Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The Last Days & Preparing to Meet the Lord: Part 3
- By Sean Gooding - https://www.raptureready.com/2019/11/29/last-days-preparing-meet-lord-part-3-sean-gooding/ "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law." We have clearly established the need for us to surround ourselves with the proper teaching of the Word of God. When there is clear, correct and regular teaching of the Word of God, society at large is restrained form doing evil. Sin is always there; we are sinners, all of us. But it is not as publicly flaunted as we see today. Sins that used to be done in the shadows, done in private and with some degree of shame are now flaunted as rights, and sin is paraded as normal; and all who oppose such liberties (rights) are intolerant. In Isaiah 5:20, the prophet laments the openness of sin in his day and comes to this conclusion: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" No better statement describes us right now as a society; good is being portrayed as evil, and evil as good. The shame once attached to sin is now being lifted, and that sin is being promoted as good. If one took the time to research the rise of pedophilia in our time, we will see that this is the last straw of human sexuality. There are still taboos associated with this sexual practice, but once society accepts that pedophiles are born this way, just as they say homosexuals are according to the law, then pedophilia will become acceptable as well. Go for yourself and research how many women, especially teachers, have been arrested for sexual interactions with their students, and you will see that pedophilia is just as prevalent among women as men. Folks, we are in the last days. In Genesis 6:5, we see this assessment of mankind on the earth from God: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." I fear that God would make the same assessment of us today. We are an evil people; and sadly, we are proud of it. We have no intention of repentance, no feelings of shame and no remorse. God is old- fashioned and narrow-minded, and we simply refuse to submit to Him. Jesus told us that as it was in the days of Noah, so it would be in the last days, and here we are. Matthew 24:37-39, "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so, shall also the coming of the Son of man be." The world thinks they have overpowered God; they mistake His gracious patience with either apathy or evidence that He does not exist. Well, like it was in the days of Noah, soon the first raindrops will fall; and it will be too late for billions of people. When those raindrops fall, for us it will be the Rapture; this will signal the beginning of God's judgments here on earth for a 7-year period as He prepares a people for the Millennial Kingdom. But while God is pouring out His wrath on the earth, we, the saved, will be facing our own judgment. We are told this by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:8-10, "We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad." We "must all appear," we are told, before the judgement seat of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 3:11-13, Paul writes this, "For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man's work." Here we have it; the foundation is Jesus. He is our salvation. In Him we have eternal life. If you are at this judgment, the issue here is not heaven or hell. But what did you do with the wonderful foundation that Jesus laid in His life, body and blood for you? Verse 15 tells us that if a man's work is burned up by the judgment of fire, he, himself is saved. But there is a loss of rewards. This brings us to what we have been discussing over the past few weeks, the fact that - as the Lord's people, seeing where we are in history and with full understanding that we are in the last days - we should be living in such a way that shows we are prepared or at least preparing to be judged. Sadly, a lot of churches do not teach about the end times. A full 25% of the scriptures deal with the end, the return of Jesus is prophesied by the OT prophets, it is reiterated by the NT writers, and we should take these warnings seriously. A Recap We have explored the verse from Proverbs 29:18 about the proper teaching of the Scriptures being a restraining power in the lives of a society and especially in the lives of the children of God. We also looked at 2 Timothy 3:16-17, verses that tell us the Bible is given by God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof and correction and then to equip us to do good works. These are the works that will NOT burn up when we are judged. See 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 again. In addition to the above verses, we also looked at Romans 12:1-2. These verses give us the process of how we are transformed from doing evil works to good works as we grow in the Lord. Let us establish that normal people can do what appears to be good works on the outside. They can love their wives, love their children, serve their community and help their fellowman, and all looks good. But the problem is that they have not been reborn in Jesus (John 3:3). The inner man has not been changed, so all these good works account for nothing. However, once a person is saved, redeemed by Jesus and washed in His blood, these same actions now have the potential to become good works. The process begins, as we discussed, with us surrendering ourselves to the Lord. Luke lays this out for us in Luke 9:23, "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Yes, you read that right; deny yourself. Once saved, we must begin the process of surrendering control of our bodies and lives with our dreams and hopes to Jesus. As we daily do this, the Holy Spirit takes the Bible and begins to show us 'reproof and correction,' helping us to stop being conformed to the mindset and actions of the world system. He, the Holy Spirit, begins to call us out on things with the intent on changing the way we think. This bring us to the final stage of transformation to aid us in doing 'good works.' Transformation - Romans 12:1-2 The word for transformation in Greek is the root word from which we get our English word metamorphosis. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, Paul writes this, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." This is the whole idea of metamorphosis. We know the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly; the caterpillar is cocooned, turns to liquid, and over a process of time transforms into the beautiful butterfly. One cannot have butterflies without caterpillars. Well, you and I are being transformed by the Holy Spirit in us, who changes us from the inside out just like the caterpillar, and makes us beautiful in Jesus. This is a process that affects every aspect of our lives, beginning with the way we think. Paul calls it the "renewing of our minds." Let me give you one of the ways that we can be transformed, and I want to stress that this is a lifelong journey. Just read the Gospels and see how frustrated Jesus got with the lack of insight with the men who would become the apostles. But Matthew offers us this lesson in transformation from Matthew 6: 25-34, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Learning to stop worrying is a 'good work'; the idea of total and confident dependence on the Lord for everything is part of our transformation. Jesus will supply. He must; He promised to. We stop gauging our lives by the measures of the world: how big your house is, what car you drive, what clothes you wear and how big your bank account is. Rather, you seek to invest in the Kingdom of God first, no matter the cost, and learn to be contented with what you have here. Notice that this good work includes not doing something. This is part of the transformation that we are to experience. Not just that we do some things, but that we STOP doing seemingly insignificant things. How about this that we find in Romans 12:10-11, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Putting others first, thinking of how our lives and our actions will affect our weaker brothers and sisters in the Lord." Paul writes this way about taking liberties. Galatians 5:13, "For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity to gratify your flesh, but through love make it your habit to serve one another." In the garden of Gethsemane that fateful night before Jesus was crucified, He was there not for His own sin but ours; not for His redemption but ours; and not for His failures but ours. He tells Peter that in His freedom He could ask God the Father for 12 legions of angels, and they would show up and make an end of the Roman arrest that was going on. But Jesus considered our needs, He considered the Father's will, and He endured the cross. We are not in danger yet of being called to die for the cause of Christ, but we can begin by denying ourselves some of our liberties so as not to be a stumbling block to our fellow saved family. This is part of the transformation that takes place; I become second to the Lord and others. Me gets demoted to second, maybe third, maybe 100th, whatever it takes to build up a brother or sister. Good works always come from the heart of a servant to Jesus. One day, maybe sooner than you and I think, we will be called to stand at the judgment and give an account of how we lived our lives once we found the solid rock of Jesus as our Saviour. Let us begin to be ready for this and give our bodies, our minds and our lives over to Jesus to be transformed into His image. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." [email protected] Amazing - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2019/12/01/amazing-daymond-duck/ While considering the events of the last few days, it occurred to me that we have an amazing God, an amazing Bible, and we are living in amazing times. First, God promised to bless those that bless Israel and to curse those that curse Israel (Gen. 12:3). On Nov. 18, 2019, the Trump administration issued a new document that says Jewish civilian settlements in Judea and Samaria are not illegal. Two days later, the impeachment charges seemed to be collapsing, and his poll numbers were going up. Two recent polls even show a sharp rise for Pres. Trump among blacks and Hispanics. Second, God said no weapon formed against Israel will prosper (Isa. 54:17). On Nov. 19, 2019, before daybreak, Iran launched four powerful missiles toward Israel from Syria despite the fact that Israel has warned Syria not to let others (Iran, Hezbollah, etc.) attack Israel from Syrian territory. Israel's Iron Dome system shot down the Iranian missiles, and the attack failed. That night, Israeli jets fired dozens of missiles at Iranian headquarters buildings, warehouses and military bases in Syria. When Syria tried to shoot down Israel's jets, Israel attacked Syria's missiles. There were reports of massive destruction of Iranian and Syrian assets. Third, between Iran's early morning attack and Israel's late-night response, Israel held a cabinet meeting at which Israel's new Defense Minister, an orthodox Jew, read a blessing for Israel. His blessing was to the Father in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of Israel (sounds like Jesus). He called the establishment of Israel the beginning of Messiah's promise to gather all of the Jews back into the Promised Land. He asked God to quickly send the Messiah, the son of David, the agent of God's vindication to redeem those that are waiting for His deliverance. He acknowledged that the Lord God of Israel is king and His dominion is absolute. Fourth, going back to Pres. Trump's document that says Jewish civilian settlements in Judea and Samaria are legal, Pres. Trump has also recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, closed the PA office in Washington, cut off funding to the PA, and recognized the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory. What will Pres. Trump do next (approve construction of the Temple, succeed in passing the "Deal of the Century," or what)? It definitely looks like God is using Pres. Trump to speed up Bible prophecy. Understand these three things: 1) The UN, EU, Arabs and others are calling for the Palestinians to get most or all of Judea and Samaria (the two-state solution) for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital; 2) Palestinian radicals are calling for a Jew-free state (a state with no Jews in Judea and Samaria); and 3) According to Jesus, there will be Jews in Judea when the Antichrist defiles the rebuilt Temple at the middle of the Tribulation Period (Matt. 24:16). Pres. Trump has just stated that it is legal for Jews to live in Judea. Jesus also said, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (Matt. 24:32-34). Under Pres. Trump, the Fig Tree is tender (young) and putting forth leaves (expanding its borders), and the continuance of Jews in Judea is setting the stage for people to flee into the mountains (probably Petra) where they will be supernaturally protected for three and one-half years. Fifth, the Antichrist will come out of the EU; and that doomed group of nations decided to issue a joint statement condemning the U.S. for saying it is not illegal for Jews to settle in Judea and Samaria. Issuing a joint statement requires the approval of all 28 nations in the EU. Hungary said it would vote against the EU joint statement, and that killed the EU condemnation of the U.S. The EU dropped the idea of a joint statement, but went on to say that Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria are illegal under international law. Pres. Trump blessed Israel, and God blessed the U.S. (blocked the condemnation). Sixth, Prime Min. Netanyahu thanked the U.S. and said, "This policy reflects an historical truth - that the Jewish people are not foreign colonialists in Judea and Samaria. In fact, we are called Jews because we are the people of Judea." He added that those that deny Israel's legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria "deny truth, history and the reality on the ground." It was reported that he intends to speed up the process of annexing the Jordan Valley, and the Arab League has called an emergency meeting for Nov. 24, 2019, to discuss the situation. Seventh, more than 200 rabbis, including the Chief Rabbis of Israel, sent a letter to Pres. Trump thanking him for acknowledging that Israelis have a right to live in Judea and Samaria. They told him the prophet Jeremiah said the Jews would return to Samaria and plant vineyards there (Jer. 31:4, 22). They said our generation is seeing Jeremiah's prophecies fulfilled word for word. These Jewish rabbis are aware of something that many church members and leaders choose to be willingly ignorant about (God is fulfilling every jot and tittle of Bible prophecy). Eighth, God said Russia and her allies will ascend like a cloud to cover the land when they attack Israel (Ezek. 38:9). On Nov. 17, 2019, it was reported that Russia has moved troops and equipment into Syria to transform a small air base into a large military air base that can accommodate lots of fighter jets and freight. Ninth, multitudes will be persecuted and killed during the Tribulation Period. On Nov. 18, 2019, it was reported that some globalists and the UN want to combat climate change by reducing the population of the earth. U.S. politicians that want to replace capitalism with a socialist government don't recognize the danger they are putting America in. Tenth, previous articles have mentioned that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz visited Israel in May of this year. Fox News reported that they went to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where they wrote a prayer on a piece of paper and inserted it in a crack in the Wailing Wall. The 2019 hurricane season in the U.S. will be over on Nov. 30 and, up to now, no hurricane has struck Florida. Eleventh, the end of the Church Age will be marked by a departing from the faith. According to Pope Francis, those that speak out against homosexual tendencies are part of a culture of hate. It amazes me that someone this Biblically inept can become and remain the Pope. Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc. Daymond & Rachel Duck [email protected] Is China the real force behind Iran? - https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/is-china-the-real-force-behind-iran/ Iran this week announced further violations of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal. More advanced centrifuges will be developed, and it is reopening the notorious Fordow nuclear facility. Iran is steadily shaking off the strict controls imposed on its nuclear program in response to President's Trump's withdrawal from the deal in May 2018 and the re-imposition of tough sanctions to squeeze the Iranian economy. President Trump believed the deal was a poor way to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon and did nothing to address wider concerns such as Iran's ballistic missile program and support for dangerous groups in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah. The UK has long supported the nuclear deal but Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Wednesday that 'Iran's latest actions clearly contravene the deal and pose a risk to our national security.' Lurking in the background, and a key player in the Iran saga is China. Much has been made of the resurgence of Russia as the real power broker in the Middle East, not least when it played a key role brokering a deal between the Kurds, the Assad regime and Turkey after the US announced its withdrawal from North East Syria. But it is China that has been hiding in plain sight, quietly arming Iran, buying its oil, boosting its economy and limiting the impact of US sanctions. China is one of the so called P5 +1 who signed the JCPOA Iran nuclear deal alongside the US, Russia, France, the UK and Germany. It is committed to the elaborate constraints on Iran's nuclear program included in the agreement. In 2015 this looked like a rare piece of harmonious international diplomacy to tackle a looming threat to international peace and security. But when the US withdrew from the agreement and sought to use sanctions to restrict Iran's oil industry and weaken its economy, China made it clear it had no interest in complying. China prioritizes energy imports to power its economy, it is the world's largest importer of crude oil and is currently buying most of Iran's oil. Britain shares deep concerns with the US about Iran's missile program, and the extent to which that missile technology is being exported to non-state actors in the Middle East. But Iran's missile capability didn't develop organically, it had a pivotal helping hand. In 2008, China surpassed Russia to become Iran's biggest arms supplier and has long been providing anti-ship missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and cruise missiles to Iran. Chinese experts supported Iran's missile program, helping it develop more sophisticated missiles with improved accuracy, range and payload. In September, Saudi-Aramco oil facilities in Khurais and Abqaiq were attacked by UAVs and cruise missiles in a stunning strike that briefly crippled Saudi oil output and shocked the oil market. Although the attack was claimed by the Houthi's in Yemen many analysts believe the cruise missiles were fired from Iran and some were an Iranian produced missile resembling a Chinese design. The Saudi attack was the long tail of a Chinese-Iranian missile development partnership that had come to fruition, presenting a new level of threat that forced an urgent reassessment of anti-cruise missile defenses across the region. Even in Israel, whose aerial defenses are among the most sophisticated in the world, the National Security Council studied the Saudi attack and committed extra funding to boost anti-missile systems. Crucially China doesn't really pick sides, instead opting to build defense and commercial partnerships that straddle the conflicts in the Middle East. China's deep partnership with Iran is no barrier to warm relations with Israel that now includes extensive trade and even infrastructure investments in two major ports - Haifa and Ashdod. China is the world's largest supplier of military drones and has been exporting to Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It also supplies armored personnel carriers, anti-tank missiles and unmanned ships and is starting to present a significant challenge to the UK defense industry in a region that accounts for 60 per cent of UK arms exports. UK trade in the Middle East, at nearly £60bn is significant, but it is dwarfed by China's $220bn. China's economic muscle is being utilized in its ambitious belt and road initiative which includes ports and infrastructure projects across the region. China has become the most important trade partner and investor in the Middle East, so it is no surprise that it is a key player in Iran. But without a proper examination of China's role as a partner of Iran, US and European efforts to push Iran towards talks on its nuclear program and deal with its dangerous missile program are doomed to failure. An urgent resolution is however in China's interests as above all it requires stability and unrestricted energy supplies. The complex reality is that the route out of the current Iranian crisis is through Beijing, not Tehran and this is a challenge that US and British diplomats are only starting to fully comprehend. Israel Watch: Beware Your Friends - Jim Fletcher - [email protected] Since Israel's cold peace began with a treaty with Jordan in 1994, there are reasons to believe the Hashemite Kingdom's leader, Abdullah, is not quite as pro-Western as we've been led to believe. I have friends who tout the treaty with Jordan, and friends who warn that Jordan is no friend of Israel. Now comes word the Jordanians are conducting war games...against the Jewish state. According to the Jerusalem Post: "The Jordanian army conducted a military exercise simulating battle with Israel, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). "The exercise's name is 'Swords of Karama,' which is reportedly named after Israel's 1968 operation against Fatah, which took place near the village Karama. At the time, Jordan fought alongside Fatah. Jordanian news sources claimed that the exercise simulated a defensive maneuver in which the country is 'invaded.' "The maneuvers were attended by King Abdullah, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, and several other senior Jordanian officials. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces Maj.-Gen. Yousef Huneiti said that the exercise is to prepare so that they may 'strike with an iron hand against anyone from the extremist and terrorist gangs who dares to harm the homeland's security,' according to MEMRI. Jordanian website Rumonline claimed that 'in light of deterioration of relations with the occupying state [Israel] and the increasingly harsh tone of [Israel's] statements vis-à-vis Jordan... It seems that we will be waging a 'cool battle' with the occupier in the near future.'" Well, well, well. So the Jordanians have now turned menacing. Let's look at a couple of reasons they should re-think any future war with Israel: *The devastation of the Six Day War. Israel's Levi Eshkol virtually begged King Hussein to stay out of the conflict in June of 1967, but the latter had signed a pact with the devilish Nassar of Egypt and he felt compelled to enter the war. That resulted in Israel smashing the Jordanian League in Jerusalem and taking the whole of the Jordan Valley west of the river. Now, even amid political trouble in Israel, the Israelis are making noise about annexing the Jordan Valley; this has prompted warnings from Jordan not to do so. Notice that they still view Israel as "occupiers." Add to this troubling statements from King Abdullah since taking over for his father, and one can see that while he might not be as radical as a typical Middle Eastern strongman, he is still no friend. Israel is prepared for any war with Jordan and I have no doubt it would be victorious as it was in '67. *King Hussein knew that Israel had kept him alive at various points during his reign, when terrorists-mostly the PLO-had targeted him for assassination. Israeli intelligence many times saved the King. He repaid these "helps" by warning the Israelis in early 1973 that the Arab League meant to go to war with Israel. His helicopter landed in the southern desert one night, and he met with Israeli generals. Sadly, they didn't take his warning seriously enough and the resulting Yom Kippur War traumatized Israel for years. Prophetically, I find it interesting that Jordan will be part of the coalition that moves against Israel in the last days...and that's from a "friend"! Imagine what more malevolent countries will have planned! One hopes that Jordan isn't dumb enough to actually launch a war with Israel in the current climate. Rather than maintain his image as an urbane, modern leader, Abdullah is behaving like a punk and a thug. God is watching. Pope Advances One World Religion Agenda: Presents Buddhist Leader with Manifesto - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - www.breakingisraelnews.com Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.'" Daniel 7:23 (The Israel Bible™) Pope Francis topped off his three-day visit to Thailand last Saturday with a meeting with Thailand's supreme Buddhist patriarch Somdej Phra Maha Muneewong at Bangkok's Ratchabophit Temple. The meeting took place in front of a 150-year-old gold statue of Buddha. The Pope followed Buddhist custom by removing his shoes. During the meeting, the Pope gave the Buddhist Patriarch the Declaration on Human Brotherhood. The Declaration s a joint statement signed by Pope Francis of the Catholic Church and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, last February in Abu Dhabi. The Pope met with the Imam last month to reinforce the Declaration. The agreement between the two religious leaders was criticized for its stance on the diversity of religions. "The fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected," the document read. "As too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept." Many theologians from both Catholicism and Islam have criticized the agreement as untenable and essentially unacceptable to either religion which both have supersessionism as a basic tenet. While members of other religions may see this as a praiseworthy effort, Catholics and Muslims have expressed concern that this agreement represents a commitment by the leaders to a process that is unacceptable. This is especially problematic for Islam which punishes apostasy with death. It would seem that bridging the gap between Islam and Buddhism will be an even more insurmountable task for the Pontiff. Islam was founded in the 7th century CE, approximately 600 years after the founding of Christianity and several thousand years after Judaism began. As an aggressive form of replacement theology, Islam appropriated all of the figures in the Christian and Jewish Bible as Muslim prophets. Even though Buddhism was founded in the 6th century BCE, Islam did not appropriate Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, as a Mulsim prophet. This may be because Islam considers Buddhism to be a forbidden form of idolatry. Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University, noted the irreconcilable differences that make a pact of brotherhood between Islam, Catholicism, and Buddhism unlikely. "Islam absolutely considers Buddhism to be a form of idolatry," Dr. Kedar told Breaking Israel News. "Islam cannot make a pact with Buddhism. Only fake Islam can sit with Buddhists and sing Kumbaya together." Dr. Kedar had doubts concerning the possibility of a faith-based pact between Islam and other religions. "Even though Islam sees Christianity as a religion that they absorbed into Islam, they have a problem with Catholicism which shows Jesus on the actual cross. They cannot tolerate a religion that worships a man." "The pope is trying to make a global peace, or at least show his followers that he is trying to make world peace. But Islam does not allow a peace with infidels. They can make a tactical retreat or make gestures that look like peace but people who accept these pacts are just fooling themselves" Rabbi Daniel Asore, a member of the nascent Sanhedrin, noted that the Pope's intentions were precisely as presented, with no subterfuge at all. "The Pope wants to unify all religions and all governments under one world order," Rabbi Assur said. "What is the big surprise? He is not hiding anything. Just listen to what he says and who he is and his plans are right there for all to see." The rabbi noted that Pope Francis was unique in several respects; he is the first pope from the southern hemisphere and, most significantly, he is the first Jesuit to be appointed to the position. Though established by papal order in 1540 to stop the spread of Protestantism and convert the indigenous peoples of Africa and the Americas, the Jesuit order has historically been treated with suspicion by the Catholic Church for being power-hungry. "You assume that the pope is Catholic but he is certainly not acting like a Catholic," Rabbi Asore said. "These alliances, his actions, are certainly not what a Catholic would do." "Brotherhood is a wonderful thing but one religion is only good if it is worshipping the true God," Rabbi Asore said. "The pope's vision of brotherhood does not prevent him from sitting in front of a gold idol or uniting with Ishmael. If he wants one religion, we know what God he is not worshipping." While in Thailand, the Vatican's Press Office released a statement that calling Jewish cities and towns in Judea-Samaria 'legal', "further undermines the Israeli-Palestinian peace process". Although the Pope didn't explicitly refer to Trump's landmark decision, the reference appeared to be obvious as he referred to the "context of recent decisions." Pope Francis has come under fire before for connecting the Catholic Church with the children of Ishmael. In 2015, 71 elders of the Sanhedrin tried the Pope in absentia for recognizing a "State of Palestine" with an official treaty. By doing so, the Sanhedrin claimed, the Pope was denying the covenant as described in the Bible in which God gives the land of Israel to the descendants of Jacob. This marked the first visit by a Pope to Thailand in over four decades. Pope Francis was accompanied throughout the visit by his cousin Sister Ana Rosa, who has lived in Thailand for decades and is helping the pontiff as a translator. Thailand is a majority Buddhist country with 388,000 Catholics, representing .59 percent of its population. The Pope held mass in the National Stadium which was attended by over 50,000. After leaving Thailand, the Pope traveled to Japan. Though he did not meet with any religious leaders, he gave a press conference in which he pursued his vision he euphemistically called "brotherhood." Pope Franci criticized "Christian culture...that speaks of peace and lives on weapons." Pope Francis has also made displays similar to his sitting barefoot in front of the Golden idol of Budda in Bankok that showed a shocking level of tolerance for idolatry. In October, a video emerged of what appears to be Pope Francis blessing a Pachama Goddess statue. Pope Francis has also taken on a policy in which homosexuals are welcomed into the church so much so that the American LGBT magazine The Advocate named Pope Francis their Person of the Year for 2013. Daily Devotion: Open Your Gifts! - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.-1 Corinthians 1:7 I love to get gifts for people. When I get a gift for my wife, I'll have it wrapped, because I have no wrapping skills whatsoever. Sometimes I'll give her a gift when we're out for a meal. I'll present it to her and then wait for her reaction. She'll take the gift and carefully set it aside. Then she'll say, "I'll open it after dessert." "No, not after dessert," I'll say. "I want you to open your gift now. I'm so excited-I think you're really going to like it!" In the same way, when God gives us spiritual gifts, He wants us to open them. Writing to the believers in Rome, the apostle Paul said, "For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord" (Romans 1:11 NLT). Later, in Romans 12, Paul talked about these gifts. He said, "In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well" (verse 6 NLT). Are we going to leave those gifts sitting there until we're finished with dessert? No. Let's open the gifts God has given to us. Paul also wrote, "Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT). When you become a Christian and ask Christ to come into your life, when you ask Him to fill and empower you with the Holy Spirit, He will instill gifts from the Spirit in you. Therefore, you need to find out what those gifts are and start using them. These gifts of the Spirit that God wants to give us as Christians are not toys to play with. Rather, they are tools to build with. And they are weapons to fight with. FROM THE HEART
IF YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED THROUGH THIS MINISTRY, THEN WE ASK THAT YOU WOULD PLEASE REMEMBER PROPHECY UPDATE IN YOUR GIVING - WE ARE TRULY, TRULY, THANKFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT Prophecy Update has no corporate sponsors. This ministry is paid for and prayed for by readers and supporters. Without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update, Please pray about becoming a monthly supporter - thanks! If ever there was a time to invest in God's Kingdom, it's now! What on earth are you doing for Heaven's Sake? "Share in the Blessings and Rewards that will last Forever!" "Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey 1) We need your prayers!- We proclaim the Truth of the Word of God and we are under constant spiritual and sometimes even physical attack. 2) We need your encouragement!- We need to hear from you, let us know how the Lord is blessing you through this ministry so that we can share it with others. 3) We need your input! - If you have a prophetic article or story or if there is a news related item we missed, let us know. 4) We need your financial support!- To put it quite simply, without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update. I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Remember, your gift, no matter how small, does make a difference! You will be helping to touch lives, around the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to the internet your generosity carries a global impact! - Thanks! Our Prayer for You- "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 If you have been blessed by Prophecy Update and would like to help support this ministry financially. You can make a secure donation online by going to: DONATE NOW Or Visit our website: http://prophecyupdate.com/donations/ Or write us at: Prophecy Update P.O. Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384-0516 |
|