Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Soon Return of Christ - By Pete Garcia -
https://rev310.com/2019/11/the-soon-return-of-christ "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Revelation 22:12-13 The skeptic and scoffer will laugh and point to this verse, and mockingly ask, where is the promise of His return? It's been 2,000 years and He still hasn't come back. They have been mocking now for 2,000 years. Every generation has had their fill of these boastful ingrates, beating their chests and proudly blaspheming the name of Christ. Our day is only different in that it is getting worse. Two points. First, is that every generation over these past 2,000 years has had their share of skeptics and scoffers. Every single one of those mockers prior to our generation, have since died. In death, they now know the truth as they await their judgment. You see, death is not the end for us as we will spend the rest of eternity in either one of two places. Our physical body will grow old, and our heart will one day stop beating, but our conscious never dies. And at the point of death, we will slip out of this physical, fleshly, body and immediately go into the next. What we believed in this life, will ultimately determine, where we spend the rest of eternity. But death is not the end. In fact, as one pastor eloquently puts it, for the unregenerate (the unsaved), their conscious becomes amplified in death. Every habit they craved in life, whether benign or evil, is amplified in hades. If you were addicted to drugs or pornography in this life, your conscious, immortal body, will have that addiction amplified without ever being fulfilled for the rest of eternity. For example, if you lived by the satanic law of do what thou will (fulfilling the lust of the flesh), you will suffer never, ever, being able to fulfill those lusts for the rest of eternity. Every thought is amplified (for all to hear). Every impulse, addiction, craving, and every regret, is amplified so profoundly, that aside from the oppressive heat, darkness, and the pain, the person in hades/Sheol/torments, will spend every second for the rest of eternity with that profound gnawing of withdrawal eating away at them. They will never again satisfy whatever it was that got their rocks off in their former life. (See Luke 16:19-31) Thus, those who are still alive today, have only their fellow mockers to keep them company. They mock in blind ignorance today, hating God (Romans 1), and are singularly comforted by their present company of mockers. But the moment they die, they are forever separated and alone for the rest of eternity. The second point is that according to Scripture, God created time for mankind. He has not bound to it Himself. For Him, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years, as a day (2 Peter 3:8). In other words, our concept of time and His are very different. We in our present state, are in our mortal, physical, beings. We are generally limited to 70-80 years (Psalm 90:10), and then we die, and then our real selves, the soul of man, goes to either one of two locations: either with God in the heavenly, divine, realms, or apart from God, in hades/Sheol/torments. When, at the end of human history, and after the Great White Throne Judgment, God will cast those who are in hades/Sheol/torments into the Lake of Fire. This is their true and final home for the rest of eternity. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10-14 All things considered, 2,000 years is not really that long a time to wait. Each person has whatever time in their life to make their amends with their Creator, and then, death. As the writer of Hebrews put it, and as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Heb. 9:27-28). Yes, it has been 2,000 years since Christ last walked the earth, but each generation has had to come to grips with who Jesus was to them, and have long since marched into the grave. How Soon? Ultimately, the born-again believer (spiritually regenerated) would like to have the single, most important question of our life answered. When is Christ returning? To this, I say what Christ said....soon. We are told we cannot know the day nor hour, but we are also told that we could see the day approaching and that we would not be in the dark regarding His return. "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:36-37 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thessalonians 1-4 As I put in a previous article, we can both know and not know, by the shadow looming over us. Although we don't know when specifically Christ will return, we know we are now standing in the shadow of the 70th Week of Daniel. It looms large over us, and the watching believer is joined by the Holy Spirit, with other believers, who sense the nearness of Christ return. In other words, for the believer who is watching and eagerly anticipating the soon return of Christ, we are being reaffirmed by the Holy Spirit who indwells us that His coming is very soon. So how soon is that? If I had to wager a guess, I'd say between now and ten years from now. I'm sure there were people in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, etc. who probably felt the same way. They, in their humanity, could not fathom Christ's return extending beyond their immediate future. We here in the year 2019, soon to be 2020, feel the same way. We cannot fathom Christ's return going beyond our immediate future. I like to think of it as a window of time. Those speculating that Christ would return in the 1970s were too early. Those who think Christ's return will be no earlier than the year 2050, are too late. We here in the middle of those two boundaries must keep in mind that although God's specific timing is unknown to us, they are not random or arbitrary. His return will be tied to something significant, whether we recognize that or not, is irrelevant. So what makes me think we are in the middle of that 80-year window? (1970-2050) The nation of Israel. If for nothing else, the Christian today, has Israel as God's timepiece. I've chronicled before in much more depth about Israel's timeline (here), but keep this simple principle in mind.
Simply looking at Israel as God's timepiece then, we are in the last seconds, of the last days, which is why I don't think we can really push the envelope of God's patience beyond 10-years. Even escalating this timeline, was the election of the most pro-Israel president the US has ever had since Harry Truman. President Trump, as the leader of the most powerful nation on earth, became the first president to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel's eternal capital. Not only that but by moving our national embassy there, he cemented this decision into policy. The world, which is currently being run by Satan himself, does not like this. (1 John 5:19). This is why President Trump has the entirety of the globalist, bureaucratic, satanic architecture coming down on his head. They are being steered with this blind, irrational hatred of him, and they do not even understand why. The reason why is that Satan hates Israel, and he will try everything in his power, to destroy them as a nation and as a people. If he can destroy Israel, then he can break/thwart God's prophetic promise to them, thus, potentially, nullifying his own fate of spending the rest of eternity in the lake of fire. So how much longer will all this go on? We know, according to Scripture, that Satan will make four attempts at wiping out the Jewish nation and the city of Jerusalem. Psalm 83: has not happened yet historically, but could happen at any moment. We've seen numerous attempts (1948, 1967, 1973, etc.) already, but there is coming one which will significantly expand Israel's border for good. This time, they will not yield the land back. Sunni Islam as a religion will suffer a significant, devastating blow. Ezekiel 38-39: has not happened yet, but we see the chess pieces (the nations) already in position. Nations who historically have always been at odds with each other, are gathering for the first time in what used to be Syria. The nations of Iran, Russia, and Turkey (the three major nations) are staging in Syria under the pretense of keeping the peace. This will change and God will put a hook in their mouths and lead them to war, where He will destroy them. This will put the final nail in the coffin of Islam, as both the Turks (Sunni) and the Iranians (Shia) are overwhelmingly defeated. Revelation 19: will not happen until the end of Daniel's 70th Week. At the end of the seven-years (70th Week), the antichrist and the false prophet will lead a final charge against the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant. Christ returns visibly, as He peels the sky apart, and destroys ALL the armies of the world gathered there. See also Zechariah 14:1-15 Revelation 20:1-9: will not happen until the end of Christ's thousand-year reign on the earth. Here, Satan is released from the bottomless pit for a "short season" and is allowed to persuade those who were born in the millennium, to rise up against Christ who is ruling the world from Jerusalem. Needless to say, this is a short battle, as Christ calls down fire from heaven and consumes them for the last time. As J.D. Farag once put it, these prophecies have a shelf-life. Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 (destruction of Damascus), and Ezekiel 38-39 are already primed and ready to go. I don't see how much longer these things can stay in their present state without falling apart geopolitically. As much as I believed God used a Trump-presidency to accomplish His purposes (just as He used the Truman presidency), the world-situation is exactly where He said they would be. The world hates Israel and has been coming against it since 1948. The world hates the Trump Administration because Trump enthusiastically supports Israel. I can understand some people's sentiments regarding how they used to believe Christ would return in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, etc. and have felt burned by believing that. HOWEVER, they were not where we are today, regarding ALL that has happened since Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth first got published (1970). His book, like the Left Behind series, were runaway bestsellers. They were used for their time to point to the soon return of Christ. Understandably, soon, can be a relatively subjective term. When I tell my children that Christmas is six-weeks away that seems like a lifetime to them. However, as parents, we recognize how soon six-weeks really is, and we begin to scramble to buy the presents and get the travel arrangements in order, and so forth. Although God isn't "scrambling" per se, He is methodically allowing for events to unfold that will prepare for the return of His Son, Jesus Christ, to take His rightful place on the throne of David. To David, from Nathan the Prophet; Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house. "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." ' "According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. 2 Samuel 7:10-17 So where is the throne of David? It is in Jerusalem. Which is in the land of Israel. Which is why we say Israel is God's time-piece. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Luke 1:30-33 The current reality of a national-Israel being full of Jews, who are back in their ancestral homeland, makes us the first generation in 2,000 years to meet these prophetic conditions. Although we are overflowing with prophetic signs and markers these days, we often lose sight of just how prophetically significant Israel really is. I say lose sight because we start looking at a lot of different signs trying to determine just how close we actually are. Then we become inundated with information and begin to chase our tails. It has to come back to watching Israel. This is because if you were born after 1948, you've only ever known Israel to be back in her land. However, if you lived before 1948, you understood that the nation of Israel existed only in history books. I've often wondered if this is why so many of our great Christian prophecy scholars have already graduated into glory, leaving us young bucks to carry the water. We get enamored with all the technology, signs in the heavens, geopolitics and so on, thus, we know we are near the end, but we forget to do our proper cross-scan (across the dashboard of all the prophetic signs). The Bible emphatically states that Christ will one day rule from David's throne, which is in Jerusalem. The Bible emphatically states that Israel will build a third temple. The two previous temples were destroyed; the first by the Babylonians, and the second by the Romans. However, in order for there to be a third temple, Israel had to control Jerusalem. In order the Jews to control Jerusalem, they had to control the land of Israel. In order for the Jews to reclaim the nation of Israel, God would have had to preserve them as a people through 2,000 years of Diaspora. "Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:1-6 Are you ready? The Palestinian Christmas Show - by Bassam Tawil - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15150/palestinian-christmas-show In a few weeks' time, the Palestinian Authority (PA) will perform its annual Christmas deception show. As is its custom, the PA will invite foreign journalists and diplomats to Bethlehem, where its spin doctors will wax poetic about good relations and harmony between Christians and Muslims in the city on the eve of Christmas. PA officials often seize this opportunity to blame Israel for the "plight" of Palestinian Christians, who make up only one percent of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. There is one incident, however, that the PA officials will do their utmost to keep under wraps. It is the story of 63-year-old Terez Ta'amneh, a Christian woman from the town of Bet Jala, near Bethlehem, who died when PA police officers raided her home to arrest her son, Yusef, for unpaid debts. The story of Ta'amneh is one of those that cause serious damage to the PA's propaganda machine, which is, instead, preoccupied with blaming Israel for the fact that a large number of Christians have left the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the past few decades. The number of Christians in the Gaza Strip is currently estimated at a few hundred. Until 10 years ago, there were about 3,500 Christians living under Hamas rule. Most fled to Israel, the West Bank or other countries in the West. According to a 2017 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics census, approximately 47,000 Christians live in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. In the past seven decades, since Israel was declared a state, tens of thousands of Christians have emigrated to the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America, mostly for economic reasons. The low birth rate among Christians, as well as mass emigration, has resulted in a steep decline of the Palestinian Christian population, from an estimated 10% in 1948 to around one percent today. The timing of the death of Ta'amneh in Beit Jala could not have been worse for the Palestinian Authority leadership, particularly because it came shortly before Christmas, when PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his senior officials usually go out of their way to present a rosy picture about the conditions of Christians living under their rule in Bethlehem and other West Bank areas. Abbas himself has made it a habit to participate every year in the Christmas eve celebrations at Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This is his way of showing the world how much he cares about Christians and provides them with security. Ta'amneh's daughter, Marian al-Hajal, however, presents a different picture. She has accused the Palestinian Authority police of "killing my mother" and says that as a Christian, she has no confidence in the Palestinian law and police. Marian made her allegations in a video she posted on Facebook shortly after the death of her mother. "My name is Marian al-Hajal, from Bet Jala, and I'm the daughter of the late Terez Ta'amneh, who holds Jordanian citizenship," she said in the video. "I appeal to His Majesty King Abdullah to seek justice for my mother, who died as a result of the barbaric behavior of the Palestinian police when they raided my mother's home." The daughter said the incident took place at 10:30 pm on October 5. "The Palestinian police came to my mother's home in Bet Jala to arrest my brother, Yusef, because of a financial dispute he has with another person." Marian pointed out that the Palestinian law allows the police to deal with financial disputes only between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm. "The seven officers who raided the house were led by Jamal Hmeid, the nephew of Kamel Hmeid, the Palestinian governor of Bethlehem, she said. "Here I want to ask: is the job of the police to protect citizens or is it a private company for collecting debts?" The police officers, the daughter said, attacked her brother and began beating him in front of their mother. "My mother told them that Yusef suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure," Marian said. "She begged them to stop beating him. In response, the commander of the force, Jamal Hmeid, pointed a pistol at my brother's head and threatened to open fire. He told my mother: We all have orders to open fire at him." According to Marian, her mother panicked and collapsed, dying instantly. "I don't know what happened to her, but she fell to the ground and died," she said. "The next day, my sister and I went to the hospital to retrieve my mother's body and prepare her for burial. We were shocked to find that my mother's body was not in the morgue. We were told that the body was sent for autopsy. Who gave them the right to perform an autopsy on our mother's body without our knowledge? As a Palestinian citizen, I have no confidence in the Palestinian forensic institute. I also have no confidence in the Palestinian law. I'm sure the results of the autopsy will be in favor of the police, and not in favor of my mother." The daughter said that the PA has taken no measures against the officers she claims are responsible for her mother's death. "How can the Palestinian law protect me, when the representatives of the law themselves killed my mother?" Marian asked. "The Palestinian Authority has been offering us money to remain silent. They are trying to bribe us so we would remain silent about the crimes of the police." Palestinian Professor Jamal Harfoush, who currently lives in Latin America, appealed to Abbas to launch an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the Christian woman. Harfoush also expressed outrage that senior PA officials were trying to bribe the woman's family in an attempt to keep them from speaking out. Addressing Abbas, the professor said: "We want a civil and humane state based on the rule of law and justice." A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority police in the West Bank claimed that Ta'amneh's son, Yusef, tried to escape and attacked the police officers who came to arrest him. The spokesman also denied that the police officers had entered Ta'amneh's home and insisted that her son was arrested outside the house. As far as Marian is concerned, the police version is nothing but an attempt to cover up for their criminal behavior. She and many Christians want the world to know, particularly on the eve of Christmas, that Christians have become easy prey under the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. As far as Abbas is concerned, it is business as usual. The cries of the Christian family in Bet Jala seem entirely lost on him. Next month, he and his senior officials will arrive in Bethlehem and again talk about the harmony and brotherly relations between Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land. Abbas may be worried about the future of the hefty funding he gets from Christian countries and organizations if they find out what his police did to the Christian family in Bet Jala. What he seeks is to continue ensuring the success of the Palestinian lie that Christians are fleeing because of Israel. Another day, another opportunity. Will the international community and media continue to swallow -- as they have done year after year -- the diet of lies that the PA leaders and spokesmen feed them? Marian, for one, feels confident that she cannot rely on the international community or the PA to bring her family justice. Who, then, will step up to do so? Digital Currency Coming Soon? Worldwide Push To Kill Cash - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=3566 In a sign of the times, Hasbro has released a new cashless version of it's classic board game Monopoly, designed for the digital age. In Hasbro's latest edition of Monopoly, gone are the paper money and Community Chest cards. Instead, the board game now comes with a voice-controlled, artificial intelligence device shaped like a top hat to help control the digital transactions. Countries from around the world have been eager to implement a cashless society but none have moved as fast as Sweden. Notes and coins now make up less than 1 percent of Sweden's economy which is ironic considering it was the first European country to issue modern banknotes, in 1661. "No cash accepted" signs are now the norm in shops across Sweden as payments go digital and mobile but many Swedes want to take it to the next level as they blend tech with the human body. Microchip implants that give people the ability to conduct financial transactions, monitor their health and even replace keycards to allow them to enter offices and buildings are the new rage as thousands have already been implanted. Many experts believe this is the next logical step in a digital society that is quite happy to give up privacy for convenience. Cash is one of the last vestiges of anonymity but with every transaction digital there is a record that is being logged, analyzed and stored.. potentially forever. Realizing the danger of such a cashless society Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency has issued a guidance warning to every household telling residents to stockpile 'cash in small denominations' for use in emergencies, such as power failures, hackers or even a cyber war which could disable the digital economy. In such a crisis, the economy would literally go back to the dark ages overnight as people would be forced to barter with no means of cash. Last year a "systems issue" prevented customers from the CIBC, one of Canada's largest banks, from accessing their bank accounts for an entire business day. The sentiments of normally patient Canadians were ... tense. Imagine if it had been longer - how long would you be able to survive without your credit/debit cards? It served as a reminder to Canadians and everyone else who rely on everything digital how vulnerable we all are. Such troubles have not stopped The Bank of Canada from considering launching a digital currency that would help it combat the "direct threat" of cryptocurrencies and collect more information on how people spend their money according to a report from "The Logic". The report details how Canada's proprietary digital coin would initially coexist with coins and paper money, eventually replacing them completely in a phased out scenario. In other words from voluntary to mandatory. One of the ways this is already taking place around the world is the elimination of large currency notes and transactions of cash over certain amounts resulting in stringent reporting rules. For example Australia's "Black Economy Taskforce" wants to put people accepting over 10,000 AUD in cash in jail for up to two years, or fine them up to $25,000, in an ostensible bid to fight black market economies based on cash transactions. Transactions equal to, or in excess of this amount would need to be made using the electronic payment system or by cheque so that everything is recorded and monitored. Canada is still only at the exploratory stage but many experts estimate it is coming soon and economic realities may force it to be introduced sooner rather than later. Canada is far from the only country exploring a digital currency. Last month, Switzerland's central bank started exploring the use of digital currencies for trading. Sweden and Singapore both have research efforts underway. China appears ready to be the first to launch, with plans to have its own digital currency up and running either late this year or early next. More and more countries are jumping on the bandwagon to establish a centralized digital signal that signal a global push to kill paper money in the name of safety, security, and financial inclusion. However, it's not just countries getting into the digital currency game. In addition to Facebook's Libra, JPMorgan is already using a digital coin and Vanguard is testing a blockchain-based currency trading system. Our vulnerabilities to the cashless society are not only technical but political as well. Facebook - in partnership with major banks, payment processors, and e-commerce companies - has announced plans to launch a digital currency called the Libra. Unlike decentralized, free-floating cryptocurrencies, Libra will be tied to national fiat currencies, integrated into the financial system, and centrally managed. Critics warn Libra is akin to a "spy coin." Many of the companies involved in Libra (including Facebook itself) routinely ban users on the basis of their political views. Big Tech has booted scores of individuals and groups off social platforms for engaging in "hate" speech. If Libra one day becomes the predominant online payment method, then political dissidents could effectively be banned from all e-commerce. A lesson from the past is the Bush administration's attacks on the credit card processors of pornography sites more than a decade ago. While we might applaud the effort to shut down pornography sites, the financial targeting set a precedent as New York's Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, appealed in a letter to major banks and credit card companies to block all transactions associated with firearms. The efforts failed but we have seen recent attempts in a similar way with MasterCard and Visa being pressured to deny service to those that promote "hate", or put another way - Christian and Conservative businesses that don't act politically correct. In the past, if credit cards and banks refused transactions involving something they disagreed with an individual could simply pay in cash, but once physical currency has been eliminated such purchases will require the permission of both corporations and government. A mark of loyalty/allegiance to a government ruler in your right hand that controls your ability to buy or sell based on your political/religious loyalty is exactly what is described in the book of Revelation and is often referred to as "the mark of the beast". Those who like to dismiss the book of Revelation as mere allegory may want to take another look. The technology described in Revelation is already here and the next step is taking place before our eyes as the masses are being conditioned to accept it's spread. Slowly but surely we are also seeing our ability to conduct commerce becoming linked with our political/religious views. Are we prepared for what will happen next? Dig deeper into the Book of Revelation to explore the "mark of the beast" and other current issues facing our world with our Decoding The Future DVD Series - now on sale here. Stop The World And Let Me Off - By Grant Phillips - https://www.raptureready.com/2019/11/12/stop-world-let-off-grant-phillips/ Depression is an ugly beast that rides on the backs of many people. It plays no favorites. Rich or poor, male or female, child or adult, it doesn't matter. Everyone, sooner or later, smells its rancid breath. Some folks cope with it and move on, and then there are others who cannot handle the pressure and break under the load. My wife and I have had the sad experience of attending two funerals of friends who could no longer take the pressure. One of those friends took their life five years ago. The second, who was an even closer friend, took her life last month. The pain of loss and tragedy was even greater this time since the young lady was like a daughter or younger sister to my wife. Both of these dear souls professed being a Christian, and they both suffered tremendously from circumstances that had arisen in their lives. I realize that you and I are thinking that nothing is so bad that we should take our life, but you and I are thinking rationally with sound minds. These tortured souls could see no relief. Maybe this is why the Lord God says to His own children: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." (Proverbs 3:5-6) "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:34) "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." (Philippians 4:6) The apostle Peter warned us that Satan traverses the earth seeking someone to devour. He is like a lion hunting its dinner. When he finds the herd, he zeros in on the weakest prey and charges after it. "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Life can be very hard and is often most unfair. We can all attest to that, but a Christian has the Lord Jesus Christ on his/her side. Sometimes we forget that. As we look around the world today, any wise Christian can easily see the world is falling apart around our ears, but Jesus said, "... I am with you always, even to the end of the age..." (Matthew 28:20) He also promised three times, in the very last chapter of the very last book of His Word that He will soon return and take us unto Himself. A person choosing suicide fails to realize the effect on those they leave behind, and they fail to consider the finality of their action. Maybe they think those they leave behind will be better off without them. Maybe they just want out. But we come back to one point; they are not thinking with a sound mind. A sound mind will follow the Holy Spirit's lead. "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11 emphasis mine) What is the attitude that Jesus had? Jesus depended totally upon the Father ... no matter what. You and I cannot overcome the problems of this life through our own power. In this passage we have just read, the world threw many severe problems on Jesus' back also. He could have said, "Forget this, I'm out of here," but instead He suffered and died for our sake. His victory over the grave assures us that regardless of what we have to endure, we have victory in Him. As we have already heard from the apostle Peter, Satan wants to destroy anyone who belongs to God. He hates God, and he hates us. He will wreck our lives if he can (Job could tell us a thing or two about that) and play with our minds (Peter could chime in here). This is why it is so very important to stay in daily fellowship with our Father in Heaven. We must feed upon His Word and allow His Spirit to work freely in our lives. The apostle Paul said: "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you..." (Colossians 3:1-5a) Our problems on earth are only temporary. Eternity never ends. "So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:18) Will a Christian lose their salvation if they commit suicide? If the individual ever called upon Jesus to save them, nothing will separate them from the love of God. Nothing Separates The Christian From God "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) Our Salvation Is Guaranteed For Eternity "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) We Cannot Lose Our Salvation "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) Jesus Forgave ALL Our Sins "But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from ALL sin." (1 John 1:7 emphasis mine) Suicide Is Not The Unpardonable Sin Some of you may also have a friend or family member that has chosen to take this unnatural leap into eternity, and are wondering if this is the unpardonable (unforgiveable) sin. It is not. This sin is unique and Jesus mentions it in Mark 3:22-30. It was the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit's work through Jesus Christ while He was upon the earth, claiming that Jesus' work was via Satan and not the Holy Spirit. When Satan is beating us over the head with earthly problems that seem more severe than we can bear, we can give up or we can lean on Jesus, who suffered far more than we will ever comprehend. Heaven is watching. Don't let Satan win. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up." (Hebrews 12:1-3) Out of all the suicides committed in this country, I don't believe many are from true Christians (my opinion), but nevertheless, true Christians will sometimes "throw in the towel" and give up. Please do not allow Satan an ounce of victory. Lean upon Jesus and ask Him to strengthen you. Anyone who has stood outside around a campfire on a cold night knows the farther you get away from the fire, the colder you get. It is also true that the further we get from God as a Christian, the more vulnerable we will be to Satan's cold lies. Grant Phillips Email: [email protected] Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html Daily Jot: Self-evident rebellion and sin - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com Despite the negative punches shelled out each day by his critics, did you know that President Trump is as popular at this point in his term as was his predecessor? Rasmussen Reports is the only pollster that has continued its daily tracking of presidential job approval ratings-AND-Rasmussen was one of the few polling companies that got the last election right. So they know what they are doing. As of November 13, Trump's approval rating was 46% compared with the immediate past president's rating of 48% at the same juncture in terms. This week's polling results also indicate that "Democrats really don't like America and think it's time to move on from the culture that got us here." This just confirms what we knew. Rasmussen reports that "just 38% of Likely Democratic Voters believe American society is generally fair and decent. Fifty-one percent (51%) say it's unfair and discriminatory. By comparison, 74% of Republicans and unaffiliated voters by a 49% to 36% margin view American society as fair and decent." Speaking of fairness, Rasmussen finds that most voters believe the media doesn't play fair when reporting about the Democrat's impeachment inquiry. The pollster reports "53% of likely US voters think most reporters are trying to help impeach President Trump when they write or talk about the impeachment effort." Rasmussen says that just 32% believe most reporters are unbiased and only 8% believe reporters are trying to block impeachment. Rasmussen says 86% of all voters say they have closely followed news reports on the Democrat's impeachment, with 58% saying they have been following it very closely. Among those, 58% think reporters are trying to help impeach Trump and 34% say reporters are unbiased. Interestingly, only 36% of Democrats believe reporters are trying to help impeach Trump compared with 76% of Republicans and 48% of unaffiliated voters. Rasmussen concludes that "distrust of political news reporting remains at a record high, with just over half of voters now convinced that most in the media are out to get Trump. By contrast, 48% thought most reporters were trying to help Obama pass his agenda." There are several conclusions that can be made about the American mentality. Democratic voters don't revere America and believe it to be unfair. This is the result of class warfare that has been waged for decades by the Marxist influencers within the Democratic Party. It has taken root. It is a victim mentality. Additionally, Americans are seeing that the media and the Democrats are working together to impeach the president. So what does this mean? A=B=C. Most Democrats, especially the leadership, and the media don't like America and subsequently they are working to overthrow it. Trump is just the spearhead that they believe will gin up the most support to "remake America." 1 Samuel 15:23 says, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." Ultimately, it is the rejection of the Lord. The same people who are turning away from God are rebelling against America. This is self-evident. Daily Devotion: As Though It Were Your Last - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.-Titus 2:12-13 When someone asked the great evangelist Dwight L. Moody how he would spend the day if he knew it was his last one, he said he wouldn't do anything differently than he did every day. That is the way we all should live as Christians. We can find a lot in the Bible about the Lord's return. In the 260 chapters in the New Testament, Christ's return is mentioned no less than 318 times. Statistically, one out of every twenty-five verses in the Bible mentions the return of Jesus Christ. For the sake of a point, let's say we knew that Jesus Christ was returning at 3:00 tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure we would all look like saints at 2:45. We'd be wearing our Sunday morning smiles with our come-quickly-Jesus attitudes. Of course, we know this isn't possible, because no one knows the day or the hour. Jesus said of His return, "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows" (Matthew 24:36 NLT). But the fact is that we ought to live this way every day. We have never been closer to the Lord's return than we are right now. The Bible says, "But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent" (2 Peter 3:8-9 NLT). We should live every day as though it were the day Christ is coming back. We should live every day as though it were our last. 
FROM THE HEART
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