PROPHECY UPDATE................8/5/2022

 

Woke, But Not Awake - Steve Schmutzer - https://www.rev310.net/profile/40ac2006-4608-4f7a-8770-6000d5e25a84/profile   You love your church!   It’s attracting college kids and young families. It’s “on fire” and your numbers are up.   Your worship band has a couple of hipster guys with tattoos and a gauge or two that used to jam with professional musicians. The old pipe organ’s been removed and replaced with "killer sound and lights." The whole stage is black now.   Your teaching team is young. They wear untucked shirts and faded jeans, and they tell lighthearted stories and funny jokes that crack up the college crowd every week.   You’re pleased with how your church deals with the Bible’s tough subjects. It mostly avoids them. It doesn’t preach anything too deep since “there are lots of interpretations.” Instead, your church generally feels the Bible is of and for the community. It’s a collection of human responses to God, and so the Bible is dynamic, encouraging, and non-judgmental.   Your church is a place where everybody feels welcome. It’s “affirming and inclusive.” You can come as you are and leave as you were. No problem.   It’s a church that believes the Gospel is in every passage and each verse is “all about Jesus.” The sermons aren’t too long. They mostly focus on social themes because “we all need more community, more tolerance, more equality, more love, more diversity, and more grace.”   You can bring your unsaved friends to your church. They won’t hear about judgment, God’s wrath, and eternal punishment in the flames of hell. Some of your leadership isn’t convinced there’s a literal hell anyways since “the Bible doesn’t always mean what it says.”   There’s no pressure to repent, and you don’t have to worry that your friends’ personal choices will be confronted. It’s all about “having a conversation” instead.   Awkward topics like one way to heaven, two genders, three parts of the Trinity, four horsemen of the apocalypse, five resurrections, six days of creation, seven years of Tribulation, eight people on the ark, nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, and ten virgins are typically avoided in your church. Besides, “they probably should be.” The “times have changed,” and some of that stuff doesn’t really fly anymore. A couple of those notions are ridiculous too – “science has proven that.”   Your church is friendly and non-confrontational. That’s why the New Testament is the primary source of sermons by far since “it’s all about grace.” Your leaders believe, “God is focused on the church now,” and it’s about “what we are doing for God’s kingdom.”   Stuffy worship traditions have been replaced with fresh ideas. The choir’s gone. There are no hymnals or special music selections, and the communion wafers are gluten-free. There’s even a funky little coffeeshop and some original art in the welcome area – the décor is now “more inviting and accepting.”   It’s cool that your church wades into politics since “it’s important to be socially responsible.” Your leaders don’t like “mean tweets.” They talk openly about “the problems of systemic racism” and the church’s responsibility to “comply with government mandates.” They’ve said very little about Roe v. Wade being overturned because they want to be sensitive to various opinions within their congregation.     Your church leadership supports “green policies” to protect the planet. They’re doing their part with their e-bulletins, eco-cups, and their new composting program. Your church also supports masks, open borders, gun control, voting rights, interfaith fellowship, BLM, ACC, BDS, DEI, CRT, DSA, – and of course, LGBTQIA.   Yep, you love your church. It’s culturally sensitive, it’s open-minded, it’s eco-friendly, it’s nontraditional – and it’s totally you.   I need to be direct. Your church is “woke.”   That’s not a good thing. To be candid, your church is in a very bad spot. Spiritually, it’s no longer alert. It’s conformed to worldly postures and persuasions much more than it admits, and it’s unaware of its true condition.   It’s often more obsessed with what it doesn’t want to be than it’s burdened by what it’s called to be. That’s why your church has made consecutive choices to go in wrong directions. It’s lost the capacity – and will - to understand it's done this.   Your church is “woke” because it supports behaviors and ideas that find their roots in a godless agenda. It defends political correctness even as it strays from a literal interpretation of God’s Word. Your leadership feels self-righteous for “exposing racism, patriarchy, and heteronormativity” – and they feel affirmed when their positions align with mainstream media.   Because “wokeness” is shaped by Critical Race Theory and other close kin systems of thought, those who are “woke” have convinced themselves that they’re more aware of the true nature of our society. A “woke” church is an extension of that dynamic, and it will try to manipulate the convictions and choices of those within it. It nurtures a bias against anyone who responsibly teaches the full counsel of God’s Word. Since it believes it sees what others fail to see, a “woke” church isolates – and scolds - those who point out its errors.   Bluntly put, a woke church is one that doesn’t really care if you can back it up with the Bible. They will refuse to see the situation this way, but their feelings, desires, and emotions often override what Scripture says. It’s more important for a “woke” church to support government mandates, to parrot media talking points, and to lament “social injustices” in order to be - and to stay - “woke.”   Their actions reveal their motives. A “woke” church wants to do what others do – and be what others are.   That is why a “woke” church tends to publicly sympathize with relativism-rich liberal values far more than conservative ones. “Woke” church leaders feel deep down inside that Jesus would identify more with the left-leaning spectrum.   The truth is the rapid changes within our cultural paradigms are much more a test of your church’s grounding in the doctrines of Scripture than they are an opportunity for it to be “community-minded,” “racially sensitive,” or “environmentally conscious.” A “woke” church has fundamentally failed that test.   I’ll continue to be direct here. Your church is asleep.   I want to be 100% clear. The Bible instructs believers to be “awake” - not “woke” (1 Thess. 5:6). The two concepts – one Scriptural, and one secular - are countless miles apart. The words seem similar, but they’re saying opposite things. It’s dangerous to be on the wrong side of this important distinction.   Paul warned the church, “Don’t sleep as others do.” His instructions were for the last days. He urged it instead to stay alert, awake, and sober. He was concerned that during deceptive times like those we live in now, the church would embrace worldly views and values.   It’s why he instructed the church to be different than the culture it was in, and it’s why he cautioned the church against the temptation to become careless in its spiritual disciplines. Paul did not want the church to do what others do – or to be what others are.   Unfortunately, if Paul were alive today, he’d concur with famed Welsh preacher, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who often railed against the “superficial” church. Paul would’ve probably agreed with AW Tozer who wrote that if the Holy Spirit were completely withdrawn from the Church, “95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference.” That’s because the church today is asleep.   In the eschatological parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13), a tragedy is presented, and it concerns a final time that is approaching. While this parable is directed to Israel, it holds an overarching truth for those who claim to be part of the body of Christ. That truth is this: there is grave danger in being spiritually indifferent or unaware concerning the times in which we live.   Jesus said, “The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all (the wise and the foolish virgins) became drowsy and fell asleep” (v5). In the terminal chapters of human history, there will be those who have every good reason to remain awake and watchful – but their spiritual senses will be dulled instead.   They will not perceive what’s going on around them because they won’t care enough to. As a result, they’ll sense no urgency and raise no alarm. They won’t be prepared. Rather than being wise enough to change their choices and habits, they will drift along in foolish compliance with those who are in the dark. They will be asleep.   In the letter to the church in Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6), Jesus issues a prophetic rebuke to the church as it stands upon the very threshold of His coming “like a thief” (v3). Jesus commands it to “Wake up!” (v2). It was a church that claimed a “reputation of being alive” but it was dead instead (v1). It’s easy to see a direct parallel with the condition of the church now.   It’s clear what Jesus Christ would say about the modern Church – particularly those congregations which are more or less described in the opening portions of this article. He’d say they are asleep.   A “woke” church is no more awake by Biblical standards than it is “on fire and growing” by any measure of the same. This is plain when we see some of the qualities of a church that is asleep and when we understand how this comes to be.   For starters, a church that’s asleep is one that diminishes – or does not properly understand - the prophetic Word of God. It’s not a priority for them. This connection is made clear in multiple Bible passages, including those noted earlier. There is a direct link between prophetic passiveness and personal peril.   Paul – as we see – was concerned that the church of Thessalonica might become asleep. To prevent this, he taught them prophecy. His time with them was brief as Acts 17:2 may suggest, and he followed that visit up with the letters we call 1 & 2 Thessalonians. It’s here that things get interesting.   Word had come to Paul that apostate teachings had entered the young Thessalonian church, heresies which conflicted with what he’d taught them. Chapter two of 2 Thessalonians dives into the problem, and it concerns the second coming of Jesus Christ. Paul dispenses a healthy portion of meat in this chapter, but he asks in 2 Thessalonians 2:5, “Don’t you remember when I was with you, I used to tell you these things?”   It’s easy to overlook the layout of this situation, but here it is:   Number one, the Thessalonian church was new in its faith and organization. Number two, Paul didn’t have much time with them, but he used what he had to emphasize the themes of prophecy. Number three, Paul specifically taught them about Christ’s Second Advent, about the Antichrist, about the Rapture, and about the Great Tribulation. And number four, Paul did all this to protect and nourish this little church.   It's that last point I want to pay special attention to. In the fuller context, we see Paul’s antidote for “not sleeping as the others do” was to teach Bible prophecy.   The doctrines surrounding Christ’s return are precisely those things which equip believers against falling prey to cultural deceptions. These specific Biblical truths are there – among other reasons – to keep believers alert and awake.   Said another way, responsibly teaching the prophetic Scriptures helps to preserve a church against going “woke.” It plays a major role in keeping a church from becoming lukewarm and self-deluded, and from evaluating itself by the world’s standards (Rev. 3:14-22).   In all ways, a church that provides a diet of sound Bible prophecy is one that is properly “equipping the saints” (Eph. 4:12).   But many churches don’t want the very thing they most need. They reject it. It’s in 2 Peter 3:3-4 where the tragic reality of today’s “woke and asleep” church is perfectly described. It’s in this passage where we see a church doing two things - with the first action resulting in the second one.    The first thing such a church does is it mocks the importance of Biblical prophecy, especially any theme that centers on Christ’s imminent return. Doubt and derision are clear as the church asks, “Where is this coming He promised?” Despite multiple clear teachings on the pre-Trib Rapture in God’s Word, the tragic fact is only 36% of pastors today believe this doctrine according to a 2016 study by LifeWay Research. I’m betting that numbers even less in 2022.   The second thing a church that scoffs at Bible prophecy does is it decides to pursue a different focus. Part B of 2 Peter 3:4 describes a church that chooses to emphasize “the way things are.” This verse makes it clear that the antithesis of studying and understanding the doctrines of Bible prophecy is becoming preoccupied with themes that are more about "everything continuing as it has," - or the way they choose to see things instead.   A church like that will claim to adhere to God’s Word even as it sets aside almost 30% of its content which is devoted to prophecy. A church like that will promote worship and sermons that splash endlessly in the shallow end of the pool. A church like that will utterly fail to grasp the hard-hitting truths that so many believers are starving for today. A church like that will defend the choices of a depraved culture, will adopt its foolish language and values, and will promote the deceptions of a godless agenda.   What a church like that will NOT do is it “will not tolerate sound doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:3). Rather, it will seek out and place into positions of leadership those individuals who keep things “as is,” who often lack proper gifting, and who have not adequately demonstrated that they have a strong Biblical foundation.   They do know how to “scratch itching ears” though. They do know how to “turn away from the truth,” and they’re great at playing the game to keep the status quo.   In other words, they’re exactly what’s needed to keep a church “woke” rather than “awake.”

Wars & Rumors of Wars: The World Has Become a Tinder Box – Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/wars-rumors-of-wars-review-w-amir-tsarfati-the-world-has-become-a-tinder-box/   This has been a crazy week around the globe. So much has flared up, and, when combined with all the conflict already going on, we can see the tinder box that the world has become. So, this week we will make this a “Wars and Rumors of Wars” review. While it won’t be exhaustive, I want you to see seven areas where conflict either already exists, has just begun, or has the potential to blow up at any minute. I am doing this, because I want this to be available to you as a quick reference guide to help you understand the background of each situation as it unfolds. I would once again implore you to subscribe to my Telegram channel which I am constantly updating because events are moving so quickly. Also, watch my Breaking News Updates, which are located on my YouTube channel.   China v. Taiwan   Taiwan temporarily stole the headlines last week. Despite the country’s last-minute pleas for the invitation to be canceled, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi insisted on making an official visit to the island, much to the anger of Beijing who saw it as an encroachment on land that they believe still belongs to them. After many threats and much posturing, Pelosi left and it seemed on the surface as if the US had gotten away with this act of political belligerence.   However, we must remember that China plays the long game. The initial concern was that China might use the provocation to finally invade the small island, as they have long threatened to do. But that is looking at the situation from a western stratagem. Instead, we see that using the cover of military exercises, Beijing has effectively surrounded Taiwan. These drills, which began Tuesday, are unprecedented as they will include missiles flying over the island and PLA forces entering past Taiwan’s 12-mile territorial waters line, essentially saying the border no longer exists. Like an old school siege, China is now in a position to strangle Taipei until their economy collapses. As soon as Pelosi left, Beijing initiated this strategy, freezing the import of food products, including fruit and fish from Taiwan, and temporarily stopping the export of sand to the country.   If the Taiwanese people are hoping for help from the West, they will likely be disappointed. Despite the bluster of many in Washington surrounding Pelosi’s “bold” trip, as soon as she returned the White House put out a statement making it clear that the administration in no way supports an independent Taiwan. Color me confused. And if you think that the UN might step in to help, recognize that China has just assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of August. As it stands, Beijing has the power to inflict irreparable damage upon the world both militarily and, more frighteningly, economically, so don’t expect any bold retaliatory moves or heavy sanctions by the West. For more about this situation, please watch my Breaking News Updates from last week.   Russia v. Ukraine/NATO   Russia continues its tragic pounding of Ukraine. Last week in Mykolaiv, five civilians were killed and seven more wounded when a missile landed near a public transport stop. While what is already taking place is terrible enough, the concern that it could escalate beyond the borders of the two nations makes this conflict of grave concern. At the UN on Tuesday, Russian diplomat Alexander Trofimov made it clear that Moscow could decide to use nuclear weapons in response to an invasion by NATO countries. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin plays a game of economic chicken with the nations of Europe. After Gazprom last week said that they would reduce to 20% capacity the flow of gas into Germany, it has now stopped shipments of gas altogether to Latvia. The closer we come to winter, the more dire this situation will become. The EU has made an agreement with Egypt for Israeli gas to flow to Europe, but that help is still at least a couple of years away. One of the parties will have to blink, and Europe has a much greater track record of caving to pressure. But all it will take is one NATO country to push back militarily against Russia’s pressure for all the NATO countries to get pulled into a shooting war with Moscow and its allies – a conflict which we have seen could have nuclear consequences.   Kosovo v. Serbia   A dispute over license plates and government-issued ID cards exploded into gunfire last week in Kosovo. The breakaway state which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 is recognized by a little less than half the UN countries, including the United States and much of Europe. In the years following the separation of the countries, the tension continued to be thick between the Muslim Kosovars and the Christian Serbs. This is just the latest of the issues that have put the two groups at odds. Serbia, which surrounds Kosovo’s northern and eastern borders, is closely watching how the ethnic Serbs are being treated. Said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić regarding a possible conflict with Kosovo, “All I can say is that we will ask for peace and ask for peace, but I will tell you right away: there will be no surrender and Serbia will win. If they try to start persecuting Serbs, bullying Serbs, killing Serbs, Serbia will win!” We know from history that major conflicts can begin in these Slavic countries, such as when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, just to the west of Serbia, triggering World War I.   Iraq v. Iraq   What began as a conflict over a pro-Iranian candidate for Prime Minister can quite possibly turn into another Iraqi civil war. Last week, a political alliance fronted by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki put forth as their candidate Mohammed al-Sudani, a former government minister and one who many see as a probable puppet of the pro-Iranian al-Maliki. In strong opposition is a group headed by nationalist, anti-Iranian Muqtada al-Sadr. This powerful cleric led his protestors on Saturday to storm Iraq’s parliament building and initiate a sit-in that lasted until yesterday. The US embassy in Iraq’s green zone has elevated alertness to the highest level. This Shiite v. Shiite conflict could quickly escalate into another Iraqi civil war. The US and Western nations need to ask themselves whether, if this happens, they can afford to lose 4 million barrels of oil per day. Particularly after the Saudis and the OPEC+ nations essentially snubbed President Joe Biden following his trip to Saudi Arabia by only increasing daily oil production by 100,000 barrels, rather than the millions that the president wanted.   Iran v. Israel/Saudi Arabia   The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency said Monday that his country has the technical capability to produce an atomic bomb but has no plans to do so. “Phew,” said the rest of the world, even as Israel recalled its Mossad agents from Tehran and ran all of its air strike plans through the shredder. The fact is that Iran can say whatever it wants, but no one can verify their statements because the cameras remain shut off throughout their facilities. Russia and China are pushing hard for a new nuclear deal with their friends in Tehran. The US sent a negotiator to the nuclear talks in Vienna to try to appease that axis of evil. It is likely that Iran will get all that it wants.   The concern that Iran will militarize their nuclear program is great, and they have shown nothing to allay that fear. This is why I felt that the situation was important enough to make it the central issue in my second Nir Tavor thriller, By Way of Deception, which is now available for pre-order. A nuclear Iran is a destabilizing factor not just because of their radical regime, but because of their many terrorist proxy militias who would jump at the chance to employ a “suitcase nuke” or some sort of dirty bomb.   Saudi Arabia knows that it is also in Iran’s crosshairs, because the Shiite regime in Tehran views them as decadent Sunni apostates. If Iran’s nuclear program does become weaponized, then Riyadh intends to demand nuclear warheads from Pakistan since it was the Saudis who funded the Pakistanis’ successful nuclear program in 1998. With Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel all possessing nuclear weapons, what could possibly go wrong? It recalls the statement on Monday by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in which he said, “Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.”   Terrorism v. Everybody   On Sunday, a US drone strike killed al Qaeda’s top dog, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Acting on information provided by the Taliban, the US hellfire missile took out the cleric as he stood on the balcony of his house, leaving his wife and daughter inside unscathed. We must give credit where credit is due – this was a well-deserved fate for this man orchestrated and brilliantly executed by the US military. The insertion of al-Qaeda into the news cycle is a reminder that the world is one major terrorist attack away from another far-reaching war. Despite the great counter-terrorism measures that are taking place around the world by many organizations, it truly is a matter not of “if” but of “when”.   Azerbaijan v. Armenia   Nagorno-Karabakh, now officially known as the Republic of Artsakh, is a breakaway state within Azerbaijan. It declared its independence in 1991 which led to war with Azerbaijan in 1991-94 and again in 2020. Because the population of Nagorno-Karabakh is almost exclusively Armenian, it has been a constant source of conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Within the last few days, fighting has commenced once again between Azerbaijan and the Armenians within Nagorno-Karabakh. Meanwhile, Iran is using the opportunity to pour its forces, mainly armor, towards its border with Azerbaijan. Whether it is to the south with Iran or the west with Armenia, Azerbaijan could easily find itself in a one or possibly two front war very soon. The ties that both of the latter countries have with NATO could make this a very interesting and volatile predicament, particularly if Iran gets involved. The Parable of The Cancer Pill & The Modern Church – Michael Brown - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5506   In the year 2015, as the story is told, a renowned scientist discovered a cure for cancer after more than 30 years of research and testing. But it was not just a cure. It was the cure, effectively eradicating all cancer from all patients at all stages of the disease. This was the greatest discovery in the history of medical science!   The scientist, overflowing with gratitude and excitement, informed the pharmaceutical company he had been working with, sharing this extraordinary moment with them, and within minutes, the whole organization was ablaze with excitement. At last!   Immediately, they sent their marketing team over to meet with the scientist and work on a strategy for mass distribution.   But there were some obstacles to be overcome.   First, it would cost a small fortune for each dose, more than many people would earn in a lifetime. How many could afford a treatment like this? How could insurance companies cover it?   Second, it had to be taken in pill form to maximize its release through the body, but the pill was so large that a horse could barely swallow it.   Third, the pill left a miserable aftertaste, not for a few seconds but for one full week, making it almost impossible for the patient to eat or drink for 7 full days.   This, too, seemed unmanageable.   So, the marketing team said to the scientist, "We are excited beyond words by your discovery and can't wait to get it out to the masses. This will truly change history! We just need you to get the price down to $1,000 per dose, reduce the size of the pill and package it in easy to swallow gel form, and get rid of that foul aftertaste. Once that's done, we won't be able to manufacture these fast enough. Let's do this!"   One year later, the scientist called the team back. He had some major news to share! He had succeeded on all fronts.   The pill now cost only $1,000 per dose. It slipped right down your throat, even without water. And it even had a delightful aftertaste.   There was only one problem: it no longer cured cancer.   And that, my friend, is the story of the contemporary gospel.   We have made it cheap and easy and pleasant, but it no longer saves or transforms.   We have removed the reproach of the cross, turning discipleship into something cool and popular.   We have removed the demands of the cross, preaching a Jesus who adds good things to you but requires nothing of you.   We have removed the sting of the cross, presenting a celebrity Jesus rather than a crucified Christ.   And so, while this watered-down gospel might be popular with the masses, it no longer saves and transforms and redeems.   But this is not just a 21st century problem.   As I shared in my book How Saved Are We?, in the late 1950's Mickey Cohen, a notorious gangster, attended a Billy Graham meeting in Beverly Hills. Although he expressed some interest in the message, revival scholar James Edwin Orr writes that Cohen "made no commitment until sometime later when another friend urged him, using Revelation 3:20 as a warrant, to invite Jesus Christ into his life.   "This he professed to do, but his life subsequently gave no evidence of repentance, 'that mighty change of mind, heart and life' [as expressed by Richard Trench].   "Cohen rebuked his friend, telling him: 'You did not tell me that I would have to give up my work,' meaning his rackets; 'You did not tell me that I would have to give up my friends,' meaning his gangster associates. He had heard that so-and-so was a Christian football player, so-and-so a Christian cowboy, so-and-so a Christian actress, so-and-so a Christian senator, and he really thought that he could be a Christian gangster.   "Alas, there was not evidence of repentance. Many have sadly forgotten that the only evidence of the new birth is the new life. The real problem is that some evangelists, like some converts, have failed to realize that the fault lies in the defective message."   Today, that defective message has become the norm, with all kinds of celebrities and well-known people professing their faith in Jesus, seemingly without shame, but then continuing to live in open, unrepentant sin for years.   This is not the gospel of Jesus that calls us to die to sin and self and to follow Him.   This is not the gospel of grace that empowers us to live a new life by the Spirit.   This is not the gospel of forgiveness that produces a love for the God who had so much mercy on us and a hatred for the life we once lived.   This is not the gospel that saves sinners any more than the new pill of my parable is the pill that cures cancer.   Worse still, this contemporary gospel misleads the masses, since they look at Jesus as a cool additive to make their lives better rather than as the Lord of all who died for them so they might live for Him.   Enough, then, with this soul-damning, deeply deceiving message.   Let us return to the gospel that saves. Its rewards are infinitely greater than its costs. A Thriving False Doctrine Now Present - By Gene Lawley - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/07/30/a-thriving-false-doctrine-now-present-by-gene-lawley/   About a decade ago, a friend and I were visiting on the telephone when he mentioned, with great confidence, that Jesus did not die for the whole world but only for those who believe. He had been listening to Bible teachers on the East Coast, he said, and was convinced they were telling the truth.   It was a shock to me, for I knew the Scriptures, that the first action in John 3:16 was that “God so loved the world that He gave….” I remembered 1 John 2:1-2 also that says clearly, “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” My friend Carl has since gone to heaven where he has learned the Biblical truth firsthand, no doubt.   The thriving false doctrine is just that, claiming that Jesus only died for those who believe, not for the whole world of lost sinners. What that does is to diminish the adequacy of the deity of Jesus Christ, the only One who has been given all authority in heaven and earth over all things. It makes a claim that the death of Christ on the cross is not sufficient to cover such a vast number of lost souls. If He is not, then who is sufficient?   Those who wallow in their pre-conceived ideas, which they try to support from Scripture, are the Reformers who spring out of Calvinist beliefs. They are at least uncertain, and some are firmly set on where the Millennium occurs in human history, when the Rapture, if there is one, will be, as well as when the Second Coming of Christ will be. They do not know or refuse to learn the truths of Proverbs 9:10, which says, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” They do not recognize that Revelation is a straightforward, chronological presentation of the future in prophetical visions. It seems their struggle is how God’s love can be unconditional when He requires a sinner to believe in Christ in order to be saved, thus obedience is a required condition.   Yet, “we love Him because He loved us first,” John wrote in 1 John 4:19. Is it not His love that draws us into obedience? That first and great commandment is awesome in its demand, that one is to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. If that must come first, there is no hope for mankind. The compelling love of God draws man to conviction of sin, and then a transformation of life happens—by a gift of faith.   Their challenging opposition is called the Dispensationalists, who believe and conduct themselves as the Bereans did, according to Acts 17:11, which says, “These [Bereans] were more fair-minded [noble] than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” They searched the whole counsel of God for His truth.   From the beginning, it was God who initiated an act of love for mankind’s redemption. When Adam and Eve learned, suddenly, that they were naked, they covered themselves—the only two people there—with fig leaves to hide their sinfulness. But God came and provided them coverings of animal skins, His solution of a blood sacrifice to cover them instead. It was the forerunner for the coming sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus, the Christ.   God’s love for the sinner is unconditional, according to Scripture, but His hate for their sin is well established. Look at Romans 5:6, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Then, go on to Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”   From John 3:16 through these two verses in Romans 5, no one can honestly twist them around to convince anyone that God requires an action on man’s part before He will love him. Again, God loves the sinner, but He cannot condone his sinfulness.   In John 3:16, the word “whosoever” opens up the doors of God’s response to anyone who chooses a relationship with God. It also is echoed in Romans 10:13 that “whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”   The whole of the Romans 5 chapter speaks of the obvious fact that Adam’s disobedience brought physical death and spiritual death to all mankind. Then, it compares that with what Jesus Christ has done by providing a gift of salvation to those who would accept that gift. See Romans 5:18: “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” Note that God did not make that gift of life a universal provision but a gift to be willingly received. The transforming action was not directly within the individual but was a substitutionary provision by Jesus, the Christ. A gift must be received for it to become applicable in a person’s life.   The Jewish leaders did not receive Christ, and at His trial, they cried out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Let His blood be upon our hands and the hands of our children!” The Apostle John wrote of this in John 1:11-12: “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”   It is clear that His Jewish kinsmen did not receive Him and, for the most part, have denied Him for over 2,000 years.   Romans 6:23 clearly contrasts two directions a person may choose to go: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”   The denial of the death of Jesus Christ covering the sins of the whole world sets up another false doctrine that God’s love is not unconditional, that He cannot look on sin, even to provide a covering for it, but a response from mankind must come first. But what could that be? Jesus even prayed from the cross before He died, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Again, we have seen that God has acted first to provide the way of salvation and offer it as a gift to be received.   Jesus says, “No one can come to Me except the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). And in Revelation 3:20, He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and live with him and he with Me.” Thus, no one will be in heaven who does not want to be there.   The hardcore Calvinists have a problem with Christ’s atonement, for if Christ died for the whole world, then the whole world would be covered in His atonement. The simple answer to that is that atonement is provided for only those who believe in Christ. It is as simple as that.   They have another problem, too, that of thinking they are chosen and elected, therefore they are saved. God’s foreknowledge has never saved anyone; His eternal ability to foresee the future reveals who will choose Him when they hear the gospel and believe and be saved. Paul makes that clear in 2 Timothy 2:10, saying, “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” The Philippian jailer cried out, “What must I do to be saved,” and Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” He did not say, ‘you must be chosen.’   At the end of that very revealing parable told in Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus sums up its message by saying, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” The parable presents a likeness to the future when the marriage supper of the Lamb—the Groom—and the Bride, the redeemed Body of Christ, are together just before they, together, come to the earth at the Second Coming. But the presentation shows how those who were to receive the gospel first (Romans 1:16) reject God’s invitation:   “And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ‘But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.   “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.   “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”   Psalm 40:1-3 tells the true story of how God looked upon mankind. Mankind was in the horrible pit, and God was outside of the pit. No one in the pit could lift out another one. God did it for those who want to be lifted out of the pit:   “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—praise to our God.”   Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: Pony Bill and the boys of August - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com   It’s the dog days of August. Hay is in the barn. The horse show season is winding down. Northeastern Ohio is hot and humid during the day and cool at night with a bit of dew on the morning grass. Time to relax a bit, right? No. The farm boys are gathering together, greeting each other for the long-awaited day of a different kind of work. It was two adays for football practice. Unlike most people, I loved two adays. The smells of August–Ohio grass, slightly browned from baking in the day’s hot sun; the sweat mixed with helmets stored over winter and spring in a musty room; even the dirt on the ground had a unique aroma as we hit it over and over again in up-down grass drills. We were back. We were football.   There were many life lessons in high school football. Coach was a former marine tough guy long on drills and discipline, but short on teaching about how to play the game. If you were willing to run through a brick wall you were his kind of guy. But if you asked why or how, you were in the dog house. I was a late bloomer. Very fast. On the slight side. One of those guys that with a little more individual coaching and maturity, could be a valuable asset. But I was very frustrating to Coach. I had to take the last week of two adays off because I was committed to my horse 4-H project at the county fair. Coach hated this and would ride me harder than I rode my horse, earning me the sarcastic nickname “Pony Bill.” By my senior year, Coach had had enough of it. He wouldn’t even let me wear my jersey for the senior yearbook picture.   Each practice ended with the team running a quarter mile in full pads. Backs and receivers in 70 seconds, linemen had 90 seconds. If anyone didn’t make time, the entire team ran again, same time limits. One time, one of the boys kept missing the time. We all knew he could run the lap in 70 seconds, he just wouldn’t do it. We had run that track three times and most of us were gassed. Me and a couple other of the fast guys huddled and came up with a plan. We lined up for the fourth run, everybody was sweating and yelling and moaning. The three of us ran that quarter-mile as fast as we could. And that same guy was lagging far behind. We turned around and ran back to him, each grabbing a side of shoulder pads and his belt. We dragged him across the line in under 70 seconds. He’s probably still picking cinders out of his legs.   Coach approved. He called it Leadership. Many of us farm boys called it survival. Some my fault, some not, my love for football was depleted by the end of high school. Having proven speed by running track in college, I was asked by the football coach to “walk on” the football team. I declined. It wasn’t until I was recruited to play semi-pro that my love for football was revived. And later I had a successful coaching run that landed me a position with the NFL. Among the many valuable lessons, I learned what never to do—as both a player and a coach. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A brother is born for adversity.” There’s one thing that’s universal: Out of adversity, brothers are made. The men with whom I played, the young men I’ve coached, and those I mentor even today–We are brothers. All said and done, we are the boys of August.  Daily Devotion: Give Comfort, Get Comfort - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org   All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. —2 Corinthians 1:3-4   https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/give-comfort-get-comfort-2/ - Listen   Men and women of God, wherever we find them in the Scriptures, seem to be masters of whatever situation in which they find themselves. For example, when Paul and Silas were thrown into a Roman prison for preaching the gospel, they sang praises at midnight. The walls shook, and the Lord freed them. The jailer was about to commit suicide, but Paul told him not to harm himself because all the prisoners were still there. The next thing you know, Paul was at the jailer’s house, having dinner. The jailer washed the stripes on Paul’s back, and Paul led the man’s household to the Lord (see Acts 16:25–34). Paul entered the place as a prisoner and left the place in charge.   Then there was Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. There was no hope of any kind for him. But through a turn of events, he became the second-most powerful man in the entire kingdom of Egypt. Effectively he was running the country.   In the midst of adversity, Paul and Joseph helped other people. They always seemed to rise above the circumstances and be the ones who led. And believers today can do the same thing.   One of the best things we can do when we are suffering is to help someone else. Maybe that doesn’t seem to make sense. But it actually makes all the sense in the world. It can be very easy to have a pity party, to draw back into our little cocoons and isolate ourselves from everyone else. But if we will go out and help other people, we will find comfort as we are distributing it. We will be the beneficiaries of what we are giving to others. Do you know someone who is in need of God’s comfort today?

ISRAEL, THE BENCH-MARK FOR END TIME PROPHECY

 

by Pastor Mike Taylor

2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3)

Many think that maybe I spend a lot of time on Israel with so much attention on the Middle East, and in particular the nation of Israel.

Prophecy has a habit of coming back to Israel, as this tiny nation is the linchpin in studying Bible prophecy and what is coming upon the earth, which may have already started as birth pangs. Jesus described the signs of His return in Matthew's Gospel:

3 “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:3-8)

Jesus describes the events of His return as a man who is standing on the Mount of Olives in that perspective. Without Israel, prophecy doesn't make much sense. Many believe erroneously that the Church has replaced Israel as God's focus for the end times, so they have no use for prophecy. These blinded people are called Preterist. They believe that all prophecy has been fulfilled in 70 AD and Israel as a people have been cast away and replaced by the church. Of course, they are wrong, so why do I think that?

Center of Global Attention

In our modern world, you don't listen to the news very long, before it comes back to Israel. Israel is at the top of the world's agenda and my mission when I post such messages, is to keep my focus on documenting the world's slide toward the coming Tribulation using secular sources to demonstrate the accuracy of Bible prophecy when speaking of Israel.

Bible prophecy for the last days and through the Tribulation is centered around Israel beginning with Daniel's 70^th week prophecy:

24 “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Daniel 9:24-27)

This passage points that the End of this Age centers around Israel and she becomes the  mile marker of where we are in prophecy. The closer she looks to be in trouble for her very existence and possible annihilation, the closer we are to the return of Christ , Who, according to scripture prevents that from happening. The above prophecy is known as Daniel's 70^th week of the bringing Israel to know their God and Savior, but when Jesus died on the cross, that timeclock stopped and we still have 7 years left for God to fulfill His Word, which He always does, and cleanse Israel and destroy all rebellion upon this God forsaken earth. This is a reference to the time of Jacob's trouble, as God will refine Israel as silver is refined in the likes of hot furnace:

2 “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.”(Malachi 3:2-4)

Sadly, many Jewish people will be destroyed in the coming tribulation, some because of their faith in Jesus, as they have finally embraced their Messiah, or for just being Jewish, as the AC will hunt all Christian's and Jews down for extermination.

But those who are in rebellion against a Holy Almighty God will be doomed at the end of the Tribulation, as they only want to continue in their sins and unrighteousness. Those who have received Jesus as Savior because of the 144,000 evangelist from the 12 tribes of Israel and the two witnesses preaching at the Temple mount will be marked for death. Some will escape, but I believe, many who believe Matthew 24 and escape to the Jordanian wilderness, to Petra will be supernaturally preserved. It will be a minority of Jewish people, as those left behind will be destroyed. This will come when they see the abomination of desolation spoken of in your Bible:

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”(Matthew 24:16-21)

The Eternal Generation

In a very real sense, what we are witnessing is the actual fulfillment of prophecy for the last days.  The next prophetic event to be fulfilled in the Church Age is the Rapture.  Then the events of the Tribulation follow.  Both remain future -- near future, we would argue.

So instead we are eyewitnesses to various stages of the coming process of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The Bible says that there are a number of seemingly unrelated events that take place in ONE generation, and I would argues WE are that generation that are seeing this events being played out, right before our eyes on the world stage.

Bible Prophecy Demands A Jewish State

Some people scoff and say that their mother or grandmother was looking for the return of Jesus Christ and it didn't happened. So they say “What makes you so sure that His return is any closer than it was for them”. I point out to them that in their time of their aged family when they were alive, there was one element that was missing. Israel had not been born a nation just yet, so Bible prophecy and the countdown to the return of Jesus Christ for His church and the beginning of the Tribulation was not in their radar screen, but it is on ours. 

32 “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”(Matthew 24:32-35)

Jesus is speaking of a parable of the return of the fig tree, obviously Israel, that it will bloom, as it did in May 1948. Without Israel in her own God given land, then prophecy was on hold, but not anymore.

Bible prophecy makes numerous references to the fulfillment of a Jewish state, we call Israel in the last days.

In the prophecy of the valley of dry bones, God makes a point of revealing this truth to His servant Ezekiel and by extension to us. 

11 “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the  Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:11-14)

And furthermore, the Bible also demands that Israel be in possession of the city of Jerusalem in the last days. Although Israel endures international disputes, but none the less, they captured the city and returned it to Israeli sovereignty. This happened in 1967:

6 “In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 12:7-9)

And because of Israel being in her promised land again, and capturing the Holy City of Jerusalem, the Bible prophesies numerous conflicts with her neighbors where God has judged their anger against Israel. Let's look at a few passages.

"Because you have said, 'These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,' although the LORD was there, therefore, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you." (Ezekiel 35:10-11)

“But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 36:8-11)

Since 1948 until this present day, Israel has prospered like no other country. They have prospered in agriculture, scientific inventions, gas and oil being discovered, and have a military that is near second to none save the USA. We have been their closest benefactor to help them become prosperous and to secure and protect their own country.

But things could get real dicey in the coming month, into even next couple of years. War is being waged right now, although not officially declared, but a spark could ignite the whole Middle East in what was prophesied. We await the next two wars that will involve Israel personally and she will be supernaturally saved by God Himself ..

2 “For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.

3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.

4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:

6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;

7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;

8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. “ (Psalm 83:2-8)

This passage describes the neighbors surrounding Israel coming again trying to drive Israel into the Mediterranean Sea, but God intervenes and they are not successful.

13 “O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.

14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;

15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.

16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord.

17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:

18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.” (Psalms 83;13-18)

And we await the final conflict before the Tribulation begins, and it may be that the Church of the Living God will not even see this battle, as I believe that this will bring to bear the confirmation of a covenant already in place, by none other, than the Anti-Christ.

15 "And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.” 'Ezekiel 38:15-16)

Prophecy students will recognize this as the Gog-Magog invasion of Israel that will destroy 5/6 of the invaders carrying back the plague to their homeland as the survivors come to their countries. The world will be astonished that such destruction could come from a tiny nation, known as Israel, but they fail to understand that it was Almighty God who was their Champion and He took out His fury upon the gathering storm ready to destroy Israel...So shall a “man of deceit” try and prevent another devastating war in the Middle East. So a covenant that has been in place, but not enforced will come to bear and “this man, the Anti-Christ” will promise peace a security to Israel and they will look upon him as their “political messiah” to give them what they have wanted for the last 74 years...safety among their people and land, but it will be short lived..

Bible Prophecy Demands A Global Government

Throughout history, men have sought to rule the world.  And throughout history, other men have resisted the attempt.  In the last two global wars, the effort began with the conquest of Europe. 

Following the last attempt, the Benelux Treaty brought together the first six European states, forming the nucleus of the modern European Union.  Wars couldn't unite them, but desiring peace did.

23 “ And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” (Daniel 8:23-25) .

The same global war was responsible for the creation of the United Nations.  The UN created the template for a global government.  But the UN is an organism with 191 heads and no brains.  It doesn't take a political scientist to see it is a failed experiment. 

How Europe will eventually replace the UN is unclear, but it is the most likely candidate -- the world would never accept the US or Russia. Europe would be far more acceptable.  The Bible says it will happen.

1 “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” (Revelation 13:1-5)

So begins the global government of the Anti-Christ. Note the symbol of the Beast? It is comprised of symbols of nations that have fallen. From the Middle East into the abode of Europe are the symbols of this rising beast.

Bible Prophecy Demands a Global Economy

The global economy is a reality.  The prophecy of the Mark of the Beast :

16 “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Revelation 13:16-18)

The coming global economy demands a system whereby the buying and selling of individuals will be tracked and monitored.  Those outside the economic system of Anti-Christ will be 'unable to buy or sell'. In one of my last messages, I spoke of technology increasing at a lightning pace, to where even now, humans can have a computer implanted in their brains to compute thousands of times faster than a normal human, and this technology that was not possible just 50 years ago, has grown to where every man and woman on this planet can and will be monitored for compliance of the coming New World Order. Technology to accomplish this is in place as we speak.

Entry into the system requires some kind of mark of allegiance to the coming Antichrist.  Tracking sales is a reality.  Nobody can function in today's economy unless they are in the 'system'.  If you doubt it, get a bank account without a Social Security number or try and buy a new car using cash. But this “mark” will be much more than that, it will be sign of worship of a “false god” the Anti-Christ and it will be done will full knowledge of what you are doing and accepting.

Bible Prophecy Demands a Global Religion

The coming Mark of the Beast is an economic system to track all human activity, but is also a system of worship. There is coming a man, who may be on the scene right now, who will arise having two horns like a lamb but speaks as a dragon.

11 “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”(Revelation 13:11-14)

There is only one religious system in place today, that could and will command allegiance from all those who are left on this planet after the removal of the Church of Jesus Christ. Some think it will be Islam, but I am a proponent that after the Gog-Magog war's total defeat of invading armies who are mostly if not majority Muslim by birth, Islam will be decimated and never to rise again on its own. But it could be joined with a more powerful religious order which I have proposed could be called Chrislam. That leaves only one other religion with the clout to pull this off. That system is the Roman Catholic Church headed by the coming false prophet found in their leader of apostasy, the Pope in Rome. Even now this so called “vicar of christ” (sic) has said things that should make any Christian's head spin..whether you are Catholic or Protestant. He basically has blasphemed the Bible and God's Holy Word giving a pass to heaven of even atheist and those who think they can get to heaven by doing good works only.

A counterfeit Christianity preaching another Jesus and a different gospel has been the accusation of many concerning the Roman Church.  They are already well entrenched in mainstream Christian denominations that teach salvation by works, church membership or ritual and have for centuries. 

6 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9)

There are many religions that preach another Gospel besides what was first delivered to the saints and all of them are demon inspired, but we know of one religion on earth who has more adherents and has perverted the Word of God for nigh 1700+ years and are found no where in God's Holy Word. They rely on “early church fathers” and traditions and raise them up and over the Holy Spirit inspired writings...Need I say more?

The war on terror has also created a global suspicion of fundamental anything. Those who adhere to a single belief, and cause men to look at themselves as a sinful lot, they are looked at with suspicion.

What is a Fundamentalist?

Since we have been fighting the war on terror for a number of years, the world is suspicious of anything that is called “Fundamental”. 

To a Christian, a fundamentalist is one who practices the fundamentals of Christian faith, eschewing traditions of men and preferring the Word of God, but the world has a different perspective. . 

The secular world looks at fundamentalists, be they Jewish, Christian, Muslim -- they're all bombers.  Christian fundamentalists blow up abortion clinics, Jewish fundamentalists blow up Arabs, and Muslim fundamentalists blow up anybody.  That is the prevailing propaganda that fills our news reports daily and is a perception that is being fostered in the sheeple that are easily led astray.

It isn't a stretch of anyone's imagination for the sudden legitimization of “so called faith” no matter what flavor of the month is being presented, whether it be Jehovah, Jesus, Isa, or Allah. These will be eventually blended together and there is been a big push by one mainline religion to bring all religions home to the “Mother Church”. It will promote a global ecumenical belief in one “god” for all. Those who hold the “old ways” will be considered fundamentalist and be eliminated. 

WHERE ARE WE IN PROPHECY? 

I get lots of email asking where we are in Bible prophecy right now.  Israel was reborn in 1948.  The Benelux Treaty was signed in 1948.  The World Council of Churches was created in Amsterdam in 1948.  The transistor -- the invention credited as giving birth to the Computer Age [making possible a global economy] was invented in 1948. 

The General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trades [forerunner to the World Trade Organization] was signed in 1948.  Where are we in Bible prophecy right now?  Jesus said 'when these things begin to come to pass, look up'

28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28) 

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”(Matthew 24:28-35)

Look at how things have progressed in the last 74 years since Israel became a nation. Are you astonished, or is it becoming the new norm to you? Jesus said this generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled.

34 “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:34-39)

Just as I wrote in my last message, the coming of our Lord, will be coming “as a thief in the night”. No one who is not watching will be looking for Jesus to come at any given time and it will catch many flat footed and left behind.

I know I keep bringing this up and I wouldn't say it so much if where not so important for the salvation of mankind and not being thrown head long into the coming Tribulation. What is a generation, that Jesus spoke of? Psalms 90;

“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10)

A little simple math will alert the Bible reader, that we have passed 70 years since Israel was made a nation. This is not a prediction, as Jesus said in Matthew 24:

  “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36)

“So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.” (Mark 13:20-30) 

As noted, this development surrounds and swirls within the tiny nation of Israel. If you want to know how close we are in Bible prophecy, then watch Israel and compare it to God's Word. 

Where are we in Bible prophecy right now?

WE are very near, even at the doors. The return of Jesus in imminent, but we wonder will He come on a set date of the Feast of the Lord? Next one to be fulfilled, as He did the Spring Feast is the Feast of Trumpets....will He come in the coming few years on this date? Of course, God is sovereign and He can come when we least expect Him....keep your eyes on Israel, as we in the season of the Lord's return. But in the same breath, I implore you not to be found wanting, when Jesus does break through the clouds and call to His Bride, “come up hither”....will you be going as I will be and others who believe in the only begotten Son of God? How do you rise to meet Jesus in the air? Simple, as even a child can understand the recipe to escape God's coming wrath.

6” Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)

16 “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.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

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;

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 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

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)

Word of caution. Israel is the bench marker for end time prophecy, but don't think that watching Israel will alert you to the coming of our Lord. As I said, Jesus could come at anytime. Best to take the scripture just above in Romans and St. John's Gospel and believe in your heart that you are a sinner in need of a Savior...approach this as one believing as a little child, who believes of One in Authority.

2 “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:2-4)

Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer, who gave Himself as a ransom for many on a cruel Roman cross for the salvation of all who believe in Him. Watch Israel for the timing of the rapture of the church, but look to Jesus first to be assured of being removed from this planet before the wrath of God falls on a sinful and rebellious world.

This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying for your salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you need prayer, counseling, or just a friendly, listening ear, then email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, God bless you all.

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