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.

PROPHECY UPDATE ....................9/02/2022

 

Don’t Mess With the Book of Revelation – Jonathan Brentner - https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2022/8/31/dont-mess-with-the-book-of-revelation   The last book in the Bible begins with these words: “The revelation of Jesus Christ.” From beginning to end, the prophetic account magnifies the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s all about His glory, sovereignty, and power.   Revelation is all the more relevant as we watch many of its prophecies came into sharper focus. Conditions are set for the four “horsemen of the apocalypse” to begin their trek through the world; it’s just a matter of time.   Unfortunately, the numbers of those disputing the message of the book of Revelation continues to grow, even in churches that claim to believe in the inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture. Those willing to mess with its message seemingly increase by the day.   Many appear content to ignore the fact that no other book comes with both a promised blessing for those who read it (1:3) as well as a severe warning for those who mess with it by adding to or subtracting from its words (22:18-19).   THE BLESSING: JESUS’ EXALTATION IS ALSO OUR VICTORY   Revelation magnifies Christ from beginning to end. Here’s a sampling of how it glorifies the Lamb upon the throne.   1. JESUS AS THE HEAD OF HIS CHURCH   Chapters 1-3 display Jesus as the Head over His church. These chapters show the Lord in charge of His people just as Paul described in Ephesians 1:22-23.   Revelation 3:10-11a contains a promise of the Rapture through which Jesus will take us out of the world before the wrath of the day of the Lord descends upon “those that dwell on the earth.”   Chapters 4 and 5 exalt the Lamb as the only One worthy to open the seals binding the title deed to this world. The ensuing seal judgments begin the process of the coming King wresting the kingdoms of this world out of Satan’s grasp.   2. THE LORD JUDGES THE EARTH IN PREPARATION FOR HIS KINGDOM   Chapter 6-18 proclaim the Lord’s supreme power and sovereignty over the kings of the earth, history, nature, and all the forces that now rebel against Him. They depict the testing that Jesus said would come upon “the whole world” (Revelation 3:10).   Jesus will prove the righteousness of His Name as He destroys the kingdom of the antichrist along with its lawlessness, deception, and exceedingly great wickedness. Heaven will roar with praise for Him (Revelation 19:1-5) in anticipation of His return with us to the earth and thousand-year rule over the earth seated on the throne of David.   3. JESUS WILL REIGN FOR A THOUSAND YEARS AND THEN FOREVER   Jesus’ ultimate display of glory to the earth happens at His Second Coming. He will then destroy the armies of the world gathered against Jerusalem, lock up Satan, and establish His rule upon the earth (19:11-20:6). After putting down a final rebellion, He will judge the world and forever eliminate death and sin (20:7-15).   Revelation 21-22 describes the glorious eternal state of the new earth and the New Jerusalem. Jesus last words to us, His church, are these, “Surely I am coming quickly!”   The exaltation of Jesus finds its fullest expression in all of the events recorded in the book of Revelation. And His victory will be ours someday.   THE WARNING: DON’T MESS WITH THE MESSAGE!   You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Don’t mess with Texas!” The consequences of doing that might be dire, but they are nothing compared to messing with the book of Revelation.   Consider the warning that occurs in its last chapter:   I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)   I believe these strong words occur here because Revelation . . .   exalts the Person of Jesus. describes the Lord’s final victory over sin and death. provides immeasurable comfort to believers with its description of how God will deal with this wicked world and bring in a joyous eternal state including a New Jerusalem. promises a glorious eternity free of death, pain, tears, and suffering (21:4).   Those who scoff at the book’s message of hope do so to their own peril.   Teachers, pastors, and scholars mess with the message of Revelation in the following ways:   1. ALLEGORY   Many regard the book of the Revelation as allegory, or just symbolism, rather than an eyewitness account of what John actually saw and heard. This is the most popular way that the scoffers take away from its message of victory and hope.   Allegory began long ago as a way to combine pagan Greek philosophy with Christianity, especially that of the pagan philosopher Plato who believed that only the spiritual realm was good. He believed the material world was inherently evil.   Augustine, the one who firmly established allegory as the way to approach biblical prophecy, said the idea of a millennium “would not be objectionable” if somehow “the nature of the millennial kingdom was a ‘spiritual one’ rather than a physical one.”[i] Augustine modified his beliefs regarding Jesus’ future thousand-year reign on the earth in order to make them comply with the teachings of Plato.   Augustine’s hatred of the Jewish people also factored into his theology of dismissing the biblical promises regarding the future restoration of Israel.   There are many reasons to reject the allegorical approach to the book of Revelation:   Revelation repeatedly identifies itself as a book of prophecy (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18-19). The allegorical approach elevates the human wisdom of the interpreter above the inspired words of the text. Words matter very little with those who employ this method. John’s language negates the allegorical approach to the book of Revelation. The apostle uses the word “saw” forty-four times by itself and twelve times with the word “looked.” He uses “heard” thirty times. The apostle was not telling us a story, but rather writing down words as he listened to the angels and the Lord speak. Those who use symbolism to interpret the book of Revelation do not agree among themselves about what is allegorical and literal. Those who use allegory claim to have a special “lens” by which they know the meaning of a passage that often has nothing to do with the actual words of the text. Allegory turns Christ’s triumphal victory over Satan’s world system into something that fails to glorify Him or comfort us in any way. If Revelation is symbolical and not prophetic through chapter 20, does that not greatly reduce our confidence in the promises of chapters 21-22? I believe it would.   2. IT’S APOCALYPTIC  A pastor once told me that the book of Revelation was “apocalyptic” thereby suggesting that this gave him license to interpret its words other than the way that the Lord inspired them. It came as no surprise to me that he had a unique view of biblical prophecy and the future of Israel, one I had never heard prior to meeting with him.   The word “apocalyptic” is translated “revelation” in verse one of Revelation. Contrary to how we regard the English equivalent of the word, in the Greek it signifies an unveiling or revealing. In other words, this term introduces the final book of the Bible as the unveiling of Jesus and His glory, which is precisely what it does.   3. IT’S PAST HISTORY   The preterists tells us that John wrote the book in AD 65 and that the Lord fulfilled all or most of the words of the book of Revelation in AD 70.   There are many problems with this errant approach:   Church history assigns the time of the writing of Revelation to about AD 95. Irenaeus, who grew up in the church at Smyrna in the second century AD, tells us that John wrote the book of Revelation at this time. If anyone would know when the book first arrived at the church in Smyrna, it would be someone who grew up in that church and received his training in the faith from Polycarp whom the Apostle John himself discipled. It’s readily apparent that the prophetic events described in Revelation have not yet happened. John describes Jesus’ Second Coming as a time when “every eye will see him” (1:7). This was most certainly not a first century AD event. The problems Jesus addressed in the church at Ephesus (2:1-7) differ significantly from what Paul wrote about in 2 Timothy as he addressed his prodigy who served as the pastor of this church. The apostle wrote his final book in about AD 67-68. Many believe that the church at Smyrna did not exist until after the martyrdom of the apostle Paul in about AD 68 An earthquake caused considerable damage to the city of Laodicea in about AD 65. They would not have regarded themselves as “rich” at this time. Even if John wrote Revelation in AD 65, it’s doubtful all seven churches would have received the book, read it aloud in all the house gatherings, and possibly made a copy of it by AD 70. For sure, no other church at the time would have seen its prophecies concerning the Lord’s return.   The preterist approach makes the book of Revelation all about the church with prophecies that would have happened long before the majority of believers living at the time would have seen the book or even known of its existence. The preterist view exalts the body of Christ above its Head.   4. IT’S A SECRET CODE FOR FIRST CENTURY BELIEVERS   Another popular approach states that John wrote the entire book of Revelation in code for the suffering saints who lived during the first century AD.   All the arguments against the errant use of symbolism apply here. John recorded future events as he saw them and wrote down the words spoken to him by the Lord and by angels.   And since Revelation was written in AD 95, the majority of believers living at the time would not have even seen the book until well into the second century AD.   DON’T MESS WITH REVELATION   I’m convinced that the book of Revelation is future prophecy and as such glorifies Jesus from beginning to end. Those that discredit its message do so at their own peril. Those that regard the book for what it claims to be receive a blessing when they read it (1:3).   There are verses in the book of Revelation that I do not fully understand.   However, other passages have come into sharper focus as the day of their fulfillment rapidly approaches. For example, the advancements in technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in the past two decades now make it possible for one man, the antichrist, to control the buying and selling in all the earth.   Revelation fills me with hope for what is to come. Since we see its account of future judgments rising rapidly on the horizon, how much closer must the Rapture be that happens before they hit “those who dwell on the earth.”    We truly live in biblical times!   My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is available on Amazon. This book provides a great deal of biblical support regarding the restoration of a kingdom to Israel. It’s the basis of our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing to take us to the place that He’s preparing for us.   Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/ . It will greatly help me in reaching more people. Thanks!   [i] Allen, D. Matthew, Theology Adrift: The Early Church Fathers and Their Views of Eschatology, a paper published on the Bible.org website, chapter 5.

Mideast Review: The New Global Natural Gas Cartel – Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/mideast-review-w-amir-tsarfati-the-new-global-natural-gas-cartel/   Despite Russian warnings, Israel has been very busy in Syria this past week. An airstrike a week ago caused major damage in Tartus on the Mediterranean coast and in Masyaf farther inland. Both destroyed Iranian targets, and in the Masyaf strike a warehouse in the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) was hit, annihilating thousands of medium-range, surface-to-surface missiles. Then, last night as I mentioned above, Israeli airstrikes slammed the area around the Aleppo and Damascus airports. In the Aleppo strike, four Israeli rockets were fired hitting the military airport and weapons depots. According to a pro-Iranian Iraqi news source, the attack on Aleppo was designed to prevent the landing of an Iranian cargo plane. The aircraft diverted to Damascus, but before it could land there that airport was bombed, too.   The potential for another Iraqi civil war is increasing. Within the country’s Shiite majority, there are two camps. One is pro-Iran and is very militant. The second larger faction doesn’t want Iranian interference. This camp is led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Rumors began to surface last week that an Iranian hit squad was looking to assassinate al-Sadr. Then, suddenly, on Monday al-Sadr unexpectedly stepped down from politics. Seeing Iranian strong-arm tactics behind his decision, al-Sadr’s supporters took to the streets in protest. They stormed the presidential palace and the green zones. Violence soon erupted between the angry mobs and Iraq security forces leaving more than 20 dead. As al-Sadr tries to calm his supporters, Iraq has declared a curfew, the US is airlifting its officials out of the green zone, and Iran has closed its borders with the country.   With the possibility of Iraq falling into Iranian-proxy hands with this outbreak of violence, the de facto leadership of Iran in Syria is even more concerning. The desire of the Islamic regime in Tehran is to create a “Shiite Crescent” through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and down to the border with Israel. With this swath of the Middle East under their control, the transportation of weapons of any kind will be no trouble for the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the threat of the radical regime in Tehran to annihilate Israel becomes that much more real.   As Iran continues to grow in strength, much of its opposition appears to be wilting under the overwhelming desire to sign a new nuclear deal. The IAEA is unable to check up on Iran’s nuclear facilities, so Tehran keeps spinning their centrifuges. Europe just wants the deal over and done with so that they can move on to more important issues like how they are going to heat their homes this winter. US President Biden has already lifted many sanctions and appears ready to lift many more. And even as America kowtows to Iranian demands, the regime in Tehran continues to issue threats against the nation, demanding that they remove themselves from Syria and the region.   A US Navy (USN) Saildrone Explorer, an unmanned drone ship used to monitor weather and the ocean, was a victim of an Iranian kidnapping on Tuesday. The USN spotted an IRGC support ship towing the water drone by a cable, and they quickly intervened. Dispatching a coastal patrol boat, as well as an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter (the navy’s version of a Blackhawk), the USN sought to help the IRGC understand that stealing someone’s drone ship is both illegal and kinda rude. Four hours later, the cable was disengaged and the Iranian ship had left for friendlier waters.   Much of the mainstream media is portraying great strides by Ukraine in their war with Russia. Not surprisingly, the media is being intentionally deceitful. As sad as it is to say, Russia has this war firmly in their grasp right now. German media even reported that Russia is now transferring tactical nuclear weapons into Crimea. Not that everything is going perfectly for them. The Russian military had anticipated upping their weaponized UAV game, buying a huge drone arsenal from Iran. Now it turns out that many of the unmanned aircraft are defective. When it comes to Iran, you definitely get what you pay for.   Maybe even more successful than their conventional war against Ukraine is Russia’s energy war against Europe. This winter energy prices in many parts of Europe will increase ten-fold. Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, just informed France that due to problems in their contract they will not be receiving all the gas they have been expecting. Europe set themselves up for this very scenario despite a certain previous US president’s warnings. I’m guessing that the diplomatic elite who snickered behind his back at his “foolishness” are no longer laughing. It’s going to be a long, cold winter for many people.   Even as Russia has Europe twisting in the wind, they are shoring up their own energy strength by aligning with Iran. The two countries are creating a new global natural gas cartel, essentially a Gas OPEC, which will be able to significantly control energy prices in coming years. Once again, we draw nearer to the Ezekiel 38 scenario. What if the little gas giant Israel stands up against the price machinations of this new Russia/Iran cartel by increasing their output to the European nations that Gazprom is now squeezing? For some reason, I don’t believe the Kremlin will look too fondly on that.   Battles between two controlling administrations in Libya have left dozens dead. The nation’s economy is on life-support and its infrastructure is nearly non-existent. Many are afraid that this is the beginning of a new bloody civil war in the already barely-functioning country.   After days enduring a “monster monsoon”, nearly one-third of Pakistan is now under water. Over 1100 people have been killed, and billions of dollars worth of homes, crops, and infrastructure have been destroyed. This is a catastrophic event, the effects of which are only going to increase in magnitude as the days go by.

Let’s Talk About The Current State Of Public Education In The United States - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/lets-talk-about-the-current-state-of-public-education-in-the-united-states/   America’s public schools have never been worse than they are right now. Test scores are falling, and many of our kids cannot read, write, speak or do basic math effectively. As a result, each level of education has had to be “dumbed down”, because each year the next incoming class has been woefully unprepared at the previous level. This is one of the big reasons why many tests these days require only answers that are true/false or multiple choice. Our kids are simply not equipped to handle much more than that. Sadly, this is true even at the college level. I spent eight years earning three degrees at a couple of the best public institutions in America, and the level of education that I received was exceedingly poor. Even at that time, the family pet could have passed most of the “college courses” that I was forced to endure. Of course things have only gotten far worse since then.   This week, we learned that test scores for our 9-year-olds have declined dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic…   Test scores for the country’s 9-year-olds suffered significant declines early this year when compared to early 2020, according to federal data released Thursday that will reinforce the worries of educators and politicians over Covid-19’s impact on children.   Students who took National Assessment of Educational Progress long-term trend tests this past winter scored an average of seven points lower in math and five points lower in reading when compared to 9-year-olds who took the same federal exam in 2020 — just before the pandemic was declared a global health emergency and physical classrooms shuttered.   Those results mean notably fewer students could carry out simple reading tasks or understand texts, or handle arithmetic and early math problem solving.   Whatever we are doing, it is clearly not working.   Over the past couple of years, there has been a mass exodus out of the public schools.   And that is actually a really good thing, because we have gotten to a point where homeschoolers substantially outperform public school students on standardized tests.   There has also been a mass exodus of good teachers, and as a result many public schools around the nation are now facing severe staffing shortages.   For example, in Arizona they have actually been importing teachers from the Philippines in order to plug the gaps…   Situated between Phoenix and Tucson, Casa Grande has struggled to find teachers for years, hiring roughly 30 from the Philippines each year to fill the gap. But that alarming trend is hitting a more dire point. Jennifer Kortsen, a district spokesperson, says, in her 29 years here, she’s never seen a shortage like this.   “I’ve never had a school year start where we’ve had so many vacancies, and it’s really sad,” Kortsen said. “We have it posted, we’ve gone to job fairs, and there’s simply no teachers out there to be had right now.”   After two years of weathering pandemic health concerns, learning loss, and tense public scrutiny, teacher burnout is surging nationwide.   But this is what we get for allowing the left to completely take over our system of public education.   They have done things their way, and now we have a giant mess on our hands.   Instead of teaching our kids to read, write, speak and do basic math, these leftists are relentlessly pushing their twisted social agenda.   Let me give you a perfect example of what I am talking about. In California, one school district is now teaching high school students that there are eight different gender identities and 10 different sexual orientations…   A California district called Newport-Mesa’s health education textbooks claimed there are over 10 sexual orientations and eight genders, Fox News Digital has learned.   A textbook ordered by the Newport-Mesa district called “Comprehensive Health Skills for High School” claims that there are eight different gender identities, including androgynous, bygender, gender-nonconforming, gender questioning and nonbinary.   The Newport-Mesa school district’s curriculum also said that there were 10 different sexual orientations including androsexual, polysexual, skoliosexual, demisexual and gynesexual.   Are you kidding me?   I had no idea what “skoliosexual” means, and so I had to look it up.   Apparently it means “attraction to people who are transgender or nonbinary”.   When they were asked about the textbooks, this is how the school district responded…   Newport-Mesa Unified School District responded to the report, stating “We follow the state-adopted standards for health education, which includes sexual health. We use a state-approved health curriculum with select modules, taught by credentialed teachers.”   In other words, they are saying that this is perfectly okay because the same curriculum is being used all over the state.   Isn’t that wonderful?   And as this radical social agenda is being pushed, there is often a tremendous amount of pressure for students to conform.   For instance, one professor at Texas A&M University is offering an extra credit boost if every single student in the class “properly wears a surgical grade mask during the entire class session”…   A Texas A&M University- Texarkana fall course syllabus, obtained by Campus Reform, shows an instructor is offering students 15% extra credit if the entire class wears a surgical face mask for the whole lecture period.   “If the entire face to face class – everyone – properly wears a surgical grade mask during the entire class session (over the nose and mouth, not taking it off to talk) there [will] be a 15% extra credit boost (1 percentage point per week). If 19 out of 20 students do it? There will be no extra credit,” the American Film History syllabus reads.   I was stunned to hear that this is happening in the state of Texas.   But of course the far left has taken over our public universities even in the reddest of the red states.   And in the blue states, the level of indoctrination has reached extremely bizarre levels.   At the University of Michigan, there are now 126 diversity bureaucrats, and they collectively make 15.6 million dollars each year…   How is this even possible?   This is one of the reasons why tuition costs have soared into the stratosphere, and most Americans have no idea that this is going on.   Of course many parents will just continue to ship their kids off to such schools so that they can get a “good education”.   One of the themes that I keep writing about over and over again is the fact that our culture is rotting right in front of our eyes.   And our absolutely horrible system of public education is one of the biggest reasons why it is rotting.   This is a crisis that we must address, but right now there is not much short-term hope on the horizon.

When the Credit Card Comes Due - By Rob Pue - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/08/27/when-the-credit-card-comes-due-by-rob-pue/   Imagine with me, if you will, what it would be like to live next door to a family with the fanciest house in town. In fact, the fanciest house in the country. These next-door neighbors of yours have everything: they live in a mansion, drive the world’s most expensive cars, have a fleet of private jets, and eat like kings. Yet, they don’t really work. On paper, they work less than half the days in a year, but even when they’re working, their performance is so poor that any employer paying any amount of attention would have fired them years ago. Still, they continue to hold their so-called “jobs” and are never held accountable for failure after failure.   One day, these neighbors of yours come begging at your door, hat in hand, with a very sad story about how they’re about to have their mortgage foreclosed. They admit to you that they’re utterly broke and that unless you help them, they’re going to lose their home and everything they own. But they’re very sneaky in the way they present their plea. In fact, before they leave, they have you convinced that they’ve actually come to HELP YOU!   You’re a conservative Christian, and you work every day from sun-up to sun-down. You’ve been very fiscally responsible. You work hard to pay your bills on time, you drive a 15-year-old car, and you watch every penny, giving freely to Christian ministries and those in need. As a result, you have a small “nest egg” put away for a rainy day when your family may run into trouble. Being the most generous Christian on earth, you give your entire savings to this next-door family, which leaves your own savings account now at zero. “I can always start over again,” you tell yourself. “This family is in need, and I will help them.”   Immediately, however, you notice something amiss. Your neighbors start throwing huge parties at their house. Upon investigation, you find they haven’t spent a single penny you gave them toward their mortgage payments. Instead, they’re spending it on parties, lavish vacations, prostitutes, drugs — and they’re giving much of the money to wicked organizations that you, as a Christian and a conservative, vehemently oppose. They’re donating to Planned Parenthood, Marxist/Communist groups, the LGBTQP+ movement, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and they’re actively supporting a radical transgender curriculum in your local public school.   A month goes by, and your neighbors are back at your front door, weeping openly about how they have no money. They’re completely, utterly broke, and deeply in debt. But this time, they show up with a pre-approved credit card application good for $100,000, and they’ve already filled it out and signed your name to it. They just came to your door to show you what they’ve done, assuring you that they desperately need the money in order to keep their household running. They tell you they’re sending the application in and that the credit card will arrive in the next two weeks — to THEIR house, in their name — but the bills will be sent to you. And somehow, once again, they convince you this is for your benefit.   Another month goes by, the same as the first time. They’re still not paying their bills but continue spending with reckless abandon. And now you’re getting notices in the mail that the credit card has exceeded the limit, and you’re liable not only for the $100,000 but also for the 25% interest rate as well as the over-limit and late fees accruing daily.   By now, it’s gotten to the point that YOU are bankrupt, yet your neighbors continue living their high lifestyle. They still only bother to show up for work less than half the time, and they’re still the worst employees imaginable, yet they still keep their jobs for which they rake in more in one year than you would ever earn in ten. But they’re still broke. You then find out they’ve done the same thing to everyone else in your neighborhood, yet they’re not even attempting to pay so much as the interest on the debt they’ve racked up.   Then, you discover they’re actually traitors, working hand in hand with our enemies and selling out our country. Some in this family are even dealing drugs now, engaging in child sex trafficking, and routinely sponsoring or attending sadistic satanic rituals — all the while collecting huge sums of money and lining their own pockets with it. They still don’t have their financial house in order, they’re deeply in debt beyond anything you could ever fathom, and they just don’t care. You also learn they’ve been illegally printing counterfeit money, and every law enforcement agency in the country knows about all of their many crimes, but this family is “untouchable.” There’s no longer a court in the land that would ever even consider their crimes, much less convict them. They own everyone.   Because of that, they’re now emboldened to do whatever they wish, with no accountability to anyone. There’s no limit to the evil they will do and get away with. Then, one day, you wake up and find they’re at your door with a long list of rules, which they say you must obey or go to prison. Handing over most of your hard-earned paycheck is among the least of these rules. They also announce that you will need to pay them for virtually everything you do. If you drive your car, you’ll be forced to pay them for the privilege. You were diligent in paying off your own mortgage, but you’ll still be forced to pay huge amounts of money each year to live there.   If you buy food, clothing, or anything else, you’ll be forced to pay for those privileges too. When you take your dog out for a walk, you’re reminded that you’re being forced to pay for the privilege of having a dog in the first place, as well as for the sidewalk you’re walking on and the shoes you’re wearing.   Then, one day, they call you up and tell you you’re not allowed to open the business you started from scratch and worked so hard over the years to build up. Others in your family are no longer allowed to go to work either. But it’s ok… they’re going to give you a small allowance to live on until you’re allowed to work again. But if you’re a business owner and if the company you built goes under after being forcibly shut down, it’s not their problem.   The next day, they come over and tell you that now you’ll be forced to wear a dog muzzle in order to be allowed to go out in public. If you don’t wear one, you have to stay home. They’ve now partnered with just about every “privileged” company in the country as well; so those companies now take their orders from your next-door neighbors, who have now become so rich and powerful that they literally control everything from the food you eat, to the home you live in, to the thoughts you are allowed to express in public. Then, they declare that you are to be stabbed with a shot that has a very good chance of permanently injuring you or killing you. YOU have no choice.   These neighbors continue to tell you that everything they’ve been doing is for your own good, and most of the town believes them. Oh, and not only do they control everything you do — they also openly spy on you, listen to your phone calls and private conversations, and they even claim ownership of your DNA now.   But they’re not really rich. In reality, they’re poor, blind, and naked, but they don’t have the sense to realize it. They’ve been living on credit all this time — in more ways than one. But now, having spent all the money that you and others in your town once had, they’re now using the credit cards issued by our country’s worst enemies. But our enemies are not so weak and far from forgiving. They’re demanding payment, but the neighbors are still broke.   So they make some backroom deals with our enemies. They hand over control of massive amounts of farmland and ports of entry and then start selling off private homes — just to pay the interest on their debt. They’re so desperate to keep the wolves away from their own front doors that they’re willing and eager to do whatever our enemies tell them to do — to US. For now, they’re not suffering at all. In fact, they’ve exempted themselves from all the rules they set for the rest of us. What’s more, they’re piling up even more “monopoly money” given to them by our enemies — for themselves, off the books, of course — while the official balance sheet has been in the red since long before you were even born.   Then the people of the town begin to wake up and start to say “enough is enough.” One day, the townspeople hold a massive rally to demand justice. But now, it’s too late. Hundreds are arrested and jailed — for daring to challenge the injustice. Others are persecuted and prosecuted for thinking illegal thoughts or having illegal opinions.   And the neighbors next door continue to host wild parties, eat and live like kings and thumb their noses at the “law” while imposing new restrictions and unjust laws on not just your town but the whole nation. After all, they’ve learned they can easily get away with it, and now that they’ve tasted power, they’ll do literally anything to continue to imbibe.   In 1981, at Ronald Reagan’s inaugural address, he stated, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'” Indeed. Nothing the government does is efficient, cost-effective, or helpful to American citizens anymore. Our greatest enemies have become our so-called “public servants” — who enter politics with a modest net worth but somehow become multi-millionaires or billionaires within a year or two of their so-called “service.”   Meanwhile, our country mourns. I believe we’ve passed the point of no return. Short of a revolution in this nation, I see no way we’ll ever reclaim our God-given rights enshrined in our country’s founding documents and engraved on the very walls of the chambers where our “servants” strip us of those rights and load us down with ever-increasing, heavy, bone-crushing burdens. Our servants have now become our masters, or perhaps better stated: the inmates are running the asylum.   Now we have the “Inflation Reduction Act” — with a price tag said to be $740 billion. There’s no doubt that it will cost much, much more than that. Analysts across the board have stated that this new move by Congress will do anything BUT reduce inflation. Even those who imposed this monstrosity upon us are no longer talking about “inflation reduction.” Instead, they’re referring to it as “climate change” and “healthcare” relief. But friends, lies are lies. Climate change and the whole agenda that goes with that is a lie, and so is our healthcare system. Our “justice” system is equally beyond repair as the innocent are imprisoned while the worst of the worst criminals walk free and continue to party on.   Among the many things charged on this latest credit card are 87,000 new IRS agents. And not just any IRS agents. The new recruits are going to be hand-picked, and they must be willing to undergo firearms training and be willing to use deadly force against US citizens in their new careers with the “SS.” It was said these agents were only going to be looking at tax-cheaters who earn $400,000 or more a year. But you don’t need 87,000 new agents to accomplish that. They’re coming for you and me, friends. And now, they’re planning to come armed… even as they work hard to remove all our defenses.   Couple this with the now fully compromised FBI — which has steadfastly looked the other way regarding the crimes of Obama, Hillary Clinton, Jeffery Epstein, and the Biden Crime Cartel, to name just a few; our Department of Defense, which has now been authorized to use force to inject citizens with the Monkeypox stab — or any other stab of their choice; the CIA, which continues to perpetrate black ops and then roll out the “official narrative” to the public via the mainstream media, as they’ve been doing for years — and it’s obvious to anyone with eyes to see that our government is absolutely, totally, and completely corrupt to the core.   How do we rescue ourselves from such despotism? The answer is, we don’t. God can, and maybe He will, if we will sincerely repent of our national hedonism and apathy and the lukewarmness among professing Christians. But I believe we’re too stiff-necked as a people to ever bow the knee to the Almighty — until that Day when the “credit card” comes due and ALL knees will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: Hay in the barn - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com   There are a lot of stories about haying season when you grow up on the farm. Putting up hay is a lot of work. It’s hard work. It’s dirty and dusty work. You sweat a lot. You drink a lot of water. You get blisters. Sometimes it’s miserable. And there is always the weather. Those beautiful cumulous clouds over the hayfield working with the sun to dry up the morning dew on the windrows of freshly raked hay can become your enemy with afternoon rains. There were so many times we were fighting the elements to get hay in before it rained. In fact, it’s a tremendous mixture of science and good fortune to predict just when to cut the hay, rake it, dry it, bale it, and get it in the barn without getting it wet. Which was dangerous.   The reason you wanted your hay to be well-dried and certainly not wet when it was put in the barn was spontaneous combustion. Damp or wet hay bales stacked on each other is known to get so hot that it can combust and burn the barn down. Being the smallest, I was generally the stacker. I would ride on the hay wagon while my brothers or Dad would toss the bales on the wagon. I would drag them across the wagon and stack them, usually about five or six layers high. I have no idea why or how I was chosen for this task, except like on most farms, everybody got a job.   Once it was stacked on the wagon, the journey across the field and to the barn was the next dangerous step. If I didn’t stack well, the hay could fall off the wagon. If you were riding on top of the hay, you went down with the ship. I remember one time my know-it-all cousin Bobby from Phoenix said he was the best stacker and told me to get off the wagon. Yep, he stacked them all right. We lost half the load before we got out of the field. No more Bobby-stacking. He took revenge on me by feeding the bales into the hay loft on the elevator so fast that I could hardly keep up with them. But, I thought it would be fun to build little tunnels in the loft and rooms as I stacked. This is something that is also very dangerous because the hay would be known to collapse on kids like me playing in the tunnels. Dad expressly forbid it. But…   My cousin Steve and I would play in the mow, going to the top, and sliding down the tunnels I secretly built. It was great fun, until Dad caught us and we both got a good lecture and I had to fill in the tunnels. At least we didn’t get crushed under a cave in or suffocate—like what happened to some other kids. It was big news. I just kind of cringed when Dad and Mom were talking about it at the supper table, laying on me a passive aggressive guilt trip. I got the message. It seemed to work out that we would often finish getting that last load of hay into the barn just as the rain started coming down hard.   Sometimes we would go under the downspout to wash off once the hay was in and it was raining. Other times it was washing in the horse watering trough. Still other times, Mom would hose us down with the cold water from the garden hose. Once all the hay was in, there was a traditional treat of cold A & W root beer from gallon jugs, accompanied by that certain worn out satisfaction of a hard job done. Haying season was one of those dreaded times, but also a time that created great memories of comradery, teamwork, and celebration. Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Hay season was sowing with sweat and sometimes tears, and it was always a joy when it was finished.

Daily Devotion: Made for Something More - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org   Jesus replied, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice." —Luke 11:28   https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/made-for-something-more/ - Listen   Some people spend their entire lives chasing happiness, trying to find the ultimate pleasure, the ultimate experience. But the Bible says this about God: “For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased” (Revelation 4:11 NLT). God created us for His pleasure. And how do we give God pleasure? We enter into a relationship with Him, a friendship with Him.   When we begin to communicate with God and hear from Him, we will find the pleasure we’ve been looking for—not from seeking it but from seeking God Himself.   Psalm 19:8 tells us, “The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart” (NLT). Jesus said, “Blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice” (Luke 11:28 NLT). Keeping the word of God will make us happy.   So, if we want to be happy, we must study the Bible and memorize and obey God’s word. This can help us have happy lives without sin, such as drugs, alcohol, or sex outside of marriage.   God is not out to ruin our lives. The happiness that God gives doesn’t stop when the party’s over. It’s an entirely different approach to life. In fact, the Bible tells us the meaning of life: to know the God who created us. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (NLT).   Deep inside, we know we’re made for something more and what we’re really longing for is not a new possession or a new experience. Even a relationship with another human being can’t fill the void within us. What we’re longing for is a relationship with God Himself.