Here again, I’m on my soapbox. My contention continues to be that Jesus’ prophecy about the days of Lot is coming into view in these times when Sodom-like wickedness is burgeoning.

Again, I believe as strongly as ever that Jesus said the following about the moment of Rapture:

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 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 17:28–30) 

There should not be a question among true believers that we are in Sodom-like days. News reports each hour bring information that burns our eyes and ears with tales of evil. That these days can be likened to Jesus’ prophecy is almost a given.

But there have been reports that the world is about to collapse into a financial heap of disaster and calamity. This goes counter to the Lord’s statement that people will be buying, selling, and building—doing all the things that indicate good economic times like in Lot’s day. It will be just like those days, Jesus said, when He next breaks into this world to bring about God’s ownership again of planet earth. This will begin with the Rapture of all believers—the Church, as Jesus described His building project. Speaking to Peter and the disciples, Jesus said:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)   

The news of pending economic catastrophe continues to come, with some writers in the Christian community believing that Christians will soon go into the time of Tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week—seven years of hell on earth.) There will be no Rapture to rescue believers in Jesus Christ of this Church Age, in this view of biblical eschatology—even though Jesus Himself gave John the beloved disciple the following in the book of Revelation:

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) 

The predictions of the world getting worse in terms of economic conditions until the Tribulation starts continue to mount. These predictions erroneously compete with the Lord’s prophecy about the days of Lot, if I might put kindly how I see the views of those counter to the Lord’s foretelling. Here is one such counter opinion to what is happening as the time of Christ’s intervention nears. While the writer is reporting facts, the one-sided view fails to take into account the other, which I next give as example.

The global energy supply crunch is only going to get worse as long as the conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe are raging. A lot less oil is getting through the Strait of Hormuz than normal, and diesel production in Russia has been significantly diminished by relentless Ukrainian drone strikes…

If things are this bad now, what will they look like a few months from now if World War 3 continues to intensify? …

The clouds on the horizon are getting really dark, and at this point everyone can see that a major storm is rapidly approaching. (“Goldman Sachs Warns Oil Could Soon Rise Above $120 A Barrel, And the Price of Diesel Just Set Another Record as World War 3 Continues to Escalate,” The Economic Collapse, RR News, September 9, 2026)

The economic picture, worldwide, isn’t as bleak as presented above. As a matter of fact, the following news item seems to indicate quite the contrary in validating the buying, selling, and all other things economic in similarity to the days of Lot as foretold by the Lord.

Last year, lefty corporate media outlets pushed the narrative that President Trump’s trade war with the world could trigger a 1929-style economic collapse. However, a new UBS report presents a markedly different picture: global trade growth is running at historically high levels, supported by AI-related demand and rising export prices. 

Let’s take a trip in the “wayback machine” and look at Bloomberg’s headlines when Trump was ratcheting up the trade war with China in early 2025. The outlet pumped out an ungodly number of headlines about “recession” and impending economic doom.

Roughly 1.5 years later, UBS’s latest data show continued growth in global trade, despite the recession risks economists highlighted when the tariff war broke out in the first half of 2025.

UBS chief economist Arend Kapteyn wrote Tuesday morning that global export values are rising about 19% from a year earlier, placing growth in the 84th percentile of the past 25 years. Higher volumes account for roughly 8.8 percentage points of that increase, while rising prices contribute another 10.3 percentage points…

The report suggests that global trade remains resilient, but its core strength is concentrated in technology and Asia. That leaves the expansion heavily sensitive to the AI and power grid investment boom. It seems that all the doom-maxxing forecasts lefty corporate media outlets made last summer have fallen flat on their faces. (“Where’s the 1929-Style Collapse MSM Predicted? UBS Finds Global Exports Surging to ‘Historically High Levels,’” ZeroHedge, September 9, 2026)

Now let me say that despite these optimistic economic figures worldwide, this report doesn’t bode well for this fallen world that’s rebellious to God’s governance. It just means that Jesus’ prophecy about the days of Lot are now fully in view in these last of the last days before He calls all believers to Himself. The world’s economy will then indeed crash into chaos, and the times will become worse than any economic depression in world history.

There is indeed a storm of unfathomable destruction on the horizon, including a hurricane-like devastation of the world’s economy. But Christians will be sheltered within the clouds of Glory when that storm hits.

The Rapture will vacate all Christians, and the Tribulation will begin with the making of the covenant with Antichrist, as outlined in Daniel 9: 27.

You don’t want to be here during that horrendous era. Here again is how to go to Christ and eternal safety when He shouts for believers to come to Him.

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10: 9-10) 

Of all of the Apostle Paul’s perilous times warnings for the very end of the Church Age, none, to my way of thinking, is more starkly represented in headlines today than the term “without natural affection.”

As most who read these commentaries know, I believe the atrocities inflicted upon the most innocent among us—the babies and small children—is most indicative of just where we must stand on God’s prophetic timeline. When I say “innocent,” I mean they haven’t yet reached the cognitive ability to recognize that they need Jesus Christ as their Savior. I believe their names are still written in the Book of Life until they reach that realization and choose to accept or reject Christ.

So, they are innocent in the holy eyes of God until that point. If they choose to reject when fully able to realize they are lost and need Christ to save them from their sinful status, their names are blotted out of the Book of Life. Their names are written back in, I’m convicted, once they then choose to accept God’s grace gift offer through the shed blood of His Son Jesus—the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

Paul tells directly that the last days will be marked as being “without natural affection.” We have looked at how men having sexual relationships with other men and women having such relations with other women is one major signal indicating “without natural affection.”

God’s Word tells us that such is unseemly and against nature, as any sane person should be able to recognize.

However, today, even a supposedly brilliant Supreme Court justice doesn’t know what a woman is, although she is one, and one political party champions that there are many genders and questions anyone who challenges that reprobate notion.

But an equally powerful proof that this is a generation that is “without natural affection” is found at the top of headlines in every news cycle. The evil coming against the most innocent of humankind—the babies and small children—is there for anyone to understand. There is an insanity—a satanic, reprobate insanity that seems to have blocked understanding of a growing number of people on this fallen planet.

Considering our Rapture Ready news on Raptureready.com, we see this proof. A few examples in our news links show the proof that these are indeed “perilous times,” as Paul puts it.

From August 30 RR News

Satanic Temple Video Shows Woman Doing Abortion Ritual in Hobby Lobby Bathroom

The video shows a simulated satanic ritual inside the Christian-owned store. After taking abortifacient drugs, the woman sits on the toilet and flushes her baby. She then turns to the mirror and says, “By my body, my blood, by my will, it is done.”

From August 31 RR news

Mom who shot infant son in face said it was ‘worth it’ to deprive father custody

A woman was convicted in a New Mexico courtroom this week for kidnapping and killing her infant son in order to deprive his father of custody. The case adds to the growing number of highly disturbing stories of moms killing their children. In recent weeks, LifeSiteNews has reported on Lindsay Clancy and Kailey Erhart, both of whom brutally killed their young children, including infants.

From August 31 RR News

Federal Court Rules Sexual AI Images Of Children Are Legal To Possess

A federal appeals court says a Supreme Court precedent set in 2002 forces it to protect the in-home possession of AI-generated child sexual abuse material. The court warned that rapidly advancing technology has complicated legal lines drawn nearly 25 years ago. The Seventh Circuit said it was bound by the Supreme Court decision that rejected restrictions on sexually explicit depictions of fictional children when no actual child was involved in their creation.

From September 1 RR News

Canadian doctors’ group suggests euthanasia for disabled infants

Doctors in Canada have said euthanasia for newborns born with disabilities “may be an appropriate treatment,” as concerns mount over the expansion of the country’s euthanasia and assisted suicide program.

From September 6 RR News

“Experiencing A Psychotic Episode…”: First ‘Clancy Copycat?’ Mom Hangs 2-Year-Old Son

A horrific copycat Lindsay Clancy murder of a child has been committed by a woman in Frankfort, Illinois. Prosecutors say Corie Walsh hanged her 2-year-old son, Barrett, from a basement rafter on Tuesday, then tried to kill herself with a knife. She told police she did it because the boy was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ.” Witnesses said she had become “very invested” in the Lindsay Clancy trial and was still texting friends about it hours before her son was found.

These types of stories appear weekly, sometimes dominating the news on RR and other venues. Satan’s assault on the most VULNERABLE of humanity is proliferating.

Our own state has experienced such unspeakable activity—so much so that there have been reporters who shed tears while trying to describe circumstances.

I was very touched that one of the state’s top radio program hosts prayed a beautiful prayer for a child on air after reporting the story of a little girl assaulted in a heinous way. He ended the prayer in the name of Jesus, and that was doubly touching to me. That’s a rarity in today’s media.

(Sadly, I hear now that the little one has died in the hospital.)

We must wonder—we who name that most holy of all names, the Lord Jesus Christ—just how long God will allow this evil against the little ones to go on throughout the earth.

The answer, of course, is found in the prophetic words issued by the Apostle Peter:

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; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 8–10)

Peter is saying that God’s timing is not like our faulty schedules and that He will not be tardy in accomplishing His perfect will. The Rapture will occur like a thief in the night, then all will play out exactly as He has directed from eternity past to eternity future, when all the things of earth will be burned up and the heavens and the earth remade into His perfection.

All babies who have been aborted, all little ones who have suffered premature death, will live forever in that perfection.

The unnatural affection, spawned and fomented by the one called Satan, will never again be experienced by those who are in God’s family.

If you don’t know the one who makes that blessed future a certainty for all believers, here is how to come to Him for God-guaranteed life for all of eternity in that heavenly perfection:

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

As those know who read this column, I believe a primary prophecy that describes the very moment the Lord Jesus Christ will call all believers into the clouds of Glory is wrapped in the following Scripture passage given by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself:

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 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 17:28–30)

Jesus was so intimately involved with the fate of the city of Sodom that He made this a cornerstone foretelling about His next “revealing” of Himself. He said the people and circumstances, the social and cultural environs of that moment when He next intervenes catastrophically into the affairs of humankind, will be just like Lot’s circumstances and times when God removed Lot and his family, then totally destroyed Sodom.

We’ve looked many times at just how wicked our current times are, with anti-God activity the norm rather than aberrant, in many cases. We have looked specifically at the characteristic of the days we’re now living in as being very similar to the days in which Lot lived in Sodom.

There is no doubt that the characteristic that had grown to the most pronounced extent—the most egregious to God—was homosexuality.

Remember that the angels, in the form of men, were threatened by the raging homosexual men who surrounded Lot’s home. God removed Lot and those of his household just as the providentially blinded homosexual men were about to invade the house.

Jesus tells us through the Luke 17:28–30 account that things will be like this when the world will see Him “reveal” Himself. It will be with the rescue we’ve come to know as the Rapture of the Church—all born-again believers in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Evidence is mounting, without question, that the homosexual invasion continues.

It seems to me that, like other proliferating anti-God things taking place in the US these days, the homosexual assault is manifesting in Minnesota, specifically in Minneapolis.

Here is a news story that presents growing evidence of these Sodom-like days.

According to the Minnesota State Fair’s schedule, POWER: Drag Revue will perform multiple times on Aug. 27 and 28 on state fair grounds.

The fair schedule says, “POWER: Drag Revue is a high-energy drag performance showcase celebrating the artistry, creativity and diversity of Minnesota’s drag community.”

Drag shows, which feature men dressed as women, have been continuously mainstreamed in recent years. Earlier this year, a drag performance was held inside Minneapolis City Hall which was reportedly the first time such an event had been held there.

According to Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, POWER: Drag Revue is a “BIPOC-focused musical sketch” formed after George Floyd’s death that has a “goal of expanding opportunities in the Twin Cities for historically underrepresented queer performers and artists.”

POWER: Drag Revue depicts its performers in exaggerated, garish representations of women. Several images on that page show apparent drag performers in revealing, sexualized outfits…

Since news of the drag shows broke earlier this week, the planned performances have faced backlash. Republican state Rep. Mary Franson reacted to a news story about the drag shows, saying, “Gross.”

Former state Rep. Jeremy Munson, a current candidate for Minnesota Senate, mentioned the drag shows in a list of fair events and said, “The State Fair is no longer a place we look forward to attending and it continues in the direction of not being welcoming to families.” (“Planned drag show performances at Minnesota State Fair face backlash,” by Rachel Rossum, Alpha News MN, August 21, 2026)

Promoters of the show claim it’s all in good fun, and children, especially, should be brought to see the “delightful” performances, as men, prancing about in revealing, highly sexualized feminine attire entertain the crowds.

My imagination goes to those days in Sodom—and likely in Gomorrah, too—when such “delightful” performances surely must have entertained the crowds. We certainly have no trouble understanding what the God of Heaven thinks about such activity.

They are just now beginning, through digs at the south end of the Dead Sea, to find vestiges of what’s left of those twin cities. And it comes to mind, coincidently, that the cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul are known in their duality, are they not? The twin cities are more and more at the center of homosexual and other wickedness that has been lately reported.

Now this is not meant to in any way besmirch the people of Minneapolis/St. Paul. There are many who protest against what is happening there in terms of anti-God activity.

But we must be alert to what’s going on as a spreading, cancerous sin that threatens to infect American culture and societies in ways that bring God’s judgment upon any people who embrace ways of life symbolized by these effeminate displays by the homosexual influencers.

Here is what God’s Word has to say about such matters of ungodly activity.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)

While not meaning to cast aspersions on the people of those twin cities, I must say that this area of our nation seems increasingly to embody the modern incarnation of the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. –As America, to me, seems more and more to take on the characteristics of the Babylon of Revelation chapter 18.

The answer to stopping this downward movement through anti-God comportment, of course, is prayer and repentance. —Prayer by each of us, individually, who are Christians—for the people of America to repent and turn back to God and godliness.

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

Apologetics Guide to Trusting the Bible :: By Todd Hampson

Book review by Terry James 

I am most pleased to present yet another work by my great friend Todd Hampson in his ongoing ministry of highly creative, Christ-centered efforts on behalf of his Lord. As a matter of fact, I can tell you that my wife Margaret has given her personal endorsement to what she calls a wonderful and informative book. So that might mean more than my own endorsement, which I give wholeheartedly!

Far from being a blind or naïve leap of faith, Christian belief is rooted in evidential reality. In The Apologetics Guide to Trusting the Bible, you will survey evidence across multiple disciplines including science, archeology, history, and Scripture itself, discovering the many ways you can have confidence that the Bible is true and trustworthy in every sense.

In this guide, you will:

• trace fulfilled prophecy and see how it points to God’s faithfulness
• connect archeological discoveries to biblical people, places, and events
• evaluate why the Bible stands apart from every other ancient text

Packed with helpful illustrations, informative charts, and interactive response prompts throughout, this user-friendly resource makes apologetics approachable without oversimplifying the evidence. It equips Christian adults, small groups, students, and thoughtful seekers to engage honest questions about the Bible with clarity.

This book is designed to strengthen the faith of the believer and equip them to defend Scripture and lovingly demonstrate the truthfulness of God’s Word. It is also designed to break down barriers to belief for unbelievers so that they might consider the claims of Jesus Christ and call upon Him as Savior.

In a time when much of the Church is watering down the foundational doctrines of the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of the Bible—Author Todd Hampson says that he felt a fresh, easy-to-understand primer about key evidence that supports the historicity, accuracy, and truthfulness of Scripture was needed.

Todd says further that we can trust every word in the Bible, from the literal 6-day creation account to the yet-future prophecies and promises in the book of Revelation. God has given us the complete narrative from eternity past to eternity future, and we can trust every single word of it with confidence, clarity, hope, and purpose.

You will, upon reading this volume for yourself, be pleased that you now have it in your personal library for any-moment reference. Again, I wholeheartedly endorse Todd’s new book.

Apologetics Guide to Trusting the Bible

Author: Todd Hampson

Publisher: Harvest House Publishing

ISBN-10 : ‎ 073699131X

ISBN-13 : ‎ 978-0736991315

To purchase, go to the following.

AMAZON AFFILIATE

AMAZON

During the 1976 approach to America’s one hundredth birthday, there were dangers to the nation in many directions. The Soviet Union presented a fearful threat. Its leader, the bear-like Leonid Brezhnev—with his scowling demeanor and dark, bushy eyebrows narrowed—always seemed to threaten world destruction with nuclear war-dominated headlines.

Communism was on the move, despite the ending of the Vietnam War, which, to many observers, America lost. That evil ideology seemed to be spreading everywhere, including to this hemisphere.

The American culture was growing coarser by the day, with many universities and colleges harboring professors who taught (and students who excitedly embraced) communism. Anti-American revolutionaries grew from these enclaves to foment growing internal strife.

This anti-God assault was somewhat prevalent even when I was a college freshman in 1961 or so. A professor—young and looking like a prepared-for-TV politician—stood before our freshman classes and proclaimed the marvels of Marxism and the evil of the politicians of the American government.

As the 1976 Centennial approached, we had a pastor in our church in Little Rock, Arkansas, whose name was Dr. Russel Clearman. He was the most eloquent speaker as a pastor that I’ve had in my own experience as a church member.

Dr. Clearman was a no-nonsense man who exuded patriotism. But, to him, Jesus Christ was at the center of every message leading up to that 1976 celebration.

He wrote a book about the coarsening culture of America and the fact that we as a nation were at a crossroads. We had to choose which way we were going to go from here. Were we to keep going down the road toward a terrible ending, or were we, as a nation, going to turn back to God, asking that He forgive our rebellious ways and restore America as the founding fathers had constructed under God’s guidance?

The name of the book was Which Way America?

Although Dr. Clearman was probably in his sixties, as I recall, this was his first, perhaps his only, book.

It sits on a shelf in my office, but now, being blind, I can’t reread it as I wish I could. It was inspirational, as were his sermons.

Dr. Clearman was so eloquent and so relevant with his knowledge of the Bible and issues and events of the day that he was asked to do a ten-minute exposition at least once a week on our local TV channel, KTHV-11, in Little Rock.

I often wonder what he would think if he were on earth at this time. He went to be with the Lord too early, we who cherished his presence believed; however, it wasn’t too early in God’s knowledge of time served in His name. Dr. Clearman developed leukemia soon after he left as our pastor.

The title of his book—Which Way America? —is certainly now more relevant than ever as this generation moves away from God’s governance.

A colleague and friend recently emailed me, in part, the following regarding his view of what’s been happening in America.

I’m of the opinion that Satan is unleashing his dogs of Hell on the Trump administration and the United States.

We need to be praying earnestly for President Trump and his family and primarily for the United States of America and for God to have mercy upon this nation and spark a revival in this country that is quickly turning into a spiritual desert.

Certainly, my friend is proven right every time things going on within the politics leading to the midterm elections come into focus. This is revealed by the following opinion piece:

“Woke one was crazy.”

Such was the proclamation from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on ABC’s This Week about far-left rhetoric that has alienated voters and cost Democrats dearly in recent elections. The statement was particularly shocking coming from Ocasio-Cortez given that she, perhaps more than any other single politician, is primarily responsible for mainstreaming “woke one” and jawboning the rest of the party to go along with her.

That Ocasio-Cortez is willing to acknowledge the toxicity and “craziness” of the height of the woke era is a sign of how much things have changed – or perhaps a sign of her own 2028 ambitions.

Regardless, every indication suggests that her analysis is correct. Last year, a research project conducted by American Bridge 21st Century involving thousands of voters in 21 states came to the following conclusion: “Working-class voters perceive Democrats to be woke, weak, and out-of-touch.”

But as much as Democrats frantically try to shove their extensive history of extremist rhetoric down the memory hole, it is unlikely to work for the simple reason that they haven’t actually abandoned their radical views. Democrats merely recognize how unpopular the woke platform has become and are now opting for the Trojan Horse strategy – publicly expressing contrition while still pushing for the same policies under a façade of moderation. (“Democrats Try to Walk Back ‘Woke One,’—Ocasio-Cortez, who did more than anyone to mainstream the movement, now calls “woke one” crazy—after a 21-state study found voters see Democrats as woke, weak, and out-of-touch,” by David Catron, contributing writer, AMAC Newsline, August 15, 2026)

Indeed, anyone of sound mind who has witnessed the “craziness” of what’s gone on in the leftist (progressive) political world must, like me, cringe at the prospect of electing such ideology as majority into the governance of our beloved nation. But that is the prospect we face.

We who watch all that is happening across America and the world through the biblically prophetic lens know that the moment when Christ will call all believers to Himself must be very near. So, there will be an escape from the wickedness of this nation and world at some point.

However, we are here at this moment—put here by the God of all creation—to perform a mission. We are to work to bring as many of the spiritually lost as possible into God’s family with the salvation message.

We are at the same time to consider matters wrapped in Dr. Clearman’s book title as pointing to our civic duty while we’re still here: Which Way America?

Let us perform both duties as our coming King’s royal ambassadors—seek the lost for bringing them to salvation while trying, through the political and other God-approved processes, to turn our nation back toward Him.

Here again is that salvation message to deliver.

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

In continuing to think on the current Iranian regime that is a threat to Israel and its neighbor nations, the matter of restraint by God the Holy Spirit is all important.

In other commentaries, we’ve looked at that restraint and how President Trump has, for some unknown reason, not yet finished eliminating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG). I believe this strange turn of events—Trump’s unequivocal declaration that he would destroy Iran’s war-making capability and yet his ongoing negotiations despite the IRCG continuing to fire on ships—is due to Holy Spirit restraint.

This usually-in-command president now seemingly giving in to Iran’s deceiving negotiators has no secular rationale. My conclusion, based upon study of Bible prophecy and carefully watching what’s going on in the Iranian matters, is that God Himself is restraining the destruction of this regime. I believe the Lord might be holding back Mr. Trump from doing what he promised—complete obliteration of Iran’s war-making ability—for Bible prophecy about the Gog-Magog destruction (Ezekiel 38 and 39) to be fulfilled. The fulfillment of that prophecy will include the almost total destruction of the Gog-Magog force attacking Israel.

That said, I’m wondering if we aren’t also seeing at this time heavenly restraint of another Gog-Magog participant.

I refer to the coalition member of the Gog-Magog force called Rosh. This ancient name is thought by most who have studied this prophecy as referring to current-day Russia. The restraint I believe we might be seeing is directed at Vladimir Putin, president of Russia.

Until its quagmire entered upon invading the former Soviet state Ukraine, Putin’s country was looked at as undefeatable. It reportedly has the largest arsenal of nuclear weaponry in the world–even greater in numbers than the US.

It was thought that such an invasion by the powerful Russian military of a weakened Ukraine (due to having given up its own nuclear stockpile following the dissolution of the USSR) would take only weeks to accomplish its victory. Far from such an achievement by Russia, it’s been fighting Ukraine for years and has lost hundreds of thousands of troops. The prospects of Russia ever achieving military victory through current tactics seems unlikely.

The war continues—and becomes less winnable by Russia by the day. Ukraine is really taking it to its invaders, according to news coming from that conflict.

Ukraine’s missiles have struck deeply into the heart of Russia—a thing, if it happened, Vladimir Putin vowed to answer with an attack on America. But there have been no such attacks forthcoming. The restraint is supernatural is what to conclude. One such report is as follows:

On Wednesday a “massive” Ukrainian drone and missile strike was unleashed on Russia’s port city of Novorossiysk, which badly damaged grain export terminals at what also constitutes the the last major Russian naval base on the Black Sea…

Zelensky acknowledged the rocket and underwater drone attack in what he hailed as a “unique operation” to strike the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk.

It seems Zelensky is distinguishing this instance as a hit on a purely ‘military target’ given he did not mention the grain export terminal aspect to the destruction.

“The occupying fleet and all the infrastructure that supports it will not be safe as long as Russian aggression continues,” Zelensky said.

Many Russian assets previously docked at the longtime Russian fleet’s home base of Sevastopol were forced to vacate during earlier phases of the war, given the frequent prior targeting of the historic Crimean naval hub. Some ships have even been relocated as far away as the Caspian Sea in order to protect them…

Reuters has said shutdowns resulted: “Two of Russia’s biggest grain terminals at the southern port of Novorossiysk have suspended operations as a result of overnight Ukrainian drone strikes, four industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday…

Novorossiysk is also home to vital oil export ​infrastructure. Kiev has essentially declared open season on Russian oil exports, arguing that proceeds fuel Russia’s military machine. (“Ukraine Defies Vance Warning with Massive Strike on Russia’s Key Black Sea Port, Shuttering Grain Terminals,” Reuters, ZeroHedge, August 13, 2026)

The restraint, I believe, might be manifest in that the strongman, former KGB agent of the USSR, hasn’t unleashed the deadly power he possesses. Why has Vladimir Putin not used tactical nukes delivered by the super-fast missiles he’s always bragging about?

It is reported that the people of Russia are extremely angered by the horrific losses suffered involving their young in the unending grinder of war against the formerly thought toothless Ukraine.

It has become more than obvious that Putin will have to do more—much more—to bring victory in this war he started.

Some will say he doesn’t want to be the first of post-World War II to uncork the nuclear genie bottle, last uncorked at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But Putin is cut from the same mold as Stalin and Khruschev. These were willing to go to any lengths to keep the likes of their state Ukraine under Soviet bondage.

Rosh—Russia—is destined, according to the prophet Ezekiel, to lead the coalition toward God’s chosen nation in the Gog-Magog attack.

It’s likely that God is, like in the matter of restraining Trump’s dealing with Iran, restraining thoughts of total conquest because the leader of that coalition, the one who will be possessed by the Gog satanic spirit, hasn’t yet gotten the “evil thought” that will instigate that assault. Unleashing the nukes might upset the timing and trajectory of that prophetic fulfillment.

Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought.” (Ezekiel 38:9–10)

The Lord’s restraint of Rosh—and on so many prophetic matters in our time—cannot or should not be missed by those who are watching on the wall of spiritually discerned observation in these closing days of this Age of Grace.

This all means that Jesus Christ is about to step onto the clouds of Glory and make the SHOUT, “Come up here!” (Revelation 4: 1). All who are born again will join Him and all believers for the journey into that heavenly realm.

Again, here is how to be part of that journey with Jesus:

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

“When you see all these things,” Jesus said. It was a warning from the Creator of all that is. We’re to be especially alert, He was saying, when certain things come into view. We—those who name Christ as Lord—should, individually, serve as watchers on the wall while we observe biblically prophetic progression.

But Jesus gave one word that, to this generation of those who “watch,” should add profound emphasis to Christ’s command. Jesus, God Himself, said God’s children should “look up and lift our heads” when we see certain things “begin” to become observable during our time on earth. Here are the words of this important command from the Lord Jesus:

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

Jesus was speaking to His immediate disciples—the men who followed him throughout His ministry. He was speaking to just a few of them on that day some two thousand years ago. However, He was also speaking, in the prophetic sense, to those who would be alive during some future time to witness things those men on the Mount of Olives asked Him about that day.

Jesus dumbfounded them by saying the beautiful Temple they were looking at on Moriah would be destroyed. He further implied the consummation of things of the earth.

They said:

Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (Matthew 24: 3b) 

Jesus, the greatest of all prophets—because He is omniscient and eternal and knows the end from the beginning—gave His immediate disciples as well as us today the answer to the windup of this quickly fleeting Age of Grace (Church Age).

The Lord gave a profound commission that day: Recognize when “these things begin to come to pass.”

God in the flesh (the Second Person of the Godhead, both God and Man) gave specific things to look for. I am convinced that this is the generation that will be part of the consummation of the age He described.

Things we see happening are prophetic developments. This is what my friend, the late Chuck Missler, used to say is “the time of the signs.” If Chuck was still on earth today, his excitement would no doubt be uncontrollable considering the matters of prophetic import now unfolding.

Jesus Gives Signs

The Lord answered His disciples on Olivet (and us, now) about when to look up for Him (our redemption) because He would be drawing very near. That is, He would be about to call to the Church (all believers in Him for salvation/redemption)

Signals the Lord gave are at this moment blazing across our headlines.

Here is Christ’s answer to the disciples’ questions:

Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:4–8)

Deceivers

We don’t have to look very hard to see that deceivers and deception are in every direction. Religiously, many are on the scene giving false teaching—all proclaiming they have (come in the name of) Christ. But many deny the power of Christ (His deity). This fits Paul’s “perilous times” prophecy (2 Timothy chapter 3).

Wars and Rumors of Wars

There are still living members of forces who fought in the greatest war of all history to this point. World War II is proof that horrific wars have “begun” to happen, thus fit Jesus’ warning of what to look for at the end of the age. And rumors of wars, as we easily observe, are there to “watch.” The greatest fear is of world-ending nuclear war, thus end-times cries of “peace and safety” fill our headlines daily.

Nation against Nation

The word for “nation” here, as we’ve looked at many times, is the Greek Word ethnos, meaning “ethnic.”

Even now, many wars around the world are raging involving ethnic differences. Ethnic hatreds are at the center of Middle East wars and rumors of wars. The conflict between Israel and its neighbors has been centered in ethnic differences for thousands of years.

Even in the United States, there are ethnic conflicts, as we saw in the George Floyd death, and even within sports such as the attacks of some women against others in the Women’s National Basketball Association.

Famines, Pestilences, and Earthquakes 

We’ve long seen films of children with their stomachs distended because of starvation as appeals are made to feed the hungry in Africa and other places.

The COVID matter, as a pestilence, literally shut down the world’s top economic nation to some extent. Its ramifications still reverberate throughout the world; again, much involved is steeped in deception for the purposes of the love of money and power.

Great, cataclysmic earthquakes are reported almost daily, with 7.0 or higher on the Richter Scale becoming more the norm than the aberration. Witness: the recent 7.4 earthquake in Colombia.

Naysayers charge that this has always been the condition of humankind; it’s just that now these things can be reported instantaneously across the world. That might be true to an extent, but could the Lord Jesus not have known of the prolific distribution of information that would be available at the end of the age?

As a matter of fact, yes; He could have such knowledge when He spoke on the Mount of Olives that day two millennia ago.

Daniel the prophet was given a message from the throne room of God, where certainly Jesus in His preincarnate form resided when the message to Daniel was sent to the prophet:

O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4)   

So, Jesus wants the watchers to be informed of the critical hour so near the time of His return so God’s message of grace—the salvation offered to all fallen humankind—can be put forth as a critical alert.

Be assured: The things we’ve begun to see come to pass—described by our Lord two thousand years ago and recorded for us today—are not coincidental. There is no such Word as “coincidence” in God’s prophetic vocabulary.

It is incumbent upon us, no matter our status in the world’s activities as we live our given increments of time, to consider our number one job to be watching in these quickly passing days. Our witness for Christ is our top priority!

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. (Mark 13:32–37)

While scanning Rapture Ready News, I was stopped by the first headline:

While The World Burns, The Stock Market Is Soaring To New Heights Never Seen Before

The story was written by a person who almost always presents news that shows just how near we are to entering the Tribulation. In some cases, he seems to be saying we are already in the beginning of that terrible time, which also known as “Daniel’s seventieth week.”

At any rate, the writer is an avid anti-pre-Trib Rapture advocate—not believing Christ will rescue Christians from the Tribulation.

I, of course, do believe conditions of the world today are troublesome in many ways. It does seem sometimes that we’re having unusual signals from Heaven of the coming Tribulation plight that the anti-God rebels of earth deserve. Things such as the following make the point: the murder of millions of babies in their mothers’ wombs and the constant “pride” events in Sodom-like displays of homosexuals flaunting their wickedness in God’s holy face.

The first half of the headline could be considered manifestation of Heaven’s displeasure for such anti-God comportment: “While the World Burns…”

These words alone are enough to convince the watchers on the wall that the Rapture of the Church is on the cusp of taking place. But it is the second half of the headline that proves just how near Christ is to stepping onto the clouds of Glory and shouting, “Come up here!” (Revelation 4:1): “The Stock Market Is Soaring to New Heights Never Seen Before.”

The writer, as is his usual way of expressing his belief that we’re about to enter the Tribulation, spends almost the entire article giving conditions that are Tribulation-like. Then he mocks those who look at the good economic news as, well, being not so good, but destined to fail to reach the level of prosperity the Wall-Street types expect.

But for the moment, happy days are here again for just about everyone on Wall Street.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both smashed their old record highs…

Stocks had a banner day Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average scaling to fresh record highs, thanks to strong earnings and another decline in oil prices driven by hope that the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened.

The broad market index gained 1.8% and hit a fresh high for the first time since June, while the Nasdaq Composite popped 2.6%, as Palantir Technologies rallied 29%. The Dow surged 907 points, or 1.7%, led by a 6% rise in Caterpillar, surpassing its intraday record from last month.

The general consensus on Wall Street is that all of the troubles that we are facing now are just temporary.

Of course I disagree.

I believe that all of the troubles that we are facing now are just a preview of much bigger troubles that are ahead.

But investors don’t want to hear that.

What they want to hear is that stock prices will just keep going higher and higher.

So for now the buying frenzy continues, but it will not last forever. (While The World Burns, The Stock Market Is Soaring To New Heights Never Seen Before,” by Michael Snyder, End of the American Dream)

Again, I want to emphasize that the writer is an excellent wordsmith. However, he is against the idea of a pre-Trib Rapture, which I believe the Bible plainly teaches.

I agree that human economy is destined to fail. The Tribulation laid out in Revelation is on the way.

But the news he is mocking about the tremendous economic upturn just released is proof of just how near the Tribulation era is. The economic conditions are bound to look very good when Jesus next intervenes into the Sodom-like wickedness of humankind. It will be just like it was in Lot’s day in Sodom, which was probably the most prosperous region in the Middle East at the time.

Sodom also held, perhaps, the most wicked population in post-Flood history—that is, until today…

Jesus said it will be just like it was in Lot’s day when He will, like He did with Lot and his family, take all believers out of that place that is due God’s justice and judgment:

Also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 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 17:28–30)

The tremendous upturn in economic conditions might not last. There might be another downturn of some sort. But it will be in a time of uptick when Jesus calls God’s family into the clouds of Glory.

Rapture conditions are in that state at this moment!

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It is significant, I think, that there is suddenly increased talk among the Jewish religious hierarchy about building a temple in Jerusalem.

We learn of this in the following:

Sanhedrin rules it will formally petition Heaven to reveal Mashiach and rebuild the Temple

The nascent Sanhedrin issued a formal ruling this week, asking the Holy One, Blessed be He, to remove hostile forces from the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, reveal the Mashiach (Messiah), rebuild the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), and restore prophecy to Israel. The written ruling, dated 6 Menachem Av, 5786, follows a session the court’s members described as several hours long, during which two of the judges argued against moving forward before ultimately joining the majority. (“Sanhedrin rules it will formally petition Heaven to reveal Mashiach and rebuild the Temple,” Israel365 News, July 30, 2026)

The observation of this development by those who are truly watchers on the wall is far different from most who view this.

The Jewish people who observe Judaism generally believe this is an answer to the long-echoed call, “Next year in Jerusalem!” By this, it’s meant that there is great hope that the construction of a third temple will begin as soon as possible. This is the genuine longing by all who believe their Messiah must soon come to enter that future temple and bring peace and prosperity to all of Israel.

Of course, secular Jews have several thoughts about this. The primary thinking is that it really makes no difference one way or the other. A second thought is that a temple would be nice as a tourist attraction. A third thought is wrapped in tremendous fear that building such an edifice would bring an even greater hatred, and possibly war, from all of Israel’s surrounding enemies–and increased hatred by the rest of the world.

Many Jewish people fear that the title “God’s chosen people” is a primary reason for the world’s long history of anti-Semitism. And they’re probably right.

Satan has no doubt used this to induce hatred in the minds of those who harbor some sort of inferiority complex. From these types come much of the Islamist terrorism, I believe.

There is another thought by we who are watchers on the wall.

The third temple will undoubtedly be built—no question about it. But it will not be cherished by Jewish people in Israel or around the world.

It won’t benefit any people anywhere in the world because it will not be the Jewish Messiah who enters and occupies this Temple on Moriah. Instead, it will be the one God’s Word calls “the man of sin” and “the son of perdition.”

This, of course, will be Antichrist, a false messiah who will promise a false peace. He will instead bring the most terrible time of all history to the world (Matthew 24: 21).

A third temple will be built at a future time, Bible prophecy says. Solomon built the first one, which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed in 587 BC.

The second temple was built following Israel’s Babylonian captivity. It lasted from 516 BC to AD 70. It became known as Herod’s Temple when the king commissioned it to be greatly expanded and beautified to the extent that it was considered magnificent by those who looked upon it.

This temple was destroyed by the Roman military in AD 70, when Roman Emperor Vespasian sent his son, General Titus, to put down insurrection in Jerusalem. This was a fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9:26–27 and of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:1-2.

The third temple is said to be in place during the last seven years of human history prior to Christ’s return. Daniel prophesied about Antichrist: “In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27b). This last, most vicious tyrant will enter the third temple and desecrate it.

Paul the apostle says of that future temple and Antichrist:

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

So, all the information coming from the Jewish hierarchy is Tribulation temple talk; there’s no other way to describe this news from the Israeli Sanhedrin.

All this means that Israel’s real Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is poised to call God’s family—all born-again believers—into the clouds of Glory.

Following the Rapture of the Church, the Tribulation will begin with Israel signing the covenant of false peace offered by the one who will become Antichrist (Daniel 9:27).

Seven years later, Israel’s True Messiah, Jesus Himself, will enter a supernaturally created Temple atop Mount Zion in Jerusalem, from which He will rule and reign for one thousand years. This will be the Millennium, during which supernatural saints—those who return with Jesus—will be given assignments within the governance of King Jesus!

Believe in Christ today—for today, at this moment, is the only time promised. Tomorrow it might be too late.

For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:11–13)

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Terry James

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

But God’s Word says 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, people have no excuse, because God reveals to all, even if they live in uncivilized regions of the world and/or have a 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’re deliberately rejecting the God who plants in the people’s hearts 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 scriptwriters 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 humankind.

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

No people on earth are 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 isn’t only America that comes under God’s condemnation of being “without excuse.” Europe long ago shut down most of its churches. Many are merely now museums for tourists to photograph.

The results of this dismissal of Heaven’s authority are blatant in all the world, not just in our country. As pointed out in recent commentaries, Paul’s words tell of the foolhardiness and its results 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 offer 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 happily and, above all, live safe lives.

Yet that same government and leftist, hypocritical ideology declares it’s 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, humankind 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)