Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Wedding Garment: Ready for the Sky - Joseph Chambers - http://www.pawcreek.org/the-wedding-garment-ready-for-the-sky/
Psalm 22 1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7: 13-14) It is time for the Lord's church to preach this great truth with abandonment. Woe to the preachers who do not preach Biblical holiness. Every standard in God's Bible is the full picture of the wedding garment. From cross-dressing compromise to our worldly pleasures, everything must be judged by the Holy Bible. I have no right to preach anything but the Bible. Neither do I have the right to leave anything out that is in the Bible. It is infallible. The wedding in the sky is the star-studded event. The Bride is the sanctified saints and the Bridegroom is the crucified but resurrected Lamb. The Father gave His Son that His Son might purify His Bride. He will come for that Bride any hour and she will be fully prepared in her wedding attire. Apostle Paul made it clear that she would be without defilement. His words could not be clearer. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5: 25-27) I beg you to be ready. If there is one star-studded event of all the ages that transcends all others, it must be the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb." The very heart of the Father in creating Adam and Eve and commanding them to multiply was out of a family passion. He had a family of angels that filled His eternal city with praise, but He also wanted a human family that His Son may be the Bridegroom. Nothing in His eternity is a surprise to Him. We were chosen from the foundation of the world to bring great joy to His fatherly heart. It is fitting that the Bible ends in His New Jerusalem, a special city for a special people. It is the conclusion of His revelations and shows the eternal joys as the Father enjoys His family, both angelic and glorified flesh. This world is nothing but a sideshow, while the kingdom of God is in preparation to be revealed. The fallen prince, Satan, has had his time of rebellion, while the world makes their choice of whom to serve. Wickedness grows for its final harvest of sorrows, while righteousness climbs the stairs of grace to its triumph. The hour of finality is so close that the sense of majesty is in the air. The Psalmist Spoke of a Wedding The Psalmist David surely walked with God and was given a peep into the "Royal Wedding." First, he spoke of this coming King/Messiah and declared Him with a glorious sense of His lofty statue. Read this description of the Bridegroom spoken hundreds of years before the virgin conceived in her womb this King. "My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre." (Psalm 45:1-6). Such words are too high for me. They leave me with a glow into the marvel of our Father's gift. He was very God. Already a King, grace poured from His lips. He was majestic in humility, mighty in battle, and truth was the essence of His person. He was from a throne and destined to return but with everlasting victory in His right hand. He is presently patient, but soon to ride the white horse of fiery judgment. His scepter will leave no room for exceptions. His victory is soon to be total because the price of this redemption is totally paid. He has uttered, "It is finished." (John 19:30). Anointed to be King and Bridegroom By the spirit of prophecy, the Psalmist saw this future Wedding Supper and described the details. Every word of Scripture must be rightly divided if we are to receive the pure message. First, David spoke of the King Himself concerning His position after His cross was experienced. He wrote, "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad." (Psalm 45:7-8). This is the triumphant Savior, having endured the cross and now exalted above all created beings. He is the God/Man, both God and man and will forever be identified with His Bride. His identity is so intimate that He said, "... I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me." (Hebrews 2:12-13). He is one of us forever to reign in glorified flesh. The Son of God has become the Son of Man forever without ceasing to be Eternal God and seated at the Father's right hand. The person of our Savior is presently and forever unfathomable. His glory will eliminate the need of the sun in the New Heavens and the New Earth. Song of Solomon 2 10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; When He comes to begin the "Times of the End," His coming is described as "Out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad." This statement does not speak of His birth, but of His second coming. He is presently, as I write, the joy of the City of God. The Heavenly City, where He is seated at the Father's right hand, is full of joy because of Him. He is His Father's greatest delight and those words, "whereby they have made thee glad," speak of both His joy and the joy of those that worship and exalt Him. If He is the source of such joy now, can you imagine His joy, both to Himself and His Father, when He takes His office as the Bridegroom with His Bride? Even His person is attired in the priceless ointments of the City of God. His robe is divinity, but His Sonship is like the most extravagant of human value. Myrrh, aloes, and cassia speak of His priceless person unstained by His walk among the lost souls of this sin-riddled planet. The Queen: His Bride Now, the prophecy by David begins to reveal the mystery of the Bride. This great truth is still hidden from much of the church because the level of spirituality is so weak. The great writers of church history have reveled in the lofty truths of this Queen/Bride, but not so in today's church. Most of the prophecy authors reject what I'm trying to share. They are precious people, but unmoved by the call to holiness. I wish they would read from the past great Bible scholars like Hudson Taylor, Joseph Seiss, G.H. Pember, G.H. Lang. They would shortly discover that modern scholarship is woefully lacking. The Brideship of Christ must be seen as a coveted promise for those willing to forsake all. David clearly shows the distinction between the Bride or Queen and the guest at the wedding. Notice carefully the prophetic words, "Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the Queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. Gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace." (Psalm 45:9-15). These words are written in a complex manner but carefully show the Queen all dressed in the extravagant gold of Ophir. She stands forth among the virgins, the daughter of Tyre with her gift, and the multiple kings' daughters. This singular (special) daughter, the Bride and Queen, is all dressed and prepared in raiment of needlework to be brought unto the King Himself. Not only is she attired in raiment of needlework but she is "all glorious within." Twice, it is declared that her clothing is of "wrought gold." All of this beauty is a work of grace and redemption that the King Himself wrought for her when He stepped out of eternity to enter the winepress of wrath as our sacrifice for sin. What a prophetic picture of the "Bride of Christ" soon to enter into her glorious triumph of the ages. Isaiah saw her rising from the dust of death to enter her chamber of nuptial glory and said, "... Awake and sing ... Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity ..." (Isaiah 26:19-21). The prophet Malachi spoke for the Bridegroom and called her "My Jewels." He stated, "And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." (Malachi 3:17). These incredible statements reveal the heart of God all through the First Testament as the redemption story was perfectly moving toward the first crisis, the Messiah's appearing and sacrifice. The Perfecting of the Bride Redemption is not cheap and neither is the product of redemption. His sacrifice took the Son of God from the City of God, the mountain of His holiness down to our sin-saturated planet where He would be despised, rebutted, and brutally slain. His grace cannot be mixed with our self-help psychologies. His redemption does not need AA's support or schemes. The grace of God is totally sufficient to transform the vilest sinner into a glorious saint and prepare them to be His Bride. This is the New Testament message. Apostle Paul echoed the perfect solution. "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." (Galatians 6:14-15). He is preparing a "glorious church" to "present to Himself." His Bride will be "dressed in the gold of Ophir," a beautiful Queen that He can lavish with love for eternity. The Ephesians church heard this clear call to be His chosen. "Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:24-27). Isaiah 55 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. When we buy a new car we want it to be spotless. A contractor for a new home is unacceptable until his turnkey job renders unto you a home without blemish. Our clothing is purchased from the department store that guarantees the merchandise to be of the best quality. Yet, we speak of His Bride as a mixture of the world and the church. This generation rejects the ministers that call for holiness and Godliness and deceives themselves into claiming cheap grace and careless living. The infallible Word of God presents a totally different picture. It is of a "glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle ... and without blemish." And it is all by His "powerful cleansing blood" that transforms us into "new creatures." There is no such thing as "positional righteousness" without "experiential righteousness." The Marriage of the Lamb The climax of this great event is best seen in the Book of Revelation. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is His unveiling of Himself and those things that relate to His completed revelations. We are in the very center of this unveiling. He identified His espoused Bride in five different offices in this one book. First, we are seen as His church in Revelation chapters one, two, and three. At the very moment that chapter four begins we are called elders sharing in the unveiling of judgments to redeem the earth. After the seven years of the Great Tribulation (chapter 4 - 19:4), we are called His army (chapter 19:14) as we return with Him to subdue the kingdoms of the earth. During the millennial reign we are positioned as His kings and priests to reign on this earth with the King Himself. In the last two chapters, we become His Bride for eternity to enjoy with Him in our New Jerusalem. What a breathtaking picture! Before the Marriage Supper, the false religious system must be judged and obliterated. This harlot woman (false church) will be utterly destroyed so that the one true Bride can be exalted to her rightful place. Nothing has plagued the church like the imitation and masquerade of the false. Everything that the true church has sought to do to exalt the Lord Jesus and raise the standard of holiness, the false religions have attacked and tried to destroy. It has been a battle to the death. The Lord Jesus has promised to judge every expression of the "religious lie" and to cause that entire system to repent at our feet. Our Lord said, "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." (Revelation 3:9). What an hour awaits His true saints when that false religious world finally must confess her error and repent of her deeds at our feet. The worship of the saints will echo through the heavens when this blasphemous throng of the false bride and her entire organizations are judged in one hour. The words of Revelation nineteen begin with the testimony of Jesus or His prophecy. "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." (Revelation 19:1-3). The false bride is forever gone. She will be no more, and her dark deceiving doctrines and lies will never plaque the people of God again. With this dark system removed, the praise of the saints takes on a glorious expression. Alleluia, Alleluia, and glory to the Lamb forever. The beauty of the church has been marred by the constant claims of the false. The world looks at the church and cannot discern between the two and normally sees us as a mixture of the false. The glory of His church will become manifest when there is no church of Satan to cloud the view. It's almost time for this separation. Let Us Be Glad and Rejoice The day of the church's greatest glory will have arrived. The false church is out of the picture. The saints that have paid the price of surrender and trusted only in her Lord are ready. Listen as the words of prophecy from the lips of our Lord Himself are proclaimed by one of His redeemed elders. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Revelation 19:7-9). Our first desire as we enter into this glory is to give honor to the Bridegroom Himself. We are not there because we chose Him but because He chose us. Giving honor to Him as the Messiah that came, the Sacrifice that died, the Intercessor that prayed, and the Father and the Lamb that has earned all redemption rights becomes the first order of the Marriage Feast celebration. My imagination goes wild as I try to imagine the setting in this Bridal Chamber. The multitudes of the saints begin to praise and rejoice in the presence of our Bridegroom with a kind of worship unknown to us in our skin tent. Apostle Paul came back from the third heavens with bated expression because he said the words he heard was unlawful to utter. This scene must be seen in the same light. Let's just anticipate this hour with joy and expectation. Ezekiel 43 1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: 2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. 4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. "The Marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife hath made herself ready." Those words are breathtaking. He chose us because there isn't any capacity in man to come to Him except the Father draws him; yet, we have responsibility. This Bride has obeyed His calling of us to become His chosen. She hath made herself ready. How did His wife make herself ready? Jesus Himself laid the very foundation for an answer to this question. The Son of God said, "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:34-36). These words could not be any plainer. The Lord calls but He does not force and He does not act arbitrarily against our will. We have the truth in Holy Scripture and the Lord has almost begged of us to "take heed," to "watch ye therefore," and to "pray always." Such words are empty if everyone is already safe. If believers cannot fall or miss the mark of Brideship, then the Son of God was wasting His breath to speak the words above. My friend, do not be a fool to think that our Lord uttered some kind of meaningless warning. It will be too late to beg forgiveness once the Rapture has come. You may indeed repent and be saved, but you will not get a second chance to be a part of His Bride. The day that Jesus warned us of in this passage is clearly the Tribulation Period. Notice that He said, "For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." (Luke 21:35). The twenty and four elders that sit before the Father's throne in Revelation four are never added to in number after the Rapture. The number of thrones in the Brideship of Christ will never change after the Rapture of the Pre-Tribulation Saints. Others will be saved and be virgins that attend to the Bride at the wedding. The wedding garment, not withstanding what the wife has done to make herself ready, is provided by the redemption of the Redeemer Himself. His grace is complete to make us absolute holy, but that grace is only given to the surrendered will. This wife or Bride is representative of the overcomers that stood strong against every temptation of the world. These are victorious saints. To them is granted the "fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." These saints are both overcomers in their own surrender and clothed in the righteous of the Lamb. The Lord's words continue to amaze. "... Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb ..." (Revelation 19:9). These words clearly present a picture of a chosen crowd who have proved themselves worthy. These are not the saints of which Apostle Paul said, "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." (I Corinthians 3:15). If you cannot lose this reward, the ultimate Brideship of the Bridegroom, what reward can you lose? Every one of us will be rewarded according to our labor. This is the reward of being the Queen to the King. The saints of the ages have spoken of their passion to be a part of this Queenship. Apostle Paul said, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Philippians 3:10-11). The Bride is soon to reign with Him. The entire last two chapters of Holy Scripture give us a picture of this reigning Queen in the city, which the Lord has provided her. Saint John gives us the only record of anyone viewing this city. Jesus has promised to prepare this place when He spoke in St. John 14. John saw the city and sent back His description. "And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:2-4). Conclusion The city and the Bride become as one. It is the wedding gift to the Queen from the King Himself. When the wedding feast is over, there appears to be a thousand years before the Bride enters into the descending city coming down to the renewed earth like a brilliant crystal palace. Such glory is too much for us as we continue to fight the warfare of faith. Only faith can grasp such a promise so full of hope. Above all else in my life and my walk of faith is my desire to attain unto the Queenship of my Lord and Savior. I give Him all I am because I want to receive all He is and all He has prepared for the chosen. Column One: Why Israel let Hamas win - Caroline B. Glick - https://www.jpost.com/printarticle.aspx?id=572007 Winners don't quit. Losers do. Israel's security cabinet's decision Tuesday afternoon to walk away from the war Hamas initiated Monday and to accept a "ceasefire" is frustrating and infuriating. Hamas shot nearly 500 projectiles into Israel in under 24 hours. It blew up a bus with a Kornet anti-tank missile. Sixty Israelis were wounded, several critically. One civilian was killed. Numerous homes were destroyed. Israel has never experienced any rocket onslaught from Gaza remotely as intense as what Hamas and Islamic Jihad shot off on Monday and Tuesday. And yet, rather than respond with equal - or better yet - far greater force and teach Hamas and Islamic Jihad a lesson they would long remember, the security cabinet sufficed with a couple hundred pinpoint air attacks, and then accepted the IDF's advice and opted for the ceasefire. In so doing, they left the residents of southern Israel virtual hostages of Hamas and Islamic Jihad who have retained the capacity to attack them at will. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's sudden resignation on Wednesday may help his little party Yisrael Beitenu get reelected to Knesset in the next elections. But if it does, then Liberman will have won his political survival at Israel's expense. Hamas is entirely justified in presenting Liberman's resignation as proof that it defeated Israel this week. Winners don't quit. Losers do. But beyond being frustrating and infuriating, the cabinet's decision is a cause for deep concern. Why did the cabinet opt to stand down in the face of Hamas's unprecedented onslaught? Leaving concerns about the prospect of war in the north with Iran, Hezbollah and Syria out of the picture for a moment, there are on the face of things, two basic explanations for the cabinet's decision. First, maybe the WhatsApp jokes making the rounds are right. Maybe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers are a bunch of stupid chickens. Liberman effectively accused them of stupidity and cowardice at his press conference Tuesday afternoon when he announced his resignation. But there is no evidence that Netanyahu is stupid. To the contrary. As for fear, there is ample evidence that if he and his ministers were fearful, they have good reason to be deeply worried. This brings us to the second and more realistic reason to view the cabinet's decision to stand down in the face of Hamas's aggression as a bright red warning light. The source of that concern is the IDF's General Staff. Israel does not seek to overthrow the Hamas regime in Gaza. And for good reason. The price of a war to overthrow Hamas would be exorbitant both in terms of the human and monetary cost of war. And the return would be dubious at best. Israel doesn't have an army big enough to spare three divisions to control a post-Hamas Gaza. The other option often touted by the far Left is that Israel pay the price of overthrowing Hamas and then hand Gaza over to the PLO. The PLO, though, is no less hostile than Hamas. Israel has no interest whatsoever in empowering the PLO by giving it Gaza. Given the absence of a better alternative to Hamas in Gaza, rather than work to overthrow the terror regime, Israel has focused its efforts on keeping Hamas as weak as possible. And so, since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, Israel's effective strategy for dealing with the terror regime can be equated to mowing the grass. Every time Hamas becomes too powerful, Israel finds itself in another round of war with it. The purpose of Israel's operations is to cut Hamas down to size and walk away, until the next round of war. But this week, Hamas made clear that Israel needs to mow it down. A terror regime capable of sending 500 projectiles into Israeli territory in less than 24 hours and destroying a bus with an anti-tank missile is a terror regime that has become too powerful. So why didn't the cabinet order the IDF to mow the grass in Gaza? Why didn't our leaders order the IDF to kill Hamas commanders Yahye Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh? Why didn't they order the IDF to destroy the rocket launchers and the crews that operate them? Why didn't they order the IDF to destroy Hamas's bases and missile depots? There are two possible explanations for their decision not to give these orders. Taken separately and together they point to an acute problem with the IDF's senior ranks that requires immediate attention. One explanation has been highlighted by retired senior IDF commanders and Yediot Aharonot's military commentator Yossi Yehoshua. This explanation argues that the cabinet decision to stand down on Tuesday owed to the General Staff's refusal to take the actions necessary to cut Hamas down to size. The General Staff's refusal, they say, stems from the role lawyers are now playing in the IDF's targeting decisions. Since Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009, military lawyers have been attached to fighting units down to the battalion level. These attorneys are allegedly prohibiting required action by claiming that strategically significant and operationally vital actions like killing Hamas commanders and bombing rocket launching units constitute war crimes. Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot has demonstrated for years that he is willing to subordinate trigger pullers to attorneys who do not suffer the consequences of their lenient interpretations of the actions of Israel's enemies. He elevated Military Advocate General Sharon Afeq to the rank of Major General. He supports indicting combat soldiers for alleged violent crimes on the basis of radical legal interpretations of actions in battle. The message Eisenkot has communicated to everyone from platoon leaders to division commanders is that they must subordinate their actions to the judgment of lawyers who have no command responsibilities. It is important to point out that the "international law" being implemented by IDF commanders through military lawyers is not actually the law as written. It is a radical, ideological interpretation of general principles of international law. For instance, there is no explicit, universally applied determination of what a "proportionate" response to aggression is. Everything is a judgment call. And the judgment that the IDF has internalized through its lawyers is the one pronounced by antisemitic UN agencies and antagonistic self-declared "human rights" organizations. Namely, that Israel is guilty until proven innocent. Needless to say, the IDF's internalization of this bigoted and deeply flawed interpretation of international law is causing grave damage to the IDF's ability to defend the country from aggression. The second, equally troubling explanation for the cabinet's decision to stand down is that Netanyahu and his ministers don't trust the IDF's operational competence. For seven months, the IDF has failed to come up with ways to end Hamas's operations along the border. The special forces operating in Gaza on Sunday were ambushed. Their cover was blown. And the IDF permitted a bus carrying 50 soldiers to enter a border area where it was entirely exposed to enemy fire. If this is how the IDF handles Hamas, how will it handle Hezbollah - which is 10 times more powerful? What are we to make of the fact that all the security services and branches of the IDF unanimously supported standing down in the face of Hamas's extraordinary aggression? In other words, if Netanyahu and his ministers feared the outcome of a more forceful operations against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, their fears were well placed. Israel may be the innovation nation, but the IDF has failed to come up with innovative ways to deal with Hamas. To be sure, our special forces are undoubtedly exacting major blows at Hamas we never hear about. But the fact is, the terror regime shot off 500 projectiles and blew up a bus with a missile in less than 24 hours. The border assaults have never stopped. You can't fight a booby-trapped balloon with an F-35. Ceramic vests and Iron Dome batteries are no substitute for bold improvisation and ingenuity. This then brings us to the question of what to do about Liberman's vacancy at the Defense Ministry. There are three possibilities for filling the vacancy. The first is that Netanyahu just adds defense to his collection of ministerial portfolios which currently includes the foreign ministry and the health ministry. The main problem with this option is that given the acuteness of the problem, the Defense Ministry requires a full-time minister. Netanyahu is already working 20 hours a day. He can't and shouldn't try to take this on. The second possibility is that Netanyahu appoints Education Minister Naftali Bennett to replace Liberman as Bennett's Bayit Yehudi Party is demanding. There are pluses and minuses to this option. The main advantage of appointing Bennett is that he is the minister best suited to handle the challenge. Bennett understands the IDF's weaknesses, particularly the General Staff's lack of creativity and antiquated approaches to Israel's innovative terrorist foes. As Education Minister, Bennett has demonstrated a capacity to enact significant reforms and work cooperatively and productively with powerful people that do not share his ideological outlook. He is more likely to deliver the goods than any other minister in Netanyahu's government. The downside of appointing Bennett is that he is a politician and Israel is entering an election year. In election years, politicians have to be able to produce tangible results to voters. And it isn't at all clear that Bennett will be able to do that. Indeed, he is just as likely to fail in his mission as succeed, particularly given that elections can be called at any minute. Taking the Defense Ministry is a major gamble for Bennett and his party. The third possibility is that Netanyahu appoints a person to serve until the next government is formed who understands the problems that need to be solved. That person would be someone with no political aspirations. He needs to be willing to walk straight into a political buzz saw at home and abroad as he removes legal advisers from IDF divisions, brigades and battalions and orders commanders to get the job done. This person needs to be willing to make a lot of people hate him as he cancels appointments of senior commanders and boots a lot of brass out of the IDF altogether. Frankly, it's not clear that anyone who fits the bill exists. What is clear enough is that Israel's enemies are sitting on our borders - in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza - and they are watching us and our General Staff. H hour passed when the missile landed on the bus on Monday. If we aren't prepared to mow the lawn in Gaza - and Lebanon - today, then we need to fix what is broken here at home today. Because tomorrow they will strike us again. And tomorrow we may not have the option of walking away. Big Deal - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2018/11/18/big-deal-daymond-duck/ World government has dominated my thinking this week, and it appears that we are witnessing a big deal. The Bible clearly teaches that the Antichrist is coming and he will rule over a world government (Dan. 7:23, 9:24-27; Matt. 24:15; II Thess. 2:3-4; Rev. 13:7-8). Two things are required for this to happen: One, there must be a decline in nationalism or patriotism, and Two, there must be a rise in globalism or world government. Both of these things are happening right now, and it seems significant that they are happening in the generation that has witnessed the return of the Jews to the Promised Land (Matt. 24:32-35). Consider the following as evidence of a decline in nationalism or patriotism: efforts to ignore or discard the U.S. Constitution; demonstrators burning the U.S. flag; a strong push for open borders; the elimination of voter ID and letting illegal aliens vote (for example the Florida election); people chanting "death to America;" the growing disdain for America's military; NFL football players taking a knee during the National Anthem; the destruction of National Monuments in the U.S.; the demonizing of "white nationalists," "white nationalism," etc. The above list could be longer, but it is long enough for people to see what is taking place in America, if they want to. There is little doubt that nationalism or patriotism is declining in America (and the same is true of the EU and other places in the world), but there is absolutely nothing wrong with being white or being a patriot. Consider the following as evidence of a rise in globalism or world government: efforts to create a New World Order; agreements to merge nations, redistribute wealth and surrender national sovereignty; calls to strengthen the UN; formation of groups of nations such as the EU; calls for a world government by 2030; the rise of multiculturalism; the creation of world courts, a World Health Organization, a World Trade Organization, etc.; the effort to create a global ethic, etc. The above is another list that could be longer, but it is long enough to discern that globalism or world government is rising. The decline of nationalism and the rise of globalism are preparing the way for the Tribulation Period and the rise of the Antichrist (events that will happen after the Rapture of the Church). On Nov. 6, 2018, Pres. Trump travelled to Chattanooga, TN to speak at a rally on behalf of Marsha Blackburn's campaign for the U.S. Senate. A musician named Lee Greenwood attended and sang his famous patriotic song called "God Bless The USA." About 10,000 people joined in to sing along with Mr. Greenwood; and while they were singing "God Bless The USA," Pres. Trump walked up on the stage. There were Democrats in the audience, and they started chanting "Racist country! Racist song!" Nationalism or patriotism is on the decline in the U.S. About the same time (I didn't see a date on the article), it was reported that the globalists at the UN don't like Pres. Trump's "America First" policies. The globalists are offended by his public criticism of their globalist agenda. Globalism or world government is on the rise, and globalists are offended that a leader of a nation would put the welfare of his nation above their globalist agenda. They are not alone. In many nations, citizens are unhappy with their leaders and are demanding change. God will grant their wishes by giving them a king (the Antichrist) that they will detest even more than the one they have. On Nov. 3, 2018, it was reported that the UN Refugee Agency commanded Pres. Trump to let the people in the caravan that is approaching the U.S.-Mexico border into the U.S. The article doesn't say it, but I don't think a UN agency can force the U.S. President to comply with their orders. On Nov. 11, 2018, Pres. Trump was in France to observe the 100th anniversary of the end of WW I. French Pres. Macron called Nationalism (putting America First) treason. He defended the UN and EU and said Patriotism (putting world government first) is the exact opposite of Nationalism. For whatever it is worth, the patriots in the U.S. fight and die to protect the U.S., not the UN or world government. Mr. Macron was trying to redefine patriotism, demonize Pres. Trump's America First policy, and support the UN and the merger of nations. The decline of nationalism or patriotism and the rise of globalism or world government are a big deal. Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc. Daymond & Rachel Duck [email protected] Focus on Temple Mount Returning Blessings to the World - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - www.breakingisraelnews.com And when You hear the supplications which Your servant and Your people Yisrael offer toward this place, give heed in Your heavenly abode - give heed and pardon. I Kings 8:30 (The Israel Bible™) Though there is no Temple in Jerusalem, in very many ways, Jewish sources describe the Temple Mount as the viaduct for blessings, spiritual and material, to flow into the world. Several experts weigh in on this source of divine bounty. Mordechai Persoff, head of the Mikdash Educational Center, noted that the blessing of sustenance came to the world via the Temple and the Temple Mount. Persoff cited a Midrash (homiletic teaching) that described the even hashtiya (the large stone that lay underneath the Holy of Holies in the Temple) as the seed from which all of creation grew. "Every person can look to the Temple Mount and the Holy of Holies as their true origin," Persoff said to Breaking Israel News. "In all the world, this is every individual's personal connection to creation." Persoff cited another Midrash in which the even hashtiya is referred to as a tabor (belly button or umbilical cord). "Just as the sustenance flows from the mother to the child via the tabor, spiritual and physical sustenance flow into the world via the Temple Mount," Persoff said. "It is as if every person had a spiritual umbilical cord to God, all of them passing through that one point on the Temple Mount." Yet another Midrash refers to the Temple Mount as the lev (heart). "The thing about the heart is that it is hidden," Persoff said. "A person can look perfectly healthy but if there is a problem with his heart, if he has not paid attention to his heart, he will die. The same is true for the world. Everything can look fine with all the material concerns taken care of but if we ignore our heart, the Temple Mount, we are in grave danger." Persoff described different levels in which God provides our material needs. "In Egypt, we ate from the sweat of our brow and there was no blessing in our everyday sustenance," Persoff said. "It was only sustenance with no clear level of blessing. Before we came into the land of Israel, the blessing was all around us and there was no work. We ate the manna in the desert. It was a period of healing in which we were like a sick person in a hospital. But after we came into the Holy Land, there became a link between sustenance and holiness. We were partners. Our work, the land, was a meeting of material and spiritual, work and blessing." Persoff explained that the three pilgrimage feasts corresponded to three blessings that come down to the world via the Temple. On Passover, the harvest is blessed. On Sukkot, the blessing of rain is established. The bikurim (first-fruits) were first brought to the Temple on the holiday of Shavuot, which is when the fruit was blessed. "There is a correspondence between the Temple, the service, and the agriculture. We learn that we always need to look up to Hashem, every day all day. It is a greater blessing than the manna which came directly from heaven. The blessing that came through our hands, from the land that Hashem (God, literally 'the name') promised us, was even greater. And this came through focusing on the Temple." Rabbi Yehuda Kroizer, the Chief Rabbi of Mitzpe Yericho, has a deep spiritual connection to the Temple Mount, visiting the site regularly for more than a decade. He also noted the Jewish tradition of blessings being integrally connected to the Temple Mount. "The Talmud states explicitly that bounty comes into the world via the Temple and the Temple Mount," Rabbi Kroizer told Breaking Israel News. "The rains, the fruit, the grains, everything changed with the destruction of the Temple. As much as we think we understand nature, agriculture was on a totally different level in Temple times and will return to that when the Temple is rebuilt." Rabbi Kroizer also noted a different blessing, perhaps no less important, that originates from the Temple. "But the Talmud also states that since the Temple was destroyed, Jews are not permitted to be entirely happy," the rabbi said, citing Psalms as the source for this section of Talmud. Our mouths shall be filled with laughter, our tongues, with songs of joy. Then shall they say among the nations, "Hashem has done great things for them!" Psalms 126:2 "The Temple was the source of pure joy," Rabbi Kroizer said. "If a person dedicates themselves to Geula (redemption), to Hashem and his special place in the world, the source of blessing and joy, it is clear that he will see some blessing." Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the founder of the Temple Institute, takes a more pragmatic approach. "Jews have mitzvot (Torah commandments) to perform," Rabbi Ariel said to Breaking Israel News. "That is how we connect ourselves to God. Our relationship with it is not theoretical or in the spiritual. The important thing to remember is that the Temple was and will be a real place with mitzvot attached to it. The sacrifices were the avodah (service, or work). Prayer is called avoda sh'ba'lev (service that is in the heart). That is why no matter where we are in the world, we face toward the Temple Mount when we pray." Daily Jot: More Islamic terrorist peril confronts African Christians - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com Even as a US State Department entourage traveled to Nigeria to put an end to the slaughter of Christians by Boko Haram and Fulani Muslim terrorists, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari pardoned and released over 250 Boko Haram terrorists from prison. In October alone, there were 260 Nigerian Christians killed at the hands of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, bringing the total to over 2,300 killed so far this year, and 16,000 Christians killed in the past three years. The release of even more terrorists by the Muslim Nigerian president will no doubt dangerously impact the Daily Jot ministry outreach efforts in neighboring Ghana. Ministry partner William Agbeti says the Islamic "President of Nigeria is known to have a soft spot for Boko Haram. Everything about his handling of the blood-seeking group has been cosmetic, irrespective of the cost of lives and properties thrust upon the nation. This development is not too good for the rest of the sub-Saharan region. In the case of Ghana, they will easily assimilate into the society immediately on arrival and join various existing cell groups because the Ghanaian Muslim community has an open door policy for all Muslims. Foreign Muslims desirous of living in Ghana are protected and "nationalized" with ease by their cohorts in the country. No one questions or challenges such moves." William continues, "The modus operandi of foreign Muslims such as Fulani herdsmen is to migrate to rural areas, where they vanish into Muslim strongholds, and find soft target communities and peoples groups to lord over. The long arms of the law either hardly reach many of such communities and peoples groups, or are ineffective, owing to lack of sustained police visibility or regular visits. Under this cloak, horrendous untold tales unfold--destruction of farms, stealing of land, forced marriages, creation of more strong holds, establishment of oppressive economic systems where goods and monies are given out to unsuspecting customers on credit they can't repay. The UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel Special Representative told the UN Security Council the violence has had a devastating impact on local communities." William concludes, "The unfortunate actions of the Nigerian President might likely turn an already perilous West African sub-region, into a field day for Boko Haram and its cronies." The Daily Jot ministry outreach headed by William Agbeti in Ghana is on the front lines of the Islamic expansion in the rural areas. It is not an easy mission and it is rife with danger. Our efforts to feed, clothe, provide clean water and other necessities in the name of Christ are challenged directly or indirectly by these Islamists. As the Lord said in Matthew 25:40, "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me." While far away in America, we may not feel, nor even understand, the peril to those we serve, but your prayers and support are having an impact in changing hearts and winning souls. Daily Devotion: Remembering to Say Thanks - By Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! -Psalm 107:8 In the Old Testament, we find an interesting story of how King Jehoshaphat took an uncommon approach when his enemies waged war against him. Instead of sending in his army first, he sent the choir and musicians. Imagine the scene: "All right, guys, here's the plan today. An army is out there, armed to the teeth. So we are sending in the choir and the musicians." If I had been a choir member or musician, I might have wondered whether the king liked our music. But God had directed Jehoshaphat in this unusual battle tactic. We read that Jehoshaphat appointed people to sing to the Lord, praise the beauty of holiness, and go out in front of the army saying, "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever" (2 Chronicles 20:21 NKJV). So that is exactly what they did. The Bible tells us that when they began to sing and praise, God sent an ambush against the enemy, and they were destroyed. God's people were able to go into this situation giving thanks because He was in control. In approaching God to ask for new blessings, we should never forget to thank Him for the blessings He has already given. Have you recently come to God for help and He came through for you? Did you come back to say "thank you"? If we would stop and think how many of the prayers we have offered to God have been answered and how seldom we come back to God to thank Him, it just might amaze us. We should be just as deliberate in giving thanks to God as we are in asking for His help. FROM THE HEART
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