PROPHECY UPDATE ....................9/06/2022

 

Caught Unawares into the Tribulation - by Pastor Mike Taylor - https://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2022/09/caught-unawares-into-tribulation.html   3 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2nd Peter 3:3-4)   2 “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” (1st Thessalonians 5:2-4)   You have heard so much about the “rapture” of the church, but have up to this point, discounted the subject as irrelevant, or not to be taken seriously. Now you are searching sites, just like this one that deals with bible prophecy, as before you thought it was something to be scoffed at, and now it has happened right before your very eyes. Fear grips your every nerve and your inner most being. You do a Google search on your computer, if the internet still works to find out what is going on. You turn on the TV to find frantic reports of the most horrifying news story that a person can ever imagine. The greatest event in all humanity has just happened, and you search for answers.   People you love, people you know, have suddenly without warning, vanished. Your wife or husband that pleaded with you to take this man and God in the flesh Jesus seriously, is no where to be found. Your children who attended grammar school or kindergarten are suddenly not in class. Their teachers are hysterical. Your baby is not in their crib. You hear the news, the panic in the reporter’s voice that try to explain what is happening all around you. You see the disasters of planes crashing, trains derailing and the accidents of vehicles going out of control. You see reports of government officials, leaders of businesses and common men and women of everyday life suddenly gone. There is no rational explanation that can be found in this natural world. What has happened as your mind swirls with a thousand thoughts?   WAS THAT THE RAPTURE?   Then it slowly dawns on you and you begin to scream in your mind. Maybe you see an open bible that your spouse had been reading. Maybe you’re inspecting personal items of loved ones that were theirs in this life. Have you just missed the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in what they called “The Rapture”? What was it they kept telling you?   15:51 "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." (Ist Corinthians chapter 15.)   You run to grab that Bible you thought was a joke. That book that spoke of fantasies, fairy tales you thought that no one in their right mind would believe is now in your hands. You may have been switching channels trying to find someone speaking what the Holy Book in your hands proclaimed and there is nobody on. The screens are blank and the men and women who proclaimed the coming “rapture” of the church of the Living God are not on the air. Then by chance, you find one channel who said they were “Christian”, and they are just as scared as you are. They proclaim what you feared, what your mind is becoming to understand, as you both missed it. This preacher who spoke uplifting words of personal development and the “purpose driven life” is now just as scared as you are…… you are left behind in utter chaos.   You fall to your knees with deep sobs and bury your face in your hands, as you cry out in deep remorse for your foolishness not to believe what you had been told all your life. Jesus has come and you missed it in all your pride and refusal to come to the knowledge of Jesus as you personal Savior. Is all hope lost? Are you and the rest of remaining humanity doomed and forever separated from THE God who just fulfilled His promise to remove His people from this earth? As long as there is life in you, you still have a chance and a choice to make. Will you continue as you have or make a change? Will you start on the road that you were pleaded with to accept before this world wide event that just happened is finished? How long do I have? You have 7 years of pure hell to endure. What is that word you kept hearing before this event? The word was “saved”? What does that mean, being saved? What do I do now? I can only imagine your fear and the events I can only give sketchy details, as it must be more horrible than anyone can describe in words. What do you do?   It starts with knowing Who and what you should have believed in before this hour.   3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. 3:17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. 3:18 He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God."(John 3:16-18)   Final judgment has not yet come. There is still time to take Him at His word. To believe in what you had refused to believe in before now. At this time, I would like to point you to more passages in your bible that I want you to read for yourself and the surrounding text. First, I ask you to read what I am suggesting in all love and desire for you to join us in this unspeakable joy, but unfortunately you will have to wait until Jesus comes back in His glorious appearing to set up His Kingdom. What I ask you to do is start by reading the Gospel of John in that bible in your hands. Find out who this man Jesus was and is today. It will explain in detail of why He came and what He accomplished. It will show you what He wants to accomplish in your life, as well. Then turn to the following passages and read the surrounding context.   Acts 2:38 "And Peter `said' unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."   You must believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. You must repent of your sins and ask forgiveness of those sins and request mercy from God to impart God’s Holy Spirit into your life and heart. Then start living like it everyday you have left. At the present, you are outside of the grace of God and His mercy, but God may be using this event to shake you to your uttermost being, your very core. The Holy Spirit of God stills wants you to give Him entrance into your life. He is knocking. Will you open that door?   ”Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Revelation 20-21)   "For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life; 5:11 and not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation).(Romans 5:10-11)   John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."   THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY!!   There is no other way, no pathway through any religion, no feel good gospel can lead you to eternal life. Other men might have led you to believe that all religions lead to God, like a spoke on a wheel, they all lead to the axle which is God. That was the lie they wanted you to believe, what Satan wanted you to believe. You cry out, “I was a good person. Why was I not given that much credit?” Yes, you may be an upstanding citizen. You went to church on Sunday with your spouse and kids. You sat there with every thought but what was being preached, just to get through so you could go play golf, or go fishing, or any other activity apart from following what God was trying to draw you to. But what was it you were told? What was God trying to convince you of?   3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."(Romans 3:23-26)   No manner of good works, although honorable in itself, can remove the penalty of sin from any man or woman. God is holy and to stand before Him, we must be found holy. We must be clothed with the righteousness of His Son, who died for us. God the Father will see nothing but Jesus in us, and everything else will be forgotten and separated from us, as the east is from the west, so shall our sins be. You cannot be good enough, generous enough, or righteous in your own power to stand before Almighty God and be counted forgiven of being a person wallowing in sin.   10:8 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)   It is not good enough to understand the words, but a person must internalize them. They must believe them in their heart and mind that these words are truth and were made for the salvation of mankind, including you. You must take that step of faith, even in this terrible hour to understand, to believe that Jesus died for your sins and wishes you to spend eternity with Him and the Father in heaven and on a coming new earth. You must believe in your heart of hearts that God raised Him from the dead and seated Him in glory at His right hand.   James 2:19,”Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”   He has now come, as He promised and you are left to face what will come upon the earth. What is coming? This is wrath, my friend and judgment from a righteous and Holy God. But what is this wrath and what can you do now?   "And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"(Revelation 6:16-17)   This wrath is the judgment of God upon a rebellious and unholy human race that professes all unrighteousness and have turned their back on their Creator and have turned to the worship of the creation. I would describe it as it was in the days of Noah. We all were giving in marriage, eating and drinking and life was status quo, until as in the days of Noah, the flood came and swept them all away. So it has happened now. God in His wrath will sweep away all rebellion. Two thirds to three quarters of mankind will be extinguished, the earth will be scorched, the waters will be turned unusable for consumption, and a madman will be hunting down anybody who professing any allegiance to God. That is why we have believed , on this site, the pre-tribulation return of Jesus, the One you just experienced that left the world in total chaos and upheaval. Jesus will return in approximately 7 years, but it won’t be the world in status quo or the same as it was before Jesus came the first time. Before Jesus will come to set up His Kingdom, that world will be near total destruction and human annihilation. Unless Jesus shortens this time, no flesh will be saved, but for the elect, He will shorten it. (Matthew 24:22)   RISE OF THE ANTI-CHRIST   I give you a word of dire warning, my friend. There is coming a man, that you will see arise. . He will use words that will attempt to calm the storm all around you. He will give false promises and reasons for this calamity. He will try and convince you that all is well and try and explain away the disappearance of millions of people. I can only hear him in my mind saying “Alien abduction” or “being destroyed because they stand in the way of the evolution of mankind.” He will resort to that kind of deceiving lies. Be not deceived. The Bible describes him. He is the Anti-Christ who will be a powerful dictator of the whole world for a very short period of time.   "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."(II Thessalonians 2:8-12)   Believe him not. He will try and say words that will try and calm you, to deceive you, but the Word of God says that he is filled with the spirit of Satan.   “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."( II Thessalonians 2:3-4)   He will try and convince you that your continued way of life is for the good of the planet. He will speak soft words and lure you to follow his master plan of a “greener earth”, to banish global warming and promote salvation of humanity through human endeavor. He will make himself out to be a god in the flesh and demand a mark of loyalty. A further word of warning:   "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."( Revelation 14:9-11)   All who take this mark will do it with full knowledge of their actions. They may believe the lie, but will take a mark of loyalty and proclaim this man, as a god, to their eternal destruction. They may think of him as “the anointed one” a false messiah. Be not deceived, I plead with you. Therefore:   "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: Be not ashamed of Him any longer. Now is the day of salvation:"(II Timothy 1:8-10) II Corinthians 6:2, “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2nd Corinthians 6:2)And again:   Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which had become lost."   You have come to a cross roads in your life and your spiritual condition. You can continue in this, your way of life. You can believe the lies that this charismatic man called the Anti-Christ has with his silky words of deception, or you can listen to the still, small voice that calls you to repentance and to follow Him, Jesus Christ. It won’t be easy to do the latter, but to follow the former will damn you to a devil’s hell burning with fire and brimstone.   "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."(Titus 3:3-7)   If you are reading this and the horrible events that I briefly describe have not transpired as of yet, then there is still time to make that decision for Jesus Christ. It’s a matter of your eternal destination and to soberly meditate on. Do it now while there is still time. Take each of these passages and devour the words preceding and following each quoted scriptures. Drink them in and let them fill you mind and your heart. Then take action by doing a simple sinner’s prayer:   Lord Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart. I am a sinner and confess my sins to you. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness and give me the strength and faith to follow you to the very end. I believe you died and rose again, as you have come and I want to be with you, when you come again to set up your Kingdom. Allow me in your mercy and grace to be added to your Book of Life. I live to follow you, as My Lord and Savior. I ask these in the Name of the only begotten Son of God, Jesus the Christ. Amen.   Note that you do not have to say these words verbatim, but you MUST believe them in your heart. To do otherwise, will throw you into what is coming.....Rapture when you least expect it and the coming Tribulation.   This is pastor Mike Taylor praying that you hear that still small voice calling. It is the Holy Spirit. I pray that you will heed His call, and this warning. If you need help with anything, prayer, counseling, or just a listening ear, then email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com , browse for more messages of the coming of our Lord and the only Way to salvation through Christ Jesus . God bless you all...TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET

World-Order Wickedness – Terry James - https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2022/09/05/world-order-wickedness/   There has developed a dichotomy of perception about the earth’s future. The division is, I think, clearly defined in a story I recently heard a preacher tell.   He said a schoolgirl was assigned the task of writing an essay. The girl’s choice was on the wonderful new world order that was being constructed. She was intent on presenting, he said, the promise of the globalist-oriented curriculum to which she had been subjected during her entire classroom experience.   The dichotomy, the division of perception within views of the world order and the need for building it, is stark indeed.   The humanist one-worlders have promised, as in the lyrics of the song by John Lennon, “Imagine,”that ”all the world will be as one.” This will be the children’s bright future if the heroes—the globalists—can force ecology-destroyers to cease their carbon emissions and stop their climate-change villainy.   Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky. Imagine all the people Living for today. Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too. Imagine all the people Living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one. Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people Sharing all the world. You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will live as one.   That one line—“Imagine no possessions \ I wonder if you can \ No need for greed or hunger \ A brotherhood of man”—seems to have been applied to Klaus Schwab’s promise: ”You will own nothing and be happy.”   This is the gist of the mantra children across much of the world are subjected to on a daily basis when school is in session. The schism, though begun earlier, was completed sometime, I believe, around the early 1960s. The cleaving removed the warning by George Orwell. The removal of the warning sucked Lennon and the globalist cabal’s promise of Utopia into the vacuum created.   The warning was framed through dystopian fiction. The utopian promise is also of fiction, whose attempt to bring one world into being will be even more horrifying than the storyline of the 1947 Orwell novel 1984. The new world order architect-gurus have one central theme as part of their blueprint that aligns perfectly with Lennon’s song. They don’t want the God of Heaven involved in their construction.    My friend Daymond Duck, who consistently provides well-documented dissections of issues and events of our times through God’s prophetic Word, writes the following:    Concerning the coming world government, the Bible teaches that it will be led by a blasphemous Satan worshipper (Rev. 13:4-7).   Klaus Schwab, head of the World Economic Forum (WEF), relies on a gay atheist advisor named Yuval Noah Harari who, in recent weeks, blasphemed God by saying, “Jesus rising from the dead and being the Son of God is fake news.”   On Aug. 12, 2022, it was reported that he said the world does not need most of its current population (he said most human beings are useless).   On Aug. 18, 2022, it was reported that this blasphemer said, “we don’t need some God in the clouds handing down tablets” (the Ten Commandments) because we’ve created our own cloud (the Internet cloud) and our own tablets (computers).   On Aug. 18, 2022, one writer opined (based on Harari’s writings in 2018) that the blasphemous Harari believes, “There is no truth, only power” (according to the Bible Jesus is truth, the Scriptures are truth, etc.), and he said, “Humans prefer power to truth.”   I am not Harari’s judge, but world leaders appear to be getting advice from the pits of Hell as they structure their temporary New World Order (sadly, most of the church and media remains lukewarm or silent, and many of America’s leaders including the Pres. of the U.S. supports the coming satanic New World Order.). “(Advice From the Pits of Hell,” Daymond Duck, raptureready.com, August 25, 2022)   World-order wickedness is indeed in our faces during every twenty-four-hour news cycle. God is no longer welcome on this planet He created. Rebellious mankind has opened the portals of evil dimensions and will soon have to pay for turning their backs on God through suffering His judgment and wrath.   You don’t want to be part of that doomed rebelliousness. Here is how to align your eternal soul with the only good that exists—the Lord Jesus Christ”   “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9–10).

Preparing The Way for Antichrist? Civil Unrest Set to Surge Worldwide – Tyler Durden - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5567   Soaring food, energy, and shelter inflation have led to what could be a new era of civil unrest worldwide. Pockets of unrest have been observed in Sri Lanka, Peru, Kenya, Ecuador, Iran, and Europe. New research forecasts a broader wave of discontent is just ahead.   Earlier this year, Rockefeller Foundation President Rajiv warned that a "massive, immediate food crisis" is nearing. The UN said this summer that the world is "marching towards starvation" with an increased likelihood of civil unrest and political violence.   Making sense of the impending global turmoil is Verisk Maplecroft, a UK-based risk consulting and intelligence firm. They have just published an updated version of the Civil Unrest Index (CUI), covering seven years of data, showing the last quarter saw the most countries ever since the index was created move higher in civil unrest risks (101 of the 198 countries tracked by the firm saw increased risks of civil unrest).   "The impact is evident across the globe, with popular discontent over rising living costs emerging on the streets of developed and emerging markets alike, stretching from the EU, Sri Lanka, Peru to Kenya, Ecuador, and Iran, " Verisk wrote in the report, adding conditions are worsening as the frequency of protests and labor strikes could accelerate into fall.   "Although there have been several high-profile and large-scale protests during the first half of 2022, the worst is undoubtedly yet to come," the firm warned.   Verisk noted Algeria has the highest likelihood of projected civil unrest over the next half year because of rising inflation. Other areas include Europe, mainly due to energy hyperinflation decimating household finances.   When the people's livelihoods are affected -- watch out -- that's an environment ripe for social unrest. It's already happening in Prague and could spread like wildfire.   More than 70,000 Czechs protested over the weekend in Prague, the capital, demanding the ruling coalition take a neutral stance on the Ukraine war to ensure energy supplies from Russia aren't cut off ahead of winter. Protesters are outraged at the European Union for sanctions against Russia that have sparked soaring electricity bills and triggered a cost-of-living crisis.   "Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, and Ukraine are all among the states with the biggest projected increases in risk," the report said.   "Only a significant reduction in global food and energy prices can arrest the negative global trend in civil unrest risk. Recession fears are mounting, and inflation is expected to be worse in 2023 than in 2022," Verisk said.   Energy prices however took another blow over the weekend as it was announced Russian gas flowing toward Europe won't be coming back anytime soon, as Gazprom announced that it had "completely halted" transport of gas to Nord Stream until a previously undetected oil leakage is rectified.   That could takes hours, days... or months. The "shocking development" is a massive blow to Europe, which is scrambling to fill up its gas storage ahead of winter and which has been trying to guess Moscow's next steps in the energy war for weeks. It is unlikely Germany can last very long without these supplies and is already taking drastic action to reduce energy consumption throughout the country, however it may not be enough.   The question also remains if central banks can arrest inflation with the most aggressive interest rate hikes in decades. If not, then most experts expect the next six months are likely to be even more disruptive than earlier this year.   We are watching civilization crumble all around us and we are rapidly plummeting into an abyss of anarchy, madness and chaos, and the days ahead are not going to be pleasant.   Many Bible prophecy scholars speculate that such worldwide anarchy could open the door to civilization crying out for someone to save us from ourselves. Instead of looking to God, society will turn to yet another politician who will offer promises of peace and solutions to the world's problems but instead it will begin one of the most terrible times in all of world history.

Will The New Shemitah Cycle Be One of The Biggest Turning Points In All Of Human History? - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/will-the-new-shemitah-cycle-completely-alter-the-course-of-human-history/   A number of people have asked me about the Shemitah year lately, and so in this article I will attempt to provide some answers. According to Orthodox Judaism, the current 7 year Shemitah cycle will end and a new 7 year Shemitah cycle will begin when Rosh Hashanah arrives on the evening of September 25th. But that assumes that they have been calculating the Shemitah cycles correctly. There are some that believe that this is not actually a Shemitah year at all. There are others that believe that a Shemitah year should begin on the first day of the Biblical year and not on Rosh Hashanah. And then there is the debate between those that believe a full Jubilee cycle is 49 years long and those that believe a full Jubilee cycle is 50 years long. As you can see, researching this topic can quickly become extremely complicated. So let me start off by reviewing some of the basics. This is what Wikipedia has to say about how the Shemitah year is observed in the land of Israel today…   The sabbath year (shmita; Hebrew: שמיטה, literally “release”), also called the sabbatical year or shǝvi’it (שביעית‎, literally “seventh”), or “Sabbath of The Land”, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah in the Land of Israel and is observed in Judaism.[1]   During shmita, the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by halakha (Jewish law). Other cultivation techniques (such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming and mowing) may be performed as a preventive measure only, not to improve the growth of trees or other plants. Additionally, any fruits or herbs which grow of their own accord and where no watch is kept over them are deemed hefker (ownerless) and may be picked by anyone.[2] A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal of shmita produce. All debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted.[3]   Unfortunately, a lot of man-made rules have been created to allow people to keep the Shemitah without really keeping it…   Even for those inclined to consider the Shemitah binding, Talmudic scholars developed a mechanism known as a pruzbul to effectively negate the loan-forgiveness aspects of Shemitah. This process hinges on the scriptural command to forgive the debts of a “friend or brother” (Deuteronomy 15:2), which Talmudic scholars chose to interpret as implying that only private debts are cancelled. Making a pruzbul transfers the debt to a public religious court, a beit din, so the debt is theoretically no longer between friends, brothers, or neighbors. According to this interpretation, the once-private debt is fully recoverable, and nothing is forgiven (see Mark 7:8–9).   Likewise, those interested in maintaining farms during a Shemitah Sabbath year have turned to a rabbinic interpretation, which effectively nullifies the law. By hiring non-Jewish hands to work the land, the landowner can claim to be following the Shemitah by not (himself) cultivating the land—others are doing it for him, and he is not laboring personally.   Obviously this is not what God originally intended. According to Leviticus 25, the Shemitah year is supposed to be a year of complete rest for the land…   Then the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit, 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 That which grows by itself from your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your unpruned vines, for it is a year of complete rest for the land.   And according to Deuteronomy chapter 15, at the end of the Shemitah year there is to be “a relinquishing of debts”…   At the end of every seven years you shall grant a relinquishing of debts. This is the manner of the relinquishing: Every creditor that has loaned anything to his neighbor shall relinquish it. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother, because it is called the Lord’s relinquishment.   According to Orthodox Judaism, the last day of every Shemitah year falls on Elul 29 – the day right before Rosh Hashanah on the Biblical calendar.   Interestingly, there have been some huge stock market crashes on Elul 29.   For example, on September 17th, 2001 (which corresponded with Elul 29 on the Biblical calendar), we witnessed the greatest one day stock market crash in U.S. history up to that time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 684 points, and that was a record that stood for precisely seven years until the end of the next Shemitah year.   In September 2008, we witnessed another historic stock market crash.   On September 29th, 2008 (which corresponded with Elul 29 on the Biblical calendar), the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 777 points. That was another all-time record, and many felt that it was extremely significant that the Dow declined 777 points just as one 7 year Shemitah cycle was ending and another 7 year Shemitah cycle was beginning.   In 2015, the stock market was closed on Elul 29 because it fell on Sunday, September 13th.   But we did witness a tremendous amount of financial shaking during the months of August and September that year.   This pattern does seem to strengthen the case of those that believe that 2001, 2008 and 2015 were Shemitah years.   If those three years were Shemitah years, then 2022 would be a Shemitah year as well.   And that would make 2029 a Shemitah year too.   In fact, many believe that the last Shemitah year in this current Jubilee cycle will be in 2029. And if Jesus died in 29 AD (as many believe), that would put the Shemitah year of 2029 precisely 2,000 years after Jesus died on the cross for our sins.   In addition, it appears that the end of the current Jubilee cycle will wrap up the 120 Jubilee cycles of 50 years each since the creation of humanity. As I detailed in my book entitled 7 Year Apocalypse, all throughout history there has been a belief that God has a 7,000 year plan for humanity. After 6,000 years of human rebellion is complete, Jesus will rule from Jerusalem for 1,000 years during the Sabbath Millennium.   That is one of the reasons why we are supposed to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. We remember that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, and it is also a prophetic picture that points to the time when the world will be at rest for 1,000 years after experiencing so much chaos for the preceding 6,000 years.   If we really are getting very close to the return of Jesus to this planet, that means that everything is about to change.   But as far as the Shemitah and Jubilee cycles are concerned, I want to stress that we cannot be too dogmatic about them.   We simply cannot prove that the Shemitah years have been calculated correctly.   And there is still a lot of debate about whether a Shemitah year should begin at the beginning of a Biblical year or on Rosh Hashanah. I believe that debate will eventually be resolved, but for now it is still an open question.   Having said all of that, what is exceedingly clear is that we are living in the end times and that the return of Jesus is drawing near.   So we should be expecting Biblical calendar cycles to converge, and I believe that is precisely what is taking place.   All of human history has been building up to a grand crescendo, and we get to be here for it.   What an exciting time to be alive!

A Passport to Heaven - By Stephen Meehan - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/08/23/a-passport-to-heaven-by-stephen-meehan/   Exactly a year and a half ago, I was forced to retire from an international flying position due to the mandatory age restriction of 65 years old for airline pilots. The good Lord blessed me with the opportunity to fly far and wide across this vast planet in a turbocharged, multi-engine magic carpet, that took me to destinations on six continents over a 42-year career. A passport to enter those faraway places was always required, and along with a current medical, pilot license and a company-issued American Express credit card – “don’t leave home without it” – made up the documents I needed to circumnavigate the globe and unlock the front door of other nations.   A passport, as most world travelers are aware, is issued by the holder’s home country, and is mandatory to gain entry into other places, as well as being required to show upon returning to the country of origin or one’s home nation before being let back in. A not so lengthy process is initiated to obtain one, including filling out an application form, submitting two photo IDs, then sending off the paperwork and a fee to a government agency, who can vouch for the person’s credentials and then in turn, issues the license to travel abroad. Without such a document, entry into a foreign state is impossible. A traveler is checked immediately upon arriving at the airport, train station or dock and is either allowed in or forbidden to gain access to that particular nation if there is no passport in the individual’s possession.   Some states even require a visa, along with a passport, to be allowed in. Certain restrictions are in place imposed upon members of specific countries before they can gain entry, due to added security requirements.   One of my flying jobs included a three-year position in China. In order to satisfy their entry requirements and to obtain a residential visa, I was required to obtain a local sheriff report of my background; have it notarized by my local bank; taken to the county clerk to have him stamp it; then I drove to Nashville and back to have the governor’s office endorse it; then that document along with all other paperwork was sent to DC to get the entry visa into China.   Once I arrived in China, an interview had to be conducted at the local police department, then all paperwork was sent to Beijing to obtain the residential visa. A very prolonged process that took about a month to complete. All that to get into, reside and work within China – a far cry from what is taking place on our southern border, as illegals stream across our border freely and then are allowed to relocate to any locale in the country that they desire.   A passport is an international ID then. It verifies who you are. The presentation of it to another country’s authority figure confirms that you have gone through the proper channels to obtain it, that you have the issuing country’s endorsement that you are cleared to travel outside one’s home nation, freely enter another’s nation and then are welcomed back home as a bona fide resident. Again, without having one, a person is forbidden to gain access and will be removed or deported from the place that they are attempting to enter.   In a similar fashion, we read in God’s Word that only certain individuals will be allowed to enter into God’s Kingdom. Certain requirements must be met in order to gain access. One cannot enter by any other means than the way defined by the Scripture verses. It is not open to everybody. Everyone is invited in, but unless they have gone through the proper process to gain entry, they will be forbidden to enter. No other shortcuts are available, and the prescribed method of entering in must be followed. A passport or visa to enter into Heaven must be obtained correctly; otherwise, another destination will be provided and enforced.   I used to be a member of a religious organization that had a prescribed method of acquiring salvation – a plan of redemption and eventual access to God’s Kingdom – that differed greatly from that which is laid out in the Bible verses. Their scheme included working for the rite of passage by a sacramental system, paying penalties throughout one’s “Christian” walk to cover their own shortcomings via a Penance provision, and then the final cleansing of leftover sins in a false place called Purgatory for an untold number of years before finally given the green light to be allowed into Heaven – none of which is found in God’s Word. It is a false system devised by man. There are myriads of other such false plans offered by the devil in his quest to deceive.   Instead, God’s passport to Heaven is called the Book of Life. If your name is not included in this registrar, then you will not be allowed in. It is as simple as that. Other entry forms will be denied. No other shortcuts or roundabout methods of entry will be permitted, no matter who or what religious authority claims otherwise. If their plan falls short of the prescribed method of entrance – no matter how long the hoped-for authorization process has been underway – Heaven’s door will not be open to them. An alternate route does not exist. Only one way is the true path for entry.   The Bible makes the claim repeatedly that salvation from God is a free gift, but one that must be accepted by every person in order to have their name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Jesus Christ is that Lamb; He was the only one capable of completely covering the penalty for our sins by His sacrificial death on the cross. Without accepting this truth by applying His atonement to your sins and the acknowledgment that His way to salvation is the only correct path to righteousness, a person will not get their name placed in the Book of Life, and a passport to Heaven will be impossible to attain. Instead, a place of outer darkness and torment awaits the traveler from this life to the next.   These Bible verses confirm that salvation is absolutely free to those who apply them to their life:   “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).   “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).   “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).   “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).   “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).   God, in His Word, makes it abundantly clear that we cannot earn our way into Heaven by a lengthy process of working for our salvation. He provides a free way! It is a free gift, but one that must be taken advantage of; it has to be received. Any religion that denies this process and offers up their own plan for salvation by a system of works is a false religion. They may even claim to be the “One True Church” or other such verbiage to try to convince biblically illiterate followers (who have no clue what the Bible actually says about redemption) of their supposed importance or credentials. But if they are offering a false plan of salvation, then they are teaching “another gospel” as the Bible calls it, and not the true gospel of grace as outlined in Scripture.   Don’t fall for that deception. Jesus Christ tells us in John 14:6 that “He is the Way, the Truth and the Life – that no man comes to God but through Him.” He is our Passport. He is the One who writes your name into His Book of Life. If you don’t freely accept His offer of passage into Heaven by His excruciating death on the cross, you will be barred from entry. Don’t be left outside! Don’t be deceived!   Salvation is a free gift that cannot be worked for. Our attempt to work for it nullifies God’s grace. Even just a little work – like attempting to pay a penalty for a sin or two – nullifies the free gift. A person whose house is paid for does not still make payments to the bank. A person sitting on death row, upon receiving clemency from the governor, is not required to make atonement for whatever crime he may have committed. He is free and clear of a death sentence. He, of course, may not wish to accept a full pardon but instead will have to face the consequences. The same goes for any who reject God’s free plan of salvation but instead foolishly tries another way.   When a person travels, whenever they arrive at their chosen destination, the passport is stamped upon entry and exit to verify the time they arrived and left that country. Over the course of my career, I must have gone through about 5 passports due to all of the stamps and visas required to gain access to certain places. The passports were always full of stamps.   Our passport through life contains many stamps of all our past transgressions and sins. Every little indiscretion is included on every single page. Nobody goes through life and then winds up with a clean record. We all carry a very marred transcript.   When we accept Christ into our lives and trust fully in His death on the cross for our sins and accept His free grace totally as the only requirement to enter into His glory – there is no other entry provision; it must be done His way! – then, immediately, our names are transcribed into the Lamb’s Book of Life, and the gates of Heaven open to us.   Our little passport through life, with all of its ugliness and shortcomings, the total record of how we have sinned against Him and the myriad stamps overrunning the pages, when we show up at the Pearly Gates and present our passport to gain entrance into His Kingdom, upon inspecting our document to His authority, God will only see one stamp if we have accepted Christ: “Paid in Full.” One stamp, embossed with the Blood of Christ, will cover all of our past transgressions, and all the other ugliness of our past record will be cleaned out because of what he has done for us.   That travel document, with that stamp, is the only means available to go from this life to that paradise and enjoy eternity with Our Creator and Our Redeemer – don’t leave Earth without it!   Stephen Meehan   stevemeehan1225@gmail.com

Daily Devotion: Seek First the Kingdom - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org   These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. —Matthew 6:32   https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/seek-first-the-kingdom/ - Listen   If I had the opportunity to speak to my younger self, here’s what I would say: Put God first in your life. Of course, this starts with asking Christ to come into your life. Then it means following Him. Jesus summed it up this way: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).   Now, what did Jesus mean by “all these things”? We find the answer in the earlier verses, where He said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs” (verses 31–32 NLT).   We’re obsessed with what we’ll eat, drink, and wear. These are not necessarily bad things to think about, but Jesus is saying that we shouldn’t make them the focus of our lives. Instead, we should put God first. We should seek first the kingdom of God: the rule and reign of Christ in our lives.   One day, we will go to Heaven and enter the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God will come to Earth. But when the Bible tells us to seek the kingdom of God first, that means simply putting Jesus first in our lives.   Think about God’s will when you make decisions. Don’t put money first, career first, politics first, or even ministry first. Put God first in your life, and the rest will be blessed. This doesn’t mean that God will make you incredibly wealthy. What it means is that God will “supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NKJV). So put Him first.