God’s prophetic Word, I’ve always considered, says something profound regarding this wondrous planet. My fascination begins, as I’ve written before, with Jesus’ words upon entering Jerusalem on the little donkey not long before He was crucified.

The people were, you will remember, shouting “Hosanna!” They were welcoming Jesus because they thought He was to be Israel’s Savior—their Messiah, perhaps.

The Judaizers—the Pharisees and others who were His detractors—were trying to make the people stop praising Him. They wanted Him shut down His ministry because they thought He was taking away their power and authority.

They appealed to Jesus to shut the people up, and He replied that if they were to remain silent, the very stones would cry out.

By this, the Lord meant, I have no doubt, that if they didn’t praise Him at that history-shaking moment, the very geophysical creation would erupt in praise of Him.

Then I think of that day on that boat when the storm on Galilee was raging and the disciples awoke Jesus to ask if He didn’t care that they were about to perish in the tempest. Jesus chided them just a bit for their lack of faith (they didn’t yet know that He was fully God as well as fully man). So they were fearful—as you and I would have been.

He put forth His hands and said, “Peace, be still.”

I believe He said it very softly rather than shouting it. The raging wind stopped. The heaving waters became instantly calm. It is said that not even the convulsions had to settle as waters have to do after being so turbulent. That lake became like glass.

So this planet is under the Creator’s hand at all times. Jesus created all that was created, and by Him all things (every element) are held together.

When God’s prophetic Word says something about planet earth that hasn’t yet occurred, we, as believers that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, can be assured it will happen.

Things are being reported today with prophetic overtones. Scientists have climbed aboard the climate-change panic train, of course, and are using their findings to further foist that mantra.

Now, we admit to climate change because the climate is and always has been changing during various eras of recorded history. But climate change because man is responsible for it in the physical meaning is a lie being perpetrated for political/ideological control reasons.

On the other hand, climate change by mankind in the evil-spiritual sense is indeed taking place.

Here’s what I mean.

Mankind doesn’t have the ability to change the climate in the sense of physically affecting it. We are simply too small. God controls it completely. But, like Jesus said, when mankind doesn’t praise Him, the very elements (the physical earth, for example, will “cry out”).

With the world now getting much like it was in antediluvian times—with people denying God at every level, especially the scientists—perhaps the planet is beginning to “cry out.”

The following further validates this possibility:

“For the first time, scientists have identified why Earth wobbles as it spins.

The decrease in Greenland’s ice mass is the main reason for the wobble, NASA says.

Changes in the Earth’s wobble could impact the accuracy of satellite tools like GPS systems, according to NASA.

Climate change is impacting how Earth spins on its axis, NASA says.

Over the past century, Earth’s axis—the imaginary line that passes through the North and South Poles—has drifted about 4 inches, and a decrease in Greenland’s ice mass is the main contributor to the wobble, the space agency has announced.

As temperatures increased throughout the 20th century because of humans, Greenland’s ice mass decreased.

A total of about 7,500 gigatons—the weight of more than 20 million Empire State Buildings—of Greenland’s ice melted into the ocean during this time period.” (“Climate Change Is Causing Earth to Wobble on Its Axis, NASA Says,” By Pam Wright, weather.com)

Jesus’ pronouncement, as said at the beginning of this article, is the first of the fascinating things about the reactions involving this planet on which God has chosen for us to live. It gets much more interesting even in the prophetic sense. The prophecy I have in mind relates significantly, I think, to the article above.

God, through the prophet Isaiah, says the following about a future time:

“The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again” (Isaiah 24:20).

Today, the ideological mindset of the reprobate mind (Romans 1:28) is that man is physically destroying Mother Earth with reckless fossil fuel carbon emissions, etc. But, God says mankind is making the world corrupt through anti-God activity. Here is the entire body of that Isaiah passage telling why the earth will eventually stagger like a drunkard.

“From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth” (Isaiah 24:16–21)

It is the sins and rebellion of mankind that will make the planet itself drunk on the rebels’ corruption –much like in the days of Noah. For this, God will make those evil ones drink from the cup of His wrath (Revelation 14: 10).

You don’t want to be part of that drunken time when even the earth staggers and falls, and is unable to recover its equilibrium. Here is how to escape that fate and instead be with the Lord in the wonders 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 shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9–10).

This will be a tough one—for me, at least. The enemies faced each and every hour of each and every day are prolific in dispensing their wickedness. We have looked at their perpetration of evil many times. We have no choice, because it never ends, and we are commissioned from on high to “watch” (Mark 13:37).

This incessant raging against our sense of truth–of what is biblically righteous—evokes human anger, no matter the devotion to trying to be Christ-like in our attitude and comportment.

Now, to get into this just a bit–and I don’t want to go too deeply into the weeds—I’ll just begin by telling, obliquely, a little about conversations I have occasionally with family members. I say “obliquely” because I don’t want them mad at me, so I won’t say who.

The conversations sometimes are as early as 4 am. Yes, I’m an early riser, and sometimes, when family members happen to be around at that hour, we discuss things going on in culture, politics, religion, etc. The more adamant among the conversationalists are quite angry at the injustice, the tyranny, the wickedness taking place as we look at the things being reported. To be frank, they often cook up what they would like to see happen to those engaged in perpetrating the injustice, the tyranny, the wickedness. The punitive creativity is not something I would be comfortable relaying in this forum.

My response to one or the other telling just how they would like this evil to be handled is that that isn’t the way a Christian should think. They say things like “I know, Pops, but it makes me so mad I can’t help it.”

In response to the expressed actions, I say things like, “Do you think Jesus would react that way, even to this level of evil, were He here in the flesh today?”

That usually brings down their heated temperaments, to some extent. They then might retort with something like, “Yes. But He’s God and I’m not.”

At any rate, the whole matter, I believe, is a valuable exercise in evaluating ourselves in regard to our own dealing with this injustice, tyranny, and wickedness we as Christians endure each day.

We all know about the outrageous acts, issues, and events that afflict us that challenge our temperaments. We’ve covered all of them so many times in these commentaries.

Those who inflict these evil upon our lives, while we only want to live peaceably, are enemies. We can say this, because they are the tools of the archenemy of God, thus enemies of each of us within God’s family who are living on planet earth.

Those who want to break into our lives and steal our tranquility, our peace, and even our children, not even to mention our welfare financially through unfair-to-absurd confiscatory taxation, can be compared to the “thief” in the following:

“When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils” (Luke 11: 21–22).

Jesus, although in the context of prophecy involving watching for the suddenness of the Rapture, further gave, through analogy, warning about being watchful for evil break-ins:

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up” (Matthew 24:42–43).

So, it is clear that the Bible instructs believers to be aware of enemies wanting to do us harm. We are told even to be armed in order to protect our households–defend ourselves against harm. But nowhere are we told to hate our enemies. On the contrary, we are told the following through a quite lengthy instruction for how to deal with our enemies. It comes from the Lord, Himself:

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6: 27–38).

Now I must admit that I find loving the enemies today who murder babies by the millions, who more and more draw this culture into the cesspool of pedophilia–a thing that has been prevalent in most every civilization at its end—all but impossible. But that doesn’t alter the truth that we are told by our Lord that this is what we should do.

He showed that love Himself, we remember, while hanging on that cross on which He died for us. The martyr Stephen did so while being stoned, and the Lord stood from the right hand of God’s throne to applaud him.

Apart from the love of Christ–of God the Father—ours would be fate much worse than the punitive actions sometimes concocted in those early-morning sessions to which I referred.

I guess the answer to how to begin to appropriate such love–and we cannot do it apart from the Holy Spirit who indwells—might be found in my friend, the late Dr. Tim LaHaye’s, book–The Spirit Controlled Temperament. That book, of course, was filled with God’s Word in coming to its conclusions.

I should probably pick up that book and read it again.

This writer has to be honest. When I survey the earths and the nation’s landscapes of human rebellion I’ve said inwardly, “it’s all just not worth trying to save it.”

By that, I’m not thinking of the billions of lost souls, but of this system increasingly driven by evil intention, obviously in the grip of the principalities and powers of Ephesians 6: 12. In speaking with others interested in Bible prophecy (and it is an increasing number interested, I’ve found) I find the same attitude at times.

Why not just give up and let them have the planet? That is, let ‘em have what’s coming to ‘em…

One such matter of late that feeds this wrongful attitude by those of us who long for Christ’s Return is found in the frustration engendered by apostate defectors of those who are supposed to beat the top of Christendom.

At the same time, the very word Christendom is, in my opinion, a word created by the humanist vernacular corrupters who include every strange wind of doctrine within this terminology. In fact, the word Christendom, in my view, postures the apostates for their imposition upon the end times religious landscape. Something we witness by, again in my view, perhaps the apex apostate of this time so near the beginning of the Tribulation.

The following, I hope, will demonstrate the point.

ROME — We humans “must repent and modify our lifestyles” because of our abuse of Mother Earth, Pope Francis states in a message released Thursday.

In his Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the pontiff decries the “mistreatment” of our common home stemming from “our consumerist excesses,” “tyrannical anthropocentrism,” “predatory economic interests,” and “short sighted and selfish actions” leading to “the collapse of our planet’s ecosystems.”

“In the first place, it is our sister, mother earth, who cries out. Prey to our consumerist excesses, she weeps and implores us to put an end to our abuses and to her destruction,” Francis declares in his Message.

Because of human irresponsibility “countless species are dying out and their hymns of praise silenced,” the pope laments, while the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples “are being invaded and devastated on all sides, ‘provoking a cry that rises up to heaven.’”

Because of the “climate crisis,” the poor disproportionately suffer the impact of “the drought, flooding, hurricanes and heat waves that are becoming ever more intense and frequent,” the Pope asserts. (oke Pope Francis goes all in! Calls for ‘Green economics,’ ‘Green spirituality,’ and ‘Green education’! Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 25, 2021)

The article referenced above contained much more –all pointing to Mother Earth worship and agreement with the globalist mantra of climate change as the number one crisis facing mankind. It is the same madness spewed incessantly by those who sit in the high places of Ephesians 6: 12. –The same human minions who occupy the seats of power within the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the political powers that be within the United States who tell us we must suffer along with the world in order to keep from murdering the planet. –The same ideological types of wickedness and evil that institutionalizes the murder of millions of babies in the wombs of their mothers each year.

The scripture burns into the cogitation while considering these times that must certainly be the last of the last days before the Rapture of the church.

”Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1: 21-25)

So, it is with this type of thinking, foisted by the likes of this apostate pope, that makes me sometimes say, why not just let ‘em have it? The scripture says that when they worship the creation more than the creator, God gives up on them, does it not? Why not just concentrate on putting out the Gospel Message and not worry with trying to correct the situations of geopolitical, cultural, societal and religious, satanic evil storming upon this doomed planet?

Then the Conviction comes from the Holy Spirit Who Indwells… God is God and you are not.  He hasn’t given up and will not until the prophecies are fulfilled. Who are you to do so? You are to be salt and light. Salt is a preservative and you are here to delay the complete corruption that is coming –delay, not stop the decay. You are to be light in an ever-darkening world of rebellion against the Creator of all things.

Points well made –and understood. And, Points taken to heart.

God changes not, and His word, I believe, tells us today like He did the prophets of Israel as given in Ezekiel 3: 17-19. This, of course, is not to say that we are prophets in that Old or New Testament sense, but we are to watch (Mark 13: 37) for Christ’s Return. We do so by observing the times and seasons, unlike the Judaizers who weren’t paying attention, thus missed their Messiah’s coming in the first Advent.

We are responsible for getting out the prophetic Word of forewarning In these closing days of the age. We are not to give up or give in, because the Lord we serve tells otherwise.

And we are Charged by that same Lord to put forth His Wonderful Grace Gift Offer so you, too, if you don’t know Jesus as Savior, can be Urged by the Holy Spirit to accept Him this very moment. You will then have the Promise of going to Heaven and to be Gloriously Alive forever with all of God’s Riches as your Inheritance.

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)

We’ve covered Jesus’ Olivet Discourse many times. There has been plenty of fodder in it to provide evidence that stage-setting for prophetic fulfillment is ramping up on a timeline of frequency and intensity.

One of our most-looked-at prophecies that involves the Lord speaking on things to come is found in the following:

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)

While application has been made to the physical elements involved in this prophecy—the seas and waves of the literal oceans indicating that nature is responding violently to man’s rejection of God—some word studies show that the “seas and waves” in this instance refers to the peoples of the earth.

I believe this could be a dual application. The Lord might well have been speaking of both the literal geophysical condition and the human condition.

However, the prophetic utterance leading into the “seas and waves roaring” statement involves the reference to nations “in distress,” “with perplexity,” seemingly making it more likely to mean that the “seas of people” will be in a high degree of uproar—which is why I use the word “really” in the title of this week’s piece.

People are really in an uproar as of the time of this writing. Europe, in particular, is in upheaval, due to economics and food scarcity brought on by increasingly dictatorial governments.

Following are excerpts that prove Jesus’ words about the “seas and waves roaring” at the end of the age, which is where we almost certainly find ourselves.

For weeks there have been protests by farmers in the Netherlands against their left-wing government’s Great Reset policies, the EU’s “Green Deal,” and the associated forced closure of farms. Their government’s radical ‘climate change’ measures aim to slash emissions in some provinces by 95%. That would mean the end for about 30 percent of the farmers…

Farmers in other nations, Spain, Italy, Poland, Germany, and France, have begun their own protests as the E.U. intensifies its efforts to slash emissions in all member states causing harm to citizens’ livelihoods and the global food supply.

Spain

The Netherlands protests and blockades are already affecting some supermarkets that are running out of food. Moreover, Spain’s farmers have again taken to the streets because of inflation…

Poland

Polish farmers also staged protests in Warsaw, marching in the streets against their government’s destabilizing policies:

Polish farmers also rise up in Warsaw: “That’s enough! We won’t let ourselves be robbed!” They accuse the political class of destabilizing production by raising interest rates, which does not stop inflation: “We workers cannot pay for the crisis created by the politicians!”…

Italian farmers have since joined the mass protests, having had enough of their left-wing government’s climate policies and rising food costs…

In [one] video, a farmer can be heard encouraging others to mobilize and stage their protests in Rome. “We are not slaves; we are farmers!” shouted a farmer from his tractor.

“You should all come along with us! Because under these conditions, we cannot put food on the table anymore! We can’t take it anymore! You should side with us! To Rome! We must go to Rome! Because we can’t take this anymore!”…

Germany

Farmers who learned from the Canadian Freedom truckers are currently blockading the Netherlands- German border with tractors to protest the World Economic Forum’s climate change policies of their government. (“Dutch farmer protest sparked by policy Trudeau wants for Canada,” by Amy Mek,  RAIR, Rapture Ready News, July 14, 2022)

Another case of the chaos due to governmental abuse is seen in protests of the people of Sri Lanka.

Bakery shelves were emptied due to ongoing food shortages, according to All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association (ACBOA) on Sunday a week ago. The report said that bakery products including bread would be emptied from the shelves in the next two or three days amid severe food shortage in the country.

The severe shortages and the way their government handled the crisis enraged the citizens. They took over the Sri Lankan president’s mansion, some sleeping in the bed of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the premises.

The people swam in the luxurious pool and invaded all rooms of the palace, according to the report.

Sri Lanka is among the hardest-hit of places suffering food shortages, while the leaders across the world seem to have lost their collective minds as part of the Great Reset being implemented around much of the globe.

Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum seem to be the moving force at the center of the stage being set for the Antichrist regime prophesied to rule during the Tribulation.

So, with the seas and waves of humanity really beginning to roar, we should be looking up for our redemption, according to Luke 21:28.

You don’t want to be left behind when the Rapture takes place. The food crisis and every other sort of suffering will bring horrors that Jesus said will make it the worst time of all human history.

Here is how to avoid this coming time of crises and go to be with Christ when He calls.

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)

A question that frequently comes to mind: Why does it appear that, no matter which way we look in the world of national leadership, there are those in charge who seem bent on destroying our nation?

For example, consider that one writer described the Biden administration as having “throttled” US energy production. The president has trapped much of our nation’s vast energy reserves behind a wall of bureaucratic red tape. This action, which took place immediately after the president took office, has affected the American populace as few other economic decisions could.

Gas prices—as you no doubt can attest personally—have more than doubled in some areas around the country. We are now facing, according to some who are supposed to know, energy costs for our homes that will double in some areas of the nation.

All of this could begin to be instantly reversed by changing the energy policy back to the way it was before January of 2021.

But those who are in charge are in the camp of the “green” fanatics who constitute a very small percentage of the American population.

These have the complete support of the propagandists who are the national mainstream media and the Hollywood entertainment industry. They are the mouthpieces that day after day support every insane governmental policy imaginable.

This involves not only the destruction of energy that runs our industrial productivity, but the moral energy that the US inherited by our founding fathers, who saw fit to write into our Constitution and other documents common sense derived from God’s Word.

The question, again, is: Why are there those in leadership who are accomplishing the destruction of America?

We have often heard that America won’t be destroyed from outside forces, but by forces within. I used to doubt that when at university and even later, but not anymore. The erosion has become a caustic environment induced by leaders who seem to have lost their collective mind. They want to listen to the madness that is the mantra of the “Mother Earth” worshippers—the environmental wackos who say they believe we are destroying the earth through fossil fuels and must now go “green” in order to save the planet.

It is absolute madness, and we look at the leaders people keep electing who go along with all this insanity.

The answer is that the entire cabal that joins in this effort is controlled by the mind of Satan himself. It is Ephesians 6:12 “on steroids.”

But dissecting the things involved, we come to the crux of the matter. The cabal of leaders who are in control—many after decades of entrenchment within Washington, DC— are, I believe, in the financial pockets of the likes of George Soros and other elite globalist influencers. These influencers constitute the human element of the minions—the powers and principalities— in the high places of wickedness described by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:12.

Bottom line is the bottom line. That is, the Washington, DC, leaders, it is obvious, cast aside all concern for national well-being, for sovereignty, and all other facets involving our republic, including constitutional safeguards. They do so for one thing—to work toward financially feathering their own nests. The swamp is indeed a swamp of incestuous evil (in terms of nepotism and every other form of insider nefariousness).

Now, I’m not saying that every congressman, senator, or other government official is in this category. But certainly those in this category control and shape policies that are, evidence proves, tearing the nation apart. A nation so divided cannot stand, said Lincoln, who was taking that truth from Jesus.

These are doing the work of the evil one, whether realizing and acknowledging it or not. They are doing the globalist elites’ evil, which is, whether realizing it or not, doing the bidding of the mastermind behind the Great Reset blueprint to supposedly “build back better.”

It is the same old luciferic ploy: “I will ascend and put my star above the throne of God.”

He is the one who convinced the Tower of Babel builders to try to usurp that Holy Throne. He is back, in full fury, knowing that he has but a short time to try to turn around the fate that he will find impossible to avoid.

He plies these one-world builders and the DC swamp creatures with promises of great financial gain, appealing to one of fallen man’s most lusted-after commodity. He appeals to their love of money, which is the root of all sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).

Money buys power and influence, which is at the nucleus of fallen man’s pride and anti-God lusts. As Henry Kissinger once said, “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.”

The wicked geopoliticians lust after what the devil offers—great wealth and power. It will bring them, they think, the ultimate in satisfaction and pleasure. They refuse to believe that God in Heaven owns everything of material and spiritual wealth, and He created it all in absolute perfection. Satan and his minions—both demonic and human—have perverted that which God created.

To be in Christ, who paid in full for the sins of mankind, is to be a joint heir with Christ. Those in God’s family are to have all the wonders He owns.

The love of God, not the love of money, is where true riches await those who accept God’s grace gift of salvation.

Here, again, is how to become a joint heir with Jesus Christ:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

There are growing worries among politicians and pundits about the likelihood of nuclear war on the brink. That is, the fear that the Russian/Ukrainian conflict will soon break out in all-out nuclear exchanges.

The Biden administration sending troops to areas such as in Poland to demonstrate to Vladimir Putin America’s determination to thwart Russia’s aggression is at the center of the concern. NATO’s bellicose threats, and particularly rhetoric by European governments, add to the angst.

At the same time, reports coming out of Russia tell that Russian TV broadcasts are announcing that American cities are in Russia’s targeting plans if nuclear war is unleashed. One pundit, who is an author promoting his book, and who is, to my way of thinking, one who believes Americans should prep for nuclear war, says that Russia’s understanding is that the first nation to launch all-out nuclear war has the best chance of surviving as a nation.

Here is some of that cogitating by a book author who simply calls himself “Michael.”

There will be nuclear war if we stay on this path.  Almost every day, we get more news about how both sides are escalating the conflict in Ukraine.  If the American people truly understood what was at stake, there would be giant protests in the streets of every major U.S. city right now.  But they don’t.  Most of us are entirely convinced that our leaders can do whatever they want in Ukraine without sparking a nuclear war.  But the Russians see things very differently.  On Russian television there are endless discussions about how the war in Ukraine is really a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and pundits openly discuss the possibility that eventually nuclear weapons will be used.  In fact, the destruction of specific U.S. cities has even been discussed on Russian television, but most Americans never hear anything about this…

Unfortunately, our leaders seem to have no interest in ending the conflict in Ukraine.  Instead, they just keep doing things to raise tensions even higher. (“If We Keep Escalating This Conflict, the End Result Will Be a Nuclear Cataclysm,” Michael, End Of The American Dream 2022, Rapture Ready News, July 2, 2022)

President Biden said he will be sending thousands of American troops to Eastern Europe, particularly to the area of Poland. Additionally, he plans to send many ships and planes, as well as tremendous battle-support equipment of various kinds.

He announced that the US will reinforce troop deployments in Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. NATO will enhance its battle groups in the eastern part of the alliance up to brigade levels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Monday.

The writer of the article concludes that all of this looks to Vladimir Putin to be an invasion of Russian-overseen territory. The Russian leader, himself, is ratcheting up military action by placing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in Belarus, a NATO-neighboring Russian ally that housed the forces that invaded Ukraine and attacked Kiev.

There is talk of Russia looking at Cuba as an area near America to place Russian missiles. The writer says that should set off alarm bells to those who might remember the year 1962. And, speaking as one who does well remember that year and the Cuban Missile Crisis, it will indeed set off alarm bells if it eventuates.

So, like the question by William Shakespeare’s character, Prince Hamlet, in his soliloquy in a scene in the play by the same name, “To be, or not to be, that is the question,” we ask. “Nuclear war: To be, or not to be?”

I believe the answer is both “no” and “yes.”

The writer of the article gives statistics informing, according to supposed experts, just how total would be a nuclear war between, primarily, the United States and Russia. While the outlook is bleak, there would be many survivors. As a matter of fact, he reported only about 20 percent of people in America would be killed initially by the horrific weapons used. But there would be many more who would starve to death due to weather-related crop failures because of nuclear radioactive fallout and health-related radiation factors.

Like always, we look to God’s Word for answers. And it is there we find both answers above, I’m of the opinion.

“No,” there will not be nuclear war as described by all the people who, rightfully, castigate the military-industrial complex for war-mongering. This is because Jesus, Himself, tells us that people will be buying, selling, planting, building, marrying, etc.—normal activity right up to the time He next catastrophically intervenes into the affairs of mankind. It will be just like in the days of Lot, He said (Luke 17:26–30).

First, Lot and his family, living in a wicked but very prosperous city, were removed to Zoar. Then God nuked both Sodom and Gomorrah–to such an extent that they are just now finding evidence of the destruction of those totally debauched cities.

So the second answer, “yes,” is found in that same story. It will be like in Lot’s day. So there will be great nuclear-level destruction.

Of course, this will take place after the next event on God’s prophetic calendar: the Rapture of the Church.

We see pre-proof of this coming nuclear destruction, for example, when the kings of the east kill up to one-third of all the people of earth when they cross the Euphrates into the occidental world. The ability to destroy that vast number of human beings almost certainly has to be from nuclear weaponry.

I really am convinced that there will be no all-out nuclear war–no World War III–this side of the Rapture.

But there is a matter even more pressing than the fear of nuclear war. If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior from the sin into which you and I were born, you will face much worse than nuclear devastation. You will spend eternity in everlasting torment, apart from God, who loves you and wants you to be with Him.

Here is how to make certain you will go into His presence either at death or when Jesus calls believers to Himself in the Rapture.

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)

This phrase, imploring that Jesus intervene in a less-than-pleasant moment of the life of a believer, used to be spoken in a sort of light-hearted way—i.e., the person saying this used the words to express their frustration with the way something was going they would rather not face.

One heard, “Come, Lord Jesus,” once in a while, but for the most part, it was issued with a grimace, then a smile, indicating that things weren’t really so grim as to want the Lord to rescue them. At least that is my observation, thinking back over the years.

I guess some would accuse that this was, when used in such a light vein, a way of using the Lord’s name in vain–something the Bible indicates is forbidden. Perhaps I should view it that way, but just never did, believing that His coming at any moment would be a glorious thing, not something to wish for that should be criticized as sinful. At any rate, shouldn’t we want the Lord to come back? We’re told in Scriptures like Luke 21:28, Mark 13:37, and Titus 2:13 to be looking for, watching for, the Lord coming for us.

Worry and conjecture over whether such light usage of the phrase, ”Come, Lord Jesus” is wrong no longer applies, because now there is no doubt about its usage. The appeal for Jesus to intervene in our lives is genuine in every respect.

If I put into this commentary every case lately in which I’ve received an email that uses the phrase, “Come, Lord Jesus,” in different ways, the article would be lengthy indeed. These days, Christians, I’ve found, are genuine in asking the Lord to rescue us out of this spiritually darkening—dare I say, insane—world.

American Christians have been for years, for the most part, spoiled to things going along pretty well without challenge to their belief in Christ. There has been very little persecution compared to that suffered by believers of other nations—China, for example. Those believers might not recognize much difference in the level of troubles they’re suffering because of their faith. Things might be getting worse, but their plight hasn’t changed significantly in terms of contrast.

By that, I mean that we here in America have seen things go from relatively smooth, with little challenge and no persecution to speak of, to tremendous changes and growing persecution for our belief in Christ as the only way to salvation.

We’ve seen the country’s attitudes change from America being called a Christian nation to having a president say we are not a Christian nation. We’ve watched a pastor of a president asking God to damn America, using the term in a way that takes the Lord’s name in vain in an obvious, overt expression.

We’ve endured the corruption of everything we thought secure, the US Constitution and its framers—the founding fathers—made out to be, through rewritten history, among the most evil documents and most evil men in human history.

We’ve witnessed our nation fight to win freedom from slavery for African Americans, with one party being at the helm of government that won the war and freed the slaves. The other party, who mostly advocated holding slaves, who lost that Civil War, now calls the political party that freed slaves guilty of racism.

The lies from the father of lies run rampant, even mocking God’s prescription for living righteously. For example, the homosexual lobby, although a small percentage of the citizenry, dominates the mainstream media narrative in proclaiming it is as righteous a lifestyle as any.

That same culture and media now makes out God to be a liar by saying male and female don’t have to be what they came into the world to be. A boy can be a girl, or vice-versa. It is a choice, not a biological fact of birth, as directed by God.

And, the same media and culture proclaims it is not only okay, but preferable, to murder children while in the womb or even after birth in some cases, as a matter of a woman’s right to choose whether her baby lives or dies.

So, in America, the contrast is stark. We have seen the evil cesspool of wickedness infect our culture and society in most every way possible, unthinkable only a few decades ago. That is why we say, and legitimately so, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

And it all means that the Lord Jesus must surely be about to step out onto the clouds of glory and say, “Come up here!”

And when you see all these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your head; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21 28)

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22: 20)

A movie based on a Stephen King novel was about a man who lived in a New England town as a nine-year-old. The town was called Jerusalem and was dubbed Salem by the townspeople for whatever reason. The novel’s title was Salem’s Lot.

The novel and movie were about a town filled with evil. Vampires had moved into Salem and were beginning to take over through various demonic actions when the man, as an adult, came home to live there.

King’s idea likely came from the Bible story of Sodom. The Bible, of course, says that in spiritual terms, Jerusalem is as Sodom and Egypt.

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. (Revelation 11:8)

While I thought it was a scary movie, my honorary daughter, Jeanie, made fun of me, laughing at me that a grown man could be scared by such a nothing film. I’ll let you judge for yourself if it was scary or not.

One thing is sure: We are living in times like those of Sodom. We are in the middle of Sodom’s lot, in that there are those who, like those surrounding Lot, surround the majority of us, even though their numbers at present are in the minority.

Lot and his family, of course, were surrounded by perhaps the most debauched society and culture of any community to exist on the earth. Well…probably not the only of such wickedness, but certainly among the most wicked since the pre-Flood society and culture.

We have gone over in these commentaries the developments that have taken place over the weeks, months, and years—probably over the decades. The homosexual agenda has grown and built into a movement that now has taken over the American culture while other cultures considered among the most anti-God have rejected this movement. I give you, for example, the following item.

Russian lawmakers are considering a new law targeting “LGBT propaganda.” It would provide for fines of up to $160,000 for promoting non-traditional sexual relations. The draft legislation was submitted to Russia’s state Duma on Tuesday and is currently being reviewed by the state building and legislation committee.

It proposes to amend an existing administrative law, which restricts information promoting, what are regarded as non-traditional sexual relations among minors. The new law would pronounce parts of the old legislation obsolete and impose administrative responsibility for LGTB messaging in general. (“New law targeting ‘LGBT propaganda’ introduced in Russia — RT Russia & Former Soviet Union, RT News June 10, 2022)***

The Russian law will, if adopted, invoke serious punishments for such activity. And, the Russians aren’t the only ones who view the homosexual lifestyle as something their societies and cultures don’t need.

Many of the Arab nations, under Islamic law, even have the death penalty for such activity.

While most Americans, and most within Western nations, would not make homosexual activity punishable by death, it is more than obvious what this so-called lifestyle deserves, according to the God who created mankind. Just read the account of the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah to understand His verdict in the matter.

Today we are seeing an ever-increasing tolerance for things we would have never tolerated a decade ago. Yes, LGBTQ and the drag queen and transvestite activities were tolerated and more or less ignored. This is what gave rise to an exponential increase in this activity to the point that their lobby is powerful, even though, like I indicated earlier, these are in the minority.

But today we tolerate things that are just, to my way of thinking, beyond anything that should be accepted by any society. I’m referring to the assaults on the youngest among our children, as indicated by the items represented here.

New York is showering taxpayer funds on a group that sends drag queens into city schools — often without parental knowledge or consent — even as parents in other states protest increasingly aggressive efforts to expose kids to gender-bending performers.

Last month alone, Drag Story Hour NYC — a nonprofit whose outrageously cross-dressed performers interact with kids as young as 3 — earned $46,000 from city contracts for appearances at public schools, street festivals, and libraries, city records show.

Since January, the group has organized 49 drag programs in 34 public elementary, middle, and high schools, it boasted on its website, with appearances in all five boroughs.

“I can’t believe this. I am shocked,” said public school mom and state Assembly candidate Helen Qiu, whose 11-year-old son attends a Manhattan middle school. “I would be furious if he was exposed without my consent. This is not part of the curriculum.”

Since 2018, the group — previously known as Drag Queen Story Hour NYC, before changing its name early this year — has received a total of $207,000 in taxpayer cash…

Cross-dressed performers typically read aloud from a list of books that teach acceptance and inclusion, including children’s classics like “Where the Wild Things Are” and “The Rainbow Fish” — and some that overtly celebrate gender fluidity, like “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish.”

But the expansion into city schools has brought new features to the program, its social media posts reveal.

In April, the elaborately coiffed Harmonica Sunbeam wore a slinky gown to meet with kindergarteners at STAR Academy in Manhattan and color pages from “The Dragtivity Book,” which encourages kids to choose their pronouns and invent drag names… Last week, angry Texas parents protested outside a “Drag the Kids to Pride” event — billed as “a family friendly drag show” — at a North Dallas gay bar called Mister Misster, where children tipped drag queens with dollar bills as they shimmied and sashayed. (“Over $200K being spent on drag queen shows at NYC schools, records show by Mary Kay Linge and John Levine, New York Post, June 8, 2022)

Compared with the times in which we find ourselves–like in the times of Lot in Sodom—I guess my much-beloved Jeanie is right. Salem’s Lot wasn’t scary at all.

For the world, this is a very scary time indeed; the worst time in human history, according to Jesus, Himself, is almost upon this generation. Jesus said the conditions of society and culture and time of His coming judgment will be just like when Lot was taken out of Sodom to safety, protecting him and his family from the total destruction that was about to fall upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

For those who are truly Christians the times shouldn’t be scary, but full of great expectation. Instead, the times are a sure signal that we are on the very cusp of being called into Christ’s presence at any moment. We see that promise in Jesus own words.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:1–3)

To be among those who go to Jesus in this wonderful promise and not be left behind to be part of the lost who suffer through the times like Sodom’s lot, here is the only way:

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)

…

We think of the heathen of the world in terms of their knowing little to nothing about God’s truth with regard to the only way to redemption–to salvation. This brings to the lips of some the accusatory rant that God is unfair. They accuse that He sends people to eternal punishment who have never heard the gospel.

But God’s Word tells the following about those in even the darkest regions throughout human history.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. (Romans 1:18–23) 

In other words, mankind has no excuse because God reveals to all, no matter their uncivilized regions of the world and/or lack of information. God will never be unfair. All have enough inward information to know they need Him. When people instead carve out idols for themselves, they are deliberately rejecting the God who plants in the hearts of His creation called man the innate ability to know Him for their personal redemption.

The same is true of “civilized” heathen. I think of the Hollywood cabal who push God aside. They know Him, yet don’t know Him—that is, they don’t know Him as their Heavenly Father. They deliberately ignore and even, in some cases, cast Him and those who are Christians in derogatory roles.

Proof that they are made aware, however, comes through in the films they produce. We remember the Cecil B. DeMille movie, The Ten Commandments. It was quite accurate in its depiction of the Exodus account.

In Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War, the script writers had American naval officer Victor “Pug” Henry say something like, “Mankind is destined to kill each other in war until the Second Coming of Christ.”

The Hollywood people are aware that this fictional statement has played out in fact since World War II as murderous conflicts continue to this day. Killing in war is prophetically scheduled to become even more prolific as time moves forward toward Christ’s Second Advent. All of humanity’s interaction points starkly at Heaven’s foretold intervention into the affairs of mankind.

Hollywood was and is thoroughly aware of Jesus Christ and His coming again. They are without excuse.

There are no people on earth more under God’s assessment of being “without excuse” than the people of the United States.

There are churches on many corners of most cities. There are means of communications that pour out the gospel message every hour of every day. There are so many Bibles that it is the most published and sold volume ever in America and the world. Yet, it is probably one of the fewest read and studied.

But it is not only America that comes under God’s condemnation of being “without excuse.” Europe has long ago shut down most of its churches. Many are merely now museums for tourists to photograph while on vacation.

The results of this dismissal of Heaven’s authority are blatantly obvious in all the world, not just in our country. As pointed out in recent commentaries, Paul’s words tell of the foolhardiness and results thereof regarding people who turn their backs on the God who created them.

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)  

Can there be any argument of substance against the proof that the Creator has turned this generation of God-deniers over to a “reprobate mind”?

The things we have witnessed in recent years offers evidence that would convict in any sane court of justice.

Government and the ideological left claim everything we do must be to protect the most innocent—the children. Regulations of every sort—in food production, medicine, and other such things—are in large part for children. Proposed gun control is so that the children can live happy and, above all, safe lives.

Yet that same government and leftist, hypocritical ideology declares it is their right to slaughter babies by the millions while still in their mothers’ wombs.

This, folks, is what qualifies as a prime example of what the God of Heaven calls the “reprobate mind.”

And we could go on and on telling things like teaching kindergartners about adult sexual activity, about letting porn-star transvestites who commit the most disgusting acts in film come before children as young as five to teach them about their abominable lifestyles.

So, mankind is without excuse. And all who do not know the Lord Jesus as Savior will suffer eternal condemnation because of their unbelief. Thus, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither was thankful.”

You, I—we all are without excuse. We all must come to Christ, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No person comes to the Heavenly Father but by Him (John 14:6).

Here is how you can make sure you are not under the condemnation “without excuse”:

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)

Authors note: The commentary today is taken in part from my conclusion to DISCERNERS: Analyzing Converging Prophetic Signs for the End of Days.

Our weekly column on the raptureready.com website is called “Nearing Midnight” because we discern that planet earth has almost reached the midnight hour of the Church Age, or Age of Grace.

Whereas the geopolitical humanist powers that be frame their view of human history’s closing minutes within their ”Doomsday Clock,” we  observe these fleeting times before Christ’s call to the Church by placing the template of Bible prophecy over the converging of prophetic stage-setting.

The political scientists and other scientists can only guess at what will happen to the human race. Most all believe that humankind will meet its end from nuclear holocaust or by climate-change disasters.

We who give total credence to what God’s Word has to say about the consummation of the age can know for certain, through a  detailed preview by God, Himself, how the end of all things will unfold. We don’t know precisely when the end will come. We can know, however, the general time when it will begin to manifest.

We can know for certain when the “midnight hour” of God’s prophetic timeline is approaching.

The Lord Jesus gave His family (born-again believers) explicit instruction about how and when to discern the nearing midnight hour.

And when you see all these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your head, for your redemption draws near. (Luke 21: 28) 

Note that Jesus didn’t say to watch for when these things “come to pass.” He said “when these things begin to come to pass,” we are to “look up and lift up our heads, for our redemption is drawing near.” At that time, He will be on His way to rescue His Bride –the Church—from the carnage that is about to take place on earth.

The blackness of the midnight hour will descend following that rescue of the Church. At seven years into the Tribulation, complete evil will have engulfed the planet with satanic darkness. The first bright gleaming that pierces that most horrendous time of all of human history will then burst through the billowing storm clouds of Armageddon. Brilliant light will part the heavens, and Christ and His army will appear.

So, discerning the times in which we find ourselves is all-important to the believer. If it was not possible to discern the times, Jesus wouldn’t have told us: “What I say unto one, I say unto all. Watch” (Mark 13:37).  

He promises in Revelation 3:10 that we are not appointed to God’s wrath, and will be kept out of the very hour of that wrath.  

So, what are the things the Lord forewarned would be taking place–the things beginning to come to pass—that we see happening at this very moment? Exactly what are the things for which we are to look?

Remember, the whole Bible is the Word of God. And, Jesus is that Word (John 1: 1).

Every prophecy, whether it’s already accomplished or yet to come, is attributable to Him. God, the Holy Spirit, inspired the Old and New Testament prophets to give the prophecies. So, we don’t have to consider just what the Lord Jesus, Himself, said by way of prophecy to discern the times in which we live. We can and must consider every prophecy yet to be fulfilled, presented in the Bible by all Bible prophets, as part of our discernment process.

I am of the camp that believes we are seeing the stage being set for fulfillment of prophecy yet future rather than fulfillment itself. The one caveat concerns the nation Israel. My view is that Israel again being a nation after millennia of dispersion into all the world is fulfilled prophecy.

That said, however, everything we see happening around us at this very hour has prophetic significance. Some things are profoundly significant—for example, the coalition of nations forming to Israel’s north.

Russia (land of Magog), Iran (much of ancient Persia), and Turkey (the land of Togarmah) coming together in a coalescing alliance is a spectacular example of God’s foreknowledge of things to come. These, of course, are exactly the central actors prophetically scheduled to come against God’s chosen nation, Israel, according to Ezekiel 38 and 39.

It must be agreed that much of the stage-setting itself is likened to fulfilled prophecy in some ways. For example, the apostle Paul’s “perilous times” words, presented in 2 Timothy 3, offer a vivid snapshot of these spiritually darkening days. While prophecy yet future, for the most part, seems reserved for the Tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week), developments in our nation and world today are becoming ever more like those given in God’s Word for that last seven years immediately preceding Christ’s Second Advent.

Luciferic darkening has so infected this generation in America and throughout the world that we who “watch” in order to discern the times are brought face to face with end-times insanity born of greatly increased rebellion against God. Other than the fact that Israel itself is what most discerners view as the most dramatic sign of where this generation stands on God’s prophetic timeline, there runs a deadly septicemia throughout humankind that marks this as a generation at the very end of its prophetic rope. The infection proves we are in the terminal stage of rebellion.

Paul explains very clearly that infection, satanically injected into humanity’s collective bloodstream.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 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; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1:18-32)

God condemns those who are caught in this evil, destructive quagmire of depravity. But Jesus gives us the way out of that soul-destroying quicksand:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)