Prophecy Update Newsletter
November 16, 2016
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Coming Mark of the Beast - by Pastor Mike Taylor - http://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-coming-mark-of-beast.html
9 "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:9-11) I've had people email me with questions concerning the topic of the coming Beast power and this "mark of the beast". One lady ask me "can you unwittingly take the mark, and not know that you just did?" Another person framed his question around the acceptance of the Mark of the Beast and a 'paradox' he sees facing those who might accept it under coercion, when he asked "is it something God will forgive, if you are forced into taking this mark because you are fearful for the safety of your family, your kids, or the life of your spouse?" These both are good questions for those who are fearful of the coming Tribulation and are afraid they will go through this time of devastation that will come upon the whole earth. To answer them, we must go to the source of our learning of this most important question, your Bible. First of all, the mark of the Beast is not just an economic ability to continue some form of life, some liberty, and some form of happiness by being able to do business in a Beast power run One World government system. 16 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:16-17) Besides being a symbol of economic participation, the Mark of the Beast is first and foremost a worship system. So now, we have crossed over from the material to the spiritual. 14 "And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." (Revelation 13:14-15) One must understand, that by taking the "mark" you have just joined the demonic church of the Anti-Christ and have promised allegiance to him and to worship at his feet. But the bible makes it plain that you cannot serve two masters. You will either hate the one and love the other. You can't have it both ways. Jesus made it plain in the 16th chapter of Luke: 10 "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke 16:10-13) To the question of whether or not accepting the Mark to save a life is paradoxical, James answers that question with a question of his own "For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." (James 4:14) Mortal men have a concept of what life is on this earth. But with that in mind, there are two distinct and separate understandings of 'life' at work here. There is our understanding of life in the physical, under which one might be tempted to take the Mark of the Beast, say, to save one's child. Then there is God's understanding of life. Physical life is granted to us so that we can choose where we will spend eternity. Will we spend it with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, or will we be separated for all eternity away from the source of life? Our physical life was given to us, each of us, for one purpose. That purpose is, what will you do with the God/man, Jesus Christ? Will you accept His free gift of salvation or will you reject it? Obviously, in the physical realm, the choice between life and death is a hard choice to make. The physical man wants to live as long as he can. It's called a sympathetic nervous system response, or "fight or flight"...it is part of our humanity, our DNA if you will. Our spiritual choice of where we want to spend eternity must take precedence over the physical aspect of our earthly self in the physical realm. Each of us are given the freedom to choose...in this case, choose wisely, choose Jesus. But is the Bible specific concerning the choice to accept the Mark of the Beast and worship his image? As the opening verses that began this message confirms, the decision to take the mark of the beast has eternal consequences for that person's soul: "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:9-11) In actuality, there really is no paradox here, as it is the same choice that was given by Joshua to the nation of Israel when they entered into the promise land: "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15) It has been the same in any pagan empire when men were made to choose to worship or not to worship a ruling dictator even from ancient times. During the time of the Roman Empire, whole families were thrown to the lions because they refused to worship Caesar as a god. Every year the people under Roman rule were commanded to come before an idol of the current Caesar and burn incense to him and worship at the feet of this idol and proclaim Caesar, their god. Those who failed to do this act, which was required once a year, were condemned as disloyal to the Roman Empire and were killed in martyrdom by whatever heinous way that the Roman authorities could dream up. It was usually in the Colosseum in Rome for their blood sport games. Now that is not an easy choice to make because of our "fight or flight" nervous system that wants to preserve our lives and the lives of our loved ones at any cost. Those who accept a martyr's death are promised a crown, but nowhere does the Bible grant an exemption for those who reject Jesus, coercion notwithstanding. Not in the Church Age, and not during the Tribulation. "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." (Luke 17:33) THE TRIBULATION IS ON THE HORIZON There is a terrible conflict in progress between God and the devil. It has raged through the centuries since Lucifer, heaven's most powerful angel, rebelled against God. With the angels who joined him, he attempted to overcome God and seize control of the universe. God and the loyal angels had no choice but to eject Lucifer and his angels from heaven. Lucifer, who became known as the devil and Satan, was infuriated. His determination to destroy God and control the universe has grown with every passing year. Amazingly, he has won the support of the vast majority of earth's people in his rebellion. The Lord also asks for people's loyalty and support, but He leaves all free to choose. Soon every person on earth will have aligned with either Satan or God. Satan from the beginning of time, and the creation of mankind, has been restrained from doing anything against God's creation unless he was allowed. Even though Satan is the "prince and power of the air" and the "god of this world", Almighty God, Jehovah, God our Father has held back complete, unbridled evil to fill the Lord God's creation. Our God has used Satan as an instrument of free choice...our own free will to choose evil or to choose good, since man fell and sin began to reign in our world. God created a free moral agent with a will to love God without coercion of any sort. So, those who enter this time of extreme temptation with the possibility of the loss of their life all around them, will have free will choices to make that most certainly will affect their eternal destination. All who choose to take the mark of the beast and align themselves with Satan and his minion on earth, the Anti-Christ will save their physical life for a short time, but they will lose their eternal soul to a devil's hell to be tormented by separation from a Holy God and the Author of anything that is good in this life, or the next. It won't be by mistake, or slight of hand to take this mark without full conscious knowledge of what you are doing. HOW IS A PERSON SAVED DURING THIS TIME THEN? As a companion question along with the mark of beast inquiry, I'm also asked then who can be saved and how? To answer that question, it would seem that it is just the same as during the Age of Grace that we are now in. They will be saved by grace through faith, but that is not exactly accurate during the time when the Holy Spirit is withdrawn to Pre-Pentecostal manifestation and this coming seven year period when the Age of Grace has ended with the removal of the Bride of Christ in the rapture. The Tribulation is the final unfulfilled week of the Age of the Law or the final week of Daniel's 70 week of years. It will be a return to the Old Testament revelation of God's Spirit dealing with men on an individual basis, but not sealing them, as the church is sealed in this age of Grace , and as the 144,000 Jewish evangelist are sealed during the Tribulation. Revelation Chapter 7 describes an event so unique that Jesus devotes an entire chapter to its discussion. It describes a special 'sealing' of "the servants of our God in their foreheads." 3"Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel."(Revelation 7:3-4) These 'servants of God' are twelve thousand Jewish male virgins chosen from each of the twelve tribes of Israel -- 144,000 in all. They are unique from all other men and women during this period known as the tribulation. They are sealed in a miraculous manner, by the direct intervention of God, in exactly the same way Church Age believers are, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They are forever sealed for future glory and are given a deposit of God's Holy Spirit, as Paul spoke of in Ephesians: 13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14) During this time, the 144,000 Jewish evangelist are sealed with God's Holy Spirit, just the same as Christians are sealed during the Church Age, the Age of Grace. But it is not so with anyone else who may be saved during this time of the coming tribulation. As the Holy Spirit has been withdrawn liken to the time of King David or the prophets who were selected in who God's Holy Spirit indwelt in Old Testament times. And by extension, you can also loose it during this period as God's Holy Spirit was selective during Old Testament times because Christ had not been sacrificed yet. During this time, salvation will be most easily lost, because of unbridled evil and persecution during which many will be martyred and seek to save their own life...goes back to that "fight or flight" phenomenon that man possesses. During this time of this great temptation and evil that has taken control of the earth, everything and near everyone is evil beyond your wildest imagination, there will be believers in the Tribulation who will succumb to the antichrist's coercion and accept his mark to save their families and their own lives. And Scripture is clear that those who do are forever lost. Those who become believers will be saved by faith in Christ by enduring until the end, as in the Church Age, but without the guarantee of eternal security or the automatic indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus spoke that this time will be worst that mankind has ever seen and if the time was not shortened, "no flesh would be saved." (Matthew 24:22) WARNING TO THOSE THIS SIDE OF THE TRIBULATION Those of you that have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as has been preached nearly world-wide and has permeated just about every nook and cranny of every country in the nations, but many scoff at the message and refuse to turn away from their sinful lifestyle here in the USA and around the world. Many were not taught by their parents, much to the abdication of duty what parents are suppose to do by bringing up their children in the admonition of the Lord. But maybe those parents weren't taught either, but learned the sin of the world on their own and reveled in that sin and allowed the same for their children. You all will be thrown headlong into a time of great temptation and evil that will abound. With the effort of the 144, 000 Jewish evangelist, the two witnesses at the Temple mount proclaiming the Gospel, many will be saved, but their very lives and their salvation will be in danger. Conversely, many will refuse and have pleasure in their unrighteousness. Those actually saved can still loose their salvation, and if not, their very lives in martyrdom because of their being steadfast in the belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, but what did Jesus warn those who enter into this time? 9 "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matthew 24:9-13) Many will be saved, but many will continue in the unrighteousness along with those who are confused and wonder what just happened when millions of people suddenly vanished from the earth. God will send them a strong delusion: 6"And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2nd Thessalonians 2:6-12) As I've warned in many past sermons, many still wonder who the "HE" is in verse 7. The popular solutions to the identity of the restrainer is that the man of lawlessness is being held back from unhindered evil on earth. Then what is holding back or restraining evil in this world and when taken out of the way, will allow the "man of sin" to reveal himself, but not until then? Many postulate wrongly that its Michael the ark angel, some other angelic being, or some spiritual/political person on the earth (I've heard many bizarre explanations of who the restrainer is), but there is only one Power on earth that has been holding back the complete takeover of the earth by Satan's minions, and that is the Holy Spirit of God that dwells within every born again believer alive on this earth in the past and in the present. When that POWER, the Holy Spirit along with those He indwells is removed, then God's Spirit will "step back" and allow evil to take hold of this world like no human has ever seen. Then all those who are so unfortunate to enter this time will have two choices in front of them. They will either choose Satan and the man he indwells, the Anti-Christ and take his mark, or choose Jesus Christ the Son of God. There is no other choice. Many will be deluded into believing a lie. Some will see through the lies and believe what the 144,000 Jewish Evangelist are preaching and believe by faith. Their faith will be sorely tested to endure until the end. Picture yourself trying to endure unrelenting torture, or the butchering of your wife or kids right before your eyes. It will be much pressure on those who come to Christ during this period, because evil men will use every tool that have to get to to recant and take the mark and worship the Anti-Christ. 12 "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matthew 24:12-14) And the world will be extremely evil place where people will betray their own family members: " Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Luke 12:53) I know I am describing a most horrible existence that anyone should want to avoid at all cost. There is coming a time in the near future when what I'm talking about will be up close and personal for every human being left on this planet. Suddenly and without any warning, millions of people will vanish off of the face of the earth. Many will scoff and say that we believe an escape hatch to avoid the coming persecution and tribulation that shall cover this whole world, because much like a Catholic purgatory, they believe we will all have to go through this time of God's wrath along with an insane dictator hunting down all who refuse his mark, or his worship. But I prefer to believe that instead of an escape, we receive "victory in Jesus". Instead of the wrath of God that will come down on this earth, we are promised a victory from the wrath of God and evil to come by the Beast power. 6 "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him." (1st Thessalonians 5:6-10) And our glorified Lord God, Jesus Christ proclaimed to John the Apostle in Revelation. "10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:10) Our Lord promised those of us who accept His free gift of salvation by believing on Him, by faith and trusting Him as the Son of God, and our Redeemer who paid the price for our eternal life by His perfect sacrifice on a Roman cross, will not see the coming wrath of God, but will be kept from that hour. Or will you see the coming Tribulation with the heinous Anti-Christ, Satan indwelling within this man, because of your unbelief? The beginning of Tribulation is an event that will come without warning, and the removal of the church will be in an instant: 51"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on im mortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1st Corinthians 15:51-55) There is only one way to avoid something so horrible that I am describing and it is found in One Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. It boils down to the Gospel message and the promises laid down in your bible, that each of us have to believe in our heart of hearts, by faith not by sight. Jesus is our only Hope and all other ways are false and lead to damnation. As Jesus proclaimed: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6) "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) As the Apostle Peter proclaimed concerning Jesus: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Many who be reading this message, may have heard this message all your life, but have failed to make a decision for your eternal destiny and your salvation. May I ask you, "What are you waiting for?"...Your life is but a vapor. It could end tomorrow. You were born to make that decision either for or against accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. To continue in rebellion against a Holy God, by continuing to try and save yourself, will lead all who think such foolishness to experience what I briefly have outlined and confirmed in God's Holy Word. The other side of God's Age of Grace and the free gift of His only Begotten Son for your salvation is a time of unspeakable horror and the coming of the mark of the beast. Will you survive its evil? Maybe, but probably not. This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying your deliverance from a most evil period in mankind's history coming to all who miss taking God's free gift found in Jesus Christ, my Lord....if you need prayer, counseling, or just a listening, friendly ear..email me at [email protected] , or visit me on my new website for more biblical instructions of prophecy and the coming of our Lord, at www.pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com . God bless you all, Is Trump the Prophesied Leader Who Will Unite Christians Against Radical Islam? - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - http://www.breakingisraelnews.com
"The king's heart is in the hand of Hashem as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever He will." Proverbs 21:1 (The Israel Bible™) Donald Trump may be the leader prophesied by Jewish literature to gather Christians against the sons of Ishmael in the times before Messiah, suggested a prominent rabbi recently. He noted that other aspects of the same prophecy regarding the Arab world have already been fulfilled. "The Malbim wrote that before the coming of the Messiah, the world will separate into two groups: the Bnei Yishmael (Muslims), and the Bnei Edom (Christians)," Rabbi Zamir Cohen, a noted scholar and the head of the Beitar Illit Yeshiva, said in a lecture earlier in the week. "According to the prophecy, the Bnei Yishmael will join together, and the Christians will remain calm, even apathetic, despite the obvious threat." Rabbi Cohen was referring to Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser, better known as the Malbim, a renowned 19th-century Bible commentator. His prophecy's description of an apathetic Western world facing a monstrous threat from Muslims dovetails closely with modern events. In recent years, radical Islam has been permitted to flourish in the Middle East and is now spreading throughout the world. "The prophecy goes on to say that there will come a leader who will gather together the Christians and say, 'Enough! We are sick of Islam!'," the rabbi said. "This is unprecedented, something we have yet to see in the world, a leader who stands up and says that he has had enough of the trespasses of Islam, and that we are not afraid, and it is time to punish the Muslims for what they are doing. "It is impossible to say that Trump is the leader the prophecies spoke about," warned Rabbi Cohen, "But by his style of speech, that he doesn't really care what he says or how people will react, it may be that he is." He pointed to Proverbs as a clue to whether or not the "unprecedented development" is good for Israel. The king's heart is in the hand of Hashem as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever He will. Proverbs 21:1 This verse makes clear that the actions of leaders are guided by God alone, Rabbi Cohen explained. "Trump had free choice until he was elected. Now [that he is a leader] he no longer has free choice, especially in regards to governing the nation, or how to relate to Israel," said Rabbi Cohen. "All of the promises Trump made until now, I believe that he really meant them. But whether or not he will actually do it is not in his power. "As the leader of America, what he decides in the end is in God's hands, and that is decided according to our actions," declared Rabbi Cohen, quoting a verse from Psalms. Ascribe ye strength unto God; His majesty is over Yisrael, and His strength is in the skies. Psalms 68:35 Rabbi Cohen described how, at the same time, events in the Muslim and Arab world are also conforming to the Malbim's prophecy. "Today, we see that the world of Islam is turning more and more extremist," he said. "They are returning the days of Mohammed, chopping off heads, things which look insane. It is unbelievable that we should return to these things in our generation. They established a state that aspires to conquer the entire Muslim world, called the Islamic State. "But God, in his mercy, has made it so they are fighting among themselves for now. This is a clear realization of the prophecy in Isaiah," asserted Rabbi Cohen. And I will spur Mitzrayim against Mitzrayim; and they shall fight every one against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. Isaiah 19:2 The conditions the rabbi described are indeed unfolding before our eyes. Despite some horrifying attacks against the West, the fiercest efforts by Islamic extremists are restricted to inter-Islamic conflicts. Islamic terror in Europe and America pales in comparison to the more than 300,000 Syrians killed in that country's civil war. Today, in a bitter, ongoing battle, Iraqi forces are struggling to take back Mosul from the Islamic State. Rabbi Yosef Berger, the rabbi of King David's Tomb on Mount Zion Jerusalem, told Breaking Israel News that illogical political developments are necessary components of the Messiah. "When political developments reflect what is written in the Torah, that is a clear indication that we are nearing geulah (redemption)," noted Rabbi Berger. "These developments simply do not follow logic. The Arabs say they want to destroy Israel, but what they are actually doing is harming each other. "It is because God is taking over, directing events." Rabbi Cohen concluded his lecture with a word of advice on how one can impact the course of events and even influence the decisions of kings. "God directs the actions of the leaders according to our actions. If we do mitzvoth (commandments) and conform to God's will, he will direct the leaders to act in our best interests." What Was the Role of Prophecy in 2016 Election? - By Brandon Showalter - http://www.christianpost.com/news/what-was-the-role-of-prophecy-in-2016-election-171486/
As post-election analysis continue, some are noticing Christians who prophesied a Trump victory amid seemingly impossible political circumstances and unfavorable media predictions. The Christian Post reported on Thursday that evangelist Franklin Graham said the media in particular missed the "God-factor" regarding the outcome of the election. "Hundreds of thousands of Christians from across the United States have been praying. This year they came out to every state capitol to pray for this election and for the future of America. Prayer groups were started. Families prayed. Churches prayed. Then Christians went to the polls, and God showed up," Graham said. Pastor Paula White also revealed that she fasted and prayed, and had concluded that Trump would win, CP reported last week. Last year, a man named Jeremiah Johnson of Behold the Man Ministries in Lakeland, Florida, said that God had shown him during prayer that Trump was raised up like a Cyrus and would be "[God's] trumpet to the American people." For those who believe that prophecy is a gift of the Spirit that continues to be in operation today, the presidential election was particularly noteworthy given its stunning outcome. "In the last 20 to 30 years, we have not had a consistent prophetic voice within the Church," said Wanda Alger, a staff writer with the Purcellville, Virginia-based Intercessors for America, in an interview with The Christian Post on Tuesday. "It has been a lot of wannabes, a lot of people who are self-appointed prophets with no accountability," she added. "That was the challenge with this cycle. I knew from the beginning that this was one of the things that the Lord wanted to bring healing and adjustment to, specifically the prophetic arm of the ministry of the Church." "The fact is, a prophet is known by their fruit," Alger asserted, adding that she believes God wanted to show his people two things during the 2016 presidential election. "One was to humble a lot [of people] in the Church that have made the prophetic an idol," she said. "The second is that this next great outpouring of the Holy Spirit is going to be so outside the box of what we think, even as spiritual Christians, that we have to get outside our religious mindsets. I think this was the practice run in really learning to discern the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord." Jennifer LeClaire, director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, concurs. "I think one of the reasons why people have disregarded many modern prophetic voices is because of the clamor and the renegade people who call themselves prophets who aren't really prophets; or [those] who are really immature prophets who aren't letting their words be judged before releasing them and therefore missing it badly," she said in a recent interview with CP. LeClaire, who teaches and equips people on how to minister prophetically further noted that "even in charismatic circles there has been some hesitation especially in the realm of politics overall in these prophecies because in these seasons we see a lot of opportunism rising." Many non-Pentecostal Christian denominations do not have a theological grid for the prophetic because they hold to cessationism, the doctrine which states that the supernatural gifts of the spirit, like prophecy, ceased with the death of the last Apostle or when the Canon of Scripture closed. Even those who do believe that the gifts continue today are commonly functionally cessationist because often little equipping is done and even less space given in public services for this to be practiced. These views are reinforced when the abuse of such supernatural gifts appear, of which there is no shortage via televangelists. LeClaire told CP that she was aware of several Christians who staunchly asserted that God told them that Hillary Clinton was going be the next president, while others were equally insistent that the Lord said that Trump would emerge the winner. "Clearly, now we see someone wasn't hearing correctly," LeClaire said. "Now, I wonder, will those people come out and repent and say, 'You know what? I missed it.'" The flip side, she added, in light of the election results that so few saw coming, because prophetic words about Trump winning came to pass, "should open the eyes of those who were on the fence about modern-day prophetic unctions. It should confirm to those who have long believed in the prophetic and that we can have accuracy." "From here we have a real opportunity to say, 'You know what, the prophetic is real, prophets really are for today. Let's take another look and do some equipping. Let's teach believers how to hear the voice of God, how to discern, how to judge a prophetic word. We have an opportunity in this moment to do Ephesians 4:11-12," she added. Ephesians 4:11-12 reads: "So Christ Himself gave the Apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up." Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini said in a post on his Facebook page before the election that while he was being held as a hostange in an Iranian prison, God showed him a picture of a young Donald Trump and told him that the real estate mogul would be the next president and that he would become friends with him. LeClaire added: "I think we have to handle the prophetic realm with integrity, we have to let our peers, our contemporaries judge the word if it is going to be impactful and speak to something of this nature, we have to have accountability. And if we would all do that you would see a lot of this flaky stuff being rooted out of the prophetic and people would take it more seriously." Putin's low-key Syrian operation - a call to Trump - http://www.debka.com/article/25778/Putin's-low-key-Syrian-operation---a-call-to-Trump
The Russian air force and navy launched a "large-scale" operation against "terrorists" in the Syrian provinces of Idlim and Homs Tuesday, Nov. 15. Bombers took off from the Hmeymim air base and the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier whle cruise missiles were fired from the Admiral Grigorovich frigate. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who addressed a meeting of Russian generals with President Vladimir Putin, the targets were positions of the Islamic State and Al Nusra. He did not say how long the operation would go on. debkafile's military and intelligence sources say that the proportions of the Russian operation as seen from the ground better fit the description of low key than "large scale." No more than 2 Sukhoi Su-33 fighters lifted off the carrier's decks and only a few Kaliber cruise missiles were fired from the frigate. They were not aimed at Islamist terrorist positions, but at arms factories and ammunition stores. Towards evening, a third Russian air strike hit a target in the hills overlooking the coastal province of Latakia. The timing of the Russian operation was significant. It came five days after President Barack Obama finally ordered the Pentagon to seek out and target Nusra Front leaders, after long holding out against Moscow's demand in this regard, and 12 hours after US president elect Donald Trump and Putin held their first telephone conversation after the election. Since the attack was too limited to change the military situation on the Syrian war's front lines, what was its purpose? And why was its launch given world-wide exposure accompanied by a photo-op of the Russian president meeting his generals for heightened drama? It appears that Putin sought by this maneuver to convey the impression that Trump had agreed to the operation during their initial conversation on Monday. It is far more likely, however, that the Russian leader presented the offensive to Trump in general terms and did not hear an explicit negative response. He therefore decided to go ahead with the attack, marking out Islamist terrorists - which the president elect had declared in his campaign as America's enemy - on the assumption that he would not disagree with a Russian strike against a consensual target. By this maneuver, Putin hoped to draw the next US president into backing Russia's strategy in the Syrian war. It is hard to believe that Donald Trump will be so easily drawn. Trump and International Security - by Richard Kemp - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9313/trump-international-security
Since Donald Trump's election, media-fueled panic has engulfed Europe, including over defense and security. We are told that World War III is imminent, that Trump will jump into bed with Putin and pull the US out of NATO. Such fantasies are put about by media cheerleaders for European political elites, terrified that Trump's election will inspire support for populist candidates in the forthcoming elections in Germany, the Netherlands and France. In fact, it is the EU, not Donald Trump, that threatens to undermine NATO and the security of the West. In recent days, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, his foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen have suggested that Trump's election should give greater impetus to a European defense force. This has been an EU aspiration for many years. Citing Trump is just a cynical pretext for speeding it up. It is already well advanced and has gained greater focus since the UK's decision to leave the EU. The EU army is a vanity project, seen by many European leaders as a necessary instrument of the ever-closer union they desire. Speaking at a meeting of the European Defense Agency in Brussels the day after Trump's election, Ms Mogherini suggested that the EU needs "the full potential of a super power, in the field of defense and security." To the economically atrophied EU, a defense union also has the potential for enormous financial savings. The intention will be to aggregate national military capabilities under what will no doubt be described as rationalization and efficiency. This will bring swinging cuts to European defense capability. It will also severely reduce flexibility and the redundancy which is so vital to military forces that have any expectation of combat in which attrition and multiple simultaneous threats might occur. The byzantine EU bureaucracy, combined with timidity in so many European nations, will ensure its army could never be deployed in anger. An EU defense union will also present a direct threat to NATO, competing for funds, building in duplication and confusion, and setting up rival military structures. In her speech, Ms Mogherini even spelt out the need for a single EU headquarters for military missions, which she likened to SHAPE, the NATO command center. The German defense minister told reporters on the day Trump was elected that he must treat NATO as an alliance of shared values rather than a business. She said: "You can't say the past doesn't matter, the values we share don't matter, but instead try to get as much money out of NATO as possible and whether I can get a good deal out of it." This is breath-taking hypocrisy from the defense minister of a nation that spends less than 1.2% of GDP on defense against an agreed NATO minimum target of 2%, while freeloading off the United States' 73% contribution to NATO's overall defense spending. How much are "the values we share" worth to her country? Britain is one of the few European countries that achieve even the minimum 2%, with some spending only half that. This is what Trump was talking about when he said European nations need to pull their weight. Contrary to political and media spin, he has not threatened to take the US out of NATO nor, apparently, will he do so -- unless forced into it by the EU's drive to become a super-state with its own army. European leaders would do well to recognize that they need the US more than the US needs them, and that real, concrete, committed defense from the world's greatest military power is more beneficial to them than a fantasy army that will have plenty of flags, headquarters and generals but no teeth. In his insistence that the Europeans contribute more, Trump will have a fight on his hands because they have no intention of doing so. Neither do most European governments have any intention of the serious use of military force ever again. Britain may still be an exception to this, and France less so. Britain's bilateral defense and intelligence ties with the US are already far closer than any other European state. The UK should now be looking at strengthening these even further, and drawing yet closer to the US in the face of the military impotence that would accompany an EU defense union. The European media have also made hay with Trump's non-confrontational approach towards President Putin, spreading fears that this too will undermine international security. This is nonsense. He may find more effective ways to accommodate the Russian president than his predecessor, including resisting provocative and misjudged European Union expansion eastwards, but he is not the sort of man to appease the likes of Putin. Trump will also make a stronger stand against other threats to the US and the West than Obama has, and it is vital that he does so. He described Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran as "the worst deal ever negotiated" and has vowed to counteract Iran's violations, if necessary hitting them with tough new sanctions and perhaps tearing up the deal altogether. Tellingly, since the announcement of Trump's victory, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has already shown how much this worries him. Expect to see Iran's anti-American provocations curtailed when Trump becomes president. A stronger US stance is urgently hoped for by troubled US allies in the Middle East, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf states, all of which fear growing Iranian aggression throughout the region. There is a conflict between the necessary hard-line approach against Iran and greater cooperation with Russia. US President Barack Obama, in his desperation to achieve and sustain his legacy nuclear deal, prostrated himself to the ayatollahs and left a power vacuum across the Middle East. Both Iran and Russia seized on his pusillanimity. Re-asserting American influence in the region will be one of Trump's greatest challenges. A priority is to hammer the Islamic State and their jihadist bedfellows wherever they raise their heads. Trump must, in his words, "hit them so hard your head would spin." He should also prioritize both practical and moral support to anti-Islamist regimes in the Middle East, such as Sisi's Egypt. He needs to do the same at home as well, strongly countering the spreading and corrosive Islamic radicalization in the US. He has said he will crack down on domestic supporters of the Islamic State, shutting radical mosques and revoking the passports of US citizens who travel to fight with them. Not only would this enhance homeland security, it would also help undermine IS's global appeal, especially if European countries followed his lead. Time and again, history has shown that only strong leaders, not appeasers, can maintain peace and security. It was the strength of Ronald Reagan with Margaret Thatcher at his shoulder that brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had threatened and attacked Western democracies across the globe for decades. European leaders need to recognize this too. Rather than spreading fear and false propaganda about Donald Trump, they should be praying that he will provide the strength that is so desperately needed today, and working out how best they can support rather than attack him.
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 The Bible Is Not a Buffett - By Grant Phillips - http://raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips348.html
A La Carte: (of a menu or restaurant) listing or serving food that can be ordered as separate items, rather than part of a set meal; as separately priced items from a menu, not as part of a set meal. Smorgasbord: A buffet offering a variety of hot and cold meats, salads, hors d'oeuvres, etc.; a wide range of something; a variety. I find these two words interesting because even though their meanings are different, they both provide a picture of what the Bible has become to many people, even many Christians. This next phrase is even more explicit. Pick and Choose: select only the best or most desirable from among a number of alternatives. The big problem with this though is that there are not many alternatives in the Bible. There are only two; God's way and the wrong way. The point is, and as I have already said, even with many Christians, we have become selective in what God clearly says. If we don't like what the Bible says, we ignore it or try to twist God's words to suit our convenience. We pick only the words we like, and change the others to comply with our opinions. The problem with opinions is they are often wrong; at least when they come from mankind, simply because mankind is grossly flawed with sin. On the other hand, God's "opinion" is never wrong because He is perfect in every way. If He isn't perfect in every way, then He isn't God. Most in humanity today are fighting against God, questioning His "opinion" and replacing it with their own "we know better" attitude. Whether we're speaking of creation, marriage, sex, murder, etc. we think we know more because, well hey, we're 21st century modern man. We've got all the answers (so we think). God says He created the world and told us how he did it, but we know better. "We choose evolution and other scientific theories." God says marriage is between a man and a woman, and the marriage bed is holy, "but what does God know? Those are old fogey ideas not fit for the modern age." God says sex should only be between a man and a woman who are married to each other. "Oh come now! God is just being a stick-in-the-mud. Sex is all about love and we have a lot of love to give." God says that the one who murders another man should be put to death. "There you go again God. We must show mercy. A life sentence is okay, and then if they have changed, we'll let them out after a few years." Well I'm getting sick writing this facetious garbage, so I'll change course. From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 is God's Word. It's His way or the highway (the broad way to hell). We cannot just pick and choose what we want, discard most of it and pickle the rest (change it to suit us). Instead of reading the Bible in a way that attempts to make it fit what we believe, we need to be reading it to see where the REAL TRUTH lies. Keeping in mind that the Bible is always right, and we are often wrong. God's Word is always absolute Truth. I've heard people say, "I just don't agree with Paul." Well who died and made you God?" God told Paul what to say. Paul wrote it down, so what is written came from God not Paul. Paul was the instrument to convey the Word, but God gave the Word. "So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (emphasis mine)." (2 Peter 1:19-21) "and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures (emphasis mine), to their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:15-16) Many Christians today are still in their spiritual diapers, sucking on their spiritual pacifiers. Why would I say that? Because the proof is in the pudding; i.e. they either are not a student of God's Word, or they pick and choose only what doesn't offend them, or they mangle the true meaning of the text. For our own good we need to read the Bible with the same enthusiasm we have when our favorite television show is on, or when our favorite team is on the field (or court). Do we even have that kind of enthusiasm when it comes to opening our Bibles? When we first became a Christian we couldn't wait to open God's Word and read all He had to say to us. As time went on our enthusiasm waned, and we just read a very select few verses here and there, until we just quit reading altogether. Why is this? We have lost the joy of our salvation, not our salvation, but the "joy" of it. David had the same problem after Nathan confronted him with his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit." (Psalms 51.12) Satan uses every trick possible to keep us from hearing the Truth. Our interest falls away because we allow Satan to influence us. One way he does this is to discourage us by the lies that come from those who try to soften or eliminate what the Bible says. For example; God says there is only one way to be saved, but others say there are many ways. Now doubts start to rise, and since we are no longer daily in the Truth, we start picking and choosing what sounds good to us and forming our own opinions, instead of just listening to what God says. Is it possible we would rather take the word of man than God? "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place-unless you repent." (Revelation 2:4-5) We've lost the love we once had for God and His Word and now listen to everyone else instead. Keep in mind that the unsaved person cannot understand the Bible. It makes no sense to them. But we can understand God's Word if we allow His Spirit to guide us. "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." (1 Corinthians 2:14) The pressure is on in this modern world we live in to be "politically correct." "Let us accept all beliefs so not to offend anyone," so say the politically correct folks. I personally am not out to offend anyone, but you and I as Christians, need to make up our minds once for all just whose side we're on. Do we want to be popular with others or do we prefer to obey God, whether we're popular or not? The world outside the Church has a whole boat load of opinions, most all of which conflict with God's Truth. Even many Christian brothers and sisters are weak in the faith, but let us open our eyes and ears and follow our Savior and Lord. Satan is doing a heck of a job in muddying the waters of Truth and is using the ignorance of those around us to lead us all astray. So let me ask, "Why give them an audience? Listen to what your Savior, your Lord, your God says, and ignore the rest." Grant Phillips Email: [email protected] Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com Rapture Ready http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html Daily Jot: A jaundiced view from a lame duck - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
Still refusing to accept that globalism, or from a Christian worldview--an anti-Christ system, is the antithesis of humankind and a threat to personal liberty, America's lame duck "president" continued to sell out American exceptionalism during his Athens, Greece pit stop on his European farewell tour. His remarks underscore the division created between freedom lovers and those soulless victims of the dream of eutopian society under a form of totalitarianism. He refused to recognize that worldwide information exchange is the flagship of a free people, instead saying it was an instrument of "tribalism" that causes people to reject globalism. Reality is getting the better of his idealism. All the while, he and his Democratic Party cronies assisted by the news media are saying it is the uneducated people who reject globalism, the "president" said during a joint news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, " Globalism, combined with technology, combined with social media and constant information, have disrupted people's lives, sometimes in concrete ways. But also psychologically, people are less certain of their national identities or their place in the world." What he refuses to acknowledge is that loss of jobs and massive forced migration-tools of globalism-cause this effect. The more people inform themselves, the less they tolerate this move toward the anti-Christ system. Seemingly duplicitous on the cause and effect of globalism, he continued: "And there is no doubt that has produced populist movements, both from the left and the right, in many countries in Europe. When you see a Donald Trump and a Bernie Sanders, very unconventional candidates, have considerable success obviously there's something there that's being tapped into...and they might opt for change, even if they are not entirely confident what that change will bring." Instead of recognizing that people are rejecting globalism and tyranny, he is saying that it results in tribalism and nationalism. This started long ago, but accelerated under the previous Bush administration and the current "president." People who think they are so right, so educated and enlightened, that no matter what others think or say, are tantamount to tyranny. Instead of looking at the policies that people are rejecting, these globalists blame the people for being ignorant, deplorable, unredeemable, bigots, xenophobes, racists and hate mongers. This is what Christians face as the one world order of the anti-Christ. Why is it important to stand against the anti-Christ system? Revelation 20:4, "I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." We may not be able to stop the march of prophesy, but we can determine our place in it. Daily Devotion: Forgiven? Then Forgive - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. -Matthew 6:12 The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys was one of the longest running feuds in American history. One family lived in West Virginia, the other in Kentucky, on opposite sides of the Big Sandy River's Tug Fork. Conflicts developed, one person was killed, and then another. And by the time it was over, more than two dozen people were dead. Our society doesn't value forgiveness. In fact, forgiveness is often seen as a sign of weakness, not strength. Our culture esteems vengeance and payback. We believe in the old adage "Don't get mad; get even." But in what we know as The Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). The word debt in this verse could be better translated "sins." In other words, forgive us our sins-or our trespasses or our shortcomings or our resentments or the wrong we have done or what we owe to Him. Contrary to what we may think, we don't go through a day without sinning. Even if we might not break a commandment of God, we certainly fall short of a standard of God. We have sinful thoughts and attitudes. We commit sins of omission, failing to do good when we could have done it. The Bible says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We need to ask God every day to forgive us for our sins. And as we receive that forgiveness, we should also extend it to others. According to Jesus, our generous and constant forgiveness of others should be the natural result of our understanding of the forgiveness God has extended to us. To put it simply, forgiven people ought to be forgiving people. FROM THE HEART
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