Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Greatness of the New Testament - by Randy Nettles -
https://www.rev310.com/2020/09/the-greatness-of-the-new-testament-by-randy-nettles In 605 BC, during the first year of his reign as King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and pillaged Judah. This was the first of three invasions of Judah by Babylon. Many of the Jewish people were carried away to serve the king in Babylon during this time. Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among those taken into exile. God gave these four children knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams according to Daniel 2:17. In 604 BC Nebuchadnezzar had a fantastic dream, but couldn't remember the details. All he knew was that is was very impressive and important. "Dreams were considered messages from the gods by the Babylonians; and the wise men were expected to interpret them. Usually, they could give some sort of interpretation as long as they knew what it was about. This time, however, Nebuchadnezzar demanded his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, astrologers, and wise men to tell him the dream because he could not remember it. God sent a series of dreams to Nebuchadnezzar with prophetic messages which could be revealed and understood only by a servant of God." {1} Of course, none of the pagan servants could tell the king what he dreamed. "The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asks such things of any magician, or astrologer, of Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain" (Daniel 2:10-13). Then Daniel went to his house, and told his companions about the king's dream and subsequent decree. They determined to pray and petition the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not die with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: and he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.: he reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light that dwells with him. I thank you, and praise you, O my God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has made known unto me now what we desired of you: for you have now made known unto us the king's matter" (Daniel 2:19-23). The next day Daniel told Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, not to destroy the "wise" men of Babylon and to bring him before the king so he can interpret the dream. Here is this rather lengthy but revealing account of the encounter between Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar: " The king spoke to Daniel, whose Babylonian name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation, thereof? Daniel answered the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot the wise men show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to the king what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, are these; as for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that reveals secrets makes known to you what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes shall the interpretation to the king be made known, and that you might know the thoughts of your heart. You, O king, saw and beheld a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you: and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. You saw it until a stone that was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then was the iron, clay, brass, silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer the threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. You, O king, are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. You are this head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and another kingdom after this of brass, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: for as much as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it the strength of the iron, for as much as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men : but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:25-44). Of course, this is the Kingdom of God/Jesus Christ as I discussed in my previous article: In the Midst: Part V When Nebuchadnezzar heard Daniel's words he remembered the dream and was so impressed with Daniel that he made him chief of the governors over all of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar got a glimpse of the greatness of Daniel's God and told him: "If the truth be known, your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets as He has given you the revelation of this secret" (Daniel 2:47). Then Daniel requested that his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (otherwise known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego) be made counselors over the affairs of the province of Babylon. In hindsight, we know the four kingdoms mentioned in the dream/prophecy were Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. At the time of this prophecy, Babylon was the major world power after defeating Assyria in 609 BC. Babylon represented the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The silver chest and two arms represented the Medo-Persian Empire which eventually conquered Babylon in 539 BC. The belly and thighs of bronze was the nation of Greece under Alexander the Great who conquered Persia in 334-330 BC. The legs of iron represented Rome, which conquered the Greeks in 63 BC. The feet and toes of clay and iron represented the revived Roman Empire in the latter days to come (including the Antichrist's 3.5-year reign). This end-time kingdom will be a mixture of strong and weak nations. The type of metal in each subsequent part indicated the strength of the political and military power that each nation/nations represents. In this study, we are mostly concerned with the third kingdom of brass, Greece, under the leadership of their greatest king, Alexander the Great. His political and military triumphs spread a great influence over the Near East that would last for a millenia. It is because of Alexander the Great, and his God-given genius and military skills, that the New Testament was written in Greek. Of course, God was truly the power behind the scenes and it was His divine plan and will that was implemented. Alexander was the movable and most prized piece, the king, in God's game of chess known as human history. Alexander isn't truly the "great" one; however, it is the Lord Himself, the true King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ! Alexander III, aka Alexander the Great, was born in 356 BC. His father, Philip, was a mighty warrior king from Macedonia; one of the five tribal states of Greece. Persia was the dominant world power at this time after defeating Babylon in 539 BC. Greece was only a regional power during Alexander's youth, as the five tribes were always fighting among themselves and couldn't come together as a cohesive nation. They even spoke different dialects and couldn't understand one another very well. The following is an account of Alexander the Great's short life and military career written by Hal Lindsey in his 1997 book entitled "Apocalypse Code". If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend it as it is still relevant today, twenty-three years later. "Alexander was educated personally by the great Greek philosopher Aristotle. Alexander was a child prodigy and genius, and the brilliant Aristotle took him to his full potential. On the spiritual side, Alexander's devoutly occultic mother taught him to believe as a child that he was more than a mere man. She planted the idea in him that he was destined for greatness, glory and divinity. She knew that her husband Philip did not like her and that her own survival was linked to the success of her son. This vision of personal greatness became the driving force of his life. Even in Alexander's early teens, he would sneak away from Aristotle and study his father's army as they practiced various battle tactic and formations. During these times he began to develop battle tactics and strategy that he knew would be better than his father's. At eighteen years old he was already very restless to take over from his aging father, who suffered from multiple battle wounds, one of which was a crippled leg. But Alexander's ambition and certainty that he was destined for greatness annoyed his father. Then suddenly fate struck. The knife of a half-crazed assassin killed Philip on the steps of the Temple of Zeus and made Alexander an instant king. No one knew at the time that this assassin had just thrust onto the stage of history an eighteen-year-old boy who would forever alter its course. Thought Alexander leaped to his father's aid and killed the assassin himself, a few believed that he had engineered the whole incident. Legend has it that Alexander entered the Temple of Zeus right after his father's assassination. He took an oath and vowed he would bring more glory to Zeus and the gods of Greece than anyone in all history. He then made a strange request - he said, "I do not ask for a long life, but a short one. My only request is that it will be filled with victory in battle, wisdom with the conquered, and my name covered with immortal glory." Whether this actually happened or not, no one really knows. But it's certainly like something this larger-than-life personality would do. No one in human history so naturally fits the title of "The Great". History shows that this ingenious young king invented a revolutionary new battle formation called the "phalanx." He also devised radical new tactics. His ability to quickly grasp a changing battle situation and instantly improvise a brilliant solution also kept the enemy generals off balance. But most of all, it was Alexander's almost superhuman courage and bravery - and his daring, almost reckless audacity - that inspired his men to fight above their ability. He never ordered his men to go into battle. He always ordered, "Follow me." Alexander literally believed he could not be killed until his destiny was accomplished. He was at the forefront of virtually every battle. During his fighting career, thousands of arrows, lances, knives and swords were aimed at him, yet he was not killed in battle. Note: This reminds us of the career of Israel's great king, David. It appears they were both supernaturally protected by the Lord. Why was Alexander protected as such. Because he was under the providence of the almighty God of the Bible. God's prophet Daniel had predicted that Alexander wouldn't die in battle. Though Daniel predicted he would die prematurely at a young age, he also predicted that this Greek king would conquer most of the known world before he died. Upon assuming command of his father's army, he immediately began to train them in his new tactics. He prepared them quickly to launch a campaign to defeat and take over the other four tribes of Greece. In a shockingly quick time, Alexander did what no other Greek had been able to do. He not only conquered all of the other tribes, but convinced them to unite together into one nation. He was able to inspire them to see the potential of such a union. Since they spoke in five dialects, Alexander, knowing that exact communication was essential in battle, fused together the best of the dialects and made one common language. This he did himself. His natural genius - plus the teaching of Aristotle, who above all was a brilliant linguist - enabled him to create a precise language for communicating exact thought. This dialect was named Koine Greek, which means "common Greek." Alexander commanded all the tribes to learn "the common language." In less than two years as king, Alexander had Greece united and ready for conquest. Psychologically, the army was not ready to accept his lofty idea of conquering mighty Persia. So, he took a popular cause and mobilized them for that. Alexander led his army across the Hellespont of the Aegean Sea, supposedly for a limited rescue operation of the oppressed Greeks living under Persian rule in what is now Turkey's western coastal regions. One of the first cities he 'liberated" was ancient Troy. With lightning-like attacks, Alexander destroyed the Persian frontier military forces one after another. At this ;point, he had two secret purposes in mind. First, to give his men the confidence that comes with victory. Second, Alexander knew that he was provoking the proud King Darius to bring out his whole army. And he had positioned his forced in such a way as to allow no easy escape. They would have to fight. He was absolutely confident his army would win. To us looking back in history, it was a reckless all-or-nothing gamble. To Alexander, there was no risk. He was certain they would win - it was his destiny. His bravery and confidence became contagious. Darius took the bait and with fatal overconfidence brought out his whole army with no real plan of attack, nor any attention to the strengths and weaknesses of the Greek army. The haughty Persians were sure this would be mostly a training exercise for them. They intended to teach the Greeks such a lesson that they would never dare to set foot in Persia again. Alexander, on the other hand, knew the strengths and weaknesses of the Persians and had carefully planned to exploit them. He analyzed the approaching army and devised a plan that would quickly demoralize them and minimize their great numerical advantage. He picked out the battle flag of Persis's most elite battalion. He stalked them until just the right conditions of terrain partially isolated them. Moving with the speed and stealth of a leopard, he led his army in a daring attack against them. The Greeks destroyed them so quickly with their new phalanx maneuver that the rest of the Persian army was stunned. None of the Persian soldiers had ever seen anything like this. They were traumatized and never really regained their confidence and composure. In other words, Alexander had psyched them out! Keeping the initiative, Alexander decoyed them to follow. He carefully picked the time and place for each attack. Sensing when the situation was right, he moved in for the decisive battle at Isis and Arbela. There the Greeks utterly decimated the remaining Persian army. The survivors panicked and fled in total disarray, leaving King Darius alone and unprotected. Two Persian deserters assassinated the defenseless Darius, thinking it would win them favor with Alexander. To their dismay, Alexander took pity on Darius and his dishonorable end. He was angry at the two deserters for their treachery and cowardice. He told them, "Only a king can execute a king." He drew his sword and killed them. Almost before his army had full grasped what was really happening, they had completely defeated the vaunted Persian army. Alexander realized that the kingdom of Persia was as helpless as their lifeless king. He savored the moment as he looked over his deliriously happy army. He had led them to do the impossible - they had conquered the leading power in the world. The news of the incredible victory was quickly relayed to Athens. The Greek nation was stunned at the news. Their daring young king not only had liberated "the oppressed Greeks," but had conquered the seemingly invincible Persian empire, with all of its riches. And once again, in an extraordinary way, Alexander had unknowingly fulfilled another part of Daniel's 200-year-old prophecy about his sudden conquest and takeover of Persia, the second world empire. The year was 331 BC. The Persian empire fell at Alexander's feet. Instead of making them slaves and treating them cruelly, he required them only to embrace the Greek culture and language. For the most part, he made friends of them. This too was a fulfillment of God's providential use of him. Unwittingly, Alexander was bein used to accomplish God's purpose by making Line Greek the lingua franca of the known world. Even Rome (the fourth empire) would not be able to change the universal language. When the remains of the Greek empire were taken over by the Romans, everyone continued to use Greek as the language of business, trade and international communication. So, when Jesus the Messiah came and purchased a pardon for the sin of all mankind by his death, the infinitely valuable message about it was entrusted to none other than Alexander's creation - Koine Greek. The original manuscript of the New Testament was written in this Common Greek and could be rapidly spread among the Gentiles. Why? Because in the providential working of God, Alexander had made it possible for them to understand. Another amazing footnote of history which is enormously important: when Alexander began his conquest southward toward Egypt, he conquered most of Israel and besieged Jerusalem. The High Priest requested an audience and showed Alexander that his whole life and career had been foreknown and predicted by Israel's God more than two hundred years before. He taught Alexander from the 2nd, 7th, and 8th chapters of Daniel. It is said that Alexander fell down and declared Yahweh, the LORD of Israel, the God of gods. Also, he spared Jerusalem and took with him many of the royal family of Judah and made them royal administrators of his conquered kingdoms. Jews were spread throughout the empire. Because of this, it later became necessary for the Hellenized Jews to have a Greek translation of their Hebrew Bible. The translation, known as the Septuagint (or LXX) for the 70 translators, was completed in 165 BC in a city founded by and named for Alexander -Alexandria, Egypt. Thus, long before Jesus' birth, there were now available for the Gentile world the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah's coming as a humble servant who would provide a way to God for all peoples." {2} Impressed with his own success and the teaching of his occultic mother, Alexander thought it necessary for his Greek subjects to worship him as a god. However, he didn't live long enough to enjoy the accolades. Alexander the Great died in Babylon on June 10, 323 BC, at the young age of 33. In just 13 years, he had conquered most of the known world and spread the Greek culture, language, and influence over the Near East that would last for a thousand years. After Alexander's death, his four Greek generals broke up the vast kingdom into four parts as was also prophesied in Daniel 8:8. The 27 books of the New Testament were written in a 50 year span between the years AD 45-95. The 39 books of the Old Testament were written in a 1000 year span (approximately) between the years 1430-430 BC. There are a total of 66 books in the Bible written by approximately 40 authors. 6 is the number of man, so the number 66 accentuates the meaning. The Bible is God's revelation about Himself to mankind, written by His Holy prophets and disciples under the inspired guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is what the author of Hebrews has to say about the word of God, which includes both the Old and New Testament: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12-13). Randy Nettles [email protected] Endnotes: {1} Life Application Study Bible pg.1608 {2} Apocalypse Code - by Hal Lindsey, Western Front Ltd., 1997 - pgs. 55-61 Iraq: Leading Lawmaker Calls To Make Peace With Israel - Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - https://www.israel365news.com/158408/iraq-lawmaker-calls-to-make-peace-with-israel/ His sons Yitzchak and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre Genesis 25:9 (The Israel BibleTM) As part of the wave of peace washing over the Middle East, a leasing Iraqi politician is calling for establishing normalization with Israel, leading the Biblically minded to ask, "Is this Babylon reloaded or the repentance of Ishmael?" The Baghdad Post reported on Saturday that in the wake of the pending normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, Iraqi Sunni politician and the leader of the Ummah Party, Mithal al-Alusi, called for the normalization of ties between Iraq and Israel. According to the report, Alusi explained that until now, the conflict between Israel and Palestine has been exploited by some countries for their own interests and not for the good of the people of Palestine. "There are nearly 700,000 Iraqi Jews who currently live in Israel," Alusi said. "Why should we enter a war with them for the sake of Gaza or for the sake of the bank accounts of the Palestinian groups,". He also pointed out that the top Iraqi political leaders have had meetings with Israelis, "but they are afraid of the Iranians because Iran is the policymaker in Iraq". Iraq does not recognize Israel and consequently, the two countries do not have any formal diplomatic relations. Iraq declared war on the newly established Jewish state in 1948 and since then the two countries have technically been in a state of war. Iraqi forces participated in wars against Israel in 1967 and 1973. During the Persian Gulf War (1990-91), Iraq fired 42 modified Scud ballistic missiles at Israel, to which Israel did not respond militarily, because of pressure from the US not to retaliate. There have been efforts to jumpstart relations between the two countries. In 2019, it was reported that three Iraqi delegations comprised of 15 political and religious figures, from both the Sunni and Shiite communities visited Israel. The delegations met with Israeli government officials and Israeli academics. The Iraqis also visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Iraq is geographically located where Babylonia once was but it may be inaccurate to consider the modern-day relations with Israel as based on the Biblical framework. Rabbi Ken Spiro, a historian and Senior Lecturer and Researcher for Aish HaTorah Yeshiva, "When considering peace with the Arab world, the Emirates is quite different," Rabbi Spiro said. "The colonial powers got smart and rather than create an artificial country that has no inner cohesiveness based on historic or even religious connection, the UAE was created as a federation of different tribes. This has clearly worked better than the Western paradigm of a national identity that was forced on Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria by the British and French." Rabbi Spiro noted that Iraq is also an artificially created national identity that has been unsuccessful in producing a cohesive government. "This will make it difficult for an agreement like the one made with the UAE to work between Israel and Iraq. I don't see the country unifying enough for that. With the UAE, " "Historically, Iraq is geographically what we call Mesopotamia, or Babylonia. But Iraq, as we know it today, is a 20th Century creation. Assyrians and Babylonians don't exist anymore. In the same way, Italy is not the same as ancient Rome. Despite the geography which is described in the Bible, these are not the same people or culture." "If you want to look at this from a Biblical perspective, the Arabs of the UAE are most likely closest to the Biblical 'Bnei Yishmael' because as Bedouin they are probably more authentically truly Arab than many other people in the Arab world," Rabbi Spiro said. "Because of this, in addition to the practical and political issues, we may see a real peace based on the reconciliation of Ishmael and Isaac." His sons Yitzchak and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre Genesis 25:9 "This is the paradigm for the future reconciliation of Arabs with Jews," Rabbi Spiro said. It should be noted that al-Alusi has long advocated for opening ties with Israel and the US, and he has paid a heavy price for this belief. In 2004, after making a public visit to Israel, al-Alusi was expelled from the Iraqi National Congress and sacked from his job at the De-Baathification Commission. He was indicted by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq for "having contacts with enemy states", a crime under a 1969 Baathist law. He was subsequently released. Six months later, Al-Alusi's car was ambushed by armed assailants in Baghdad. His two sons were killed in the attack, as well as one of his bodyguards. In September 2008, he again visited Israel and spoke at a conference on counter-terrorism organized by the IDC. He praised Israel, saying "In Israel, there is no occupation, there is liberalism" and criticized Iran, saying it was continually meddling in Iraq. He was threatened with prosecution for "visiting a country that Iraq considers an enemy" by the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs the Supreme Federal Court ruled that no crime had been committed. It may be that the state of Israel-Iraq relations has a direct benefit to the US. Last week, the US military announced that it would reduce its presence in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 troops this month. This is the manifestation of a campaign platform in which Trump promised to end the country's "endless wars." The Jewish community in Iraq was one of the earliest of the diaspora. In 722 BCE, Jews from the Northern Kingdom surviving the invasion by Assyria were taken there as slaves. A larger community was established in 586 BCE when the Babylonians conquered the southern tribes of Israel and enslaved the Jews. In later centuries, the region became more hospitable to Jews and it became the home to some of the world's most prominent scholars who produced the Babylonian Talmud between 500 and 700 CE. Over the centuries, the community grew and by World War I, they accounted for one-third of Baghdad's population. In 1936 the Iraq Directory claimed 120,000 Jews and Hebrew was listed as one of Iraq's six languages. But this golden age ended with the departure of the British and the birth of Israel in 1947. Pogroms broke out and Zionism was mandated as a capital crime. In 1950, Iraqi Jews were permitted to leave the country within a year provided they forfeited their citizenship. A year later, however, the property of Jews who emigrated was frozen and economic restrictions were placed on Jews who chose to remain in the country. From 1949 to 1951, 104,000 Jews were evacuated from Iraq in Operations Ezra & Nechemia (named after the Jewish leaders who took their people back to Jerusalem from exile in Babylonia beginning in 597 B.C.E.); another 20,000 were smuggled out through Iran. Government persecution fo Jews increased and in 2020, the US. State Department reported fewer than six adult members in the Baghdad Jewish community. It was estimated there were 70 to 80 Jewish families in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. There are possibly more, but some Jewish families are afraid to publicly acknowledge their religion for fear of persecution and practice their faith in secret. Other Jews may have converted to Islam. Nearing Midnight: Push-back against Satan's Big Push - Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ With the election of Barack Obama following eight years of George W. Bush, things appeared to be right on track for globalization. Even during the Bush years, the push to bring in a changed world order was front and center. Efforts by those opposed to giving up American sovereignty were becoming increasingly atrophied. America-as-founded advocates within the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives gave in to the change agent in most every instance because it was impolitic to push back against the first black president. The leftist mainstream news media reveled in the words of the new president: "It is time for fundamental change in America!" The Obama administration started by the president undertaking a world tour where he apologized for the United States being overbearing and...well...just not a good global citizen. The first lady, Michelle Obama, said she was proud of America for the first time since her husband made the tour and was beginning to right all the wrongs that the U.S. as founded had perpetrated upon the rest of the world. Those in charge in D.C. during those eight years indeed set about to transfer American industry-especially manufacturing-to nations throughout the world. Particularly, China was beneficiary of the change that was taking place. During those years, China built an economy that is scheduled to overtake that of the U.S. by 2040-something. That nation used the great profits made from the trade deals and through industrial and hi-tech espionage to build a military machine that the Bible tells us will one day be at the heart of the force that will kill a third of the world's population. (Read Revelation chapters 9 and 16.) We can see simply by looking at China's growing belligerence through its threats in the South China Sea and its ominous threats against the Trump administration's tough dealing to create a more favorable trade balance, just how foolish the giveaways by the Obama administration were. And, it is almost certainly the Sino-globalist cabal, according to some observers, that released the COVID-19 plague-a so-called pandemic that has brought the greatest economic power to have existed to its knees along with the rest of the industrialized world. Then came the election of 2016. The world powers elite were set to further bring those American assets into their orbit with the election of the candidate who was to complete the Obama agenda. It was all but a done deal. The media, again, was giddy with the prospects of making the United States exactly like the European socialistic model they so longed for. But something funny happened on the way to that next presidential inauguration. The candidate of the changed world order lost in a large electoral landslide. The winner, the "Make America Great Again" candidate, gave the inaugural speech in which he lambasted Obama's agenda and the damage done in the Obama administration, and he vowed that now America would be front and center in bringing back manufacturing and all other things that had been virtually given away during the previous four years. Bottom line is that Satan's plans to bring his geopolitical regime of control sooner rather than later was stymied. There came a push-back of major proportions because of the election result, one that nobody saw coming-except perhaps Donald J. Trump and his confidence in winning rather than losing, and, certainly, Christians who believe unwaveringly in the power of prayer. As mentioned here many times, that prayer, as edited by God as recorded in 2 Chronicles 7: 14, was at the precise center of the miracle that took place that election night in 2016. Since that night, and even before, the luciferian push to bring America and the world back to conditions as they were before the 2016 election have increased by the hour. The insane rage of those who are nothing less than operatives for the end-times rebellion Satan is fomenting are in our faces-our masked faces-every waking minute. Those leading the rebellion, including not only Antifa and Black Lives Matter, but the ideological-political left in general and the mainstream news and entertainment media as well, are now warning with not-so-veiled threats that if the man they hate is reelected, we can expect carnage from their rage that will cause what is happening at present to look like child's play. Even Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden has threatened in no uncertain terms that the rage will become even more intense. So the push by the chief rebel of all rebels has his minions, both human and demonic, in place for the big push that is without question coming, no matter who wins the election. It's just the way it is. It is the time in which we are privileged to be alive-the very end of the Age of Grace. We are here for the big push-back against Satan's big push to bring in the long-prophesied Antichrist world order. That cannot and will not happen while we are still here. Our push-back-God's push-back-is why we are here at this troubling but exciting time. The Holy Spirit resident within each believer in Jesus Christ provides us greater power than the minions of the satanic push have at their disposal. Franklin Graham, son of the late Billy Graham, has full understanding of that power of supernatural push-back. He has invited God's people to join him and many others on the Washington, D.C. Mall on September 26 for a time of prayer for the nation. He will then lead a march through the nation's capital as part of the push-back against the evil that will continue to be stymied until we hear the words of our Lord from the clouds of Heaven: "Come up here!" America 1950 vs. America 2020 - by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/america-1950-vs-america-2020 If you could go back to 1950, would you do it? There would be no Internet, no cellphones and you would only be able to watch television in black and white. But even though they lacked many of our modern conveniences, people genuinely seemed to be much happier back then. Families actually ate dinner together, neighbors knew and cared about one another, and being an "American" truly meant something. Today, we like to think that we are so much more "advanced" than they were back then, but the truth is that our society is in the process of falling apart all around us. Could it be possible that we could learn some important lessons by looking back at how Americans lived 70 years ago? Of course there has never been any era in our history when everything has been perfect. But without a doubt, things are vastly different today than they were back in 1950... In 1950, Texaco Star Theatre, The Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy were some of the most popular shows that Americans watched on television. In 2020, a Netflix film entitled "Cuties" is so trashy and so disgusting that four states have sent a letter to Netflix asking for it to be removed because it is "fodder for those with criminal imaginations, serving to normalize the view that children are sexual beings." In 1950, television networks would not even show husbands and wives in bed together. In 2020, "adult websites" get more traffic than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined. In 1950, people would greet one another as they walked down the street. In 2020, Americans are too enamored with their cellphones to be bothered with actual human contact. In 1950, gum chewing and talking in class were some of the major disciplinary problems in our schools. In 2020, kids are literally gunning down police officers in the streets. In 1950, people would make an effort to dress up and look nice when they would go out in public. In 2020, most of the population has become utter slobs and "People of Walmart" has become one of our most popular memes. In 1950, the typical woman got married for the first time at age 20 and the typical man got married for the first time at age 22. In 2020, the typical woman gets married for the first time at age 27 and the typical man gets married for the first time at age 29. In 1950, a lot of people would leave their homes and their vehicles unlocked because crime rates were so low. In 2020, many that live in urban areas are deathly afraid of all the civil unrest that has erupted, and gun sales have soared to all-time record highs. In 1950, Americans actually attempted to parent their children. In 2020, we pump our kids full of mind-altering drugs and we let our televisions and our video games raise our children. In 1950, Baltimore was one of the most beautiful and most prosperous cities on the entire planet. In 2020, Baltimore regularly makes headlines because of all the murders that are constantly occurring. Of course the exact same thing could be said about many of our other major cities. In 1950, 78 percent of all households in America contained a married couple. In 2020, that figure has fallen below 50 percent. In 1950, about 5 percent of all babies in the United States were born to unmarried parents. In 2020, about 40 percent of all babies in the United States will be born to unmarried parents. In 1950, new churches were regularly being opened all over the United States. In 2020, it is being projected that 1 out of every 5 churches in the U.S. "could be forced to shut their doors in the next 18 months", and the mayor of Lubbock, Texas just said that opening a new Planned Parenthood clinic is like starting a church. In 1950, we actually had high standards for our elected officials, and people actually did research on the candidates before they cast their votes. In 2020, more than 4,000 people in one county in New Hampshire voted for a "transsexual Satanic anarchist" in the Republican primary, and she is now the Republican nominee for sheriff in Cheshire County. In 1950, children would go outside and play when they got home from school. In 2020, our parks and our playgrounds are virtually empty and we have the highest childhood obesity rate in the industrialized world. In 1950, front porches were community gathering areas, and people would regularly have their neighbors over for dinner. In 2020, many of us don't know our neighbors at all, and the average American watches more than five hours of television a day. In 1950, Americans used words such as "knucklehead", "moxie" and "jalopy". In 2020, new terms such as "nomophobia", "peoplekind" and "social distancing" have been introduced into the English language. In 1950, the very first credit card was issued in the United States. In 2020, Americans owe more than 930 billion dollars on their credit cards. In 1950, one income could support an entire middle class household. In 2020, tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs and filed for unemployment, and more than half of all households in some of our largest cities are currently facing "serious financial problems". In 1950, the American people believed that the free market should govern the economy. In 2020, most Americans seem to believe that the government in Washington and the Federal Reserve must endlessly "manage" the economy. In 1950, "socialists" and "communists" were considered to be our greatest national enemies. In 2020, most of our politicians in Washington have eagerly embraced socialist and communist policy goals. In 1950, the U.S. Constitution was deeply loved and highly revered. In 2020, anyone that actually admits to being a "constitutionalist" is considered to be a potential domestic terrorist. In 1950, the United States loaned more money to the rest of the world than anybody else. In 2020, the United States owes more money to the rest of the world than anybody else. In 1950, the total U.S. national debt reached the 257 billion dollar mark for the first time in our history. In 2020, we added 864 billion dollars to the national debt in the month of June alone. In other words, we added over three times more to the national debt in that one month than the total amount of debt that had been accumulated from the founding of our nation all the way to 1950. In 1950, most Americans were generally happy with their lives. In 2020, the suicide rate is at an all-time record high, and it has been rising every single year since 2007. Daily Jot: Political police narratives don't match the truth - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com The political narrative is that police are routinely killing black people. But this is refuted by a comprehensive Harvard study of police data indicating that police are less likely to use lethal force against black civilians than with white suspects. The study of a 15-year period on police data regarding racial differences is contained in AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN POLICE USE OF FORCE by National Bureau of Economic Research's Roland G. Fryer, Jr., an African American Harvard professor of economics, July 2016. The study found that Blacks are 23.8% less likely to be shot at by police relative to whites, but Blacks are harassed far more in police interactions. Fryer Studied 1,332 shootings between 2000-2015 using detailed data from police reports in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Jacksonville; and four other counties in Florida; 3.5 million arrests from New York City stop and frisk records 2003-2013; and 500,000 observations from 1996-2011 in the Police-Public Contact Survey by the Bureau of Justice. The study found: Black civilians are 30.9% less likely to be shot with a pistol (rather than a taser) relative to non-black suspects. Officers are 47.4% less likely to discharge their firearms before being attacked if the suspect is black; Blacks are 53% more likely to experience any use of non-lethal force; Blacks are 21.3% more likely to endure some form of force. The study indicated blacks are 19.4% more likely than whites to be involved in an interaction with police in which at least a weapon is drawn; Officers decisions to use lethal force are not correlated with the race of the suspect. The study finds there are no differences in the use of lethal force for black suspects compared with white. There is no evidence of racial differences of the officers who use lethal force. Fryer said, "Much more troubling, due to their frequency and potential impact on minority belief formation, is the possibility that racial differences in police use of non-lethal force have spillovers on myriad dimensions of racial inequality."-meaning lethal force is not racially motivated, but harassment likely is. The black community has believed for generations that police in general do not serve and protect them the same as whites; that blacks live under a form of soft tyranny that doesn't afford them the feeling of freedom and security. Every time there is a senseless death, these concerns grow even deeper. This is where the frustration and perception of being treated unfairly becomes reality, even though the narrative doesn't align with the truth. It is a vicious cycle that informs behavioral reactions to police. What is our response as Christians? Christ said in Matthew 7:12, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." It's the Golden Rule and we should employ it in all our relations. Be a bridgebuilder focused on the pith of the issue rather than the political narrative. Daily Devotion: Imitate Me - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. -1 Corinthians 11:1 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/imitate-me-2/ - Listen I heard about a man who desperately wanted to get married. He found a girl he was in love with, and he took her home to meet his parents. But his mother didn't like her. So he went out and found another girl and brought her home. Still, his mother didn't like her. Then he found a girl who looked like his mother, talked like his mother, and dressed like his mother. In every way, this girl was just like his mother. Then his father didn't like her. Like it or not, people are making evaluations about God according to the way we live as followers of Christ. Being a disciple is walking with Jesus in such a way that you get to say to someone else, "Follow my example." I know that we mess up sometimes. But that doesn't excuse us from being examples. The apostle Paul said, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV). What if the church were filled with people just like you? What if everyone else in the church were exactly like you? What if everyone in the church read the Bible as faithfully as you do? Would we be a Bible studying church? What if everyone in the church worshipped God just like you do? Would we be a worshipping church? What if everyone in the church gave of their finances as faithfully as you do? Would we have a supported church? What if everyone in the church shared the gospel as often as you do? What would the church be like? What if other believers were just like you? As believers, we should be living godly lives in such a way that we could say, as the apostle Paul did, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." FROM THE HEART
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