PROPHECY UPDATE.............7/20/2022

 

Revelation 6:6: The Oil and the Wine - By Mark A. Becker - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/07/16/revelation-66-the-oil-and-the-wine-by-mark-a-becker/   Introduction   “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (Revelation 6:6).   Is there is a connection between Revelation 6:6 with the entity and city of Revelation 17 and 18 that is hiding in plain sight? For good reasons – that we’d like to uncover in this article – I believe there is.   The phrase “the oil and the wine,” found in Revelation 6:6, might be seen as somewhat cryptic. Yet, most don’t seem to really give it much thought. This included myself until recently.   In this survey, we are going to be positing portions of previous articles and tying them together to the theme of “the oil and the wine.”   The Roman Catholic Church   When dealing with the Roman Catholic Church in prophecy, I feel it is necessary to give the following qualifier:   As a disclosure, I was born, christened, and nominally raised in the Catholic Church. I haven’t been a member of the Catholic Church since I was a youth and am now a Bible-believing Christian who lives by grace through faith, and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). I have many wonderful Catholic family members and friends and love them dearly. This article’s emphasis is primarily on the leadership, history, and the prophetic role of the Roman Catholic Church and is in no way an indictment of the Catholic laity.   A Combined Interpretive Scenario of Revelation 17 & 18   In A Combined Interpretive Scenario of Revelation 17 & 18, we noted the following regarding the Vatican’s extreme wealth.   Now, the Roman Catholic Church’s prosperity is well documented and visibly seen. The wealth of the RCC surpasses anything any entity on earth has ever known. Everything in the list of decadence, material excess, and opulence recorded in this chapter [Revelation 18] fits the RCC to a tee. In 1,700 years of existence, they have acquired wealth and material luxuries that are unimaginable and incomparable.   Don’t just think of Vatican City when it comes to their imports and material wealth. Think of churches, rectories, monasteries, property, etc., in every city, in every country of the world where they operate. It is truly mind-blowing what the RCC imports as a whole. The material wealth of this entity supersedes anything the world has ever known.   When it comes to the wealth of Mystery Babylon – The Catholic Church/Vatican City/Rome – much of her riches, I’m convinced, are hidden. But just a smattering of what is known reveals a Catholic Church that is awash in treasures, precious metals, land, investments, etc., that would make many nations flush with envy.   It’s believed – and for very good reason – that much of the Jewish Temple treasures are located in Vatican City.   Precious metals and treasures in Catholic churches are displayed for all to see, all around the world. Can you imagine what they have behind the scenes – hidden throughout the world?   When an entity and city, such as the Roman Catholic Church/Vatican City/Rome, has had 1,700 years to amass and accumulate wealth, the total sum of those riches would be and should be astronomical.   Essentially, every country in the world conducts its business in fiat currency that isn’t backed by any tangible asset(s). Yet, when it comes to tangible wealth – gold, precious metals, jewels, art, property, buildings, etc. – the Roman Catholic Church leads the way.   Truly, when the world economic system collapses, the Roman Catholic Church/Vatican City/Rome will be the most prosperous entity on earth from the rapture of Christ’s church up until Mystery Babylon is destroyed in the middle of the Tribulation (Revelation 17:16-18). They will not only survive but thrive when the rest of the world reels from the impact of such an unrelenting economic disaster.   Isaiah 47: The Daughter of Babylon   In Isaiah 47: The Daughter of Babylon, we exposed the connection of Isaiah’s Daughter of Babylon with the Whore of Babylon – or Mystery Babylon – of Revelation 17 and 18.   Here’s what we noted in regard to the “sorcery” of the Vatican.   “Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee” (Isaiah 47:12-13). (emphasis mine)   We should find it interesting that the Roman Catholic Church has had at least 21 major meetings to discuss “doctrine, reaffirm truths of the faith, and extirpate heresy,” and that these meetings are referred to as “councils.” This lady, according to God, is “wearied in the multitude of [her] counsels.”   The Vatican Observatory has its headquarters in Italy and has one of the most powerful telescopes in the world at Mount Graham in southeast Arizona.   The Vatican is essentially obsessed with the stars and is eagerly searching for life in outer space. The Roman Catholic Church even has what one might consider an unhealthy desire to meet aliens.   Pope Francis, in 2014, even stated that he would be willing to baptize aliens from other worlds, should they ever manifest themselves to us, saying, “If then God gave them the same gift He gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?… Who are we to close doors?”   Most concerning is that – and many books and clergy have documented these facts – the Roman Catholic Church has for centuries indulged in the practices of paganism, witchcraft, the occult, and Luciferianism.   “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived” (Revelation 18:23). (emphasis mine)   As most know, “sorceries” in the Greek is 5331 φαρμακεία “pharmakeia” and means: sorcery, witchcraft. From pharmakeus; medication (“pharmacy”), i.e. (by extension) magic (literally or figuratively) — sorcery, witchcraft.   With what we have witnessed since 2020 – in addition to the Catholic Church being invested wholeheartedly in the occultic mystical aspect of “pharmakeia” – is that the Vatican is one of the biggest influencers in the world and has been pushing the experimental mRNA injections on the masses and, therefore, fulfills the other aspect of “pharmakeia’s” drug and medication definition.   It would also be interesting to find out how much the Vatican has invested in the pharmaceutical industry, in addition to knowing to what degree drugs have played in the mystical occultic pursuits the Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, and clergy have engaged in – both past and present.   Revelation 14: Tribulation Outline   In Revelation 14: Tribulation Outline, we confirmed our Combined Interpretive Scenario of Revelation 17 & 18 when observing the following passages.   “Another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “She has fallen! She has fallen! Bavel the Great! She made all the nations drink the wine of God’s fury caused by her whoring!” (Revelation 14:8, CJB). (emphasis mine)   This is the absolute proof that this Babylon is not the Babylon of the Antichrist and his Mark of The Beast economic and worship system, as is documented in detail in my article A Combined Interpretive Scenario of Revelation 17 & 18.   The following third angel in Revelation 14:9-11, who follows this second angel, is declaring Antichrist’s Mark of The Beast economic and worship system.   The declaration of this second angel, in Revelation 14:8 (above), is proclaiming, “She has fallen! She has fallen! Bavel the Great! She made all the nations drink the wine of God’s fury caused by her whoring!”   This statement, should the reader become confused, is echoed in Revelation 18:   He cried out in a strong voice, “She has fallen! She has fallen! Bavel the Great! She has become a home for demons, a prison for every unclean spirit, a prison for every unclean, hated bird. “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of God’s fury caused by her whoring — yes, the kings of the earth went whoring with her, and from her unrestrained love of luxury the world’s businessmen have grown rich.” ( Revelation 18:2-3, CJB). (emphasis mine)   As I pointed out in my article A Combined Interpretive Scenario of Revelation 17 & 18, Revelation 18 is not a reference to the Antichrist kingdom – separate from Revelation 17 – but is a continuation of the Whore of Babylon in chapter 17 with an emphasis on the city where the Whore sits and of her opulence, wealth, and wickedness. And with these additional details, describes her in more depth as to her identity and her end, which will come in about the middle of the Tribulation at the hands of the Antichrist and 10 kings, as the 10 kings will, after destroying her and her city, hand their worldwide empires over to the Antichrist for the last three and one-half years [1,260 days], just as the following third angel (Rev. 14:9-11) declares.   Revelation 6:6   Here is where we would like to make the connection of Revelation 6:6 to the Catholic Church/Vatican City/Rome entity (Mystery Babylon, Whore of Babylon) of Revelation 17 and 18.   As a reminder, Revelation 6:5-6 is speaking of an economic collapse of the entire world system. This particular judgment is a part of the famous “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” seal judgments.   The opening of the third seal begins the black horse judgment.   “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand” (Revelation 6:5).   Now, let’s take a look at Revelation 6:6, which is the heart of our study.   “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine“ (Revelation 6:6). (emphasis mine)   The Greek word for “oil” is 1637 ἔλαιον “elaion” and means oil. Neuter of the same as elaia; olive oil — oil.   And the Greek word for “wine” is 3631 οἶνος “oinos” and means wine made from grapes. A primary word (or perhaps of Hebrew origin (yayin)); “wine” (literally or figuratively) — wine.   As we have established through these earlier articles we have briefly looked into, the Roman Catholic Church should be the preeminent entity on earth after the rapture of the bride of Christ and, as such, shouldn’t be affected by the worldwide economic collapse of Revelation 6:5-6 as the rest of the world will be. In fact, the statement of “see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” in Revelation 6:6 should actually indicate a connection of “the oil and the wine” to Mystery Babylon – the Catholic Church/Vatican City/Rome.   And this is exactly what we see!   “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (Revelation 17:1-2). (emphasis mine)   In regard to this passage, in A Combined Interpretive Scenario of Revelation 17 & 18, we stated the following:   The “woman” has been rulers over kings (Rev. 17:2 & Rev. 18:3, Rev. 18:9); she has persecuted and killed the saints (Rev. 17:6 & Rev. 18:24); and she sits on many waters with peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues (Rev. 17:15 & Rev. 18:3, Rev. 18:23), showing that her empire stretches into every nation on earth. A perfect description of the Roman Catholic church, which has reigned for approximately 1,700 years.   As cited, we see “the wine” again in Revelation 18:   “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (Revelation 18:1-3). (emphasis mine)   What about the oil? Well, we see both “the oil and the wine” as being among the many delicacies of the Roman Catholic Church/Vatican City/Rome in Revelation 18:   “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men” (Revelation 18:11-13). (emphasis mine)   A fascinating note of interest is that Italy is the number one importer and number two exporter of olive oil in the world. And when it comes to the consumption of wine, Italy ranks number two in the world per capita. We should also include, of course, the importance of oil in the Catholic Church and wine in the Catholic mass.   Conclusion   The Roman Catholic Church/Vatican City/Rome will be the one and only entity and city on earth with the means to consume the limited amount of goods that the world will produce during the time in between the rapture of the church and the middle of the Tribulation. The wealth and riches which she has had for approximately 1,700 years – as she has ruled and reigned over the kings of the earth so successfully – will continue to profit her up until this prophetic time in history.   This will be one of many reasons the 10 Kings will hate the whore and make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire at the midway point of the Tribulation and hand their kingdoms over to the Antichrist to rule and reign for the last three and one-half years [1,260 days] of the Tribulation, also knowns as the Great Tribulation.   “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast…   “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.   “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:12-13, 16-18).   While many prophecy teachers and students will apply “the oil and the wine” to the rich and the elite of the world – and, indeed, this could very well be a secondary application to this phrase – I have little to no doubt that the primary relevance of this statement, when comparing Scripture to Scripture, is to the Roman Catholic Church/Vatican City/Rome.   “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine“ (Revelation 6:6). (emphasis mine)   May we all continue to be Answering the Call of The Great Commission and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”   Keep reaching the lost for Christ while we still have time.   Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!   ➢ Email: mab10666@yahoo.com

Global Digital ID System ‘Paving a Digital Road to Hell’ – Leo Hohmann - https://leohohmann.com/2022/07/18/nyu-school-of-law-report-global-digital-id-system-paving-a-digital-road-to-hell/   I have repeatedly warned that the two things the globalists must get people to accept before they can fully implement their Great Reset (aka New World Order) are a global digital money system to replace the current fiat currencies and a globally recognized digital ID system to replace the cards in our wallets.   Yes, ladies and gents, the Fourth Reich is rising.   Once these two things are in place — digital money and digital IDs — we will have reached the point of no return. The long coveted one-world beast system will be cemented in place. Nobody will be able to buy or sell without “showing your digital papers.” This is what Covid was all about, getting rid of the dirty money (cash) and plastic ID cards, and getting people to accept a digital ID, which will start out as a digital health passport with your own individually assigned QR code.   French President Emmanuel Macron, the poster boy for the World Economic Forum and its evil schemes to control the world, recently tried to re-introduce that nation’s digital Covid pass. He met with a resounding defeat in the French Parliament last week. That was a huge victory for we the people but the globalists are going to make another big push to get the nations to accept the global ID system they have already invested billions of dollars to bring about. Its purpose is to digitize every human being with a QR code and tie that data point in with their bank accounts and the coming new digital money system.   Once the cash money and physical ID cards are gone, so goes what’s left of our economic privacy, our freedom of movement, freedom of speech, and right on down the line to total tyranny. We will own nothing, have no privacy and learn to like it, or else.   The article below updates us on the drive to get every man, woman and child on planet Earth registered with a digital ID tied to the one-world economic system. It is based on a surprising report out of New York University, of all places.   New York University’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice has issued a chilling warning about the potential dangers to human rights posed by the push for digital identity. - By Derrick Broze   In mid-June, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, a “hub for human rights study” at New York University (NYU) School of Law, issued a 100-page report detailing the growing dangers of a reliance on digital identity around the world. The report, titled Paving a Digital Road to Hell?, examines the role of the World Bank and other international networks which have been promoting the use if digital ID in recent years.   The report notes that the World Bank has been “energetically promoting biometric and other digital ID systems that are increasingly linked to large-scale human rights violations, especially in the Global South.”   The researchers warn that digital identity schemes “promoted in the name of development and inclusion, might be achieving neither.” Despite ostensible good intentions on the part of some promoting these systems, they “may well be paving a digital road to hell.”   The press release for the report notes (emphasis added):   “Governments around the world have been investing heavily in digital identification systems, often with biometric components (digital ID). The rapid proliferation of such systems is driven by a new development consensus, packaged and promoted by key global actors like the World Bank, but also by governments, foundations, vendors and consulting firms.“   The report states that many of the digital identity schemes are taking inspiration from the Aadhaar system in India. This specific digital ID model has prioritized digital ID as an “economic identity,” according to the report.   “The goal of such systems is primarily to establish ‘uniqueness’ of individuals, commonly with the help of biometric technologies,” the release states. This in turn allows for bringing in impoverished people from the “informal” or “counter-economy” to the formal economy. This also has the effect of “unlocking” their behavioral data that can then be used by governments and other parties.   The report also notes that the Executive Chairman of the influential ID4Africa, a platform where African governments and major companies in the digital ID market meet, noted at the 2022 Annual Meeting in June that digital ID is no longer about identity alone but,   “enables and interacts with authentication platforms, payments systems, digital signatures, data sharing, KYC systems, consent management and sectoral delivery platforms.”   The report details how the promoters of the new digital/economic identity model often evade “difficult questions” about the legal status and rights of those being registered. Despite promises of inclusion and flourishing digital economies, digital ID systems have “consistently failed to deliver on these promises in real-world situations, especially for the most marginalized.” The Aadhaar system itself has been criticized for severe and large-scale human rights violations.   In fact, the report finds that the evidence indicates it is the small group of companies and governments who stand to benefit most from these systems.   “After all, where digital ID systems have tended to excel is in generating lucrative contracts for biometrics companies and enhancing the surveillance and migration-control capabilities of governments.”   Who is Driving the Push to Digital Identity?   The authors of the report also call for a “more clearly developed notion of ‘who’ are the most relevant actors driving this agenda and ‘what’ are the key concepts that should be contested and reimagined.” They say that much can be learned by focusing on the actions of the World Bank Group, and “more specifically its ID4D Initiative, as a central node in a more extensive global network of digital ID promotion.”   In 2014, the World Bank launched the Identification for Development (ID4D) program with the aim of solving the problem of a lack of identity for much of the so-called “developing world.” The World Bank is funding digital biometric ID programs in Mexico, pushing digital ID in poorer countries with the ostensible goal of providing legal identity to the 1.1 billion people who do not currently have one.   This program was started with a “catalytic investment” from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Omidyar Network, as well as various governments. The report notes:   “We have noted that the World Bank and its ID4D Initiative do not stand alone in pursuing the digital ID agenda. They exist within a global network of organizations and individuals. This includes donor governments like the United Kingdom, the United States and France; global foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Omidyar Network; tech-savvy governments such as in India and Estonia; the UN system, including the members of the UN-Legal Identity Agenda Task Force; regional development banks, including the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank; private biometrics corporations like Idemia, Thales, and Gemalto; card companies such as MasterCard; new networks such as the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) and ID4Africa; and numerous other global organizations”   Many of the governments and companies listed above are also partners with the World Economic Forum, the proponents of “The Great Reset.” The Gates Foundation is likely more well known to regular readers, but the Omidyar Network should also raise red flags. The Omidyar Network was set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and Pam Omidyar. To learn more about the history of Omidyar and his co-opting of the Snowden leaks via his ownership of The Intercept, read these investigations.   Interestingly, the NYU report states that proponents of this digital identity future have “cloaked this new paradigm in the language of human rights and inclusion, arguing that such systems will help to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals.”   As I reported in my previous investigation, Exposing the “Digital ID is a Human Right” Scam, the push towards a digital identity has its roots in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives adopted by the United Nations in 2015 with the ostensible goal of ending poverty, protecting the planet, and spreading peace and prosperity to all people by 2030.   The SDGs were part of a larger resolution known as the 2030 Agenda, or Agenda 2030, with the stated purpose of fighting climate change. While the United Nations SDGs and Agenda 2030 are often touted as a tool for establishing healthy multilateral relationships between nations, in truth, they are based in a deeper agenda to monitor, control, and direct all life on the planet.   The UN and the World Economic Forum have regularly promoted the idea of a digital identity as a necessity for life in the 2020s.   It’s clear that this effort to strong-arm the world into accepting digital identity programs is part of a larger push towards biometrics, a track-and-trace society, and, eventually, tools like Central Bank Digital Currencies.  Nearing Midnight: The Resurgence of Covid-19 – Todd Strandberg - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/   Hopes of a Covid-19 reprieve fade as the BA.5 subvariant takes over. Overall, the number of Covid-19 infections rose 30 percent globally in the past two weeks, with the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 driving the increase in Europe and the US. The World Health Organization agency said it was also following a new sublineage that had been detected in India.   Europe is at the center of a resurgence in infections as more people mix at large-scale events and travel, according to the WHO. “We are seeing a much more intense wave of the disease passing through Europe again,” Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a media briefing.   “And we will see it happen elsewhere – we are already seeing it in Southeast Asia and in the eastern Mediterranean region as well.”   The number of COVID cases is up sharply from year over year. On Jul 11, 2022, there were 133,678 cases. In Jul 2021, there were 22,000 cases. This is a sixfold increase. The number of deaths was 396 on JUL 11, 2022, compared to 224 deaths on JUL 11, 2021. The virus is clearly more contagious but less deadly.   The new wave of infections has not yet led to a surge in intensive-care admissions. Last week, Britain reported a 32 percent rise in infections and said that hospital admissions are climbing, with intensive-care cases spreading among older age groups. The rise in hospitalizations is still far below previous waves, and widespread vaccination has made the pandemic far less deadly.   In the past, I’ve urged people to get the vaccines, but I now see them as pointless. All the current vaccines are focused on the Omicron strain. There is now a three-generation gap, which makes it unlikely that they would be useful against the latest strains.   The turnaround on booster shots now needs to be so rapid that a chance of a dangerous vaccine is sharply higher. We may soon find the cure is worse than the virus. I am particularly worried about children under the age of five getting the vaccine. Their immune system is still developing, and they are at the greatest risk of a complication from any vaccine.   When I said it was generally safe to get the vaccine for the original covid virus in mid-2020, there had already been 2.5 billion shots given out. I would not want to be the first person to get the shot for subvariant BA.2.75. We use supercomputers to check for billions of possible chemical reactions in the human body. The real number of potential reactions is in the trillions, so at some point, we are going to run into a major problem.   One of the greatest dangers of Covid-19 is that we no longer see it as a danger. Director-General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said the world is in a better situation to fight the virus now than it was back in 2020 when it started to sweep around the world. “We won’t be the hostage of the virus like we had in the past two years,” he said at the briefing. “We know the virus; we have better tools to fight it.”   At any point, Covid could mutate into a form that has a very high mortality rate. Since everyone is sick of wearing masks, a new mandate would be largely ignored. We’ve already spent $10 trillion on this virus. The world no longer has the capacity for round II.   The Covid-19 virus is just a warning of what will take place during the tribulation. Bible prophecy clearly indicates that there will be end-time diseases that will kill vast numbers of people. Rather than ending on a sad note by quoting one of these plague scriptures, I would rather conclude with the verse that reminds us that God’s grace is always with us:   “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).  The Medical & Social Experiment Currently Unfolding Is Leaving Victims In Its Wake – Ken Ham - https://harbingersdaily.com/the-medical-social-experiment-currently-unfolding-is-leaving-victims-in-its-wake/   Less than one month ago, I published an article titled “‘Sharp Rise’ in Transgender Young People” that shared new research claiming about 300,000 young people in the US (double the previous estimate) now identify as transgender. Being “trans” is no longer something on the fringe—it’s popular, trendy, and wildly celebrated (consider, for example, a male swimmer has, once again, been nominated to win a women’s award). But what’s the cost of this transgender craze?   Transgenderism Has Consequences   Those who think biblically (building their worldview on the Bible—beginning in Genesis) know that despising God’s design of male and female (Genesis 1:27), ignoring biological reality, and heavily emphasizing these things to children will have real-world consequences. We’ve already detailed some of those consequences in previous articles—for example,   the loss of religious freedom for those who disagree, women’s spaces, such as change rooms, restrooms, and prisons, becoming very unsafe, Or men destroying women’s sports.   But there are also horrific consequences for those who buy into this lie that a man can be a woman and a woman can be a man.   More and more “detransitioners” (those who transitioned in the past and have now returned to their actual gender/sex) are speaking up and decrying the movement that has brought them misery, mental and physical pain, and no actual help. (Of course, these stories don’t line up with the narrative of “transition your child or they will commit suicide,” so they are repressed by the media.)   A Case Study   But before I get to the horrifying physical consequences of the transgender movement, I want to highlight a recent story that was brought to light as a case study on transgenderism in children. Keep this sickening story in mind as you think about what the detransitioners share later in this article—what they share is what this child is racing toward.   According to the report, in December 2021, a mother with a seven-year-old girl posted in a social media group titled “Trans People and the Allies Who Support Them,” sharing that she bought her daughter several books on transgender children, saying, “she’s not trans, we are just allies.”   Exactly one month later, the same mother posted in the same group that her very girly little seven-year-old is suddenly saying she wants to be a boy, and the mother “do[esn’t] think that she’s a boy inside” and that she (the mother) is “a tad insecure that I’ve done something to confuse my kid.” (It should be very obvious that exposing an impressionable child to all of this transgender content has indeed confused her!)   The mother received 150 comments in response, with many stating things such as, “Your son needs you to get past what your dreams for your daughter was,” “It doesn’t matter that you think she isn’t a boy,” “let go of [your] personal opinion” because “the situation isn’t about you,” and “he is a boy right now, and that is what to focus on.”   The mother was told her daughter (who was frequently referred to in the comments as her son) needed to see a gender therapist, that the mother was “misgendering” her “son,” that if she didn’t affirm her daughter as her son the child would suffer from “mental illness, loss of trust, and self harm,” and one person even stated the mother needed to consider kicking the child’s father to the curb because the mother shared he was not supportive! (The mother later reveals they were previously divorced.)   The mother took time to respond to nearly all of the comments, and in the latest comments claimed she was already discussing puberty blockers with a doctor, was referring to her daughter by “they/them” pronouns, and even stated this will be a “confusing and painful transition” due to her family being “pretty conservative.” In other words, she decided to ignore her parental intuition about her daughter (not to mention biological reality) in favor of the fearmongering, disgust, and shame from the trans people and allies in the social media group!   What a gut-wrenching story! That poor child has been brainwashed and conditioned into believing she is a boy, and her mother has likewise been indoctrinated to think the only loving thing she can do is affirm her as a “son” and usher her into a world of hormones and surgeries.   A World of Hurt   Now, I don’t normally have to put content warnings in my articles, but be aware that the following information is not suitable for children and may be difficult for sensitive readers—but I think people need to be made aware of the horror of the transgender movement. We are told that it’s none of our business what people do to or with their bodies—but real children (like the little girl in the story above) are paying the price for the delusions or even wicked intentions of adults who push children toward this lifestyle. Parents and others need to be aware of what the consequences of so-called transitioning actually are (and, like I said above, this hurt and pain shouldn’t surprise Christians who understand that those who are transgender are going against God’s design for them and their bodies!).   One young lady, who was rushed into “gender-affirming care” with little regard for the reasons behind her desire to be a boy, shares that the puberty blockers gave her “hot fl[a]shes, night sweats, and brain fog.” Her chest binder was painful and obstructed her breathing, so she opted for a double mastectomy that left her with nerve damage and the inability to breastfeed—if she’s even able to have children. She refers to her transition as a “medical scandal,” stating, “I was an unhappy girl who needed help. Instead, I was treated like an experiment.”   A young lady from California, who calls her experience “experimental gender medicalization,” shares that, at 13, she was not fully capable of understanding what she now fears. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fully carry a child, and I might be at increased risk for certain cancers, mainly cervical cancer . . . I am not able to breastfeed whatever future children I have.”   One young man shares his transition “only worsened his problems,” and he ended up doing hard drugs like heroin before eventually becoming sober and detransitioning. He says, “My therapist really was an activist who also happened to be a psychologist.” He still suffers from an inflamed pelvic area, pain while urinating, and possible osteoporosis due to the synthetic estrogen he was given.   I will share one last story (content and language warning if you click the source link)—this one was the most detailed and horrifying of them all. I have tried my best to make it as suitable for all audiences as possible (the original Twitter thread is very explicit with crude language).   One young man shares that, in the area where he received a “gender-affirming” vaginoplasty surgery, “you could stab me with a knife and I wouldn’t know. The entire area is numb” (and that’s not even remotely the worst of what he shared, but the details are too explicit for my articles). Every day he deals with incontinence, painful urination, and dilation of his false surgery-constructed body part, a process he describes as “like some sort of demonic ceremony where you impale yourself for 20 agonizing minutes to remind you of your own stupidity.” He refers to everything as “a living nightmare,” and states, “this isn’t even the half of it.”   This is the horror transgender activists are pushing young children toward—a life of truly irreversible damage to their bodies.   Biblical Truth Matters!   Each of the people whose stories I summarized above are people made in God’s image—people of incredible value and dignity. People created either male or female who, because of things such as trauma, abuse, or parental abandonment—coupled with sinful attitudes and thoughts—suffered from gender dysphoria and were pushed to view hormones and mutilating surgery as the answer to their problems. But that’s not the answer!   We as Christians have the answer—the cross of Jesus Christ. It’s the hope of the gospel that provides the answer to those suffering from gender dysphoria (and everyone else!). As one of our staff writers, Avery Foley, shares in her article Transgender Solution Comparison: Surgery vs. the Gospel,   At the heart of gender dysphoria is an identity problem. A person struggling with gender dysphoria is putting their identity in something so much less than Christ and his design for them.   As an analogy, consider the young woman or man struggling with anorexia, “an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat.” Such a woman or man has an identity issue—their identity is in their physical appearance, specifically their weight. This so consumes them that they will forgo food and necessary nutrients, and/or compulsively exercise, to lose weight. This is unhealthy and, generally, the woman or man’s perception of themselves as obese or overweight is a wrong perception—and everyone else can see it but them.   Such a person is not helped by their friends or family saying, “well, if you feel you are overweight, you must be. Make sure to skip meals and workout for hours. If it makes you feel better, it’s right for you.” Such advice would be tantamount to abuse!   Now, the reasons someone may struggle with anorexia may be complex (e.g., as in gender dysphoria, past or ongoing abuse may play a role), but the solution is the same—this person needs an identity rooted in Christ and his design for them.   We are designed as male and female (Genesis 1:27), but that is not the “be all and end all” of who we are. Surely it is an important part of who we are, but who we are in Christ is infinitely more important. When someone struggles with God’s design of them as a male or female, they don’t need a fan club telling them to live however they feel. They need true friends who will point them away from their destructive feelings about themselves and to the only One who is truly and ultimately our identity—Jesus Christ, who created our physical bodies, whether male or female, “fearfully and wonderfully” (Psalm 139:14)—not as canvases to take shape according to our own desires or under a surgeon’s knife.   Children and adults suffering from gender dysphoria need Christ and need to become new creations in him. It’s truth (the truth of Christ and his Word) that sets us free (John 8:34)—not the horrific lies of this world that so easily ensnare.   To learn more about how the gospel applies to gender dysphoria, I encourage you to read Avery’s article in full.   And if you’re a believer reading this article who has been “on the fence” about the transgender movement or afraid to speak for fear of insults, ridicule, or worse, please think deeply about the stories above. The medical and social experiment currently unfolding is leaving victims in its wake and it’s our duty as Christians to speak up for the vulnerable and defend them against those who would use and abuse them. We cannot stay silent. We must speak “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).   Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8–9) Daily Jot: Stupidocrisy: The media’s lament - Bill Wilson – www.dailoyjot.com   A Gallup poll indicating only 16% of Americans trust newspapers and only 11% trust television news has mainstream news media calling for more positive coverage of the failing Biden Administration and questioning why people don’t trust them. These polling numbers follow last year’s Gallup findings that Americans do not trust the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly, and do not consider journalists as ethical. This has caused some finger pointing among mainstream media members. They blame Joe Biden’s failing agenda and Republican’s attacking democracy for the negative reporting, rather than taking responsibility for their poor image. But there may be even more beneath the veneer.   The Gallup poll caused MSNBC anchor Katy Tur some anxiety. In an interview with The Hill, Tur said, “People don’t trust us. They don’t believe us, and it makes me wonder if this job, as I’m currently doing it, is effective but if it’s doing more harm than good.” Tur concluded that the negative coverage of President Trump “hurt our credibility in the long run.” Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon, Jr. wrote: “The mainstream media has played a huge, underappreciated role in President Biden’s declining support over the past year. Its flawed coverage model of politics and government is bad for more than just Biden–it results in a distorted national discourse that weakens our democracy. The media needs to find a different way to cover Washington.” And Bacon believes that it is the media’s fault that Biden’s poll numbers are among the worst in history.   Bacon continued, “Also, the media’s “equally positive and negative to both sides” approach has been challenged by the increasingly radical and antidemocratic Republican Party.” Then Bacon reasons that there is no moral equivalency between Biden’s policy “mistakes” and Republicans undermining democracy through “baseless” claims of election fraud, gerrymandering voting districts, and “making it harder to vote.” Bacon concluded: “Yes, I am calling for the media to cover Biden more positively.” It’s hard for these modern socialist propaganda artists (they hardly qualify as journalists) to admit that the public’s rejection of Biden’s failed policies are a wholesale rejection of the mainstream media’s very own beliefs.   The mainstream media is lamenting the loss of public trust. Instead of looking inward and understanding that its leftist bias, its lying collusion with government to censure and repress dissent, and its hate for the Constitutional Republic is being outright rejected by sane people, it blames Republicans and each other. This exposes the arrogance, pride and extremism of the political left. Galatians 6:3 underscores this situation: “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” To lament that your credibility suffers because you cover “both sides” when one is not morally equal to your beliefs, when in reality, you have lost the public trust because of your dishonest reporting and suppression of the truth, is no less than, say it with me…Stupidocrisy.   Sources:   https://news.gallup.com/poll/394817/media-confidence-ratings-record-lows.aspx   https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/07/17/msnbcs-tur-people-dont-trust-us-they-dont-believe-us/   Daily Devotion: Behind the Façade - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org   Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord —Acts 3:19   https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/behind-the-facade/ - Listen   As a 17-year-old kid, I was searching for God. I had tried to find truth through alcohol and partying, but I knew that wasn’t the answer. I tried to find it through drug use, and I knew that wasn’t the answer either. But I was searching.   I would hang around Newport Beach at night, leaning against a wall, and I would watch as Christians walked around handing out religious literature. They looked at me and kept walking. Occasionally they gave me something to read, but they wouldn’t engage me.   I remember thinking, “Why won’t you talk to me?” They bought my façade, the appearance that I didn’t care. But I did care. And I was waiting for someone to enter my world and show me the way.   That is what Jesus did with the woman at the well in Samaria. He said, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again” (John 4:13 NLT). He was using the well as a metaphor for life. You’ll be thirsty again if you drink this water.   We could write that over the well of materialism or over the well of fame. We could write it over the well of so many things.   The woman, however, wasn’t getting what Jesus was saying, so she started to argue with Him. But Jesus called her out. He engaged her and told her what she needed to do.   When we’re sharing the gospel, we need to appeal to a person’s spiritual thirst, but we also need to tell the truth about sin. They need to know that sin separates them from God, and the solution is a relationship with Jesus Christ. The problem is sin. The solution is Jesus.   People are hiding behind their façades, but they’re really waiting for someone to show them the way. Will you be that person?