Prophecy Update Newsletter
December 15, 2016
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The New "Ministry of Truth" - By Matt Ward - http://raptureready.com/soap2/ward75.html
"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act." (George Orwell) The national conversation has always been shaped by fake news stories. In 1980, Janet Cooke received a Pulitzer Prize for her piece "Jimmy's World." In the story, Cooke detailed how "Jimmy," a "precious little boy" had "needle marks freckling the baby-smooth skin of his thin, brown arms." It was a truly searing story about an eight year old heroin addict in Washington D.C. The story became so widely read and influential that Mayor Marion Barry spent inordinate amounts of money searching for poor little "Jimmy" in order to rescue him from his utterly dire situation. The only problem was that the story was a complete fake. Cooke had made the whole thing up. "Jimmy" was a figment of her imagination. In 2003, New York Times reporter Jayson Blair became infamous for simply "inventing" numerous published news stories. He was especially renowned for filing news reports, supposedly from other cities, when he was in fact sitting comfortably in his Brooklyn apartment. So significant were Blair's lies that the New York Times took the unprecedented step of releasing a statement acknowledging that Blair has caused a "profound betrayal of trust, and a low point in the 152 year history of the newspaper." The 1970s film Saturday Night Fever, which later became culturally iconic, was itself based on a fake news story. The whole film was originally supposed to be a fictionalized account of a real disco dancer's life and times. Until writer Nik Cohn admitted it was all entirely made up. Who can forget Rathergate, perhaps one of the most pivotal news scandals of the era, bringing an ignominious end to Dan Rather's once stellar career? In 2004, Rather and his producer, Mary Maples attempted to influence the outcome of the 2004 U.S. general election by fabricating documents that called into question George W Bush's service record in the Air National Guard. Rather and Maples used documents, supposedly from the 1960s to validate their claims. The only issue with this, later exposed extensively in the blogosphere, was that they used 2004-era word processing to produce the 1960 era documents. In response CBS generated more fake news stories to protect Rather, instead of simply acknowledging the truth that their star reporter had systematically lied and deceived. It was a tremendous and lasting blow to CBS News' credibility. Then there was the edited 911 call made by George Zimmerman, maliciously edited by NBC in order to make it sound as though Zimmerman was obsessed with Martin's race. There was Brian Williams, again of NBC, who in 2015, was accused of lying about taking enemy fire while in a helicopter over Iraq. Williams repeated this story over and over again over many years until he was exposed. Williams, unbelievably-still has a career in news journalism and reporting. In the wake of 9/11 the media was awash with fake news detailing in exquisite detail how Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and editorials proclaiming him to be a clear and present danger to the United States and Western Europe. There were detailed claims that Hussein had the capability to launch these weapons in "just 45 minutes." There were claims, repeated often and widely in the U.S. media that Saddam was also in some way connected to 9/11. Hundreds of thousands of people, many of them innocents, have died as a direct consequence of these fake news stories. A whole continent has been destabilized, the Middle East to this day remains on fire. All based on lies. What of the lies in more recent times, that the Syrian rebels we were going to work with in order to get rid of Assad were actually "moderates" and were not in any way influenced by radicalism? These same moderates, after taking all the weapons and training they could get from America, ran off and formed their own group; we know them today as ISIS. What about Benghazi and the lies, told over and over again by those at the very highest levels of the U.S. government, that Ambassador Christopher Stephens and the four brave America Navy Seals who tried to protect him, were killed as a direct result of a poorly produced video which mocked Islam? Utter lies. What about the Washington Post tweeting on October 24th that "Donald Trump's chances of winning are approaching zero," followed by an in depth editorial-analysis piece detailing how "with 15 days out...the maps just keeps looking grimmer and grimmer for Donald Trump." Lies. What of the fake news from almost every single US and Western media outlet and network in the world, proclaiming right up until late in election night itself, that Donald J. Trump had no chance at all of winning the U.S. presidency? Fake news has always existed and has been part of our national dialogue for generations. Suddenly though, the conversation about fake news has changed. It has become much more sinister and much more ominous, especially in terms of the implications for our democracy and freedoms. In this past week, Hilary Clinton has emerged from her self-imposed exile to take aim at the "epidemic" of fake news stories she believes cost her the election. She believes fake news is putting "lives at risk." "This is not about politics or partisanship," Clinton said, during a tribute to departing Senate minority leader Harry Reid. "Lives are at risk. Lives of ordinary people just trying to go about their days to do their jobs, contribute to their communities." Clinton continued, "...it is a danger that must be addressed and addressed quickly." There is an unseen, multi-spectrum war taking shape, right now, and you and I are dead center of it. This multi-spectrum war is multi-faceted. The imposition of highly constrictive political correctness is but one element, destroying all free journalism and reporting is another. Since the shattering conclusion of the 2016 presidential election there has been a monumental shift in attitudes toward independent, alternative news sources. Open war has been declared. Truth is now being actively redefined as whatever the U.S. government says it is. Make no mistake-a concerted effort is underway to undermine those who express any point of view other than that taken by the United States government, and the left wing media that service them. The sustained effort to discredit alternative media, or any publisher who strays from the centrally agreed left wing narrative, by lumping all independent publishers into a contrived category of "fake news" has begun. All alternative narratives, no matter how fact based, are being collectively demonized as "fake" news. The destruction and subjugation of the free press is one of the last steps to occur before a nation-state sinks into totalitarianism. That is happening now in America, and all over the free Western world. The desired endgame is for people to accept as a matter of fact that whatever the United States government says is true, is true - and to dismiss all is else as lies, and "fake." It is a blatant and criminal attempt to suppress freedom. It is a clear challenge to democracy in America and with the backing of all the mainstream media, it is gaining rapid momentum. A totalitarian power seeks to exert influence over its constituents by conveying messages that only it approves of. That is what is happening right now. In attacking so called "fake" news and demonizing those who produce and read it, the powers that be are very clearly attempting, especially in light of Donald Trump's victory, to control the public's perceptions on a wide range of issues. Things are now moving at quite some pace. On Monday, November 14th Google and Facebook both independent of one another, announced they were taking steps against sites that spread fake news and against social media pages that publish what they alone consider to be "misleading content." Again, this opens up truly huge questions for freedom. What exactly does constitute "misleading content?" Does a specific political viewpoint, a certain religious belief, or open criticism of the government constitute "misleading content?" The power that social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp wield is immense, with some 2.7 billion daily users worldwide. It is absolutely imperative that sound minds make correct judgements here. To that end, both Facebook and Google will be appointing legions of faceless, unelected, anonymous and entirely unaccountable monitors whose only job will be to determine-along completely arbitrary lines, which news is "real" and which is "fake." To make matters worse Google states that they will seek to actively punish sites publishing fake news by barring them from their AdSense network, which places advertisements on Internet sites worldwide. The thought process is all too clear; cut-off the funding, end the websites, therefore kill all dissent. This process has only just begun and the incremental attacks on journalistic scepticism and freedom of thought, upon which a truly free press is based, will continue until all journalistic freedom comes to an end. At the time of the end, a time now coming increasingly into focus, a man of lawlessness will rise to preside over a completely subjugated media. Big Brother really will have taken over and it will be worse than anything George Orwell could ever have envisaged. Make no mistake-we are now witnessing the beginnings of a well organized, powerful and concerted effort by the mainstream media to undermine those independent news outlets and organizations that express peaceful dissent. It is a blatant attempt to discredit alternative media by lumping them together with the far right. For your part, if you read or produce independent news you are being very methodically criminalized. The shining light of democracy is fading in America, despite the election of Donald Trump. Active war has been declared against him and the future is anything but certain. The only guarantee is that all things are heading, inexorably, towards a time known in the Bible as the Tribulation period. By that time, the greatest of all demagogues will take his throne as master of all. It would seem that the steady slide into his dictatorship has already begun. "The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world." (Revelation 13:5-8) [email protected] Trump's New Israel Ambassador Looks Forward to Serving From "Israel's Eternal Capital, Jerusalem" - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - https://www.breakingisraelnews.com
"When the righteous are increased, the people rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the people sigh." Proverbs 29:2) President elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday evening that he will nominate David Friedman to be the US Ambassador to Israel. Trump made the announcement on his transition team website. "The bond between Israel and the United States runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when I'm President," said President-elect Trump. "As the United States' Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman will maintain the special relationship between our two countries. He has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East. Nothing is more critical than protecting the security of our citizens at home and abroad." "I am deeply honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me by President-elect Trump to represent the United States as its ambassador to Israel," Friedman said in statement on Thursday. "I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem." Friedman reportedly does not see Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria as obstacles to peace.In an interview with Haaretz in June, Friedman stated the Trump supports Israel annexing parts of the areas. Last month , Friedman and Jason Greenblatt, the other Israel-US adviser to Trump, released a a 16-point position paper which included: Israel is the state of the Jewish people, who have lived in that land for 3,500 years. Israel is a staunch ally of the U.S. and a key partner in the global war against Islamic jihadism. Military cooperation and coordination between Israel and the U.S. must continue to grow. The U.S. should veto any United Nations votes that unfairly single out Israel and will work in international institutions and forums, including in our relations with the European Union, to oppose efforts to delegitimize Israel, impose discriminatory double standards against Israel, or to impose special labeling requirements on Israeli products or boycotts on Israeli goods. The U.S. should cut off funds for the UN Human Rights Council, a body dominated by countries presently run by dictatorships that seems solely devoted to slandering the Jewish State. UNESCO's attempt to disconnect the State of Israel from Jerusalem is a one-sided attempt to ignore Israel's 3,000-year bond to its capital city, and is further evidence of the enormous anti-Israel bias of the United Nations. The U.S. should view the effort to boycott, divest from, and sanction (BDS) Israel as inherently anti-Semitic. The BDS movement is just another attempt by the Palestinians to avoid having to commit to a peaceful co-existence with Israel. The false notion that Israel is an occupier should be rejected. A two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians appears impossible as long as the Palestinians are unwilling to renounce violence against Israel or recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. The U.S. should support direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians without preconditions, and will oppose all Palestinian, European and other efforts to bypass direct negotiations between parties in favor of an imposed settlement. The U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish state and Mr. Trump's Administration will move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Our world: A Trumpian Israeli initiative - Caroline B. Glick - http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/A-Trumpian-Israeli-initiative-475547
US President-elect Donald Trump won't even take office for another month, but he has already killed the status quo. During the election campaign, Trump trounced the untouchable consensus on NATO's post-Cold War purpose. Questioning the purpose of an alliance formed to fight a war that ended 25 years ago is indisputably a reasonable thing to do. But until Trump came around, no one did. Since November 8, Trump has continued to reject accepted wisdom. For 37 years no US president would speak with the president of Taiwan. And then President-elect Trump took a call from Taiwan's President-elect Tsai Ing-wen. It's not clear where Trump stands on either NATO or Taiwan. But it is eminently apparent that by ignoring protocol, Trump expanded his maneuver room in his dealings with NATO and China. Then of course, there is Jerusalem. Since 1948 the US has refused to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital - or even as part of Israel. This policy of nonrecognition - embodied by the US refusal to transfer the US Embassy to Jerusalem - has been maintained by a bipartisan consensus despite the fact that for the past 20 years, US law has required the State Department to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the embassy to Jerusalem. When Trump promised to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, his words were greeted with cynicism. But then this week his senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said Trump is serious about moving the embassy to Jerusalem. In one fell swoop, the 68-year-old consensus is gone. Thirty-five years ago, on December 14, 1981, Israel took a Trump-like step. Israel took a wrecking ball to received wisdom. That day, the Knesset passed the Golan Heights Law. Then-prime minister Menachem Begin decided on the initiative the day before. In less than 24 hours, the law went from an idea in Begin's head into the law books. The Golan Heights law canceled the Military Government and Civil Administration that had governed the area since 1967 and replaced them with Israeli law and administration. The Reagan administration was livid. Begin had neither asked Ronald Reagan for permission nor given Reagan a head's-up on what he was about to do. Begin was clearly operating on the basis of the "It's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission" protocol. In the event, the Americans weren't really mad. Reagan prevented the UN Security Council from sanctioning Israel for its action. The Syrian regime did nothing. The Arab world yawned. Israel was spared international condemnation in large part because of the way Begin explained the purpose of the law. The day before the Knesset passed Begin's law, the Syrian regime announced it would prefer to fight Israel for 100 years than live at peace with it. That statement, like hundreds of similar ones over the 13 years since Israel took over the strategic plateau, reinforced yet again the basic truth that Israel would be responsible for the Golan Heights for a long, long time. After the law was passed, Begin and his advisers insisted its purpose was administrative. Israel couldn't wait for a hundred years to register births and deaths and marriages, they explained. The Syrian legal code through which the Military Government administered the areas was unsuited to a modern democracy. There was no way to protect the rights of Golan residents so long as Syrian law was the law of the land. Begin and his advisers explained over and over that the application of Israeli law would have no impact on Israel's willingness to make territorial concessions to Syria on the Golan in the event that the regime had a change in heart. And indeed, from 1992 until the war in Syria began in 2011, every Israeli government expressed willingness to discuss the future of the Golan Heights with the Syrians. Aside from safeguarding the civil rights and legal protections of the Israeli citizens and permanent residents on the Golan, the law also defused the issue as a political cause inside Israel. Everyone could accept the law. Those who wished to conclude a land-for-peace deal with Syria could support the law. Those who wished to retain perpetual Israeli control could live with it. To safeguard against irresponsible concessions the Knesset passed the referendum law that requires a two-thirds Knesset majority to approve territorial compromise on the Golan. By transferring administrative responsibilities from the military to the government, Israel freed its armed forces to concentrate on their primary mission - defending the country from its enemies. When Begin passed the Golan Heights Law, he had already learned its basic lesson: When Israel speaks modestly about its objectives, it can achieve a lot more than when it bloviates about them. Begin learned that lesson a year and a half earlier when he passed Basic Law: Jerusalem. Unlike the Golan Heights Law which changed the situation on the ground, Basic Law: Jerusalem, which announced that Israel's capital is united Jerusalem, merely described reality. United Jerusalem had been Israel's capital since immediately after the Six Day War. Weeks after the war the government united the city by expanding its municipal borders to include the neighborhoods that had been under Jordanian occupation since 1949. Basic Law: Jerusalem was a bit of chest beating. But the beating reverberated like drums of war in the West. And the US responded by enabling the Security Council to pass Resolution 478. Whereas in 1981 the US blocked the Security Council from passing sanctions against Israel for the Golan Heights law, in 1980 it enabled sanctions to be incorporated into the condemnatory resolution. Resolution 478 enjoined member states that had embassies in Jerusalem to remove them. Within weeks, 11 of the 13 states that had embassies in Jerusalem had shut them down. The last two were closed in 2006. The Golan Heights Law's 35th anniversary was celebrated Wednesday evening at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center. There, Transportation Minister Israel Katz and former cabinet secretary Tzvi Hauser said Israel must lobby Trump to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. While reasonable on their face, their calls ignore the basic lessons of the Golan Heights law, and seem to misread or ignore Trump's modus operandi. Trump cares about what works, not what looks good. He isn't interested in moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem because he cares about recognizing Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem or over anything else for that matter. If Trump moves the embassy he will do so to advance America's interests. In one fell swoop, moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem will correct a great deal of the damage that eight years of President Barack Obama's foreign policies have caused to US credibility worldwide. There is no single step the US can take that will do more to rebuild US credibility as an ally than moving the embassy to Jerusalem. By taking the step that none of his predecessors would take to stand in support of the US's most embattled ally worldwide, Trump will show that America can again be trusted. And moving the embassy will accomplish this goal without placing one US soldier at risk, and will cost US taxpayers no more than a few million dollars for construction and moving fees. On a basic level, from Israel's perspective, what distinguishes Trump from his predecessors is that he has signaled that he views Israel as an ally whereas his predecessors viewed the Jewish state as a burden. Trump wants and expects wants Israel to be a credible ally. To achieve this, Israel has some status quo icons of its own to shatter. And the Golan Heights Law provides just the road map for action. Begin wasn't bluffing when he said that the Military Government lacked the legal tools to protect and uphold the rights of the residents of the Golan Heights. In Judea and Samaria, the situation today has similarly reached a critical moment. And whereas Begin canceled the military government on the Golan when a mere 6,000 Israelis were living there, today 450,000 Israelis live under military administration in Judea and Samaria. The Israelis in Judea and Samaria all in live what is referred to as Area C. When the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 it took over governing authority from the Military Government in Areas A and B - the Palestinian population centers. A mere 100,000 Palestinians live in Area C. The Military Government administers on the basis of the Jordanian legal code, which has been revised over the past 49 years by various military administrative orders. As the human drama taking place in the community of Amona makes clear, the existing legal system is incapable of protecting the civil and legal rights of either the Israelis or the Palestinians living under it. In Amona, 40 Israeli families are about to be thrown out of their homes because Jordanian law doesn't allow Jews to easily purchase land from Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority has made selling land to Jews a capital offense. Israelis in Area C cannot properly adjudicate their legal rights to land in Israeli courts. As was the case with Syria in 1981, the Palestinian leadership - from the PLO to Hamas - has made clear that it has no interest in making peace with Israel. Palestinian intransigence has brought about a 16-year stalemate in the so-called peace process which has convinced even true believers on the Israeli Left that the time has come to put aside the two-state paradigm. The latest person to come on board was novelist and leftist ideologue A.B. Yehoshua. Earlier this month Yehoshua told an astonished audience in Jerusalem that the two-state solution is impossible. Yehoshua then endorsed the plan to apply Israeli law to Area C and grant full civil rights to the Palestinians living in the area. Trump's rejection of the status quo and his respectful view of Israel gives our leaders the opportunity to join Yehoshua in rejecting the failed "two-state solution" status quo and act on the growing consensus on the Left and Right that the time has come to apply Israeli law to Area C. True, to a degree even greater than on the Golan Heights, Israel has the legal and historic right to full sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria. But it is equally true that most Israelis would be willing to negotiate the permanent status of Judea and Samaria with a credible, sincere Palestinian neighbor. By simply applying its law to the area as an administrative step, Israel keeps all options on the table while securing the civil, legal and human rights of both the Palestinians and the Israelis who live in the area. Rejecting received wisdom is far less risky than maintaining allegiance to it when it is wrong. Trump obviously recognizes this. The time has come for Israel to recognize it as well. Russian role in Aleppo's fall impacts US politics - http://www.debka.com/article/25839/Russian-role-in-Aleppo's-fall-impacts-US-politics
Aleppo's fall to the Assad regime with the surrender Thursday, Dec. 15, of the Syrian rebel forces locked in a corner of the eastern districts was the most disastrous military and strategic setback to befall the Obama administration for two years. It started evolving in September 2015, when Russia stepped up its military intervention in the Syria war and rescued Bashar Assad. When Aleppo succumbed to the Russian-backed government army and its allies, Iran, Hezbollah and fellow Shite militias, it did not fall alone. It brought down the entire architecture of US-backed positions in northern Syria. The US had invested in and trained local groups, such as the Syrian Kurdish militia and the rebel Free Syrian Army, as the bedrock for its policy and interests in the conflict. Those groups have melted away. The acknowledged overlords of northern Syria today are Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who can claim the Aleppo victory. Bashar Assad and Iran are reduced to playing second fiddle. But whereas the Al Qods chief Iranian general Qassem Soleimani commands pro-Iranian forces in the region, America has been divested of all its military assets and has no real say in the next chapter of the horrific war. Hence US Secretary of State John Kerry's despairing appeal Thursday in a press briefing to bring the bloodshed and suffering to an end: "We can't have another Srebrenica" - a reference to the Serbian slaughter of 8,000 Bosnian Serbs in 1985 - he said. Kerry has toiled tirelessly for a diplomatic solution to the dreadful Syrian war, but his appeal falls on senses hardened by the many Srebrenicas perpetrated in more than five years of conflict. Hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers have been slaughtered - according to an unofficial estimate up to a million - and many subjected to chemical warfare. The secretary can't count on the Kremlin to relent and so, even after the last Syrian rebels and their families are out of Aleppo, the killing will go on. In Washington, 10,000 kilometers away, the Aleppo calamity is being dished up as a political tool. The claim was heard Thursday that the "same Vladimir Putin" who sponsored the atrocities in Aleppo, also interfered in the US presidential election by sending hackers to influence the results in favor of Donald Trump. The claim is touted by Obama administration spokesmen and the Democratic Party, whose candidate Hillary Clinton lost the election. It appears to be fodder for a Democratic party drive building up for the president-elect's impeachment even before he is sworn in as president on Jan. 20. The Putin factor comes in handy for the latest tactic in a series pursued since the November 8 election, for delegitimizing Trump's victory and negating his fitness to reach the White House. This campaign may resonate strongly on America's future policy and position as a world power, because it is designed to block Trump's path to a deal with Putin for resolving the Syrian conflict. The Obama administration has no wish to see the new president succeed where it failed for nearly six years. Putin will have no qualms about capitalizing on Washington's preoccupation with its internal power struggle and will build up as many gains in Syria as he can before Donald Trump takes over. Obama's threat Friday, Dec. 12, to retaliate for Russia's efforts to influence the presidential election will just provoke the Russian president to move faster and more determinedly in his grab for more assets in Syria. Agenda 2030: A Global Society with No Possessions, No Privacy and No Freedom - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=885
If you listen closely, the global elite are telling us exactly what they intend to do. If they get their way, our world is going to look vastly different than it does now in the not too distant future. These elitists share a dream of an environmentally-friendly dystopian socialist paradise in which individual freedom is severely restricted for the good of the collective. Where you live, what you do for a living, what you are allowed to eat and how many children you are permitted to have would all be determined by an all-powerful central government that nobody would question or challenge. This may sound very bizarre to you, but the global elite really do dream of these things. A perfect example of what I am talking about is an article that recently appeared on the official website of the World Economic Forum entitled "Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better". It was authored by a member of parliament in Denmark named Ida Auken, and as you can see she is quite convinced that we can achieve this type of society by the year 2030... Welcome to the year 2030. Welcome to my city - or should I say, "our city". I don't own anything. I don't own a car. I don't own a house. I don't own any appliances or any clothes. It might seem odd to you, but it makes perfect sense for us in this city. Everything you considered a product, has now become a service. We have access to transportation, accommodation, food and all the things we need in our daily lives. One by one all these things became free, so it ended up not making sense for us to own much. In Auken's world, nobody even pays any rent, and if you need anything at all you can have it delivered to your door within minutes. So how is that possible? Well, she believes that computers, robots and machines will eventually be doing almost all of the work that humans currently do... Shopping? I can't really remember what that is. For most of us, it has been turned into choosing things to use. Sometimes I find this fun, and sometimes I just want the algorithm to do it for me. It knows my taste better than I do by now. When AI and robots took over so much of our work, we suddenly had time to eat well, sleep well and spend time with other people. The concept of rush hour makes no sense anymore, since the work that we do can be done at any time. I don't really know if I would call it work anymore. It is more like thinking-time, creation-time and development-time. But of course there is a cost to living in such a society, and Auken openly acknowledges this. She admits that in her idealized version of the future she will "have no real privacy"... Once in awhile I get annoyed about the fact that I have no real privacy. No where I can go and not be registered. I know that, somewhere, everything I do, think and dream of is recorded. I just hope that nobody will use it against me. What Auken is envisioning is some sort of benign green dictatorship. In order to have a "perfect world" made up of imperfect humans, someone is going to have to be watching, tracking, monitoring and controlling all of those imperfect humans 100 percent of the time. And since virtually every decision that we make affects the environment in some fashion, every one of those decisions will have to be subject to government regulation. When I read Auken's article, I was instantly reminded of a short video that was produced by the Forum for the Future that envisioned what life would be like in the year 2040. If you are not familiar with them, the Forum for the Future is one of the major non-governmental organizations that the global elite use to promote their agenda around the world. These NGOs have become increasingly powerful in recent years, and the biggest often work in conjunction with the United Nations to promote "change" in developing nations. In the video that I mentioned above, the Forum of the Future presents a chilling version of the future that includes "calorie cards", a "global food council", global water rationing and an immensely powerful central government that manages even the smallest details of our lives. Would you like to live in that type of a world? If we are not very careful, this type of tyranny could become a reality, because this is precisely where the global elite intend on taking us. About five years ago, I warned that this was coming... Imagine going to sleep one night and waking up many years later in a totally different world. In this futuristic world, literally everything you do is tightly monitored and controlled by control freak bureaucrats in the name of "sustainable development" and with the goal of promoting "the green agenda". An international ruling body has centralized global control over all human activity. What you eat, what you drink, where you live, how warm or cold your home can be and how much fuel you can use is determined by them. Anyone that dissents or that tries to rebel against the system is sent off for "re-education". The human population is 90 percent lower than it is today in this futuristic society, and all remaining humans have been herded into tightly constricted cities which are run much like prisons. Today we are closer to the global elite's vision of the future than ever before. Even in some of the most conservative areas of the United States the green agenda is being pushed forward under the guise of "sustainable development", and the global elite will never stop until they have everything that they want. We are constantly being told that we need to make sacrifices "for the good of the planet", but the truth is that their agenda would open the door for global tyranny on a scale that most people do not even think is possible. Instead of a socialist paradise, what we will really be getting is a dystopian nightmare, but most will not realize the truth until it is far too late. ![]()
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 What Really Happened at Christmas? - A Bible Study by Jack Kelley - https://gracethrufaith.com/childrens-stories-for-adults/what-really-happened-at-christmas/
In the past I've explained why I believe Jesus probably was born sometime in September. If that's the case then what really happened in December? Is Christmas just the result of overlaying Christian beliefs on a formerly pagan holiday as some believe, or is there more to it? Happy Hanukkah To find the answer we begin with a look at the Jewish Feast of Hanukkah. Maybe you've heard the story of Hanukkah, but if not here's a brief summary. In 165 BC, during the time of the Maccabean Revolt, the Jews recaptured their desecrated Temple from Syrian dictator Antiochus Epiphanes and undertook a rebuilding and cleansing process to make it fit for worship again. (Angry with the Jews and defiant toward God, Antiochus had captured the Temple, sacrificed a pig on the altar, and erected a statue of the Greek god Zeus in the Holy Place requiring everyone to worship it on pain of death. This outrageous act rendered the Temple unclean and became known as the Abomination of Desolation.) Jewish tradition holds that when they prepared to cleanse the Temple to make it fit for use again, the priests could not find enough Holy Oil to keep the Temple Menorah, a large 7 branched oil lamp, lit for the required 8 day purification ritual. They only had enough for one day. But they went ahead in faith and God multiplied that small supply so that it lasted for the full eight days making the Temple Holy again. Since then, this miracle has been commemorated in the Feast of Hanukkah, an eight day celebration that includes the use of a special 9 branched candlestick called a Hanukkiah, short for Hanukkah menorah. The Hanukkiah has a single elevated branch, representing the available supply of oil, and 8 additional branches, one for each day of the purification ritual. Each day of the celebration an additional candle is lit, always using the flame of the elevated candle, until on the final day all the candles are burning. This reminds them that the light for each day came from the single day's supply of oil they began with. Hanukkah is also referred to as the Festival of Lights for this reason. By the way this Abomination of Desolation is an act destined to be repeated and will again trigger a revolt, this time involving the whole world. When you see a Temple in Jerusalem you will know the time is near, and when you see the Abomination of Desolation standing in the Holy Place you will know that 3 1/2 years of the most terrible time man has ever known have begun (Matt 24:15-21). Whether you see this from Earth or Heaven will be determined by whether you've previously accepted the Lord's death as payment for your sins. What Day Is This? As you know Hanukkah takes place around Christmas so I'm going to use the proximity of the two events to make what some would call an outrageous claim. I believe there's a theological connection between Hanukkah and Christmas that does nothing less than state God's position on the beginning of life. In Happy Birthday Lord Jesus I demonstrated that in all probability John the Baptist was conceived in what would have been mid to late June on our calendar and born the following March. John's mother and father were Elizabeth and Zechariah. According to Luke 1:36 Mary conceived in the 6th month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. That means that our Lord was conceived in late December and born the following September. Because the calendars are different the exact dates vary from year to year, but each year Hanukkah takes place in close proximity to Christmas. Jesus is called "the True Light that gives light to every man" (John 1:9). Was Jesus, "The Light of the World" conceived during the Festival of Lights? Are we unknowingly celebrating His conception at Christmas instead of His birth? If that's the case do you realize what God is telling us? When Did Christmas Begin? The fact that Jesus is God incarnate is amply supported in Scripture. But when did He become God and why did He choose to come into the world the way He did? Jeremiah 1:4-5, Psalm 51:5 and 139:13-16 all allude to the fact that God knew us from the moment of our conception. He knew all the details of our lives and considered us human from that time. To merely be with us in human form Jesus could have arrived as a fully grown man but He came as an embryo because that's the way all humans begin their life. Christmas began at the moment of divine conception. God the Father planned it, God the Holy Spirit planted the fertile seed in Mary, and at that moment God the Son took on human form in the womb of a virgin. From that first moment of conception Jesus was very much alive, very much human, very much God. He didn't become the Incarnate God somewhere along the path of His life, or even when He emerged from Mary's womb. He had been such from the moment of conception (Luke 1:35). God could not have made any stronger statement about the sanctity of pre-born life. As a poor, unwed teen-aged girl about to be ostracized from family and society, Mary met all the modern criteria for a therapeutic abortion. But had she and Joseph sought one, it would have been just as much the murder of the Messiah as was His death on the cross 33 years later. So the life of the Christ child really did begin at Christmas. And now you know the adult version of the Christmas story. Daily Jot: Former NFL great Jim Brown meets with Trump - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
When we look at fake news, headlines like "In Trump's America, NFL players are targeted with racist messages" found at Mashable.com cannot be ignored. The story makes the case that incidents of racism against NFL players are on the rise because of Donald Trump. The story cites the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center (the radical group that lists the Family Research Council as a hate group) as saying hate crime reporting is up since the election because "The white supremacists out there are celebrating his victory and many are feeling their oats." Despite the attempt at labeling as racist everyone who supported Trump, civil rights activist and former NFL great Jim Brown has a different assessment. Many consider Jim Brown as the greatest football player ever. He also has been a vocal civil rights activist that doesn't mince how he feels about any subject, especially racism. Brown's organization Amer-I-Can is instrumental in working to empower mostly inner-city kids to "meet their academic potential, to conform their behavior to acceptable society standards, and to improve the quality of their lives by equipping them with the critical life management skills to confidently and successfully contribute to society." Brown is a no-nonsense, call-it-like-he-sees-it sort of man. He, former NFL linebacker Ray Lewis, Cleveland pastor Darrell Scott, and Kayne West met with Trump on December 13. Brown told CNN reporter Brooke Baldwin, "We couldn't have had a better meeting. The graciousness, the intelligence, the reception we got was fantastic. He's amenable to listening to people who didn't vote for him...I can't speak for the pastor, but I fell in love with him, because he really talks about helping African-American, black people and that's why I'm here." Lewis said, "Urban development and job creation are everything. What we believe with the Trump administration is if we can combine these two powers of coming together--forget black or white. Black or white is irrelevant. The bottom line is job creation and economic development in these urban areas to change the whole scheme of what our kids see." Brown said, "The three greatest people in my life were white, OK. My high school coach, my high school superintendent and my mentor in Manhasset, Long Island...When I come out of the box, I don't come out of the box as racial. I look for good people and people that will be like-minded and help me try to do good for other human beings." Brown said he admired Trump because "People that called him names when he won, he reached back and brought them along with him. He held no grudges." CNN's Baldwin was so taken back that Brown said to her "You're outta speech?" It's not supportive of the fake news narrative of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the likes of CNN. It's real. Those who go out of their way to accuse others of hate, usually hate. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, "for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Daily Devotion: Worthy of Our Worship - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. -Matthew 2:10-11 The wise men, these followers of the stars, met the Lord Jesus Christ who created the stars. They were occultists, yet God reached into their dark world with a star to bring them to their Creator. Matthew's gospel tells us, "They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh" (2:11). Everyone worships at Christmas. There are no exceptions to this. Christians worship. Atheists worship. Skeptics worship. Republicans worship. Democrats worship. Independents worship. Everyone worships at Christmas, but not everyone worships God at Christmas. Some worship material things, which they never seem to have enough of. Others worship their bodies. Others worship their families. But everyone worships something or someone. The wise men worshiped Jesus. And what does it mean to worship? Our modern word worship comes from the old English word worthship. We worship the One who is worthy. A god of our own making isn't worthy of our worship, but the true God is worthy of our praise. Two words often are used in the Scriptures to define worship. One word means to bow down and do homage, which speaks of reverence and respect. The other means to kiss toward, which speaks of intimacy and friendship. So when we put these two words together, we get an idea of what worship actually is. To worship is to bow down and have reverence, and it is also to have tender intimacy. Jesus was born, He died, and He rose from the dead so that you and I could come into a relationship with Him and become God's adopted children. Simply put, we should worship the Lord because He deserves it-every day of the year. FROM THE HEART
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