Prophecy Line
Lost but Not Forgotten: A Story of Redemption During the Great Tribulation | By Skye Burgdorf
Book review by Terry James
Imagine you’re a young mother. You’re expecting your second child within the month, and you are pushing a shopping cart. Your three-year-old son is sitting in the cart’s seat as you move down an aisle of the grocery store looking for specific items.
In less than a second, the child in front of your eyes disappears. At that same moment, an indescribable sensation within your body convulses and you collapse to the hard floor. You know something has happened to the baby you are carrying.
What a terrible way to start a review of a book you want people to purchase and read. Can any good come from such a thought—such a fictional depiction?
Let me assure you, there is no such scene in this terrific novel by Skye Burgdorf. But the horrific scene I created to begin this review is a fact that will be experienced perhaps millions of times in one moment to come.
I know there is an entire seminary line of thinking that says all children will not go in the Rapture. I totally discount this teaching, as many know. Every child below the age of accountability will go to the Lord Jesus Christ when He calls all believers to Himself in that stunning moment. This includes every child that has just been conceived.
In that instant, God will make an unmistakable statement about the sanctity of life and about when life begins.
This isn’t even up for debate with me, so I proceed with this review with my contention that this is truth concerning the question: Will all children go to Christ at the Rapture?
The point I wish to make in beginning this way is that none of us who are born again want this to happen to any such woman–or to have anything like this horror happen to anyone, for that matter.
This novel account of that post-Rapture time is, I believe, a description of Tribulation-era evil that can lead unbelievers to a sober realization. I’m sure it will be used by the Holy Spirit to convict those who haven’t accepted Christ to do so before it’s too late.
Skye Burgdorf, in Lost but Not Forgotten, portrays in a real-to-life fashion what life might be like following the Rapture. By “real-to-life,” I mean her characters come alive and she moves them in a truly believable way through that horrific time Jesus said will be the worst that has ever been on earth or would ever be again (Matthew 24: 21).
Here’s a synopsis:
Following the Rapture, a paralegal from the big city scrambles to find out what really happened. Were her parents right about their Christian theology? Savy and her best friend, Jules, a hairdresser whom she has known since elementary school, decide to weed through the chaos in the streets to go back to their hometown in Leipers Fork, Tennessee. They begin to meet people who were intertwined into their lives for a purpose and share stories of where they were when “The Big Change” happened. As a one-world government forms, a new world leader emerges. Savy and her new family endure the hardships of global tribulation by pulling together and trying to live in a world of exponentially increasing evil. Jules felt the need to care for her grandfather when things first started, but when camps are set up between her and Savy, will she ever make it back to her? How will they survive the coming devastations? Where will they go? Who will they look to for all the answers? When she gets home, she sees things that could possibly help her survive, not knowing there is a hidden secret her parents left for her just in case she remained lost.
Through the intense, moment-by-moment struggle to evade and survive forces of wickedness, there emerge moments of sharing the soul-saving message of the Gospel. Just as there are demonic forces at work, the heavenly force is even more in evidence while those left behind after the Rapture learn to rely on their only hope–the Blessed Hope of Titus 2:13.
The novel kept me wanting to read more and provoked a bit of irritation when I had to put it aside in order to get one thing or the other done. So it is a story I can wholeheartedly recommend that you get into the hands of those who are on your heart in regard to their salvation. This story will, I believe, convict them to consider what being lost at the moment of Rapture would mean to them personally and, we can pray, convince them to accept the only safe harbor, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lost but Not Forgotten: A Story of Redemption During the Great Tribulation
Author: Skye Burgdorf
ISBN: 9798987167205
To purchase:
The Fear of Things to Come
Root of New-World-Order Evil
“Follow the money” is a familiar suggestion when looking for the cause of something nefarious. To my way of thinking, nothing is more nefarious, in terms of human evil, than the powers and principalities of Ephesians 6:12 attempting to bring in their New World Order.
This matter is at the very heart of Satan’s determination to enslave and rule over a world of human beings he wants to worship him. Just like in most all other areas of human interaction, “following the money” is essential in investigating the drive of the world’s globalists elite to control every facet of buying and selling.
God’s Word says the following:
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10)
Wealth—that is, money and those who control money—is always at the heart of power. Satan, therefore, has plied those who covet power down through the ages with the riches of this world. He even tempted Jesus with the promise that he, Satan, would give Jesus all the wealth of the world if He would fall down and worship him. The devil continues along the same path he started on in the Garden of Eden. “You will be like God,” he told Adam and Eve, if they would just obey him and eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Any honest appraisal of things that have gone on in what is known now as the Washington, DC, swamp must conclude that the love of money is at the heart of the anti-God activities spawned by government and the vast amounts of money leaders wield. Many among our elected representatives shape and tailor policies to best suit the influence for votes they need to stay in power. –This and consort with powerful monetary entities who pay big sums for influence within policy-making.
These, it seems, consider federal taxes their own, not ours. And the out-of-control spending has us many trillions of dollars in debt–debt that generations to come will never be able to pay.
Yet the money-printing presses keep running.
But there is an answer to the burgeoning debt on the way. We can clearly see the solution shaping up hour by hour. We have to get away from how business is currently done. We must go to the digital dollar—a type of electronic-funds transfer.
The digital way of doing business is destined to be all we hear about in the coming days. Governments, both in America and abroad, must have total control over the rest of us and how we buy and sell. The digital dollar and all it entails is even now being designed to give power and authority not unlike that exerted over the Chinese people by the CCP.
One excerpt article captures the essence of what is going on in the clandestine corridors of governmental power across the world.
At the end of June government leaders and think-tank power brokers from around the world met at the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris…
As with all climate change related events the discussion in Paris inevitably turned to international centralization of power and the formation of a global consortium to fix the problems that they claim sovereign nations cannot or will not fix.
However, what I’m seeing more and more in the past couple years is a convergence of narratives – Central banks and international banks are now suddenly more concerned with carbon taxation and global warming than they seem to be concerned with stagflation and economic collapse. Likely because this was the goal all along and economic collapse is part of the plan.
Globalists are now combining the climate change issue with international finance and monetary authority. In other words, they aren’t hiding the fact that the climate change agenda is part of the “Great Reset” agenda anymore. They are even suggesting that the threat of climate change be used as a springboard for giving global banks more power to dictate the circulation of wealth and for deconstructing the existing system so it can be replaced with something else…
… I suspect that this is all culminating in a currency crisis which the globalists will use as an opportunity to finally introduce their CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) model. And once CBDCs are implemented their ability to dominate the populace will be complete. A cashless system with no privacy in transactions and the ability to shut down the buying power of individuals and groups at will? It’s a totalitarian’s dream scenario. (“Globalists Suggest ‘Finance Shock’ and Climate Controls to Launch Their Great Reset,” by Tyler Durden, authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market ZeroHedge, July 14, 2023)
The United States, as we’ve discussed a number of times, is the nation-state holdup to this system being totally adopted. The American public cannot easily be cajoled into giving up the many luxuries that come from living in a free, constitutionally-protected society. However, the globalists elite have seen through the COVID pandemic that Americans are vulnerable to crisis-engendered threats. The lessons they learned haven’t been lost on those who would control the world through their nefarious planning—like the Great Reset.
So look for talk of the digital dollar to increase greatly over the coming days. The crisis or series of crises must be an integral, even central, part of their Reset blueprint. America is the chief target of that blueprint planning.
I believe they will not be able to bring America into this satanic monetary orbit without a crisis of monumental significance.
But it will happen, I’m convinced, and have said so many times.
That “crisis” will be one that is Heaven-sent to a judgment-deserving planet of God-rejecting earth dwellers. The Rapture will bring that crisis to fruition. From all of this evil will come the Antichrist mark-and-number system of Revelation 13:16–18.
The Lord appeals to all people everywhere to accept His only Way to salvation, thus to avoid the judgment and wrath that are coming upon the planet. Here again is how to go to Christ when He calls God’s children to be with Him in the safety of Heaven:
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 shall be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10: 9–10)
Daniel’s Doomsday Deluge
Powerful forces are at work beneath the relative tranquility that masks the true state of our nation and world. Our society boils with turbulence beneath a crumbling veneer of sophistication. It is a culture mirrored by soap opera-type fiction and hedonistic movies that have, in turn, mesmerized much of the American public. Life has indeed imitated art, while year after year, morals have degenerated and the very concept of morality has been turned upside down and inside out.
Those who don’t know Christ for salvation are given a thrill-a-minute fix to satisfy insatiable cravings for instant gratification. All too many among the saved are caught up in the lures of worldly pursuits. Americans are, for the most part, sadly, all the while descending deeper and deeper into depravity.
Gleam, glitter, and unparalleled techno-gadgetry have procured Americans hours upon hours of time for pleasure-seeking and, it is more than abundantly obvious, for mischief-making. While the moguls of science do provide great benefits for human health, wealth, and achievement, to see the direction all of this is sweeping us, we only have to consider the news. We’re not a society that’s getting better and better every day and in every way, like the New Age evolutionary thinkers would have us believe. Feeding our voracious appetites for more exciting thrills and greater pleasures has only generated phenomenal growth in criminal activity. Those who perceive themselves to be the have-nots ravenously want the material things the propagandists flash before their lusting eyes. Because Big Brother government has, in effect, destroyed the work ethic through give-away welfare programs (but can in no way give this dependent class the shimmering lifestyle it lusts after), the rip in the fabric of society widens daily as the ungovernable elements engage in the only occupation they believe can secure for them the thrills and pleasures they seek. As a result, gang members as young as seven live and often die in their unattainable pursuits.
Last-Days Scenarios
Can there be any doubt that the end-of-the-age conditions and activities God’s Word predicts are now being played out before our eyes? The similarities between the biblical descriptions and the news reports are stunningly evident.
Human atrocities against fellow humans are pandemic. Stories of debased behavior are so numerous that news articles that would have formerly been front-page headlines now are relegated to pages farther back because even more heinous stories overshadow them.
Jesus Himself prophesied about the generation on earth at the time of His Second Advent: “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). He said, while talking with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, that generation, like the pre-Flood society of Noah’s day, will be “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (Matthew 24:38). Like in Noah’s day, society will be conducting business as usual, desensitized to the perversities going on around them and even more desensitized to any consideration of the things of God and divine judgment.
Daniel the prophet said: “And the end of it shall be with a flood” (Daniel 9: 26), meaning a flood of wicked behavior and of God’s wrath and judgment pour upon the unrepentant, blasphemous people of the apocalypse. Jesus said the generation alive at the end of the age will be totally immersed in doing what is right in their own eyes, as were the folks of Noah’s day. The people of that earlier generation were getting married, going to parties, and engaging in commerce while their perversions, debaucheries, violence, and blasphemies were simply well-accepted, even welcome, ingredients in the culture and society of the time. Jesus said they were carrying on as usual “until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the son of man be” (Matthew 24:28–39).
Jesus was saying that people living at the time of His return will have become so rebellious as to have rejected the notion of a Creator God. Their thinking will have become so reprobate, their consciences so seared, that many will even forget that such a God was ever said to have existed! Christ’s coming will be so swift and startling that it will be like the horror of that long-ago, worldwide deluge that destroyed all but those who were found righteous in God’s eyes. Just prior to that Flood, Enoch disappeared, having been translated into the presence of the God with whom he walked righteously (Genesis 5:24). Noah and his family were supernaturally preserved upon the raging sea that engulfed the entire earth (Genesis 8).
Jesus also drew the parallel between the time of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the days that will immediately precede the consummation of the age. “Also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:28–29).
Peter the apostle wrote about Lot’s days of interaction with the people of Sodom: “For that righteous man [Lot] dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds” (2 Peter 2:8). Peter then went on to imply the type of behavior that greatly disturbed Lot—the sort of behavior that inevitably brings on Almighty God’s indignation and judgment:
But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they; self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities…. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption, And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes, reveling with their own deceiving while they feast with you. Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children, Who have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray…. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with the tempest, to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that are just escaping from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. (2 Peter 2:8–19)
God’s Word speaks powerfully of His opinion about the vile activities that were commonplace during Lot’s day warning all generations that His righteous judgment must and will fall on those who engage in ungodly enterprises:
Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. In like manner also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities…these speak evil of those things which they know not; but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain…. Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. (Jude 7–13)
The Holy Scripture then rolls before the mind’s eye of our imagination the awesome truth within the words, “it is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10: 31). As the book of Jude continues:
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convict all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. (Jude 14–19).
Apologies to Sodom and Gomorrah
Ruth Bell Graham said, in surveying the growing wickedness in our nation, that if God did not judge the United States, He would surely have to apologize to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Many years have passed since Mrs. Graham made that (in my opinion, very correct) assessment. Does the fact that the United States has not been obliterated by fire and brimstone, consumed in a thermonuclear holocaust or by supernatural fire, mean our conduct is improving enough that the Almighty will not judge us like He did those ancient cities? Or does it mean Mrs. Graham was wrong?
One thing is sure. God is never wrong and thus never needs to apologize for His actions. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8.) His immutability is perfectly consistent. Thankfully, and praise His holy name, so is His quality of mercy, His slowness to anger and wrath—else the little, though tremendously prideful, creature called man would have ceased to exist long ago.
The reason God has not yet brought about the removal of His Church and hasn’t yet let Daniel’s end-times flood of evil deluge a judgment-deserving world of rebels is found in the following:
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. (2 Peter 3:8–10a)
Don’t let the day of God’s wrath being poured out on a judgment-deserving world be part of your future. Accept Christ this moment and be assured of being lifted to the safe harbor of Heaven for all of eternity. Here is how:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall 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)
Fear For the New World
Final-days’ Fiction Becoming Fact
If we didn’t understand that God is in complete control, we would, like some inventors of artificial intelligence (AI), be terrified of what is coming.
Some of those scientists have openly expressed their fears of what this burgeoning technological breakthrough portends. These believe, in some cases, that the monster is already beyond governing, as we’ve seen from past reports. Things haven’t slowed as that beast continues to grow exponentially.
And it’s getting more and more complex and controlling, according to the very scientific community who spawned it, as stated above.
Perhaps strictly in terms of danger to the continuation of civilization, we can think on an old film called Colossus: The Forbin Project.
It was a made-for-TV movie, as I remember. It was, I considered at the time, a really good sci-fi story that might come to be in reality—but only far, far into the future. Well…we have advanced into that future, and it appears, as is said, that life mimics art—or is on the cusp of doing so.
Colossus: The Forbin Project was about a scientist who worked within the US government to produce a computer-run system involving control of nuclear defensive weaponry. The system was designed to automatically respond with a counter-strike in case of an attack from the Soviet Union, China, or any other nation that might launch a first strike.
Colossus, through its own manipulations, became a sentient entity—i.e., it could think and even emote in certain ways, mimicking the human cognitive process in geometrically-progressing ways. It quickly removed controls by its creator, Dr. Forbin, and began taking over, eventually telling all governmental and military people that it would take drastic, even deadly, actions if they didn’t obey its directives.
After being handed full control, Colossus’ Draconian logic expanded on its original nuclear directives to assume total governance of the world and end all warfare for the good of humankind despite its creator’s orders to stop.
The bottom line: Colossus, it was learned, had a counterpart the Soviets had created. Colossus demanded that it be linked with the Soviet counterpart computer or it would unleash nuclear holocaust.
The national leaders had no choice and linked the two computer brains. The combined entity proceeded to totally control all human activity. If the entity was assaulted in any way by the humans, it would destroy the world with the nuclear weaponry it controlled.
I’ll let you watch that 1970 movie to see how it all ended (check your streaming services to find out where it’s available). The point is, a number of scientists who created AI fear perhaps they and the rest of us might suffer the fate of the fictional Dr. Forbin and his fellow people of the planet.
We learn of “progress,” as some might see it, with regard to artificial intelligence’s military application at present.
The US Air Force is running successful tests of “large-language model” artificial intelligence experiments amid concerns of military operations relying on AI.
[US. Air Force Col. Matthew Strohmeyer has indicated] the Air Force has successfully executed a large-language model experiment with artificial intelligence for the first time, after years of using only data-based exercises with artificial intelligence under the U.S. Department of Defense.
“It was highly successful,” he said. “It was very fast. We are learning that this is possible for us to do.”…
Strohmeyer explained that the military provided the artificial intelligence platforms with classified operation information for the test. The goal of the ongoing exercises is to allow the U.S. military to use data obtained from artificial intelligence as part of the decision-making process, sensors, and firepower, according to Bloomberg…
The Pentagon’s eight-week exercise, which is expected to conclude on July 26, will also involve a test to determine whether the military will be able to use LLMS to formulate new military options that have not previously been considered. As part of this, the U.S. military will conduct an experiment with the LLMs in order to plan for a potential military response to a global crisis, such as an incident in the Indo-Pacific region…
While Strohmeyer highlighted the potential benefits of the military using additional artificial intelligence, other military officials and lawmakers have concerns regarding artificial intelligence. These concerns include the ability for artificial intelligence to provide false information as fact and the ability for artificial intelligence to be hacked by other users.
“We have to be very concerned with what we talked about, which is the unintended consequences,” retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Enyart said last month. (“US military giving artificial intelligence classified operation info,” Timothy Frudd, American Military News, 7/9/23)
We who believe God’s forewarning that one man and one system will, during the Tribulation, control most of the world’s population can discern that the Antichrist will have a Colossus-like entity to help inflict the nefarious worst to torment humanity. It is coming at this generation at breakneck speed, as daily reports of AI technological advancement continue despite its creators’ warnings.
It is our blessed hope and belief that before the New World Order types can complete their blueprint for world domination, Jesus will call His own to be with Himself and to safety from that horrendous seven-year period of Tribulation (Luke 24: 21).
You don’t want to be here during that time. Here is how to be called by Christ to the safety God offers His children:
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)
Restraint, Derision, and Reprobate minds
Looking at the surface of evil in the world taking place, it appears that this world is out of control. No one can be faulted for having such a view of world conditions.
When we see things like young children being considered legal/legitimate fodder for sexual predators (now called “minor-attracted persons” instead of “pedophiles”), things really do look out of control.
When we see one of the two major political parties championing those who push agendas the MAP advocates embrace, what other conclusion can be drawn other than that this world has gone insane?
Without meaning to get political, in the sense of promoting one party over another, we remember a biblically pronounced end to this kind of turning one’s back on the God of Heaven.
During a convention a decade or so ago, when someone asked the Democrat Convention attendees whether God should be mentioned within the proceedings, the loud and definite answer by all in attendance was a resounding “No!” There was no doubt whatsoever that they wanted any mention of God left out of proceedings.
As I’ve mentioned numerous times, here is what God says about those who turn their backs on Him:
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those Things which are not convenient. (Romans 1:28)
Again, not intending to stray far into politics, what I see through the prism of God’s prophetic Word must be interjected here. Anyone being honest as they watch this presidential administration surely has questions like the following: How have we reached such a place in this nation that the top three people in the presidential administration are seemingly unable to demonstrate normal mental function?
These—the president, the vice president, and the press spokesperson—have actually become almost laughingstocks to observers outside their political party, their leftist ideology, and the mainstream media (which, mentioning in the same breath is perhaps redundant). Their mental acuity is, it seems to me, inadequate to the challenge in addressing legitimate issues on the national and international scene.
These are avid adherents of the platform presented by the political party that verbally shouted God out of their midst.
Of course, kicking God out of anything isn’t possible with the omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent God of Heaven. To that end, He continues to have that anti-God party in “derision,” just as He indicated He will do to anyone against Him:
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” (Psalms 2:2–4)
A careful dissection of things going on over recent years shows time after time that the Lord has intervened to slow down the Ephesians 6:12 minions, both demonic and human, in their effort to hurry the process of bringing Antichrist to the end-times world stage.
One of the signals the Restrainer was involved in during the American political process is illustrated, I believe, by the following observation from one prophecy writer:
Apparently, the evil forces behind these arenas of the falling away believe that as long as America stands, their cause will not climax in victory. Thus, we see a concentrated effort to bring America down to an entity without sovereignty.
One cannot deny the true meaning of that statement muttered by President Obama at the annual DC Correspondents’ Dinner on April 30, 2016: “The end of the Republic has never looked better!” He was so caught up with anticipation that Hillary Clinton would be the winner of the 2016 presidential election that he could not contain himself. Thus, the goal of destroying the United States from her perch at the top of the nations is Satan’s plan in his drive to pose as God in the place of the God of the universe…
Topple the United States and the whole world will go down. Why? America is the only nation which allows its citizens the freedom of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as individual rights coming from God, not the state. That arrangement just cannot be allowed by those who envision a New World Order and a one-world government where no such freedom is planned—except for the elite. (“Is the Real Restrainer Now Restraining?” Gene Lawley, https://www.raptureready.com/2019/06/11/real-restrainer-now-restraining-gene-lawley)
The Lord intervened in that 2016 presidential election in ways that drove those thinking they had things that would “fundamentally transform America” insane and spewing every sort of vitriol against the candidate who won that election. And the insanity continues to this moment, as indeed, the anti-America-as-founded forces seem to be making significant headway in their drive to fundamentally change this nation.
Despite the growing wickedness that certainly must make this like the days of Lot in Sodom in the holy eyes of God, His judgment and wrath continue to build, reserved for that promised “twinkling of an eye” moment—the glorious fraction of a second when Christ calls the Church—all born-again believers—to Himself.
Here is how to be part of that call so that you can, along with all saints of this Age of Grace, have joy in the Heavenly Father’s presence forever:
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)
The Mysterious Prophecy of the Trees
By Michael Hile
During the last week of His life, Jesus delivered a detailed prophecy to His disciples about the end times. It has come to be known as “The Olivet Discourse,” since it was delivered on the Mount of Olives after Jesus and His disciples had left the Temple Mount and crossed over the Kidron Valley. This discourse can be found in three of the Gospels: Matthew 24:3-25:46; Mark 13:3-37 and Luke 21:5-36.
Jesus ended this comprehensive speech about end time signs with a parable that prophetically indicated the timing of His Second Coming (Matthew 24:32-35):
32) Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near;
33) so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
34) Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
A Frequent Symbol
This was not the first time Jesus had used the symbolism of a fig tree to make a point. Earlier that year while teaching in the Perean province on the eastern side of the Jordan River, Jesus had given His disciples another parable about a fig tree (Luke 13:6-9):
6) And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.
7) “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’
8) “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;
9) and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”
This parable was a warning that if the Jewish people did not accept Jesus as Messiah, the wrath of God would be poured out on them, and their state would cease to exist. On the day Jesus made his entrance into Jerusalem (Sunday), he warned the Pharisees and Jewish people there would be no peace, because they did not recognize the signs of His coming (Luke 19:41-44):
41) When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,
42) saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
43) For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,
44) and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
The day before His Olivet Discourse (Monday), Jesus gave His disciples another fig tree parable. This happened as they were walking from Bethany to Jerusalem by way of the Mount of Olives when they encountered a barren fig tree (Mark 11:12-14, 19-22):
12) On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry.
13) Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14) He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening . . .
19) When evening came, they would go out of the city.
20) As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up.
21) Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”
22) And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.”
This was a classic symbolic prophecy. Like the fig tree, Israel had no fruit because the Jewish people had rejected Jesus as their Messiah. The curse Jesus placed on the tree was symbolic of the fact that the Jewish nation would experience the wrath of God and be set aside.
The next morning, as they returned to the Temple Mount (Tuesday), they saw that the tree had withered. Later that same day, after visiting the Temple, Jesus delivered His Olivet Discourse, and he reminded them of the fig tree. That’s when he told them to watch it, because one day it would come alive again, and when that happened, the generation that witnessed it would also witness His return to earth. This is why He had told them that morning to “have faith in God.” Their state would be destroyed due to their rejection of their Messiah, but one day it would be reestablished again.
Luke’s Version
Luke’s version of the fig tree parable, given on Mt. Olivet, provides us with additional insight as to the timing of the Lord’s return (Luke 21:29-32):
29) Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
30) as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31) “So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
32) “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.”
As you can see, Luke adds something that does not appear in Matthew’s account. Luke says that in addition to watching for the fig tree to come alive, we are to watch for “all the trees.” This is evidently a prophecy about the birth of many Gentile nations in the end times, at the same time that Israel is reborn as a sovereign state.
The Fig Tree
So, what about it? Has the fig tree come back to life? The Jewish people, displaced from their homeland for centuries, began showing signs of life during the second half of the 19th century (1850-1900) when waves of Jews (aliyah) started coming back to the land of Israel. Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), the “Father of Zionism,” was the visionary behind the modern return of the Jewish people and reestablishment of a Jewish homeland.1
Herzl organized the first world congress of Zionism that met in Basel, Switzerland, in August 1897 and became the first president of the World Zionist Organization.2 The goals of the organization were set forth in the Basel Program: “Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine, secured under public law.”3
The Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917 paved the way for the United Nations partition resolution for Palestine on November 29, 1947 and the subsequent formation of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948. The fig tree (Israel) came back to life during the first half of the 20th century (1900-1950), and Israel is now producing young figs (potential Jewish believers) that will be harvested at the end of the age (Zech. 13:8-9; Rom. 11:1-27; Rev. 12: 1-17).
“…As a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.” — Isaiah 6:13
For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant. — Job 14:7-9
In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit. — Isaiah 27:6
And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. — 2 Samuel 7:10
“Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit. “I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them,” says the Lord your God. — Amos 9:14-15
The Other Trees
Trees are symbolic of nations, kingdoms and empires in several places in the Bible (Daniel 4:10-27; Ezekiel 17:22-24, 31:1-18; and Judges 9:1-21). In Luke’s version of the fig tree parable, many trees are pictured as coming to life around the same time as the fig tree (Luke 21:29-32). Jesus said to “watch the fig tree and all the trees.”
When the branches become tender and begin producing leaves, which shows signs of life, you are to “know” that the generation that sees this take place will also be the generation that sees the kingdom of God established on earth. The generation that witnesses “the fig tree (Israel) and all the trees (Gentile nations)” come to life, was specifically chosen by Jesus to be the generation that would “know” the kingdom of God was “near—at the doors!”
The parable of the fig tree did not say when “the fig tree and all the trees” put forth leaves, “we might know,” or “we should know,” that “the kingdom of God is near;” but rather, we were to definitely and emphatically “know” and “recognize” that “the kingdom of God is near.”
So, you too, when you see these things, happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Matthew 24:33 NASB
So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Mark 13:29 ESV
So also, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Luke 21:31 NKJV
Jesus told His apostles before His ascension that it was not for them “to know the times or the seasons” when the kingdom of God would be established on earth (Acts 1:6-7). Rather, He reserved the understanding of this mystery about “the times and seasons” of His return for the generation that would see “the fig tree and all the trees” come back to life (Luke 21:29-32, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-11).
The Proliferation of Nations
Since the formation, expansion, division, dissolving and reorganizing of nations is subject to wars, internal conflicts and changes in leadership and governing bodies, the number of independent, sovereign states in the world has been subject to constant change. Factors for determining statehood have included independence dates, dates of constitutions, symbolic foundation dates and, more recently, international recognition from the League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations. Dates of national formation vary slightly among varied sources, however the total number of independent, sovereign nations in the world today is considered to be 195-197 by several sources.4
Before the 20th century (1900), there were 44 countries that had achieved statehood. The 20th century (1900-2000) saw 147 new sovereign states added, with many splitting off from the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal and the Soviet Union. The first half of the 20th century (1900-1950) saw 38 new states created while the second half (1950-2000) experienced an unprecedented addition of 109 new, sovereign states. Only 5 nations have been recognized as sovereign states in the 21st century (2000 to date).5
The number of new states in the world multiplied quickly after World War II (1945) and continued at a rapid pace for the next 50 years. This proliferation of new states during the second half of the 20th century (1950-2000) abruptly ended on October 1, 1994 after Palau was granted recognition as a state. Only five nations have become sovereign states since 1994, with the last, South Sudan, receiving statehood on July 9, 2011.
Growth in Membership of the United Nations
Only independent, sovereign states can become members of the United Nations. There are currently 193 member states in the UN, with the last member, South Sudan, joining on July 14, 2011.6
There are currently 85 countries and territories not currently in the United Nations. 7 The Holy See (Vatican) accepted permanent observer state status on April 6, 1964, which was regarded as a diplomatic courtesy, to enable the Vatican to participate in the UN’s humanitarian activities and in the promotion of peace.
On November 29, 2012, Palestine was granted the status of “Non-member observer state” but hasn’t yet been admitted to the UN as a full member. 8 As of 2019, there are two permanent non-member observer states in the General Assembly of the United Nations: the Holy See (Vatican) and Palestine. 9
The Overlooked Sign
Watching “all the trees,” as we now know, meant watching all the nations as they come alive in conjunction with the rebirth of Israel before the end of the age. The proliferation of new nations during the 20th century gave new meaning to Luke’s version of the parable of the fig tree when we were told: “watch . . . all the trees.”
“The fig tree” (Israel) officially came back to life in 1948, and “all the trees” (Gentile Nations) have come alive, some before and more after Israel became a nation in 1948. There were 75 states present in the world when Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948. After Israel’s rebirth as a nation, 120 nations have been recognized as independent, sovereign states. 10
The Pharisees and Sadducees were spiritually blind to the signs of Christ’s First Coming (Matthew 16:1-4). When they asked Him for a sign, Jesus acknowledged their ability to interpret the weather, based upon the appearance of the sky, but they failed to grasp “the signs of the times” described in the Old Testament (OT) that were predicted by the OT prophets. How much more are many of the religious leaders of this generation blind to the “signs of the times” described in both the OT and NT that are heralding Jesus’ Second Coming!
After observing the coming to life of “the fig tree and all the trees” after World War II and during the second half of the 20th century (1950-2000), we can be assured, beyond reasonable doubt, that the events that take place just before Jesus’ return are nearing fulfillment. This means His coming is “near, right at the door.”
According to Jesus’ words, when “the fig tree and all the trees” put forth leaves (come alive), we are to absolutely and confidently “know” the Kingdom of God is near, and the generation that is living at that time “will not pass away until all is fulfilled.” The preponderance of scriptural and global evidence is overwhelming that we are the generation Jesus was talking about.
Resources:
1) “Theodor (Binyamin Ze’ev) Herzl (1860-1904),” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/theodor-binyamin-ze-rsquo-ev-herzl.
2) “Theodor Herzl: Austrian Zionist Leader,” David Ben-Gurion, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodor-Herzl.
3) “Zionism: World Zionist Organization (WZO),” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/world-zionist-organization-wzo.
4) “Independent States in the World,” Bureau of Intelligence and Research, https://www.state.gov/independent-states-in-the-world/
5) “List of Sovereign States by Date of Formation,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_date_of_formation
6) “UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rd Member State,” https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/07/381552
7) “Countries Not in the United Nations 2023,” https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-not-in-the-un
8) “United Nations General Assembly Observers,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_observers
9) Ibid.
10) “List of Sovereign States by Date of Formation.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_date_of_formation
Pakistan Missionary Opportunity
I’m thankful to be able to offer Rapture Ready Family members another opportunity to participate in a missionary effort.
A long-time pastor friend in Pakistan, Pastor Anil Jasper, is using my Sunday School quarterly-size book “Prophecy Power: Strength From God To Face Your Future” to reach pastors and teachers in his region of the world with prophetic Truth –the preTrib view.
Some time ago we appealed for funds to publish and disseminate that little book, which Brother Anil personally translated into the language of his area. Many generously did so, and Anil faithfully distributed the books. He reports good results, as many people are now learning Truth about how near we are to Christ’s call in the Rapture.
The book, of course, contains at its heart the soul-Saving Message of the Gospel. So we believe many have come to Christ as a result of the first effort with “Prophecy Power”.
We again need funds to send to the Pakistani printer in order to print copies so Pastor Anil can move forward in an even more vigorous effort.
Please consider joining in helping fund the reprinting of “Prophecy Power”.
My heart is to get God’s Word on the lateness of this fleeting age to those in Pakistan who otherwise won’t hear in their own language about Jesus Promise to come for them –perhaps very soon.
Thanks for considering the request.
I have no way of receiving credit card orders for this. So, I request checks be sent.
I remind all that I am not a 501-C3 tax designation.
Thanks so much, and Lord’s Blessings,
Terry
Please make checks payable to Terry James.
Please send donations to:
Terry James-Prophecy Power
P.O. Box 969
Benton, AR 72018
Seven-year Proposal and Prophetic Portent
Things aren’t moving quickly enough to suit the globalists elite, the would-be masters of the earth. Their Agenda 21 and Agenda 30 and their Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) must be put on a fast track. That ambition is delineated briefly in the following declaration from within the globalist cabal:
Making the SDG Summit a turning point
The SDG Summit, in September 2023, must signal a genuine turning point. It must mobilize the political commitment and breakthroughs our world desperately needs. It must deliver a rescue plan for people and planet.
At the center of this rescue plan, Heads of State and Government must recommit to seven years of accelerated, sustained, and transformative action, both nationally and internationally, to deliver on the promise of the SDGs. Leaders can show their resolve by adopting an ambitious and forward-looking political declaration at the SDG Summit and presenting global and national commitments for SDG transformation.
Delivering change at the speed and scale required to achieve the SDGs by 2030 will demand that political leaders make bold decisions to match their ambitions. (“We Need 7 Years of Accelerated, Transformative Action to Achieve SDGs,” IISD SDG Knowledge Hub, https://www.un.org/en/desa/we-need-7-years-accelerated-transformative-action-achieve-sdgs, June 13, 2023)
It has been, the powers that be surmise with worry on their brow, eight years since the international community agreed to take bold and transformative steps to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This lofty aim involves a plan of action to secure the rights and well-being of everyone on a healthy, thriving planet, according to the document expressing their concern that things have fallen behind their initial timeline.
The SDG brief documenting their near-panic states further:
Promises in peril
A recently released report by the secretary general on “progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals” draws on the latest data to sound the alarm for action. Of the roughly 140 targets with data, only about 12% are on track to be achieved by 2030; and some 30% have either seen no movement or progressed below the 2030 baseline.
Giving up on the SDG or extending the deadline is not an option. The world has been rocked by a series of interlocked crises…
Recommitting to the 2030 Agenda is the best roadmap out of these crises, but we are fast running out of time. (Ibid.)
What is generating the worry, thus the hurry?
I, personally, question whether someone at or near the top of the globalist, Ephesians 6:12 cabal is receiving from the principality above their pay grade a prompting to get the Agenda 30 SDG in order.
We are seven years from the date of Agenda 2030’s supposed implementation. The powers and principalities with the blueprint to get all this accomplished must, they are told, recommit to seven years of accelerated, sustained, and transformative action.
All of this “seven years” talk smacks of the instrument of pseudo peace that portends ominous things for inhabitants of the earth, as we know.
A man possessing solution to the crises will soon emerge. He will offer a plan of peace that the World Economic Forum leader-types will wholeheartedly embrace. Israel will, upon this false peacemaker’s appearance, sign on to the covenant of peace as foretold in Daniel 9: 26. It will be a covenant made with death and hell, according to God’s Word through the prophet Isaiah.
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.… And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. (Isaiah 28:15, 18)
There is coming out of the soon-to-be united Europe a leader who will go “forth conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2). “There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things” (Revelation 13:5).
This mightiest leader ever will come riding the white horse of peacemaker and will confirm the covenant with many for one week. Translation: This leader from a Europe united in a configuration equivalent to the Europe of the Roman Empire days—a revived Roman Empire, a neo-Roman order of sorts—will make, or confirm, a covenant treaty already constructed, to which Israel will be a major signatory.
The pact will be for seven years, one year equaling one day of the seven-day week indicated in the Scriptures. The “conquering” by the leader at this point is likely to be in the realm of diplomacy. Undoubtedly, he will offer brilliant initiatives, magnified in their allurement by a charismatic, personal charm that convinces Jew and Arab alike to trust him as a friend of all. As the guarantor of the peace not just for that region, but for a global peace upon which can be built a New World Order and a new age of prosperity, he will succeed where others have failed. His promises will be sweet to the ears of a world ravenous for such lies. And lies they will be.
Jesus said it will bring about the worst time of all human history (Matthew 24: 21).
With all the other signals manifesting at this time, the talk of a seven-year plan by the leaders who propose a New World Order is a most significant marker of where this generation is poised on God’s prophetic timeline.
Jesus, Himself, promised that His people—the Church—will be kept from those seven years of hell on earth Isaiah forewarned:
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)
You don’t want to be on earth when those seven years of judgment and wrath fall on the God-rejecting people. Accepting Jesus Christ is the only way to be removed to the safety Christ offers.
Every signal is pulsing in the spirit of those observing the prophetic times; Jesus is about to call all believers to Himself in that glorious moment of Rapture!
Here is how to make sure you are in God’s family for eternity, so you will not go earth’s most horrific time:
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)
Terry James Prophecy Line 