But we must be at the heart of the delaying action God has planned for just this monumental time when His Son is at the very brink of stepping out on the clouds of glory and shouting: "Come up here!" (Revelation 4 1). Creating Monsters - By Hal Lindsey - https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-9-8-2020/ I wrote my first commentary on Covid-19 back in January. The numbers were small back then, but a worldwide pandemic already seemed possible. I wrote, "Confirmed cases of the virus have popped up in 13 countries so far. That includes, as of this writing, five confirmed cases in the United States. Five Americans out 327 million may not seem like much. But the point is, it's here!" And it would soon be here in a big way! To fight it, Americans and the rest of the world mobilized resources in one of the biggest scientific efforts in history. But the world hasn't just been battling with big stuff. Much of the battle centers on simple things like washing hands and wiping down counters. People around the word are disinfecting everything within reach. We are washing our hands after touching any new object, often with antimicrobial soap. When we don't have soap, we're using antimicrobial gels on our hands. In our homes, cars, offices, and schools, we're using bleach or alcohol on every accessible surface. Retail establishments are doing something similar with industrial strength disinfectants. They're spraying down products, shelves, seats, counters, and cash. Airlines now clean planes using massive doses of disinfectants. We have no choice. We must fight this disease. But if you think Covid is bad, wait until you see what we're creating. Our Covid response is generating a whole new set of monsters! You may have heard me mention what the UK's Chief Medical Officer at the time, Dame Sally Davies, called the "superbug apocalypse." She gave that warning in 2013. By March of 2018, CBS News reported, "Experts estimate that 700,000 people die around the world each year from drug-resistant 'superbugs,' and they expect the number to grow sharply." Jesus prophesied that the time shortly before His return would be characterized by certain disasters, including pestilences. Covid-19 represents one of those pestilences. But our response may be exacerbating the mega-pestilence we already knew was coming. "Superbugs" are the result of the overuse of antibiotics. Because only the strongest bacteria survive such drugs, only the strongest germs multiply. Their survivors tend to be antibiotic resistant. An infectious disease doctor with Stanford Health Care said, "There is concern that continued antibiotic resistance could lead us to a 'post-antibiotic world' in which infections are no longer treatable." In a "post-antibiotic world" a simple cut could be fatal. According to the CDC, the numbers are already huge. They say, "More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the US each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result." And we're only at the beginning of the "superbug apocalypse." Scientists warn that it could explode onto the scene in the next few years. Here's the connection with Covid-19. It's not just antibiotic drugs that create superbugs. So do disinfectants. An article in ScienceAlert.com said, "Even high-strength hospital disinfectant is losing its effectiveness against superbugs, scientists have warned, with bacteria learning to adapt to survive in the face of alcohol-based hand sanitizers... It's the alcohol in particular that the bugs are becoming more resistant too, according to new research." In other words, while fighting the virus, we're creating a new breed of bacteria. That means we're heading toward a world of "super-pestilences." And we're headed there faster than previously imagined. Science said it was coming. The Bible said it 2,000 years ago! The good news is that these are yet more signs of the soon return of Jesus Christ. The Persecution Of Christians Is Escalating Dramatically All Over The World - Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-persecution-of-christians-is-escalating-dramatically-all-over-the-world All over the globe, thousands upon thousands of Christians are being ruthlessly killed simply because of what they believe. But if you only rely on corporate-controlled media sources for your news, you literally never hear about this relentless persecution. In fact, in this article I don't link to a single mainstream news source. I had to go to Christian news websites to document what I am about to share with you, because the mainstream media avoids stories such as these like the plague. Of course if innocent people were being systematically butchered for a reason that aligned with the various agendas that they are constantly pushing, the mainstream media would be all over this. It greatly upsets me that the deaths of Christians are treated as if they don't really matter, and we continue to see the global persecution of Christians escalate year after year. For example, just take a look at what is happening in Ethiopia. Extremists have been conducting a door-to-door campaign as they search for Christians to kill... At least 500 Christians have been killed in an ongoing spate of coordinated door-to-door attacks and thousands of traumatized survivors have fled for their lives over the last two months in southern Ethiopia's Oromia regional state, including its capital Addis Ababa, according to reports. For most of you, this is probably the very first time that you have ever heard about this. This just shows the power of the mainstream media. If they don't talk about it, then most of the population will never even know that it exists. But we should be talking about it, because what is taking place is absolutely horrifying. In some instances, Christian parents are literally being slaughtered in front of their children... "The Qeerroo extremists arrived in cars and, armed with guns, machetes, swords and spears, sought out and slaughtered Christians. Children were forced to witness their parents being brutally murdered with machetes," it added. An Oromo Christian was beheaded after he refused to tear off the thread around his neck, which is worn by many Ethiopian Christians as a sign of their baptism. The attackers told his wife that only those who prostrate before Allah for prayer are considered part of the Oromo community. This should be one of the greatest human rights causes of our day, but the silence coming from the mainstream media is deafening. It is almost as if there is a concerted effort not to talk about this. But I refuse to keep silent. These precious lives matter, and I am going to talk about them. In South Sudan, 23 Christians were gunned down at a church gathering on July 27th, and the attackers apparently decided that was not enough and so they decided to burn down an entire village... Meanwhile, in South Sudan, six children who had been taken hostage were among the 23 people killed when unidentified gunmen attacked an Anglican church in Jonglei State on July 27. At least 20 others were wounded. "After killing people in the church, the gunmen went to the homestead village and killed people there," Bishop Moses Anur Ayom told the Episcopal News Service. "The gunmen burned down the whole village in Makol Chuei." Once again, I'll bet you never heard about this story until now. On the other side of the continent, thousands of Christians are being systematically eliminated by extremists in Nigeria... This year already nearly 2,000 Christians have been mercilessly hacked and shot to death in surprise raids on their villages. These deadly, senseless attacks are often portrayed as ongoing clashes between farmers and herders. Those who follow closely believe they are part of a larger agenda - seemingly supported by government officials and security agencies - to drive Christians off their lands. Nigerian citizens have been disarmed by the government, but somehow, the Militant Fulani herdsmen are armed to the teeth and have no fear of encountering security response or capture. This is something that has been going on throughout all of 2020, and this is another story that I'll bet you have never heard about until this article. I could keep going through more examples in Africa, but let's switch gears. In India, religious extremists regularly kill Christians, but those deaths rarely get much attention. Here are just a few examples... A young woman in the Khunti district of Jharkhand has become the fifth victim in a string of Christians killed in India because of their faith. The woman, 25-year-old Suman Munda, was found dead on July 19 in a deserted place near her home, according to Vatican News. Just one month earlier, on June 24, another Christian, 27-year-old Ramji Munda, was killed outside a village in the Khunti district. Overall, the number of attacks on Christians in India just seems to keep rising year after year. In 2019, one group recorded "527 cases of persecution against Christians"... The killing of Christians in India is on the rise. In 2019, Persecution Relief, a group dedicated to helping persecuted Christians in India, recorded 527 cases of persecution against Christians, compared to 447 cases in 2018. Sadly, the final number for 2020 will probably be the highest that we have seen so far. But at least things in India are not as bad as they are in China. As I have discussed previously, the Chinese government seems to have decided that the elimination of the Christian faith should be official government policy. Over the past couple of years, countless churches have been raided, countless pastors have been imprisoned, and countless Bibles have been burned. And even hundreds of pro-government "churches" that do everything that the central government tells them to do are still having their crosses taken down... Bitter Winter reported on June 9 that crosses had been removed from over 250 state-run Three-Self churches in the eastern province of Anhui in the first four months of the year. According to the newly received information, an additional 656 state-run Protestant venues in the province had lost their crosses during the first half of this year, the total exceeding 900. Thankfully, we aren't facing this level of persecution in the western world yet, but many of our politicians have used the pandemic that we are experiencing to implement very strict restrictions on Christian gatherings. In fact, the city of Seattle temporarily shut down an entire park the other day in order to prevent a Christian worship event from taking place. The following comes from Todd Starnes... The City of Seattle shut down a local park in advance of a massive gathering of Christian worshippers. Christians were banned from the park, but not Black Lives Matter or Antifa. Let that sink in, folks. The organizers could have completely canceled the event, but instead they decided to take it to the streets and rebrand it as a "worship protest"... But instead of canceling the event, the Christians simply relocated the service to the street and called it a "worship protest." Brilliant! It was wonderful to see such a diverse group of people all worshipping the Lord together under a beautiful blue sky. But you can be sure that officials in Seattle will be brainstorming ways that they can prevent such a thing from happening again in the future. Hatred of Christians is rapidly rising all over the globe, and it is going to get a whole lot worse in the years ahead. Sadly, the corporate-controlled media will almost certainly continue to ignore the persecution that is happening because it definitely does not fit any of the agendas that they are trying to push. That is extremely unfortunate, because every one of these lives that is being lost is of immense value, and their stories deserve to be told. Daily Jot: In this political season human trafficking rises - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com One of the evilest systems upon the face of the earth is the trafficking of humans, especially children. We see in the United States the horror of it all through the reporting surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein human trafficking ring in which many prominent politicians and wealthy business-people participate with impunity. Beneath that high-end is an array of slave trade levels. China, for example, enslaves people to work for the state, which in turn, produces many products that Americans consume-NIKE, Wal Mart-are just the larger examples. In Ghana, where our ministry to the rural areas exposes many human conditions, we are again seeing that human trafficking is on the rise. Before COVID, our ministry was beginning to work with the Ghana government and other nonprofits to educate about and prevent human trafficking. Often agents of these child traffickers, commonly Muslim, gain the confidence of young girls and lure them away to a "better" life. Just as we thought Covid-19 had brought at least a temporary end to child trafficking, the situation has deteriorated to a different level altogether. Pastor William Agbeti reports: "Only four days after Ghana lifted the ban on air travel, there has been an astronomical surge in child trafficking operations in rural Ghana. Poor families that we have been helping in the wake of Covid-19 report that several agents have surfaced in and around their villages and towns, seeking young girls to send abroad to work and live in rich households. "A parent reported that a "white man" was spotted in their community, operating through a local native, to recruit girls to travel overseas. This parent, a single mother, had to warn her children not to listen to any such offers. Even more aggressively, a 16-year-old Muslim girl befriended a 13-year-old, one of a family of six girls being looked after by their Grandma, a widow, to live with the family. The Grandma narrated the story when we visited to bring the family some foodstuffs. Already, this Muslim girl had succeeded in convincing the 13-year-old and two other granddaughters not to attend church. It was Grandma, whilst discussing the Muslim girl, who told us about the widespread operations of agents asking young girls to travel to the Middle East for greener pastures. "We prayed with Grandma, and led her 13-year-old granddaughter to renew her vows to Christ and reasoned Biblically with her. We also counseled the 16-year-old. We advised Grandma to immediately seek temporary residential assistance for the Muslim girl and have her move out. Evil agents have descended on poor families in rural Ghana. We will continue to pray and believe God to use us to save these vulnerable children. We also will call the authorities about this new development." Jesus said in Matthew 18:6, "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." That's how The Daily Jot sees human traffickers. We are committed to do something about it. Daily Devotion: Walking Epistles - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. -2 Corinthians 3:3 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/walking-epistles-3/ - Listen Sammy Mason was a stunt pilot and a committed follower of Jesus Christ. He also was a flight instructor at the Santa Paula Airport in California. One day a man came to see him about some flight training, because he had recently purchased an antique Stearman biplane. The man's name was Steve McQueen. Having conquered auto racing and motocross, the world-famous actor wanted to learn how to fly. McQueen had been raised by an alcoholic mother who had little to no time for him, and he had spent time at the Boys Republic in Chino Hills. He had ascended to the top in Hollywood and was making millions of dollars, yet there was a big hole in his heart. McQueen spent hours in the cockpit with Sammy Mason, and he admired him. One day he asked his instructor what his secret was, and Mason told him about his faith in Jesus Christ. Then McQueen asked if he could attend church with him. They went to Ventura Missionary Church, where Pastor Leonard DeWitt preached the gospel and invited people to come to Christ at each service. After a few weeks passed, McQueen had an extended conversation with the pastor, which resulted in McQueen's committing his life to Jesus Christ. We have heard of Steve McQueen, but we probably hadn't heard of Sammy Mason. One person can make all the difference. We all have something to do. We all have a sphere of influence. We want to do what we can while we can. If you're a believer, then you are a representative of Christ. You may be the only Christian some people ever will know. It's been said that Christians are walking epistles, written by God and read by men. You may be the only Bible that some people ever read. 
FROM THE HEART
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