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Stage-setting in Overdrive

April 16, 2020 5:08 am / 3 Comments on Stage-setting in Overdrive

From my perspective of Bible prophecy in the stage-setting process for the wind-up of the age, three factors leap from current news.

These are in addition to the tremendous developments taking place in the socioeconomic dynamics brought on by the sudden appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic. That virus, coming out of the demonic world, it seems to me, was in itself enough to point to the nearness of the end of this dispensation.

The dire prospects for recovery from the effects of the coronavirus are, if one hasn’t faith in God’s complete control, at the very least emotionally debilitating.

Now, three additional developments bring into sharper focus exactly how near we are to the time when Christ calls for His Bride, the Church. This fact—that Jesus Christ is, for all born-again believers, soon to break through all the depressing news to take His own into Heaven—should excite us.

The first of the factors I see as profoundly setting the stage for the Tribulation era, thus for the Rapture of the Church, involves China’s sudden emergence to prominence on the geopolitical scene.

For centuries, China was a building giant that seemingly chose to stay sequestered behind the Great Wall. It had little major influence. Then the communist takeover gave the vast nation a presence that represented a threat, but one that could be controlled by the greater powers of the West—and even, to some extent, by a Soviet regime that didn’t want Mao Tse-tung to get too far out of line.

China has emerged, as we all know, to become an economic force that, in conjunction with its military presence, some say can nearly rival that of the US. It has become the great, hegemonic power of all of Asia. It is even building entire islands in the South China Sea just to establish a military presence to challenge anyone who dares to enter those waters.

America, it is sad to say, has provided much of the funding for that military burgeoning through insane trade deals of the past. And now, the communist leadership of China is beginning to assert its ever-increasing power. We see some of this through the following:

U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr warned of a range of threats from China including propaganda efforts surrounding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and efforts to interfere in U.S. elections. In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Barr described Chinese efforts as a ‘full-court blitzkrieg’ across multiple fronts, which he said includes meddling in US elections, exercising control over key supply chains and promoting disinformation about the coronavirus. (“AG Barr Says China in ‘full-court blitzkrieg’ to Undermine US Elections and Institutions,” Fox News, Rapture Ready News, April 10, 2020)

Many students of Bible prophecy have long viewed China as a leading part of the “kings of the east” army foretold to invade the Occidental world across a dried-up Euphrates River. This is prophetically scheduled to take place during the Tribulation era (see Revelation chapters 9 and 16).

I have termed China “the king of the kings of the east.” Certainly they are swiftly moving into position to fulfill this role.

The second element in the news today that I believe is setting the stage for the coming Tribulation involves Iran.

That nation, which occupies much of the territory of the ancient Persian Empire, is scheduled prophetically to attack Israel in “the latter days,” meaning, I take it, in the post-Rapture era.

Ezekiel the prophet, in chapters 38 and 39, calls it the “Gog-Magog” force, consisting, we believe, of Russia, Iran, and Turkey, along with lesser nations. The following brings to light Iran’s preparation for that assault:

The national security and foreign policy committee for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s parliament declared that Tehran will move forward with its uranium enrichment process, triggering sharp criticism from the US State Department on Thursday. (“Iran Defies EU, Declaring Continued Nuclear Uranium Enrichment,” by Benjamin Weinthal, Jerusalem Post, Rapture Ready News, April 10, 2020)

Iran’s defiance of demands by the US president, the European Union, and especially by Israel for that nation dismantle its nuclear weapons facilities puts the region on track for a prophetic fulfillment. The very mountains that reportedly house these facilities are foretold to suffer catastrophic destruction. Many of us believe it will be Israel that destroys the nuclear capability of its chief nemesis.

The third current new items that I believe shows the nearness of the Tribulation is seen in the following:

In light of the growing demand by the Israeli public, several major Israeli rabbis ruled on the subject and for the first time ruled that it was now permissible to begin the Passover Temple service. As a result of that ruling, the rabbis sent a letter to the Prime Minister requesting that he allow the korban Pesach to take place.

The Sanhedrin emphasized that the plan to bring the altar to the Temple Mount was entirely consistent with President Trump’s recently released Deal of the Century which recognized Israel’s full sovereignty over the site. (“Historic First: Israel’s Top Rabbis Call on Netanyahu to Allow Temple Service to Begin on Temple Mount,” Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Breaking Israel News, Rapture Ready News, April 10, 2020)

The request was rejected because of feared ramifications of probable conflict with Muslim forces and complications presented by the coronavirus.

However, the demands by the Jews in the area that Temple worship be allowed are growing. The almost completed plans for rebuilding the Temple and the already-prepared instruments of worship assure that the prophecies concerning the Tribulation Temple is nearing fulfillment.

With prophetic stage-setting for the Tribulation in overdrive, the nearness of the Rapture of the Church can’t be overemphasized.

Who to Believe…

April 13, 2020 6:12 am / 8 Comments on Who to Believe…

Depression, a deep mood of foreboding, is never far away in times like we’re enduring right now. There are so many different takes on COVID-19 that it’s impossible to form one’s own thoughts on matters involved. The claims and suppositions concerning prospects for the future are so varied—and, in most cases, so terrible—that some are driven to suicide.

Therefore, it’s difficult to get our brains around the severity, or lack thereof, of what we face. It is even harder to discern fact from fiction—or worse, truth from deliberate misdirection. But the information on coronavirus and all attendant to it keeps coming at us, and those informed are deeply affected by that information—psychologically, spiritually, and even physically, in some cases.

Anyone listening to the daily briefing by the Trump administration and its highly regarded medical authorities staff is hard-pressed to get a handle on which way this disease is headed. It is even more problematic to try to determine what the economic picture will look like in the coming weeks and months. Will the pandemic pass, or are we melting into a situation that will devolve into national and world depression—one from the likes of which there is no chance of recovery?

Will, as the president hopes, there be a turnaround by the middle of the year, with medical breakthroughs and the virus dying in the heat of the summer months? Will business rebound from almost total shutdown to people going back to work and the economy soaring again to a time of boom? Will social distancing and sequestering in our homes get rid of the virus?

Or will the disease be without cure or preventative vaccine for months and years, bringing death and economic devastation never before experienced by mankind?

It’s all out there in the minute-by-minute briefings and reports. It is there in the ever-present punditry on networks and through cable channels. It is, in playing with a line from Dickens, the worst of times that might once again be the best of times.

Also, the obverse is there in the blogs, news reports, and opinion pieces from many sources that cut pathways of information through the blogosphere and other alternative media. This is the worst of times, period, and the good times are almost certainly gone forever.

Just a cursory look at a couple of the worst-of-times forecasts—feared by some to never end—can indeed produce a near incapacity for hope of recovery.

  • The coronavirus is all part of the Cloward-Piven Strategy to collapse America. COVID-19 is, the blog writer declares, part of an eight-step plan from leftists/socialists Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven from 1966 that was designed to destroy the US from within.

The writer gives the eight steps of the plan, asserting that it is being currently implemented. He concludes, I take it, that all elements of the plan have either happened or are currently being exponentially exacerbated by this present crisis.

  1. Taking control of the nation’s healthcare
  2. Increasing the level of poverty so people must get assistance
  3. Increasing debt to an unsustainable level so taxes can be raised to meet the crisis
  4. Getting rid of private gun ownership so the police state can be created
  5. Massively increasing the welfare state, taking control of every aspect of US citizens’ lives (food, housing, and income)
  6. Taking over education, controlling what people read and what they learn about the nation (revision of history)
  7. Taking over in area of religion, removing prayer and any mention of God
  8. Dividing the nation into classes, pitting one against the other so one must provide welfare for the other. (Taken from Rapture Ready News, April 4, 2020, Geoffrey Grider, “Now the End Begins”)

The writer further declares:

[Steps] 1-5 and 8 are being executed right now in how our government is reacting to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, with steps 6 and 7 already having been implemented since 2008. The American economy is being split into pieces right now by the combination of a $2 trillion bailout with more coming, Americans under stay-at-home orders, and with more people right now on unemployment in two weeks of the coronavirus crisis than in the second year of the Great Depression of 1929.

America as we know it cannot and will not survive a three-month lockdown, it will fall and there is no question about that.

  • The Coronavirus is part of China’s plan to defeat America. Another writer believes the COVID-19 crisis is a setup to bring down the much hated America and its leading role in the world. The writer writes that China accuses American soldiers of deliberately introducing the virus in China, as part of Chinese plans to give cover for the coming attack on the US. 

The communist regime, so it goes, will soon attack infrastructure and other American assets in cyberspace and elsewhere. That government has begun, the writer declares, to blame America for the pandemic, thus to have a reason that justifies the inevitable attack when it comes. This, he believes, will then escalate into a military action, and this nation’s internal forces, who are traitorous to America as founded, will do all they can to prevent America’s defense against the Chinese assaults. This is because these revolutionists believe the United States is at the root of all the world’s problems in one way or the other.

It is certain that the dire, apocalyptic, warnings far outnumber the hopes for recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic—either the health effects or the economic effects. Many among those who study Bible prophecy believe the Tribulation, itself, has begun. The end of the world is upon us.

But, Jesus told His disciples—and us by extension—that for believers (such as those immediate disciples who were just about to go into the Church Age or Age of Grace) that the end wasn’t yet.

The Lord prophesied that before the era of Tribulation comes, believers will live during a time when all the signals He foretold will BEGIN to come to pass (Luke 21:28). He told believers to look up and lift their heads in anticipation when these things BEGIN to come to pass, because He, their Redeemer (the blessed hope). was coming to rescue them.

He even told us what that time will be like. It will be a time of buying, selling, marrying, planting, and building. He said nothing of worldwide depression. It will be just like the days of Lot when He will next “reveal” Himself in a spectacular moment. It will be a time of extreme wickedness, but with commerce and even hedonistic pleasures humming right along. That’s what Lot’s day was like, we know, from reading Genesis chapter 19.

It cannot be claimed, and I certainly do not say, that things right now look in any way rosy. They do not. I fully understand the reasons for many at this moment fearing the nation and the world will at any moment collapse into apocalyptic rubble.

But I prefer to believe Jesus and His promises over any news report, ideology, or religious wind of doctrine. He is our One, True Reliance.

He has promised to keep His own out of the time of Tribulation (Revelation 3:10).

I hope you, too, are comforting yourselves with these Words Jesus gave the Apostle Paul to write:

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)

Tribulation Storm Front

April 9, 2020 5:54 am / 9 Comments on Tribulation Storm Front

Jesus chided the Pharisees and Sadducees of His time for not being able to discern the times and seasons of their Messiah coming upon that generation:

When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:2–3)

Our book, DISCERNERS: Analyzing Converging Prophetic Signs for the End of Days, written by a number of outstanding writers and myself, points out that many people who are professing Christians today aren’t recognizing the lateness of the prophetic hour. This goes double for many of those who are pastors with responsibility of informing their flocks.

Even at this crucial hour, with many—as a matter of fact, most—church doors in America not open because of COVID 19, there are few warnings by Christian clergy of the storm that is approaching.

It is a tempest like no other. It is the time Jesus Himself foretold will be the worst in all of human history. He said it will be so terrible that if He doesn’t come back during that storm at the time He promises, all flesh on the earth will die.

He goes on to tell us what to do to avoid not knowing that great storm is approaching:

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. (Mark 13:37)

That’s what we, as “watchmen on the wall,” dedicate ourselves to doing. We watch for signals of that great Tribulation storm that is surely coming.

In that regard, we’ve put out storm warnings—in the form of articles—for decades. As of late, the flags are waving—almost standing straight out—in winds blowing in from the seas Jesus spoke of in prophetic terms:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring. (Luke 21:25)

Most watchmen on the wall agree that the coronavirus is a storm warning, an indicator that that great end-times turbulence is upon us. Some, who don’t accept that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation, are saying we’ve now entered the last seven years of human history that immediately precede the Second Advent as recorded in Revelation 19:11.

We have not entered that horrendous era. We know this because our very Lord has told us the following:

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)

Jesus, of course, was prophesying to the Church, and He promises that we won’t enter that great time of testing. Paul the apostle tells us how Jesus will keep us from that Tribulation storm. (Read 1 Corinthians 15:51–55 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).

While we are not in that terrible time that will wreak havoc on all of humanity, we are enduring precursor winds of that Tribulation era. This so-called pandemic is like a storm front of those hurricane-force winds that will soon blow full force upon the entire world.

Signals abound that those winds are increasing in prophetic velocity. For example, we can clearly see the economic system developing that Antichrist will use to enslave all the world with his mark-and-number system.

Talk of such a system is becoming almost routine among financial experts while economies of nations around the world plunge deeper into chaos. There must come a time when even the paper and metallic currencies must be done away with because they can transmit the deadly viruses that will continue to assault humanity. There must be developed—and soon—a system of buying and selling that will not threaten mankind with disease and death.

Antichrist, during the coming storm, will provide the supposed safeguard against the threat. But the cure will be many times worse than the diseases that might otherwise come against humanity. The Bible says the following about the Antichrist’s economic system:

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: 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. 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)

Specific signals that tell us the system of complete control is on the way are blowing in the prophetic winds. One example is the matter of one of the world’s most famous globalist-multibillionaires working toward injecting identification chips through vaccines to deal with COVID-19.

Bill Gates recently stated on Reddit that “digital certificates” will be used to identify who received the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. And these certificates will also be used to identify who can conduct business or not.

On March 13th, about a day after COVID-19 began shutting down the entire Western world, Bill Gates stepped down from the public board of Microsoft to “dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities including global health and development, education, and climate change”. As the pandemic spread across the world, Gates became an outspoken and authoritative figure on the pandemic crisis, appearing all over mass media to share his views and recommendations.

A Reddit user named RemoteControlledUser asked this question:

What changes are we going to have to make to how businesses operate to maintain our economy while providing social distancing?

Bill Gates’ answer:

The question of which businesses should keep going is tricky. Certainly food supply and the health system. We still need water, electricity and the internet. Supply chains for critical things need to be maintained. Countries are still figuring out what to keep running.

Eventually we will have some digital certificates to show who has recovered or been tested recently or when we have a vaccine who has received it…

This concept of a “digital certificate” to store medical information (including vaccines received) and to grant access to rights or services was not a mere suggestion. It is part of a massive project that is propelled by a powerful group called ID2020 which is backed by the United Nations, the Rockefeller Foundation and…Bill Gates’ Microsoft.…

Simply put, ID2020 is looking to create a digital identification system that would store a wealth of personal information and that would go beyond the limits of national governments. The official website of ID2020 states that a global digital identity is necessary to keep track of refugees and ID-less people in developing countries. Of course, people in developed countries would be ID-ed as well…

[According to ID2020] Everyone should have access to a digital ID that enables them to prove who they are across institutional and international borders and across time, while giving them control over how their personal information is collected, used, and shared.

In an article published by ID2020 in 2018, [it was proposed that] vaccines are the perfect way to introduce digital identity to the world—especially infants. (“Bill Gates Calls for a ‘Digital Certificate’ to Identify Who Received COVID-19 Vaccine,” https://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/bill-gates-calls-for-a-digital-certificate-to-identify-)

The Tribulation storm front is approaching. The prophetic winds are blowing in our faces. It’s time to look up! (Luke 21:28)

The “Forgotten Pandemic” of 1918 – By Freddy Burton

April 8, 2020 12:09 pm / 4 Comments on The “Forgotten Pandemic” of 1918 – By Freddy Burton

Rapture Ready note:

This article was written by my life-long friend, Freddy Burton, who served as Saline County Clerk, an elective position, from 1993 to 2012.

The article appeared in our local paper, the Saline Courier (formerly the Benton Courier) two years ago. Benton, Arkansas is the town in which Todd Strandberg, my partner in and founder of raptureready.com, and I live. I’ve lived here most of my life.

The article gives fascinating perspective, contrasting the current Coronavirus pandemic with the Spanish flu of 1918, which the article chronicles in-depth.

             –Terry James

 

The “Forgotten Pandemic” of 1918

By Freddy Burton

“It is an oddity of history that the influenza epidemic of 1918 has been virtually overlooked in the teaching of American history…” National Archives and Records Administration.

More Worldwide Deaths than World War I

World War I, known as the “Great War,” ran from 1914-1918 and claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza pandemic, known as the Spanish ‘Flu’ of 1918 attacked 1/5th of the world’s population and killed an estimated 50 million people. More than 600,000 Americans died; and 7,000 in Arkansas alone.

Greatest Medical Holocaust in History

Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history. More people died of the Spanish Flu in a one year than in four-years (1347-1351) of the “Black Plague”.  Some historians described this pandemic as “the greatest medical holocaust in history”.

Attacked Young and Healthy

One of the unusual features of this pandemic was that it killed mostly young adults. In 1918-1919, 99% of pandemic influenza deaths in the U.S. occurred in people under 65, and nearly half of which were in young adults 20 to 40 years old.

Unlike Other Strains / Summer and Fall

Another unusual feature of this pandemic that was unlike other strains of influenza, which are primarily active in the winter months; The Spanish Flu outbreak was strongest in the summer and fall, and especially in October of 1918.

Downplayed by Officials

Fearing panic, officials were originally reluctant to admit that the pandemic posed a serious threat. James C. Geiger, a commissioned officer for the Public Health Service who was stationed in Arkansas, downplayed the threat with reassuring statements even after he himself had caught the flu and his wife died from it.

Local Conditions

The dire situation was clearly documented by the October 10th 1918 Benton Courier: “Benton and Vicinity in Grip of Epidemic of Spanish Influenza. Public Places Closed. No epidemic has had its grip on this country and county as has the Spanish influenza, which, during the past week has placed itself in almost every home… it has been announced that many churches will have no services Sunday…The American Bauxite had to shut down its plant on Tuesday on account of so many men being sick, and several have died in that section of the county.”

When I first ran across information on this historical event I was shocked, not only of the magnitude of this pandemic, but that I had never heard of it. Some historians have referred to the1918 Influenza pandemic as: “The Mother of All Pandemics.”

Scientists, doctors, and health officials could not identify the disease which was striking so fast and so aggressive. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others succumbed after a few days; their lungs filled with fluid and they suffocated to death.

BENTON COURIER October 17, 1918: “Influenza Has Our County In Its Grip: Nearly Every Home is Affected And More Victims Are Reported Each Day…Business is at a Standstill and Little Relief is In Sight…The doctors have had more calls than could possibly be attended to, and the druggists have had problems in securing medical supplies. There have been a number of fatalities, Benton undertakers having supplied thirty coffins in the past five days…”

Undertaker’s Records

The Undertaker’s Records from 1916-1928 indicate that in October of 1916 there were only 3 deaths for the month. October of 1917 there were only 8 deaths, but in October of 1918, the peak of the pandemic; there were an astonishing 72 deaths in that one month! Doug Hawkins, owner of Ashby Funeral Home told me recently that 45 burials are the most that he has ever done in one month. To put this in perspective, the population today of Saline County is 114,404. The population of Saline County in 1918 was 16,781.

BENTON COURIER: October 1918: “Sheriff Cox has received a letter from the State Board of Health advising him to see that all places where public gatherings are held in Saline County are kept closed…To open any place for the purpose of a crowd assembling is in direct violation of the law…”

Below are a few samples of the news in the Courier from different parts of Saline County:

CARMEL: “Heath isn’t very good in this section on account of influenza. We hear that the death angel visited the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ed McClain last Saturday and claimed for its own their darling little girl, Ruby.”

BAUXITE: “At this writing the Spanish influenza is about to take hold of everyone. Farry Corn has been quite ill…Lula Elrod has also been quite sick with this epidemic. Jesse Stuckey, son of Mrs. Emma Stuckey, passed away last Saturday… Dewey Hardin has been quite ill for several days…At this writing there are still lots of sickness around. Hardly enough well people to wait on the sick ones. The death angel claimed Susie Bryant from Mr. and Mrs. Joe Bryant last Thursday their oldest daughter.”

LIBERTY: “MR. Editor and readers, I have nothing to report that is bright, amusing or encouraging. All is sorrow, disappointment and dread. There is serious sickness in many homes, and the death angel visited two homes last Saturday. James Elliot, owner of the Rural Telephone system died Saturday, leaving seven small children. Also Dewell Green, about seventeen years of age, son of John H. Green, died Saturday morning. He will be greatly missed by his many schoolmates of Rural Hill School, especially by his class, the eighth grade. He leaves to mourn his loss his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Green one sister, Miss Ola and two small brothers , Ernest and Wilbur. There remains were laid to rest in Ten Mile cemetery Sunday evening. Elder O.C. Robinson and Will Daniels have been very sick for several days with the flu, as is also Miss Delpho Shockley, whose case has now developed into pneumonia. Whole families have been down at once, and many could not get the care and attention they needed. The doctors have gone night and day and have been behind with their calls most all the time. Most all who have escaped the contagion are worn out waiting on the sick.

I am wondering what the future has in store for us. Its best, of course, that we do not know. We should not borrow trouble, nor brood over things gone by. We should make the best of conditions as we get to them, but we never before had universal troubles as now…” (A.B. Stockley)

Cynthia Dunn recalls her grandfather, Paul Rucker, and grandmother, Cynthia Ramsey Rucker, telling her the way it was in the Shaw community in the fall of 1918. “My grandmother Rucker would begin cooking food early in the morning for those families that were sick, and my grandfather Rucker spent the entire day delivering this food.  Funerals of the flu victims were cancelled because everyone was afraid to go to the church for fear of exposure and the other members of the family were often sick themselves.”

Tanlac Tonic

Although there were no cures, desperate times called for desperate measures. People relied on a range of different home remedies, including the wearing of garlic amulets. In some areas people turned to Tanlac; advertized as a “powerful reconstructive tonic.” None of these remedies helped.

Advertisement: Bush Drug Co. ad in BENTON COURIER October 1918: “Persons Weak and Run Down Easy Victims: Fortify Yourself Against Flu by Taking Tanlac…nothing on earth will strengthen you and build you up like Tanlac, the powerful reconstructive tonic, which contains the very elements needed by the system to give you fighting strength and ward off the influenza germ…In connection with the Tanlac treatment, it is necessary to keep the bowels open by taking Tanlac Laxative Tablets, samples of which are included with every bottle of Tanlac…Tanlac is sold in Benton by Bush Drug Co., the only established agency in town.”

Last Article in Courier / First Article October 10th

BENTON COURIER  October 31 1918: “Influenza Situation Improving Rapidly: Although there are several cases of influenza over the county, it is believed that the epidemic has spent its force in Saline County, and the quarantine has been raised, so that churches may hold their regular services Sunday, and the schools of the county can resume Monday.

This has been one of the worst epidemics to strike this section for years, as there were but few homes that were not affected by the disease, and in many instances whole families were ill at the same time, with no one to care for the sick.

Now, that the danger of spreading has passed and the quarantine has been raised, it is expected that within a few days conditions will become normal again, and the business of keeping business moving will be as brisk as it was before our misfortune.”

Nursery Rhyme

In the years following 1918, Americans seemed eager to forget the pandemic. For several years after the pandemic children could be heard skipping rope to the rhyme: I had a little bird, its name was Enza, I opened the window, and in-flu-enza.

Given the devastating impact of the pandemic, the reasons for this forgetfulness are puzzling. It is possible, however, that the pandemic’s close association with World War I may have caused this amnesia. This has led some historians to call the 1918 Spanish flu; the “Forgotten Pandemic.”

End-times Storm Steering Mechanism

April 6, 2020 5:43 am / 7 Comments on End-times Storm Steering Mechanism

Hurricane season brings the phenomenon known as a “steering mechanism.” I’m no meteorologist, of course, but know enough to understand that, in the United States, winds aloft blowing from west to east have an effect on hurricanes approaching our mainland from the Atlantic.

These winds can “steer” those massive storm systems away from the continent and back into the Atlantic. This is usually the case.

The news media plays these things for all they’re worth. They, with wind-blown reporters standing with their microphones on the shoreline, paint the worst-case scenarios each time there is a huge hurricane being generated by warm Atlantic waters as the storm heads eastward from the Horn of Africa or somewhere over that way. More often than not, then, the storm has less effect on our coasts than anticipated. The steering mechanism—these winds aloft—have done their job and lessened the severity of the hurricanes.

However, sometimes these steering currents can force storms up the coast. They then do severe damage to places in more northern latitudes rather than on the lower coastal areas where they initially were expected to make an impact.

It seems we are now in the middle of the most severe moments of an end-times storm. This isn’t the case, however. We are in the process of watching the Tribulation storm out in the proverbial roaring sea as it threatens to land full-force.

The full-blown hurricane will come. Bible prophecy makes that forecast abundantly clear.

But there are winds aloft, so to speak. They are the steering mechanism that will determine when the storm will become full-blown and where it will make its full impact upon the generation that will endure the storm and all the wrath its power will generate.

I think we can look at COVID-19, or coronavirus, if you prefer, as a major steering mechanism in this end of the Church Age. It is like that powerful wind aloft in meteorological terms, shaping things to come not only for America, but for the entire world.

One example of the way this pandemic is steering the great, incoming Tribulation storm is its movement being used by the globalists who are attempting to force America and the world into the model the globalists elite have been trying their best to bring about.

A news excerpt or two perhaps will illustrate.

A Rockefeller Foundation report produced 10 years ago imagined a viral pandemic as the perfect catalyst to implement “tighter top-down government control and more authoritarian leadership,” eerily similar to what’s unfolding during the current coronavirus outbreak.

The report, entitled, “Scenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development,” outlines several possible future global scenarios, including a “Lock Step” vision in which a “new influenza strain…infects nearly 20 percent of the global population…killing 8 million in just seven months…”

“In 2012, the pandemic that the world had been anticipating for years finally hit,” the scenario begins. “Unlike 2009’s H1N1, this new influenza strain—originating from wild geese—was extremely virulent and deadly.”

“The pandemic also had a deadly effect on economies: international mobility of both people and goods screeched to a halt, debilitating industries like tourism and breaking global supply chains,” the scenario continues, describing almost the exact events of 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.” (“Globalist Think Tank Laid Out Scenario Where Virus Outbreak Prompts Authoritarian Crackdown,” Rapture Ready News, March28, 2020)

Another news item further illustrates the effects the pandemic-steering mechanism is having in this present hour, eight years after the Rockefeller Foundation Report’s scenario for their globalist ambitions.

The United Kingdom’s former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on world leaders to form a “temporary” global government to resolve both the medical and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic reports the Guardian.

The ex-Labour prime minister stressed the need for a task force comprised of world leaders, health experts as well as leaders of the international organizations that could enjoy executive powers to execute the response.

A virtual meeting of the G-20 group of both developed and developing countries, chaired by Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to take place on Thursday. Brown lamented that the meeting didn’t include the UN security council. “This is not something that can be dealt with in one country,” he said. “There has to be a coordinated global response.” (David Sidman, “Ex British Prime Minister Calls on World Leaders to Form ‘One World Government’,” Breaking Israel News, March 26, 2020)

Yet another excerpt of today’s news even more dramatically illustrates the steering mechanism’s effects. It is a more profound example of the supernaturally generated winds aloft, I propose, because God’s prophetic time clock, the nation Israel, is directly in the path of the incoming, apocalyptic storm.

[Israel’s Prime Minister] Netanyahu put out a direct public appeal while dealing with an escalating coronavirus crisis on Tuesday, saying, “Benny Gantz, this is a moment which tests leadership and national responsibility. The citizens of Israel need a unity government that will work to save their lives and their livelihoods. This is not the time for a fourth election. We both know that the gaps between us are small, and we can overcome them. Let’s meet now and establish a unity government. I am waiting for you.” (Dov Lipman, “Unity Government Formed: Netanyahu Stays in Charge…For a Half Term,” Breaking Israel News, March 27, 2020)

The prime minister, in addressing the Israeli people, urged all to stay home, because, he said, “one who infects one person is akin to infecting the whole world.”

He said he doesn’t know when the pandemic will end. He reminded the people, however, that during past plagues, the Jews were stuck in exile. He said:

The coronavirus joins the family of other deadly plagues throughout history—the Black Plague, cholera, and the Spanish flu. When those plagues ran their course in previous centuries, we (the Jews) didn’t have a state. But today we do have a state.

He encouraged his audience by saying, “This gives us unlimited options to control our destiny,” adding, “we are one people, one country and now is the time for unity.”

He concluded:

[The Jewish] month of Nisan that begins tonight is the month of spring and of exodus from Egypt. It reminds us that our nation withstood intense storms. It gives us strength. It gives us hope. We overcame Pharaoh. And although the battle is difficult and challenging, we will overcome the coronavirus with God’s help and with your help, people of Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu is correct; with God’s help, the Jewish people—a remnant—will get past the storm to come. The storm the Israeli prime minister seems to anticipate isn’t yet here. It will be horrific, to be sure. The steering mechanism—the strange, supernatural winds that are blowing—are shaping things prophetically, precisely as God’s Word has foretold.

If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you won’t experience the most terrible storm ever to rage upon this fallen planet. Again, the following is the prescription that will protect you from the Tribulation pandemic storm to come:

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)

“If my people…”

April 1, 2020 8:05 am / 5 Comments on “If my people…”

This week I received a thought-provoking email and sense I should explore its contents with you.

We continue, of course, in the midst of this Covid-19 or coronavirus, or whatever you want to call it. That is literally all we can find in terms of news. If news providers or pundits move away from the topic at all, it is only for a brief moment. They are then right back to giving all the statistics and feared statistics. The pandemic’s effect on both the health of the populations of the world and the economies of the world are news-fodder 24/7.

For the prophecy student of the pre-Trib sort, many questions arise. Why was the economy moving upward as if it had JATO (forgive my old US Air Force term, for “Jet Assist Take Off”)?Then, why did that booming economy descend so dramatically as to make many believe a catastrophic crash is surely coming?

The depictions by even many of the prophecy prognosticators are so dire as to put forward that we are now into the Tribulation—the time of Daniel’s seventieth week.

And why should this not be the fear? The abject fear-mongering by mainstream news is at a near bloodcurdling level in some instances.

Here is a brief excerpt from a writer who analyzes and points to things posited by two major newspapers that can be designed to do nothing less than engender trepidation.

The New York Times claims that “the specter of death speeds across the globe, ‘Appointment in Samara’-style, ever faster, culling the most vulnerable.” Others are claiming Trump will cancel the election to rule as a Jim Jones. “Every viewer who trusts the words of Earhardt or Hannity or Regan could well become a walking, breathing, droplet-spewing threat to the public,” opined the Washington Post. (“Wake Up! Your fears are being manipulated,” by Peter Van Buren, AmericanConservative.com, Rapture Ready News, March 27, 2020)

This writer has received a number of emails expressing fear that all of this means the Rapture of the Church has somehow now been pushed back. Since I have written on numerous occasions that Jesus said that it will be like the days of Noah and days of Lot when He next catastrophically Intervenes in the affairs of mankind, the plunging economy and pandemic conditions around the world must mean the Rapture cannot be imminent.

Jesus prophesied that people will be buying, selling, building, planting, marrying, etc., when He next breaks in on this rebellious world. Just like in the days of Lot in Sodom, God’s judgment will begin falling the very day the people of the Age of Grace are called by Christ into His Presence (Revelation 4: 1).

Well, folks, guess what? People are still buying, selling, building, and marrying. The farmers will be planting this spring. While it is true that all of these things are on a frightening, downward trajectory, they are still taking place. This is not the time of Armageddon when none of these things will come close to being done as they are currently. The great Rapture event can literally happen at any moment. And it is my opinion that, despite the pandemic and the subsequent plunge of economy, the Rapture is more likely than ever to be at any moment.

The Rapture is still imminent!

My own view is that this economy will move back into the upward trajectory. But whether it does or not, we will still be buying, selling, and all of the other things mentioned by the Lord Jesus. His Words, like God, Himself, do not change. He is the same today, yesterday, and forever.

So we get back to the purpose of the thinking we are doing based upon the email I received. It was a missive that was meant to salve some of the hurting from the abrasiveness of the fear-mongering we’ve all been subjected to.

Like the Matthew 24:36–42 and Luke 17:26–30 passages about the days of Noah and days of Lot, the 2 Chronicles 7: 14 passage is declared by seminaries and their graduates’ scholarly commentaries to be for the Jews only, and for the time of Tribulation only. These, the “experts”—many of which are my good friends—say we must accept that these portions of God’s prophetic Word don’t apply to the Church. Nor are they for the Church Age, the Age of Grace. 

I do not accept these interpretations. I believe these words of Christ in the Olivet Discourse are for the whole world, in every age, but particularly for the end of this present dispensation, in regard to the days of Noah and of Lot prophecy. The 2 Chronicles 7:14 directive from Heaven was indeed for the Jews, the emailer was pointing out. However, it is not exclusively to the Jews.

The Heavenly Father gives the prescription for how to deal with problems of a sin-nature that bring God’s correction and judgment on His people.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Murray Lorance, the emailer, wrote in part:

While some still argue this is a message directed at only the wayward Jewish people of the Old Testament times, that same theme is introduced from the start of the Christian era in Acts 2.

Verse 38 says, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 3 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

I interject here: The words of this Scripture about being baptized for your sins, remember, is preached to the new believers in Christ before Paul’s teachings of belief only in the death, burial, and resurrection for salvation (Romans 10:9–10).

Murray continues:

This heart of this initial message is carried consistently through the gospels and the epistles, as well as the final Revelation Word from Christ Himself.

But, to completely appreciate the application of the Second Chronicles passage we have become familiar with, let’s reconnect the prior verse to suddenly see its application to today’s pandemic crisis.

II Chronicles 7:13–14 “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, of if I send the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Now, just to understand how earnest God is, back up to Chapter 6:28–31 for Solomon’s prayer of request to God.

“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, if there is locust or grasshopper, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague or whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or all of Your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own pain, and spreading his hands toward this house, then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know for You alone know the hearts of the son of man that they may fear You, to walk in your ways as long as they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.”

This prayer brought the response of Chapter 7:12 “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, I have heard your prayer…”

So, will we repent to seek God’s relief, or will just a remnant plead for mercy? Could it be He is stirring hearts everywhere to seek Him? Will you be the watchman on the wall to guide that one back to truth, repentance and His righteousness? [I was delighted when I saw Franklin Graham on an advert on Fox Channel—a one-minute plea, and leading the audience in the sinner’s prayer! How bold! How badly needed in this secular culture.] “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest….! Be that faithful laborer!

If you know the Lord Jesus, you are His person. We are His People.

Let us pray the prayer of 2 Chronicles 7:14 as we look for the any-moment intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

Freedom from Spirit of Fear

March 30, 2020 5:42 am / 5 Comments on Freedom from Spirit of Fear

Recently Mike Hile, my long-time friend and traveling companion, sent me a most important email. His thoughts (which I’ve not included here) and the material contained therein couldn’t be more appropriate, even essential, for this present hour.

We are engaged in this nation in unprecedented crisis, according to many of the mainstream media and others. The coronavirus is also engendering unprecedented fear due to great fear-mongering.

Again, as I’ve written in several commentaries, this is to in no way diminish the potential detriment to the health and well-being of Americans and peoples around the world represented by this disease. However, the pandemic, as it has been designated, doesn’t even come close to matching the great plague-like killers of past ages.

Nevertheless, I believe this president is leading the governmental agencies and the rest of us in a top-notch way. He is trying his best to tap down the tremendous fear that is raging.

As good as this president might be at offering calm and assurance that all will be okay in the foreseeable future, his efforts can’t compare to the calming assurance offered by the Creator of all things, our Father in Heaven.

The Lord has, through His Holy Word, given us freedom from the spirit of fear, if we but, as Dr. Charles Stanley says beautifully, “Obey God, no matter what, and leave all the consequences to Him.”

Another way of saying that, even better, is the way God Himself has put it:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

Jesus, God’s Son, who is the very Word (John chapter 1), tells us through the Apostle Paul:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

God wants His people—those born again (John chapter 3) through belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son—not to be fearful. He is in complete control at all times, including this time of crisis, be it real or contrived.

The following Scriptures that assure God’s freedom from fear to those who will study and appropriate His Word as their model for living was compiled by Debbie McDaniel. Debbie is a writer, pastor’s wife, and mom to three amazing kids (and a lot of pets). She encourages you to join her each morning on Fresh Day Ahead’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/DebbieWebbMcDaniel, for daily encouragement in living strong, free, hope-filled lives.

Here is a list of thirty-three Scripture verses she found to assure us that we can live a life free of fear, even in fearful times.

  1. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
  2. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3)
  3. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7)
  4. “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
  5. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
  6. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)
  7. “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” (Psalm 94:19)
  8. “But now, this is what the Lord says… Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)
  9. “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” (Proverbs 12:25)
  10. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
  11. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
  12. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)
  13. “Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time. Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6–7)
  14. “Tell everyone who is discouraged, Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue…” (Isaiah 35:4)
  15. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:22–26)
  16. “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)
  17. “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” (Psalm 55:22)
  18. “Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” (Mark 6:50)
  19. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
  20. “’For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 41:13–14)
  21. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
  22. “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper.” (Psalm 118:6–7)
  23. “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)
  24. “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:39–40)
  25. “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” (Psalm 34:7)
  26. “But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.” (1 Peter 3:14)
  27. “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)
  28. “Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.” (Deuteronomy 3:22)
  29. “Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.’” (Revelation 1:17)
  30. “Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’” (Mark 5:36)
  31. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” (Romans 8:38–39)
  32. “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:17)
  33. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”…He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.  A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you…For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways… “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” ( Psalm 91:1–16)

Be Assured, God is still on the throne and your prayers can change things.

The End Is Not Yet

March 25, 2020 5:25 am / 9 Comments on The End Is Not Yet

Let me say at the outset of this commentary that I in no way intend to diminish the dangers presented by this disease. It is a pandemic to be sure, because it is worldwide. The potential is there for massive health devastation and death.

However, the coronavirus has by no means reached anywhere close to historic levels of past deadly pandemics—or even regional epidemics. Not even close. Yet the projections are presenting to the world’s public an end-of-the-world prognosis, to keep it within medical jargon.

Even those who operate issues and events from Christian and even prophetic perspectives are painting a picture that the world is now almost certainly already in an era not unlike that described as the biblical apocalypse.

Aside from the fears about the millions who might die from coronavirus are the just-as-feared economic ramifications of the now officially declared pandemic.

Here are excerpts of some of the dystopian predictions I garnered from just one website to make the point.

  • The financial system is cratering. Banks will begin to fold soon. Many deposits will be wiped out.
  • Pensions are being wiped out right now, exactly along the lines we’ve been warning about for years. If you had exposure to the bubble stock market, real estate will begin to crater soon. Expect a 40% plunge on average, nationwide. Unemployment will skyrocket to Great Depression levels in less than 90 days. [Currency manipulation] insanity being pushed by the Trump administration will result in rapid price inflation across America, putting us on the path toward a Venezuela-type scenario, and more money printing goes to insane levels to bail out everybody and everything in the economy. Dumpster diving for food, the national sport of the failed state of Venezuela, will soon be commonplace in many US cities.
  • The food supply is cratering in many regions, with food distribution hubs gutted and many local retailers cleaned out. City dwellers are “hunting” for grocery stores in rural areas that have more food. We anticipate gun battles over food to commence soon.
  • Speaking of guns, every round of ammunition and every firearm in America is just about gone as of today. Retailers still have some supplies, but wholesalers are wiped out everywhere. More and more experts and even CDC officials are now openly talking about “millions of deaths” in the USA over the next 18 months. (Mike Adams, “URGENT Alert: Financial System Collapsing, Food Supply Collapsing, Hyperinflation Coming, Guns and Ammo Wiped Out, Military Martial Law Plans Leaked,” Natural News, March 19, 2020)

I found other websites forecasting even greater troubles. “America will end as we know it because of the coronavirus crisis” is the conclusion of a number of sites I’ve perused.

Of course, I’ll agree that America as we’ve known it has changed to the point that our founding fathers probably wouldn’t recognize it—at least, not as they envisioned the constitutional republic they created. It is certain most wouldn’t believe how it has turned out in terms of cultural and societal morality. And things like the fiscal irresponsibility of running monetary printing presses, as has been done for decades, with nothing to back the dollar—which itself seems to grow stronger rather than weaker vis-a vis all other currencies—would no doubt flabbergast them.

As we’ve looked at many times in these commentaries, there seems no rational explanation for why the American and global economies haven’t collapsed.

Economists, mostly in the lesser-known blog forums, have pointed to the fact that there will come a tremendous crash at some point. The more renowned financial talking heads of broadcast and cable networks haven’t really examined underlying fiscal structures. They have concentrated on amazement over the ever-rising stock market figures.

Now, it is declared by many that the time of reckoning has come. The coronavirus crisis means the end of all things in terms of economic well-being. Economic/monetary matters have defied the fiscal laws of gravity—as we’ve pointed out—the way Wile E. Coyote defies gravity in the cartoon world. Now we have entered a time that will, many believe, lead to times worse than conditions created by the stock-market crash of 1929.

To those who observe what’s going on through the prism of Bible prophecy, particularly the pre-Trib view of Bible prophecy, things are in tremendous flux. That is, tremendous change is taking place that portends the soon-coming time of the Antichrist regime. This is what must come to pass so that Jesus Christ can return to put an end to human government, which has so egregiously failed at every turn.

However, it is not the end…not yet.

As my good friend Jan Markell says about world conditions in regard to Bible prophecy: “Things aren’t falling apart. They are falling together.” That is, we are privileged as Christians alive at this time to watch the end-times stage being set for all things to unfold exactly like God, through His Holy Word, says they will.

The devil and his minions, both human and supernatural, have tried to accomplish a coup d’état in this nation for the past four years. They have failed at every turn. Now they are, through the crisis at present, determined to change America through the many rushed fixes we are seeing. They hope to attach their tentacles through lockdowns and forced economic/business changes—i.e., ways of doing business—for accomplishing their globalist ambitions. Even with the immense propaganda power of the mainstream media, they have been unable to carry out their attempted coup d’état. This is because, I believe with all that is within my spiritual understanding, the Lord of Heaven has prevented their one-world plans to this point.

This is due to the fact that it is not yet time for the Antichrist world order to emerge. This can’t happen as long as the Church, Jesus Christ’s Bride, is still on this fallen planet.

That’s why the present president has been placed in the most powerful office of the most powerful government on earth. If anyone else held the office at this crucial time, I believe the economy of the United States, and certainly economies of the rest of the world, would have by this time indeed come crashing down. This would especially have been true by now, figuring this pandemic into the economic equation.

This is not to give Mr. Trump undue credit. He is simply living proof of the truth found in God’s Word. The Lord of Heaven raises up rulers and kings, and He brings them down (Daniel 2: 21). That this man is chosen by God to be in the position to which he was elected in such astonishing fashion is a primary reason I believe that the economy that is currently in freefall will again reach previous heights.

Jesus prophesied that when He next intervenes into the affairs of mankind, it will not be at a time of Tribulation-like desperation. It will, he said, be a time of building, buying, selling, marrying, planting. It will be, I believe He indicated, a time of business even more dynamic than usual—just like on the day when Lot was suddenly removed from Sodom, which was judged that very day.

The changes we are seeing at this time are profound. Indeed, America is being reconfigured in a way that will pave the way for what will take place following the Rapture of Christ’s Bride—all born-again believers.

But this isn’t the end. It is however, to somewhat distort the paraphrasing of Churchill regarding the end of the Battle for Britain during WW II, perhaps the end of the beginning of the end.

Jesus said while sitting atop the Mount of Olives just before He died on the cross at Calvary and resurrected for the sin of mankind: “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” (Matthew 24:6).

He also said: “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).

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Persia’s Prophetic Preparation

March 23, 2020 5:10 am / 1 Comment on Persia’s Prophetic Preparation

Last week in this column, I gave an excerpt from an article I wrote some years ago that told of God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those promises came from Genesis 12:1–3 and involved the fact that God would bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse His chosen people of Israel.

I then wrote:

My words of those earlier times have continued to prove true, because the facts involved come directly from God’s Word. Israel continues to be an amazing fulfilling of stage-setting for ultimate fulfillment of prophecy yet future.

In this week’s commentary, I hope to show that Iran, the modern nation that covers much of the territory that encompassed the ancient Persian Empire, likewise gives absolute proof of God’s promises coming true. Whereas Israel has dramatically proven to be the beneficiary of the Lord’s promise to “bless” that nation, Iran continues to prove the veracity of God’s promise to “curse” those who curse Israel.

Most who study Bible prophecy are more than aware that the ayatollahs of Iran have, particularly since the fall of Iran’s shah, uttered the most damnable curses imaginable against Israel. They have organized Iran’s peoples into hate-Israel frenzy. The chants include “Death to Israel!” and the Islamic regime declares America “the big Satan” and Iran “the little Satan.”

It is reported that Iran is now suffering from the coronavirus more terribly than even China, the center from which the disease apparently sprang.

At least 429 people had died in Iran from the disease as of Thursday March 12 and more than 10,000 people were confirmed as infected as of that date. Sources estimated that because of the regime’s oppressive and reclusive modus operandi the real tallies of the infected and dead are much higher.

Hatred is so deeply ingrained in Islamic leadership that, even though Israel leads the way in developing effective vaccines and treatments for the disease, they still curse that nation. Their reluctance to accept Israel in any way seems to condemn the people of Iran to a tragic outcome.

Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi took a break from hating Israel long enough to announce a religious ruling that it would be permitted to use a “Zionist” vaccine against the coronavirus.

“It is not permissible to buy and sell from Zionists and Israel,” Shirazi said Wednesday to the Iranian daily Hamdeli. “Unless the treatment is unique and there is no substitute.”

Shirazis statement comes in response to a Hebrew media report on Wednesday citing unidentified officials as saying that scientists at the Ness Ziona-based Institute for Biological Research were close to developing a vaccine for the coronavirus. (Adam Eliyaho Berkowitz, “Holocaust-Denying Grand Ayatollah Okays Buying Israeli Cure for Coronavirus,” Breaking Israel News | Latest News)

While the Grand Ayatollah might at some point allow the use of vaccine produced by the hated Israel, the general attitude of the Islamic hardliners in control is reflected in a statement by Roshan Salih, a prominent journalist for Press TV. He tweeted a Haaretz article about an announcement that an Israeli research center had developed a vaccine for the coronavirus. Salih commented, “I’d rather take my chances with the virus than consume an Israeli vaccine.”

The Iranian government mullahs, it can be argued, brought the curse of COVID-19 down on their own heads. While America and much of the Western world isolated China because of it being the center of the disease, the mullahs decided to take advantage and fully embrace China to get trade deals so desperately needed.

The sanctions President Trump and other leaders placed on Iran have greatly affected the regime’s ability to do business worldwide. They are struggling mightily to stay afloat economically, and the people of Iran are protesting with increasing anger and vigor. The embrace of China, apparently, with the intermingling of people doing business, is one major factor that brought the coronavirus into even the highest levels of the clergy-leadership.

It is reported that some top Islamic leaders are infected, and a number—perhaps much greater than reported—have died from the disease.

The “Butcher of Tehran,” Mohammad Haj Abolghasemi, for example, has died of the disease. He was in charge of the sadistic repression of Iranian dissidents during recent antigovernment riots. The Iranian public rejoiced when Abolghasemi became one of the early fatalities associated with COVID-19.

Other reports leaking out of Iran paint ominous portraits of a nation that might be said to be under curse.

Two days after Iran declared its first cases of the novel coronavirus—in what would become one of the largest outbreaks of the illness outside of China—evidence of unusual activity appeared at a cemetery near where the infections emerged.

At the Behesht-e Masoumeh complex in Qom, about 80 miles south of Tehran, the excavation of a new section of the graveyard began as early as Feb. 21, satellite images show, and then rapidly expanded as the virus spread. By the end of the month, two large trenches—their lengths totaling 100 yards—were visible at the site from space.

In[a stunning] video, shared by the BBC’s Persian service March 3, the narrator [described] the scene at Behesht-e Masoumeh cemetery as men carry a casket toward a trench with multiple graves. Qom, like other parts of Iran, is grappling with the coronavirus outbreak that has sickened thousands of people and overwhelmed the public health infrastructure.

“This is the section for coronavirus victims,” the narrator says, as the camera pans across a small portion of the trench, showing mounds of dirt and small, simple markers. People wearing blue protective suits are seen standing nearby. “More than 80 [people] have been buried in this section so far, and they say only 34 deaths,” he says, citing the official death toll on Feb. 28. (Erin Cunningham and Dalton Bennett, “Iran’s Coronavirus Burial Pits Are So Vast They’re Visible from Space,” Connecticut Post, Washington Post, March 12, 2020)

Pressure is enormous on modern-day Persian leaders to bring relief from the suffering of the nation’s enraged population. Instead of joining the more reasonable nations of the world and starting to act in a more civilized manner, thus bringing about better economic conditions, the mullahs double down on their hatred for Israel.

God’s prophet Ezekiel foretold millennia ago the results of the things we are seeing develop at this time of history.

Iran (Persia) will be offered by Gog to share in the “spoil” of the riches they expect when attacking the Jewish state. It is not difficult to believe that Iran’s hate-filled leaders will eagerly join in the assault. It will be the most disastrous outcome for an aggressor in human history to that point. Only Armageddon itself will bring greater destruction to Israel’s enemies.

The Real Pandemic

March 18, 2020 11:16 am / 6 Comments on The Real Pandemic

A headline on Rapture Ready News jumped from the monitor screen: “Will Coronavirus Kill the New World Order?”

By this, I infer the question implies that the globalists might not get their long-dreamed-of, unified world because the so-called coronavirus pandemic will keep the nations of the world separated out of necessity.

This is one question I can answer with absolute certitude. The answer is NO. The coronavirus, nor any other virus or human agency, will destroy the coming “new world order.”

However, the caveat that must be entered here is predicated upon the supposition that we’re talking about destruction of the coming new world order, not changes in it.

Those changes are coming—and we must think in terms of profound, unprecedented changes that will likely rearrange modalities of living even in the United States of America.

For Americans, this prospect is daunting. We’re used to not having our apple carts upset. Concerning our ways of life, the poor among us, the middle class among us, and the wealthy and upper 1 percent of the ultra-rich among our numbers are not easily moved from our routines. God’s Word says through prophecy that a new world order is coming. As a matter of fact, two new world orders are on the way.

So to predict that the new world order—the first of which isn’t even here yet—will not be killed by the coronavirus or anything else is a sure bet. 

But the changes that will affect the first of these separate and distinctly different world orders are, I’m convinced, upon us right now. These are manifesting in every news cycle. The “pandemic” of the coronavirus is engendering not the destruction of it, but the changes in it that will forever alter life in our nation and around the world.

These changes we’re witnessing, experiencing, and enduring aren’t Bible prophecy being fulfilled, but rather, are setting the stage for the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

The first of these world orders is the one Antichrist will rule. It will ultimately be created out of the geopolitical turmoil going on at this moment in history. This turbulence—fomented by Satan, with the United States presidency and the American nation at the epicenter—is generating the current economic earthquake.

The coronavirus hoopla is being used masterfully by Satan and his minions in high places to try yet again to bring this US president down. This must be done in order to get the globalist juggernaut back on track.

This is in no way saying that I take this disease lightly. I agree with my good friend Eric Barger of Take a Stand Ministries, who recently wrote the following:

There is no question that COVID-19 is deadly. There is also no question that some in the media are manipulating this story dramatically as they report on it. Objective reporting is hard to find these days but instead of calling out some of the politicians on the left—who’ve chosen to politicize an epidemic—their allies in the media are choosing to just chime in! Both pundits and political hacks alike apparently just can’t wait to attempt scoring the cheapest of points against the president. It is frankly unconscionable, but, as expected, it appears that nothing whatsoever is off limits for these partisans.

The old serpent has chosen to create the perception of a worldwide spread of a relatively common virus to bring the peoples of the world together. Fear is the ingeniously devilish nucleus around which the globalist cabal has wrapped its plans to get things back to normal, in a perverted model of normalcy. The one-world elitists will do anything and everything within their Lucifer-infused power to restore their internationalist equilibrium, to tear down nation-state sovereignty and dissolve national boundaries.

All of that said, however, the coronavirus pandemic is not the pandemic to which I refer as presented in the title of this commentary. That “real” pandemic, as I term it, is far more lethal—far more terrifying.

The real pandemic facing the world today is 100 percent fatal—not only to physical life, but to life that follows physical death.

It is the virus called sin. Each and every person who has ever been born on this fallen planet with the exception of One, the Lord Jesus Christ, is born with this spiritual virus. It will, for the one afflicted, without remedy, end with the person suffering the process of dying forever.

This hellish, spiritual virus turns mankind against God. It thus brings about thinking that is upside-down—an insanity that precludes rationality. That’s what we’ve been witnessing for the last four years in particular. The Lord of Heaven has turned the anti-God forces over to a “reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28).

There is coming a second new world order. It will be ushered in by King Jesus, who will reign and rule over an Eden-like planet that He will refurbish upon putting an end to Armageddon.

Finally, at the end of Christ’s reign, there will be no more pandemics that corrupt and destroy God’s creation called man. The new heavens and new earth will provide the perfect environment—the utopia the globalists with their climate-change rants proclaim they want. But they will not be around to enjoy it. Sadly, they will have succumbed to the pandemic that is far deadlier than the coronavirus.

To avoid being terminally and eternally ill because of this terrible, spiritual virus, confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for your sins. Believe then in your spiritual heart that He rose from the dead. Do this and you have God’s Word on it. You are now saved. (Romans 10: 9—10)

 

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