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Jan Markell: Our World Is Too Evil For Pastors To Stand On The Sidelines

January 17, 2024 2:14 pm / 10 Comments on Jan Markell: Our World Is Too Evil For Pastors To Stand On The Sidelines

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The month of October brought a staggering wake-up call to many church members. Some had been in attendance for months and some for years. A few had been active for a decade. They loved their church family and felt the pulpit was sound.

Their church has salvation right, and baptism. The music is acceptable and the youth program is outstanding. It is missions-minded. And, after all, no church is perfect.

The Rude Awakening

But in October, many church attendees were going to get a rude awakening because too many hadn’t done a deep dive on all of the church’s theology.

Many had been grieved over the silence in the pulpit as it concerned Bible prophecy and current events. They accepted the flaw and got daily doses of those items online. After all, the church didn’t get involved in the cultural issues either. It is not unusual for a church to not take a stand.

Then came October 7 in Israel. What would the church response be that next day – October 8? What happened on October 7 was a game-changer! Surely, this would be front-and-center at their church!

It is true—the headlines, photos, and videos coming out of the latest Mideast conflict are not seekersensitive. They won’t make church attendees feel good. Talking about the sensitive situation won’t fit into any church-growth strategy. It won’t encourage anyone to become purpose-driven. It could even create divisiveness.

So, I should not have been so thrown when I began to get e-mails from across the country stating variations of the following:

Jan, I was very dismayed that the church we attended did not even make mention of what was going on in Israel on Sunday, October 8. Nor did the topic arise on Wednesday night—though there were several mentions of the Houston Astros game…

No One Can Say We Didn’t Know

Since then, there has been wall-towall coverage on all media outlets, day and night, for over three months. Can anybody claim they didn’t know? We have now all watched the sickening demonstrations begging the world to “gas the Jews.” Some are saying World War III is at hand. We have evil at a new level on display. The likelihood of terror cells embedded in America, Canada, Europe, and other places is a guarantee.

The Silence of the Shepherds Is Rooted in Theology

And yet, I was hearing many times a day about the silence of the shepherds! Could this silence be rooted in theology? A resounding “yes”!

I encourage all readers to do a study on modern theology. People hear terms that need to be explored: Replacement Theology, Covenant Theology, Amillennial Theology, Dominion Theology, and more. You just might not be in agreement with what all of these theologies entail! Most of these teach that the Church is the new Israel; that God has cast away His people Israel due to unbelief.

Prayer: The Only Effective Weapon

Human suffering has been on display since October 7, 2023. Media outlets that have a shred of integrity, revealed the darkened hearts and deeds of Islamic thugs. There is only one adequate weapon in our arsenal: prayer, and better yet, corporate prayer.

Prayer from the pulpit. Prayer from a radio, TV, or Internet website. Prayer for innocent hostages, although now it is likely too late. Prayer for any innocent caught in a battle crossfire. Prayer for soldiers trying to liberate and set captives free.

And pastors, your people want you to lead in this effort! People are now tired of the silence of the shepherds. Our world is too volatile, too angry, and too evil, to stand on the sidelines and be silent! You must take a stand and set theology aside.

Yes, your theology says you should minimize Israel, but then you marginalize the suffering, which Jesus would never do!

When Should I Leave a Church?

All of my radio guests have stated since October 7 that if a church will not relent on this, then it is time to leave. Period. God cannot bless this church or congregation. It is weighed in the balances and found wanting (Dan. 5:7). It is time to move on to much greener—and more spiritually fruitful—pastures.

Perhaps this is the next big church divider. Churches will either be for Israel, or against her. Which side will you be on? Israel is to become the world’s burdensome stone (Zech. 12:3), but God will destroy ALL who come against Jerusalem (Zech.12:9). You want to be on God’s side!

In the new year of 2024, I pray that all in leadership will at least take a stand against evil, for much of the world is calling evil good (Isaiah 5:20). And evil is spreading like a cancer throughout the world as we trend towards the Tribulation.

Jan Markell is an author, speaker, host of Understanding the Times radio heard on over 1,000 stations across America, and the Founder and President of Olive Tree Ministries.

Why is it Foolish to those who hear?::By Zachary Everett

January 13, 2024 6:58 am / 9 Comments on Why is it Foolish to those who hear?::By Zachary Everett

A nudge from the Lord Jesus Christ to share something in these final days of this age. The world is racing to the abyss, even as I write this the war in the Middle East has now expanded further into the Red Sea. We can only imagine how long it will be before Israel and Hezbollah unleash their weapons upon each other and bring chaos to the Middle East. At every turn it seems wars… economic collapse… natural disaster… and social meltdown are nearing the tipping point.

One can wonder why… why when one hears the words of salvation from the Bible and what Jesus Christ did on the cross for our sins… they… the lost reject it. Even as the world burns around them the cross is considered foolish to them. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Can any one of us imagine why even as everything falls apart around those who hold on to this world they still will not turn to the salvation that Jesus Christ offers freely. Maybe its pride, the love of sin, ignorance, philosophical standing, or it’s just something they can’t wrap their mind around… that God Almighty in his infinite wisdom saw the cross as the only way to bring salvation to every mortal soul on this earth. That no other way would suffice…

If you are on the fence on what the cross means to you and why God Almighty chose this path for your salvation… let me share this with you from an artist who recently became a born-again believer in Jesus Christ and who came to understand the debt of sin.

“None of us is capable of comprehending the deep sinfulness of our minds, the cosmic divide we willfully cause between us and God. Every day we spit in the face of the perfectly just, good and righteous Creator, who made us and all things, by preferring pointless pleasures in life over His glory. We Prefer everything in the world over him. We prefer ourselves over him. We lie, we covet, we’re angry and envious and self-exalting and proud.

But even the tiniest trespass against an infinitely Holy being would deserve an infinite judgement. Then what about the never-ending torrent of sins we commit, daily? An infinitely just and Holy being would cast all such creatures as far away from himself as possible, for all eternity.

What can any of us do to repay our sins and earn a place with God? Nothing, No amount of finite “good deeds” as offerings can pay off that infinite mountain of sin debt we build ourselves. Sins of infinite severity can only be atoned by something of infinite value. And the only thing with infinite value is God.

And thus, because the almighty God is not only a perfectly just God, but a loving, merciful God, he has freely given us the atonement. By sacrificing His eternal son Jesus the Christ, God himself in the flesh. The lamb of God, who willingly went to be crucified in our stead for our sins, and rose from the dead conquering death itself.

No works can earn you salvation, only the free gift of mercy that is given by admitting our sinfulness, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior.”

-Minna Sundbeng

 The signs are all around us! This age as so many brothers and sisters have said is rapidly coming to an end. Time is very short, 2024 is here and events are moving faster then many thought possible. Don’t stay on the fence and think the message of the cross is foolish. The Lord Almighty has offered you a path to an amazing future beyond your wildest dreams through his son Jesus Christ.

Remember… Tomorrow may not come… but with Jesus Christ you will have eternity!

God Bless

Zachary

The Day That Changed The World::By Jan Markell

January 3, 2024 5:11 pm / 3 Comments on The Day That Changed The World::By Jan Markell

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The world has been in an uncontrollable rage since October 7, 2023. We are witnessing global Israel Derangement Syndrome and renewed anti-Semitism more brutal than the 1930s. And towards whom is the rage directed? Towards those who were invaded, slaughtered, and kept as hostages.

Imagine worldwide hatred against innocent victims and global sympathy for barbarians because Israel supposedly stole land. So, now it is occupied land—the provocation for the deadly pogrom.

God’s land is not occupied territory. Jesus did not live in occupied territory. God owns it (Leviticus 25). He permanently gifted it to the Jews (Genesis 15).

The World Calls Evil Good!

Following the attack, the logic said that sympathy would eventually shift towards those who suffered the unspeakable blow, since many victims were women, children, and the elderly. Apparently not. The world stage featured, over several weeks, millions of people in global demonstrations on behalf of the terrorists—Hamas! Talk about a classic case of calling evil good (Is. 5:20).

For months, the world was given a sickening overdose of, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Participants in global demonstrations appeared to be many mind-numbed young robots, most not knowing any facts on the ground. Facts didn’t matter.

This was a conflict of the oppressed versus the oppressor. The so-called Palestinian was the classic representative of the world’s oppressed. Israel was the Goliath who needed to be punished and exterminated as all oppressors must be.

Brainwashed Agitators from the Tik Tok Generation

The demonstrators, in two-dozen nations, are ignorant concerning the history, as well as the geographical and political implications of the Mideast. What the Bible says is irrelevant. The rabble-rousers know nothing of Israel’s endless concessions over the decades to her Islamic neighbors, all in the name of peace.

They know nothing of the 2,000 years of wandering, persecution, and endless attempts by Kings, generals, Fuhrers, potentates, and presidents, to fulfill Psalm 83 and wipe out the very memory of Israel’s existence. The brainwashed agitators are feeding off of social media propaganda, swallowing the lies like they were candy, and impressing their friends with how tolerant and justice-minded they are.

They are also victims of Marxist indoctrination in the Western world’s education systems. They are persuaded to see red— and now they also see Hamas green.

They are naïve and cannot comprehend that those they are championing, celebrating, and defending, would obliterate them in a heartbeat, in just as brutal a manner, as they incinerated Israelis on October 7, 2023. And again, for no reason other than to exercise their barbarism against the enemies of Islam.

Befriending Monsters

Those Israelis in southern Israel were championing the people of Gaza! The Israelis were there to benefit the Gazans—to employ them, take them to appointments, and more. They lived and believed the liberal lie: That we can befriend monsters and make them like us. That Islam is not so bad, in fact. We can all get along.

Rushing Towards the Time of Jacob’s Trouble

So, let’s look at this from a spiritual perspective. We are in a run-up to the Tribulation—the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. The Jews are the primary player in that horrific drama. Believers are enjoying heaven. The Jews are Jacob; believers are the bride.

Satan longs to defeat God’s end-time plan, which seriously trounces him. Whether it’s Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, or Haman, from Persia, they plot and scheme. Whether it is Hitler or the Iranian mullahs, they never cease their plot to eliminate all Jews. The persecutors will come and go, but the persecution will remain until Jesus returns in the Second Coming!

As the people of Israel get more and more war-weary, as they tire of relying on fences that fail and agreements that are broken, they will accept the cunning lies of a man who comes on the scene right before the start of Daniel’s 70th Week. He will overwhelm them with promises of “peace and security” (I Thess 5:3).

They can tear down their walls, thanks to his friendship! What a smooth talker. What a man who speaks healing words. What a peacemaker! What a devil.

They sign a fateful agreement as outlined in Daniel 9:27, not realizing that Mr. Fix-It will eventually turn on them in an attempt to fulfill Satan’s plan of the ages: the extermination of every Jew, to foil God’s end-time plan. Others had only partially succeeded. This man will be convinced he can finish the job.

The Genie is Out of the Bottle!

What happened on October 7, 2023, is not just “one more Mideast conflict.” It was inspired by demons, and it unleashed demons on the world. The perpetrators were demon-possessed. The facts on the ground are clear evidence of that. In the natural, mankind cannot dream up such brutality. Satan can.

A genie was let out of the proverbial bottle. Something ominous spread all over the world in October of last year. It has apocalyptic overtones. You can’t put it back in the bottle! Our world was forever changed.

And, all of this hatred against a people who have been a blessing to the earth! A people who gave us the Prophets, the Apostles, the Messiah; in fact, salvation itself is of the Jews (John 4:22).

Spitting in the Apple of God’s Eye

In spite of such blessings, there are entire denominations that are standing with those who perpetrated the worst massacre of the innocent in recent history. They worship social justice. They teach that the church is the new Israel (Replacement Theology). They major in minors and lead the flock astray. They fly rainbow flags in front of their church. They spit in the “apple of God’s eye” (Zech. 2:8).

I close this article with something I inserted in my book about Holocaust survivor Anita Dittman—Trapped in Hitler’s Hell. It is a quote from Dr. Natan Kellerman:

“There is something unprecedented about the European Holocaust. For the first time in the bloodstained history of the human race, a decision was birthed in a modern state, in the midst of a civilized continent, to track down, register, mark, isolate, dispossess, humiliate, concentrate, transport, and murder, every single person of an ethnic group as defined by the perpetrators.

“This was targeted at an ethnic group who so generously contributed to the culture of the world; to a people who have borne the brunt of enmity toward them because they dared to be different, and dared to insist on their difference.”

Is it 1938 again?

Sodom-likeness Grows

December 17, 2023 8:25 am / 3 Comments on Sodom-likeness Grows

The homosexual lobby in the days of Lot in Sodom, according to the nineteenth chapter of Genesis, must have indeed been in control of city government—and of all other aspects of city life. This is likely because Lot was a high official in city government. He sat in the gate to Sodom as a judge, a position from which he adjudicated business matters and, I presume, other matters of judicial interest.

The homosexual men of Sodom showed no deference to or regard for Lot in surrounding his home and demanding that he send out the man’s visitors who appeared as men, but were angels sent by God to assess what was going on in the wicked city. We can therefore assume that these blatant, would-be rapists were fully in charge and unafraid of consequences for their rapacious activities once the sun went down. A city judge’s (Lot’s) guests were to be their victims.

The comparison I wish to draw between America today and ancient Sodom is that the homosexual lobby, although insignificant in constituting a percentage of the American population, has become a powerful influence over everything from business and law to entertainment and government, and even religion. Most troubling is that the homosexual lobby is becoming a devilish intrusion into American family life.

We know of the stories of the current presidential administration allowing—or instructing—the FBI to investigate the matter of a number of public schools introducing pornographic sexual curriculum to minors. The salacious material is not just heterosexual in nature, but it more and more involves homosexual inculcation.

The Sodom-likeness part of all this is that the FBI agents, in many cases, aren‘t sent into the school boards and other forums to investigate those who are introducing these inappropriate themes to under-age kids without parents’ permission. Rather, the agents are sent to investigate and charge (with various levels of domestic terroristic threatening) the parents who object to the wickedness.

Government and the homosexual-controlled cabal are often intricately linked. A growing number of officials are like the ones must have been in the city government of Lot’s day. They join in moving ever farther into evil conduct, against which the Lord is bound to bring judgment at some point.

A pertinent report and analysis grabbed my attention in considering all of the above. It is quite telling as to where we stand on God’s prophetic timeline, I think.

Biden wants to essentially ban Christians from adopting foster care children based on their religious beliefs and opposition to radical LGBTQ ideology. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a new rule that would prohibit families who do not support LGBTQ ideology from caring for foster children.

According to the Social Security Act, federally funded foster care agencies must provide “safe and proper care” for foster children. The United States Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division within HHS, proposed that foster families meet three specific criteria to ensure that LGBTQ-identifying children are in a “safe” and “nurturing” home.

Those criteria essentially force Christian parents to affirm a child’s pretend gender as opposed to supporting children truthfully based on their biological sex and providing them appropriate support and resources to move away from the radical leftist ideology that pushes hormones, sex changes and mutilation of children to conform to its extreme sexual agenda.

“Responding to the radical proposal, 19 Republican attorneys general are pushing the Biden administration to back down on a new rule they say will effectively exclude Christian families from fostering kids and jeopardize the foster care system nationwide,” Fox News reports.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, along with 18 of his GOP colleagues, sent a letter Monday to the Department of Health and Human Services alerting them that a new proposed rule that alters requirements for foster care families violates the Constitution and discriminates against people who practice the Christian faith. (“Joe Biden Wants to Ban Christian Families from Adopting Children in Foster Care,” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com, November 28, 2023)

This proposed new rule hits home particularly hard with my wife and me. Although we weren’t given official foster-care responsibility because we were the age of grandparents rather than parents, we were asked a number of years ago by local government people to temporarily care for a young girl because of her family’s terrible situation. We still think of her as a grandchild, although she is now twenty years old.

We saw firsthand the public education and its effect in less-than-favorable light when, at eleven years old, she informed us she should be a boy, not a girl. This is what she was told by those in authority at school. And ours is a small city in the South, and quite conservative.

Of course, we had quite a bit of conversation and loving counsel with our little girl. She grew up and out of that inculcation she had received, although she still suffers from that time of such teaching in public schools—adding to her biological family’s troubles.

Today, my wife and I would probably be charged with some kind of criminal neglect, at the very least, for going against some teacher’s instructions, the way things in America are going with such teaching by some still allowed, and with proposed rules such as that above.

This illustrates how very important is the need for Christian influence, thus Holy Spirit restraint, in this age, during which the Antichrist spirit is growing exponentially.

Just like in Lot’s day, the Lord of Heaven must be on the very cusp of calling believers to Himself in the clouds of Glory. I believe with all that is within my spirit that every child below the age of accountability will go to Christ when He summons His Church (see Revelation 4:1, when the Apostle John was so summoned.)

Be sure you are part of that blessed throng of believers who are caught up in the Rapture. Here is how to be certain you will:

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)

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