Prophecy Update Newsletter
October 4, 2016
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Prophetic Overlap - Pete Garcia - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8316
Governed by Rome in 32 AD, the kingdom of Judah existed for 38 years alongside the fledgling, but rapidly growing Christian community in Jerusalem. In 70 AD, the Romans under General Titus (whose father Vespasian had just become Emperor), sacked the city, destroyed the Jewish temple, and killed over one million of its inhabitants. Although this effectively ended the kingdom of Judah in any official capacity, Jews and Christians still geographically coexisted in the land of Israel for another 100 years until the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132 AD. By 135 AD, the revolt was over, and the remaining Jewish people were dispersed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to the four corners of the earth, officially beginning the start of their global diaspora. My God will cast them away, Because they did not obey Him; And they shall be wanderers among the nations. Hosea 9:17 Fast forward roughly two millennia to the late 19th century. Headed by an Austro-Hungarian Jew named Theodor Herzl, the Zionist movement began making the case for developing a plan whose singular purpose was to return to their ancient homeland and reestablish a Jewish nation again. The problem was that the Ottoman Turks currently occupied what was then known as Palestine, and had single-handedly ruled most of the Middle East, including Jerusalem, since 1517. But as with the case of Newtown's Second Law of Thermodynamics, after 400 years the Turkish Empire was in a rapid-state of decline. The Turks made the fatal mistake of siding with the Central Powers in a desperate gamble to keep their empire intact. On November 2, 1917, the British Foreign Secretary Lord James Balfour, wrote a letter to Lord Rothschild, who was then the chairman of the British Zionist Federation, which has come to be known as the Balfour Declaration. In effect, it gave legality to the process of reestablishing a Jewish homeland. So it was, that when the Commander in Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, General Edmund Allenby recaptured Jerusalem on December 10, 1917 from the Ottoman Turks, he understood the religious and political significance of it. From 1917 to 1945, 'Palestine' remained a British mandate and ultimately divided the land between what was supposed to be the Arab-portion (Transjordan), and the Jewish-portion (then unnamed). Immediately after WWII, 'Palestine' then shortly fell under the newly-formed United Nations mandate and with the horrifying details of the Nazi Holocaust coming to light out of the Nuremberg Trials, as well as the discoveries of numerous concentration camps across Europe, the UN approved the Jews right to statehood on November 29, 1947. By May 14, 1948, the Jewish-nation state of Israel existed once again after nearly 1,878 years in diaspora. "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again." Ezekiel 37:21-22 Assessment So why the rehash of the last two-thousand years of Jewish history? It wasn't for the history lesson, as many of you are already familiar with much of what was covered. Given that the Bible is divinely inspired by God, who declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:9-10), what we know about Bible prophecy should help us define what we know about history and the significance of particular events regarding Israel. Since it's not kosher to believe in coincidence, and speculation is only as good as the assumptions leading up to it, this author will not ascribe to either, but will simply lay the facts before you the reader to decide. What we are looking at is historical events that corroborate the Bible's prophetic narrative regarding where we are on God's timeline of events to come. We are in a window of time that is increasingly narrowing to a culmination point. But for some historical perspective, consider the first coming of Christ. "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Galatians 4:5-6 1. The Messiah would have to come before the law departs from Judah (Gen. 49:10) 1.The kingdom of Judah lost this around 7 AD when Herod Archelaus was removed from the throne and replaced by a Roman procurator named Caponius, who quickly restricted the legal authority of the Sanhedrin to prosecute capital cases. This is why the Sanhedrin had to take Jesus before Pontius Pilate for a legal death sentence. (John 18:31) 2. The Messiah would have to come before the temple was destroyed.
3. The Messiah would have to come according to the timeline given to Daniel, by the Angel Gabriel. The Messiah would have to come 69 weeks (weeks of years) after the commandment was given to Nehemiah by the Persian King Artaxerxes in 445BC) as recorded in Daniel 9:24-27 and Nehemiah 2. 1. Jesus officially presented Himself as Messiah only three times in His earthly ministry
What we see here in this brief overview then, is that there was but a small window of time that the promised Messiah could have come to the nation of Israel. There are many other reasons and factors as to why He had to come when He did, but to me, these are the most convincing and irrefutable. Now, let us look at the Second Coming prophecies. Hosea 6:1-3, Luke 21:24, Romans 11:25-29, Amos 9:15 and many other prophetic passages narrow down the window of time that would point to when Christ will return to earth. This is separate from the Rapture of the Church, which could have happened at any point in the last two thousand years. The Second Coming is the official, physical, return to earth to rule and reign. 1. Israel would have to be a nation again. (Amos 9:15, Isaiah 11:11)
2. The world would be fixated on destroying and dividing the land of Israel and Jerusalem.
3. The signs of the times are escalating in both intensity and rapidity. (Matt. 24, Luke 21)
Not to belabor the point any more than necessary, because there are many other resources that are much more detailed and exhaustive than what is offered here today. The intent of the lists is to show that all of the signs are confirming what Scripture states, not detracting from it. For example, if the world was getting better and war no longer existed and militaries were deemed unnecessary, and everyone lived in relative peace and harmony, this would resoundingly prove the Bible as inaccurate, because the world (in the macro-sense) would be in stark contrast to what the Bible says should be happening. Unfortunately, it's not. The world is progressively getting worse just as the Bible says. The threats are getting graver, and the probabilities of some existential threat to humanity are only increasing, not diminishing. Just watch National Geographic or the History Channel for a week and see how secular scientists are far more likely to project their 'doom and gloom' theories with any number of potential earth-ending catastrophes than even the best of us Pre-Trib Rapture believing Dispensationalists ever could. According to Nat Geo and the like, meteor strikes, solar storms, alien invasions, pandemics, super-volcanos, global warming, etc., are not only imminent, but certain. I suppose they make for better television. My last point is on numbers and dates. While I firmly support and believe in the doctrine of immanence, I do however find it interesting that we are coming on some dates which seem to have significance. Significant of what, I can't be dogmatic. But I offer these thoughts for your consideration. From 32 AD - 70 AD, both Jews and Christians lived together in and underneath the governmental leadership of the kingdom of Judah. This rule was tenuous as the Romans controlled the territory, and the Jews typically disdained the Christians. (38 years overlap) Jews and Christians physically and geographically coexisted in the land from 32 AD (the Cross) until the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132 AD. You can't have Christians until after the death/burial/resurrection of Christ in 32 AD. (100 years overlap) From 1917 until 2017, Jews and Christians once again are geographically coexisting in the land of Israel. (100 years overlap) From 1948 to 2018, the Jewish state of Israel (Ezekiel 37) exists again as a sovereign nation going on its 70th anniversary. If we start from the birth of Christ (01 BC?) to 70 AD, the Jewish nation officially coexisted with the Church (Jesus is the head of the Church) for 70 years before Israel's destruction, but we (Christians) couldn't coexist until after the resurrection of Christ in 32 AD. Using 01 BC as the birth of Christ and the Roman siege on Jerusalem 70 AD as bookends, we see that
So what does the similarities in the numbers mean? One thing it doesn't mean is that Jesus has to come back on January 1, 2018. It doesn't even tie Him to a year. Jews and Christians have lived in the land of Israel for millennia, but not in any great numbers and definitely not with Israel or Judah in any governmental position of authority. But what is significant, is that two actors (Israel and the Church), from two decidedly different dispensations, are both in play, operating in the same geographical and geopolitical domains. Clarification is that Jews can become Christians and there is a growing number that are, and that is not the issue. When a Jew becomes a Christian, just as the same as a Gentile, they become part of the Body of Christ. The issue is with Israel as a nation, being back in her land, and fulfilling the prophetic passages (Ezekiel 36-37, Isaiah 11, Amos 9, Luke 21:24, Romans 11:25-29, etc.) while the Church Age is still in effect. We see a little bit of overlap at the beginning, and we are now living through it at the end. So we compare how much of that existed at the outset, and it 'should' by similar to what we see today. We can't be dogmatic, because the numbers may vary a little, but I do not believe they will vary significantly. So we see between 38 and 100 years in the 1st century, and we are coming up between 70 and 100 years in the 21st century. Is 100 years significant? If nothing else, it is very interesting and only adds to the strength of the other prophetic markers that we are witnessing today. God created time, and uses events to create the necessary conditions on the ground which provide the 'fullness' for specific events to come to pass. Both time and the aforementioned prophetic markers point to a convergence of events, and reinforces what Scripture already has to say about the last days. And like Mark Twain once said, history may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. Even so MARANATHA! Unprecedented Gathering of World Leaders at Peres Funeral Fulfills Messiah Prophecy Before Rosh Hashana - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/76554/gathering-kings-peres-funeral-unmistakable-fulfillment-isaiah-60-messiah-prophecy/#5RWmwE8mpLYgDc8d.97
"And nations shall walk at thy light, and kings at the brightness of thy rising." Isaiah 60:3 (The Israel Bible™) In a rare gathering, a multitude of world leaders will be arriving in Jerusalem on Friday for the funeral of Israeli statesman, Shimon Peres. The number and prominence of world leaders in attendance is staggering, but even more startling is how this conforms precisely to Biblical prophecies. For one rabbi, it is clear that such a gathering had to occur on this particular Sabbath eve, moments before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, while Gog and Magog is in full-swing. In chapter 60 of Isaiah, the prophet directly addresses Jerusalem, predicting that the nations will turn to the city to dispel the darkness that rules in the days preceding Messiah. Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of Hashem is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1 The prophecy goes on to say that that the kings of the world will come to the city, gathering together en masse, in the end of days. And nations shall walk at thy light, and kings at the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all are gathered together, and come to thee; thy sons come from far, and thy daughters are borne on the side. Isaiah 60:3-4 The gathering of this many world leaders in one place at one time - and that place being Jerusalem - is a truly unprecedented event and a testament to the respect and love felt for Shimon Peres, the last of Israel's "founding fathers." The list of dignitaries arriving for the funeral is staggering, including prime ministers, presidents, and princes. US president Barack Obama will attend, along with former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State John Kerry. To the surprise of many, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will also be in attendance. Also at the funeral will be French President Francois Hollande, Britain's Prince Charles, British Prime Minister Theresa May, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, former British prime minister David Cameron, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German President Joachim Gauck, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, among many others. Rabbi Yosef Berger, rabbi of the Tomb of David on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, told Breaking Israel News that not only is the gathering significant, but the timing, he said, is, "the opening to Gog and Magog, and the final stages before Messiah". "What is happening now is a process directed from Heaven, that so many world leaders will come to Jerusalem on the eve of Rosh Hashana," Rabbi Berger told Breaking Israel News. "This is exactly like the psalm we will say a few days after the funeral, before blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashana." O clap your hands, all ye peoples; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For Hashem is most high, awful; a great King over all the earth. He subdueth peoples under us, and nations under our feet. Psalms 47:2-4 "This verse is speaking specifically about Gog and Magog," explained Rabbi Berger. "The foreign kings may think they are coming for a funeral, but the reason they are really coming is to acknowledge God as their king, before blowing the great shofar to bring in the Messiah." In fact, the gathering of world leaders will be doing precisely that. As per Shimon Peres's request in his will, musician David D'or will sing Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father, Our King) at the funeral, a Jewish prayer recited on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rabbi Berger noted another auspicious aspect of the unscheduled gathering. "This is also the weekly Torah reading of Nitzavim, which begins with the gathering of leaders," said Rabbi Berger. Ye are standing this day all of you before Hashem your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel. Deuteronomy 29:9 Rabbi Berger quoted Maimonides, the foremost Torah authority of the 12th century known by the acronym of his name, Rambam, whose rulings are still used as the basis for much of Jewish law. Rabbi Berger explained that the Rambam brought this verse in the laws pertaining to kings as the sign of the beginning of the Messiah. Double Standards for Aleppo and Gaza - By Simon Plosker - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=695
Make no mistake, the carnage taking place in Aleppo right now is a disgrace to the international community. The Syrian government and Russian-backed forces are reportedly using chemical weapons, barrel bombs and increasingly powerful explosives to target innocent men, women and children. While rebel fighters have undoubtedly embedded themselves in the city in fortified positions, it appears that the civilian population is bearing the brunt of the conflict. While there has been some condemnation from the UN, where are the protests on the streets of European capitals and where is the media frenzy about this disgrace? Had Israel been involved, or had the IDF aimed one solitary munition at Aleppo, I think the response would be much different. The international community's condemnation of the Assad regime and Putin's Russia is nothing compared to the vitriol leveled against Israel for its far more restrained (and completely justified) 2014 operation against Hamas in Gaza. Unfortunately for the 250,000 residents of Aleppo, the city is not being attacked by the IDF. There are no leaflets being dropped warning civilians to evacuate areas in the line of fire. There is no "roof knocking" -- where non-explosive devices are dropped on the roofs of targeted buildings to give civilians time to flee. And judging by the number of civilian casualties and the extent of the destruction in Syria, there is very little to no concern for the well-being of innocent civilians. Aleppo is a testament to the double standards at play when it comes to the treatment of Israel's military operations. There is, however, a caveat. The IDF should be held to higher standards than the militaries of both Syria and Russia. And that is why The Sunday Times of London caught my eye recently. One story was headlined "Putin's gigantic firebombs torch Aleppo." Next to it was an article entitled, "RAF drone crew divert missile to save 'civilian' seconds from death." The dissonance between the two stories is striking. On one side, we have the alleged deployment by Russia of a weapon "capable of blasting a massive ball of flame across wide areas of Aleppo." On the other, the release of a video by Britain's Royal Air Force showing a drone missile aimed at ISIS terrorists being diverted at the last minute to avoid killing a civilian. One side was indiscriminately firebombing, while the other was deliberately acting to prevent civilian casualties. The RAF evidently felt that its tale was a positive story, which showed that its drone squadrons act both ethically and in accordance with international law. Why is this news? Israel released many videos from incidents where missiles targeting Hamas terrorists were diverted due to the presence of Palestinian civilians. So why then were Israel's identical efforts not deemed newsworthy? Granted, the Sunday Times is a British newspaper covering the British military, but the UK press has never been shy about devoting many column inches to Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli efforts to minimize civilian casualties go unreported or even ignored by the press, and Israel instead finds itself regularly judged in the court of public opinion, which is led by a lazy or hostile media. So Israel is subjected not only to a different standard than the deplorable militaries of Syria and Russia, but even to a different standard than other Western militaries. If and when the Syrian conflict comes to an end, will anyone be held to account for what certainly appear, at face value, to be genuine war crimes? Will there be a UN investigation and a Goldstone-style report? Will the International Criminal Court issue indictments? Given Russian involvement and the lack of American global power projection, it is unlikely that anyone will be held to account. The next time open conflict between Israel and Hamas breaks out, will the parameters of judgment have changed as a result of the carnage in Aleppo and other parts of Syria? Or will Israel continue to be held to a standard of behavior unlike any other military in the world? The likelihood is that nothing will have changed when it comes to how Israel is treated, and we will be left to conclude that, ultimately, the world will be outraged by Israel defending itself and its citizens irrespective of how ethically it behaves. On the Eve of New Atoms - By Louis Rene Beres - www.washingtontimes.com
The first post-World War II employment of nuclear weapons will probably be launched by North Korea or Pakistan. Should circumstances actually turn out this way, the resultant harms would impact not only the aggressor state and its victims, but also selected strategic nuclear policies in certain other states. The most significant example of such an impact would likely be Israel. Israel's nuclear strategy remains "deliberately ambiguous." This "opaque" posture has endured because Jerusalem has never yet had to worry about confronting enemy nuclear forces. This durability would almost certainly need to change, however, if Iran - the July 2015 Vienna pact notwithstanding - were sometime perceived to have already become "nearly-nuclear." But it's not just Iran. Israel could also decide to shift toward some plausible measure of nuclear disclosure once an actual nuclear attack had taken place literally anywhere on earth. There would then need to be no direct connection between such an attack and Israel for the Jewish State to acknowledge certain new obligations to promptly modify its core nuclear strategy. Plainly, once North Korea and/or Pakistan had fired nuclear weapons against another state or configuration of states, a principal nuclear "taboo" will have been broken. The precise manner and extent to which Israel would then be impacted in such circumstances would depend on, among other things, prevailing geopolitical alignments and cleavages, both regional and worldwide. For example, North Korea has already displayed tangible ties to both Syria and Iran, and all concerned parties could assuredly be forced to take into account the presumed expectations of a "Cold War II." The "spillover" impact on Israel of any actual nuclear weapons use by North Korea or Pakistan would also depend upon the particular combatants involved, expected rationality or irrationality of these same combatants, yields and range of the nuclear weapons fired, and the prompt aggregate calculation of civilian and military harms actually suffered in the affected areas. If North Korea had fired its nuclear weapons against American targets, military or civilian, Israel could correctly anticipate an overwhelmingly destructive U.S. response. If, in another apt scenario, a government in Islamabad (possibly a post-coup Islamist regime) fired "only" its tactical or theater nuclear weapons, and "only" against exclusively military targets, the Indian response might then be substantially less overwhelming. It also ought to be noted here, for further predictive clarification, that Pakistan recently shifted certain specific portions of its nuclear targeting doctrine to expressly lower-yield, shorter-range weapons, presumably to enhance the underlying credibility of its nuclear deterrence posture vis-a-vis India. All of this would pose stunningly complex calculations for Israeli strategists. Indeed, these planners would have to account capably not only for singular nuclear weapons operations by North Korea and/or Pakistan, but also for any multiple interactions or synergies that might be involved. It is even conceivable, to offer still another meaningful example, that any North Korean resort to nuclear attack would be followed, more or less promptly, by a separate Pakistani use of nuclear weapons. This prospect could represent a chaotic or near-chaotic development, one in which Israel would then be faced with an unprecedented analytic challenge. Where should Israeli strategic planners now go with such bewildering insights and expectations? Soon, they will need to factor into nuclear policy calculations an updated or refined version of Carl von Clausewitz's concept of "friction," and his closely related emphases on the "fog of war." In this nuanced version, they will need to base suitably enhanced preparations for Israeli nuclear posture changes upon a much more widely integrated geographic area of global strategic interaction, and on a correspondingly wider range of worldwide military developments. These developments will need to include conflicts and operations that could arise outside of the Middle East, especially North Korea and Pakistan. Ultimately, this is because of the irremediably systemic nature of all world politics. Because of the "friction" created by possible nuclear weapons use outside the region, Israel could have to move beyond "deliberate nuclear ambiguity" sooner or more suddenly than may originally have been planned in Jerusalem. Of course, any such unanticipated shift would also have immediately urgent implications for Israel's strategic nuclear deployments, its nuclear targeting doctrine, its elaborate cyberdefenses and its multifaceted ballistic missile defenses. Looking ahead, this means that Israel's nuclear strategy must be shaped not only by assorted scenarios of direct attack upon the Jewish State, but also by certain nuclear developments that lie outside of its most immediate and narrowly geographic area of military operation. Nearing Midnight: Power - Terry James - http://raptureready.com/rap16.html
Henry Kissinger once said that political power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. He should know. He was for many years at or near the very top on that political leadership chain that wields such power. Some believe he remains so today, even into his nineties. Power is the one thing for which the global elitists lust. It has been that way since Nimrod first thought to establish one-world order on the plains of Shinar those millennia ago. The constant, incessant drive since the time God intervened and scattered the would-be globalist government architects at Babel has continued to be construction of humanistic world order under the absolute authority of a small number of power brokers. Daniel the prophet and John the revelator both saw the same composite beast coming out of the sea of humanity at the very end of history. Each vision represented a single-governing, global entity. Daniel, in particular, saw that the monster was the composite of great world empires of the past. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first waslike a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7:2-8) John prophesied the following through his Patmos vision: And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. (Revelation 13: 1-2) It is clear that the great prophets Daniel and John were given almost identical visions of the monstrous hybrid entity that will one day crush all of humanity under its massively destructive power. Representing all of the great humanistic empires of history, the satanically driven final world empire will have at its head a single mouth--that of Antichrist--the first beast of Revelation 13. That mouth will speak "great things," meaning it will propagandize the world's inhabitants to such an extent that they will believe a great lie that will deceive all but the very elect of God--those saved during the Tribulation era (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). To anyone with eyes to see and especially with ears to hear, we are witness today of the development of that great power to deceive. The globalists are shouting with the all-in assistance of the world's media and through actions that are louder than mere words. They want to transform the world into the new Babel--a neo-Nimrod platform upon that will erect, at least symbolically, a tower even more powerful and all-encompassing than that Tower of Babel of antiquity. This, to me, is what is among the most troubling in this presidential election. There is a clear distinction between the directions the two major candidates want to go with regard to how America will be governed for the next four years. The power struggle is immense. One candidate claims that he wants to begin returning the United States to the leadership of the world of nations, with maintenance of traditionally distinctive borders and ways of dealing internationally. The other candidate's driving imperative is clearly to continue taking America down the path of deconstructing national boundaries and forcing slavish adherence to more and more internationalist regulations. She is adamantly determined to bring this nation into compliance with the globalist, one-world design. I say that to me this is especially troubling because Bible prophecy clearly presents that a beastly composite, world order will one day come to pass, if but for a short time. National autonomy and sovereignty will therefore have to at some point diminish and ultimately vanish. Those of us who want to see America and other nations maintaining--or I should say returning--the international order to like it has been in the recent past seem on the wrong side of Bible prophecy. The globalists seem on the winning side, in that sense. This election will supposedly determine whether we will go one direction or the other with regard to whether we will live under the U.S. Constitution or under Global Agenda 21 or 30, or whatsoever it's called now. Lucifer lusted after God-like power (Isaiah 14:14). All of fallen mankind since the time of the Garden of Eden has clamored for God-like power, which Satan promised through his original deception to Eve. Today, with a U.S. presidential candidacy that threatens to disrupt their one-world agenda, there is a desperate effort to hold to power in Washington, D.C., in the U.N., and in the echelons of principalities and powers in high places (Ephesians 6:12). The die is cast, as Shakespeare would put it. The new world order is coming. It's just a matter of when. Will it come during this presidential election cycle? I believe the answer to that might depend upon the born again of this nation. According to Paul's prophecy in 2 Thessalonians, the Restrainer (the Holy Spirit resident within each individual believer in Jesus Christ) will restrain until He (the Holy Spirit) is taken out of the way. Then all-out iniquity will fill the vacuum left in the wake of His removal as Restrainer. The Church--all born-again believers--just might have at its prayerful fingertips the power to hold back or restrain absolute evil until Christ's Body--all born-again believers--is removed. It is incumbent upon each of us as believers, therefore, to appropriate that Power of restraint against those who would bring about the Antichrist, globalist power base for as long as we serve as Royal Ambassadors upon this judgment-bound planet. The power of prayer is beyond anything the finite mind can fathom. Let us use the privilege we have been given to exercise this great weapon against the ultimate evil Satan plans for humanity.
My Review of "Rapture Ready...Or Not?" Over the last 35 years, I have literally read hundreds of books on Bible Prophecy and End Time signs. I especially enjoy books on the Rapture, and I have read almost every Rapture-related book published. In all those years, devouring thousands of pages, and millions of words, I have not read a better book on the Rapture than, Rapture Ready...Or Not? Terry James might be physically blind, but he is spiritually sharp and well discerning beyond most authors. In "Rapture Ready...Or Not?" Terry has nailed the pre-trib Rapture, and removed any doubt what so ever about the Church going through the Tribulation. With great insight and Godly discernment, Terry explains with simple, yet profound words, why and how that he has come to believe the ways he does about the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the End Times scenario. I think after reading "Rapture Ready...Or Not?" you too will believe as Terry does, and be Ready for the Rapture like never before! - Randy Thomas - Publisher / Editor - Prophecy Update For more information and or to get your copy of "Rapture Ready...Or Not?" use this link: http://www.raptureready.com/terry/book35.html Are you a thermostat or a thermometer? - Greg Laurie - http://www.wnd.com/2016/09/are-you-a-thermostat-or-a-thermometer/?cat_orig=faith
Pastor Greg Laurie declares, 'Faith is getting out there and running the race' Are you a thermostat or a thermometer? A thermometer is affected by its surroundings. Depending upon the temperature, the thermometer goes up or down. In contrast, a thermostat influences its surroundings. Let me put it another way. Are you changing the world, or is the world changing you? Maybe it's a tall order to change the whole world. But what about your world? What about your sphere of influence? What about your friends, family and neighborhood? You can have an effect there. You can be the change agent. You can be the thermostat. You can be the world changer. But how do you do it? You do it through faith. In the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 11, we find a list of people who changed their world through faith - people like Abraham, Enoch, Noah, Sarah, Joseph and Moses. These people were not perfect. In fact, they were far from it. They failed often. Gideon was a frightened farmer when the angel of the Lord came to him. He was hiding out from his enemies, the Midianites, who were oppressing the people of Israel. An angel appeared and said, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!" (Judges 6:12 NKJV). Gideon was probably looking around, thinking, "Are you talking to me?" He was anything but a mighty man of valor. At that moment he was afraid and timid. But God saw him for what he could become. Moses was a fugitive from justice when the Lord spoke to him. Jephthah was an illegitimate son, unwanted by his family. These are very ordinary people whom God touched. Some ran their race better than others. Some ran well from beginning to end, while others ran well, fell, got up again, and finished the race. But interestingly, not one word of their failure is mentioned in Hebrews 11. If you go back and read the biblical accounts of these folks, there were sins. In some cases, there were significant ones. Abraham lied twice about Sarah being his wife. His son, Isaac, did the same thing. Sarah laughed at God's promise and then denied that she laughed. Moses lost his temper and killed someone. David committed adultery and tried to hide his sin. Samson was very immoral. Yet they all made it into the Hall of Faith. They are not heroes in the Bible's Hall of Faith because they were great people. They are heroes in the Hall of Faith because they had faith in a great God. Maybe you are feeling like you've messed your life up. Know this: your story is not over yet. There can still be redemption. You can still get up again and finish this race. Just because you started well and have failed doesn't mean you can't get up and finish well. The way you do that is through faith. The Bible says, "This is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith" (1 John 5:4 ). Faith is a lot like a muscle. The more you use a muscle - or another way to say it, the more you break down a muscle - the stronger the muscle becomes. If you neglect your muscles, they will not develop. If you neglect them for too long, they can even atrophy. When you use your muscles, you get stronger. Faith is the same way. Use it or lose it. In fact, the Bible says, "But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit" (Jude 1:20 NLT). This is telling us that faith does things. Faith is active. It seems that for a lot of people, faith is like a four-wheel-drive vehicle. They will go out and buy one of these and then add a lot of after-market equipment. They will raise them and get giant wheels. When one of these vehicles pulls up behind you, you're looking at the chassis in your rearview mirror. But ask someone who owns one of these if they do a lot of four-wheeling, and they might say, "Are you kidding me? Do you know how much I spent on this thing? There is no way I want to take it out in the dirt." It is all show and no go. That is what faith is like for some people. We like to discuss faith, but we don't use our faith. We can't run and stand still at the same time. How we all wish we could find some La-Z-Boy we could sit in while we still get the benefits of exercise. But no such thing exists. In the same way, if we are running in the race of life, we can't be sitting. Faith is getting out there and running the race. It comes down to this: A faith with no works is a faith that doesn't work. We tell people in the midst of a crisis to have faith. We tell them to trust God, believe in the Lord, and He will get them through. Then it happens to us. And all of a sudden we are not so big on faith because we are struggling with it ourselves. It's easy to tell others to have faith until our faith is tested. Faith takes action. Faith doesn't just talk about it. Faith doesn't live in the realm of theory. Faith lives in the world of activity. It does things. Faith takes risks. Faith will say, "Let's just see what the Lord will do." Faith can make the difference between something happening and not happening. Faith can make the difference between receiving or not receiving what God has for us. We can change our world through faith. We don't have faith in faith, however. Our faith must be in God. The object of our faith is God Almighty. Jesus said, "Have faith in God" (Mark 11:22 NKJV). So coming back to my initial question, are you a world changer? Or, is the world changing you? Sometimes your life speaks volumes. Sometimes what you do is your sermon. Live your life well and be a world changer. Daily Jot: Mark them who cause divisions - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has been caught several times saying insulting remarks toward certain individuals. The Miss Universe winner, for example, who was under contract to not gain any weight during her reign, was insulted by Trump. This has made huge headlines. But Trump has not leveled insults at voting blocks of the American people as has his opponent Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Clinton has shown her disdain for the voting American public by labeling those who disagree with her brand of politics as living in the basement of their parent's house or being downright deplorable. How can anyone who shows such dislike of fellow Americans be fit to hold office? She characterized those who would vote for Donald Trump as "deplorables." At a high-ticket fundraiser September 9, Clinton said, "To just be grossly generalist, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call 'the basket of deplorables. Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it." Referring to Millennial voters who supported her primary opponent Bernie Sanders, Clinton told another group of her wealthy donors at a reception, "They're children of the Great Recession. And they are living in their parents' basement. They feel they got their education and the jobs that are available to them are not at all what they envisioned for themselves. And they don't see much of a future." Clinton's campaign of characterizing those who disagree with her as racists and bigots is offensive in the least. She is demonstrating that she is unfit to hold the office she seeks because she has such a hate-filled opinion of conservative Americans who would not vote for her. Then on the other hand, Clinton has expressed disdain for those Millennial voters who feel a sense of entitlement because they have gotten their education and there are no jobs for them. There is a tremendous divide of civility here. One candidate's slogan is "Make America Great Again," the other's is "Fighting for Us" or just plain "Hillaryclinton.com." This speaks a lot. One is national oriented. The other is individual oriented. George Washington, in his 1796 Farewell Speech, warned against excitations caused by political parties, saying, "they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection." He also warned that Americans should be watching for the nation's "preservation with jealous anxiety...and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts." Romans 16:7 also warns, "mark them who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them." Clinton disparages those who disagree with her, not only her opponent, but those who may vote against her. If she does it so blatantly now, what later if she wins? Daily Devotion: Leaving and Cleaving - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. -Genesis 2:24 The objective God has in bringing a man and a woman together can be captured in two very important words: leave and cleave. These come from Genesis 2:24 (KJV), which says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." The word "cleave" means to glue or to cling. So to leave and cleave is to sever and bond, to loosen and secure, or to depart from and attach to. A successful marriage begins with leaving. In effect, you leave all other relationships. The closest relationship outside of marriage is specified in Genesis 2:24, implying that if it is necessary to leave your father and mother, then certainly all lesser ties must be broken, changed, or left behind. This doesn't mean that when you get married, you are no longer a son or a daughter or a sibling. But what it does mean is that you have a new, primary responsibility, and that is to your spouse. You must still honor your mother and father, but leaving has taken place. Leaving implies giving other relationships a lesser degree of importance. You still can have friends, but your best friend should be your spouse. Having members of the opposite sex as friends can be problematic at best and potentially destructive at worst. Most adultery happens through close contact and relationship, not mere sexual attraction. So be very careful. Your best friend should be your husband or your wife. In Malachi 2:14, God said of the relationship between a husband and his wife, "Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant." The word "companion" used here means someone united with another in thoughts, goals, plans, and efforts. Are you united with your spouse in this way? FROM THE HEART
IF YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED THROUGH THIS MINISTRY, THEN WE ASK THAT YOU WOULD PLEASE REMEMBER PROPHECY UPDATE IN YOUR GIVING - WE ARE TRULY, TRULY, THANKFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT Prophecy Update has no corporate sponsors. This ministry is paid for and prayed for by readers and supporters. Without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update, Please pray about becoming a monthly supporter - thanks! If ever there was a time to invest in God's Kingdom, it's now! What on earth are you doing for Heaven's Sake? "Share in the Blessings and Rewards that will last Forever!" "Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey 1) We need your prayers!- We proclaim the Truth of the Word of God and we are under constant spiritual and sometimes even physical attack. 2) We need your encouragement!- We need to hear from you, let us know how the Lord is blessing you through this ministry so that we can share it with others. 3) We need your input! - If you have a prophetic article or story or if there is a news related item we missed, let us know. 4) We need your financial support!- To put it quite simply, without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update. I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Remember, your gift, no matter how small, does make a difference! You will be helping to touch lives, around the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to the internet your generosity carries a global impact! - Thanks! Our Prayer for You- "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 Prophecy Update is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt - non-profit organization, and all your donations are tax deductible. If you have been blessed by Prophecy Update and would like to help support this ministry financially. You can make a secure donation online by going to: DONATE NOW Or Visit our website: http://prophecyupdate.com/donations/ Or write us at: Prophecy Update P.O. Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384-0516 |
|