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Where are we on God’s Timeline? By Bill Salus

August 19, 2025 8:21 am / 6 Comments on Where are we on God’s Timeline? By Bill Salus

This is an article taken from my book entitled, The NOW Prophecies, by Bill Salus.

Unquestionably, the most important prophetic information for every generation is the knowledge of its whereabouts on the Lord’s prophetic timeline. Isaiah 46:9-10, informs us that there exists a definite beginning and end, so the question is where are we now?

The simple answer is that we are somewhere between the two prophetic events of the rebirth of the nation Israel and the upholding of the Lord’s holy name through the nation of Israel, which results from the Gog of Magog war in Ezekiel 38-39. In fulfillment of numerous prophecies, Israel was reborn as a nation on May 14, 1948. Presently seventy-seven years have passed since that time. The reestablishment of Israel is when the world’s hourglass made its final turn, and now the grains of sand are rapidly descending downward into its lower chamber. Mankind is racing toward the expiration date of this present earth!

These two marquee events should standout like monumental bookends to this generation because they are intended to serve as the prophetic proof that the God of the Bible is the one true God over all the earth. Replacement theology, the erroneous teaching that God’s done with the Jews, has facilitated the failure of many Christians to recognize the miraculous existence of the Jewish state of Israel. However, their ignorance does not erase the fact that Israel today is a marvelous sovereign undertaking of the Lord. According to the prophet Jeremiah it was intended to be so.

Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.” (Jeremiah 23:7-8, NKJV).

The Hebrew exodus from Egypt resulted in the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14). This was a supernatural event that has yet to be outmatched or duplicated by anyone. This miracle was to be memorialized in the minds of the Hebrew generations that followed. It served to remind the Jews that their God Jehovah could deliver them through all obstacles and oppressions. In addition to this monumental miracle, the Old Testament is filled with other historical examples evidencing this fact.

Jeremiah 23:7 declares that the exodus episode will pale in comparison to the modern day miracle of the rebirthed nation of Israel. Rightfully so, the Lord had to accomplish much more than parting the Red Sea in order to reestablish the nation of Israel in modernity. Below are a few examples depicting the enormous sovereign undertaking of God in order for Israel to exist today!

• Implant Zionism in Jews – In the late 1800’s, after centuries of existence outside of their country, the Jews began to yearn to return back to their ancient homeland. They were, and still are, willing to leave their world countries, diverse cultures and differing languages to return to a place that was desolate and is presently dangerous.

• Create Arab Homelands – From 1517 – 1917 A.D. the Middle East was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The domination abruptly ended with the Turkish loss in World War I. This empire had to be eliminated in order for the Mideast to be rezoned with Arab states and a Jewish state. The creation of the Arab states and the Jewish state was the fulfillment of the Lord’s Mideast Peace Plan provided in Jeremiah 12:14-17. The prophecy specified that the Arabs and Jews would return to their homelands, which occurred in the aftermath of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

It’s important to note that Jeremiah 12:17 predicts destruction of the Arab nations that curse Israel instead of live copacetic alongside Israel. This destruction seemingly occurs with the NOW prophecy of Psalm 83.

• Prevent Nazi Genocide – In order for the Jewish state to exist, Jews needed to exist. During World War II, Adolph Hitler and the Nazis attempted the genocide of the Jews. Had they been successful, there would be no Israel today! Whereas, World War I freed up the ancient land of Israel for the Jewish people. World War II prepared the Jews for the land of Israel.

• Empower the Allied Forces – Communist Russia teamed up with the capitalistic America and the other allied forces to defeat the Nazis. This cohesion of this unlikely coalition was also the miraculous sovereign undertaking of the Lord.

• Create the Jewish State – With the control of the Ottoman Empire relinquished and the establishment of the Arab states in place, the restoration of Israel occurred. These territorial shifts paved the way for the state of Israel to come into existence.

• Empower the Israeli Army – Ezekiel 37:10, 25:14, Obadiah 1:18 and elsewhere predicted the rise of today’s Israeli Defense Forces. Through the process of three regional wars in 1948, 1967 and 1973, the Jews transformed from refugees into the most powerful army in the Middle East. This had to happen in order to sustain Israel’s existence.

• Preserve and Prosper Israel – Israel is becoming a prosperous nation. According to Ezekiel 38:12-13, Israel continues to prosper and achieve an abundance of plunder and booty. It is this prosperity that motivates the Russian Gog of Magog invaders to attack Israel.

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THE UPHOLDING OF GOD’S HOLY NAME THROUGH HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL
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The Magog invasion of Ezekiel 38-39 is the other major prophetic marker for this generation to consider. Ezekiel 38:1-39:20, contains forty-three verses of some of the most consolidated and descriptive prophetic information found anywhere within the entire Bible. The reader of these passages doesn’t need to be a bible scholar, rocket scientist, or even a believer to glean a relatively detailed understanding of this forthcoming prophecy. By interpreting these verses literally the reader is made aware of the:

• Timing of the event – (In the end times), Ezek. 38:8, 16.
• Identities of the invading coalition – (Russia, Turkey, Iran and a total of nine members are identified by Ezekiel). Ezek. 38:1-5.
• Motivation for the invasion of Israel – (To take spoil, plunder and booty from Israel). Ezek. 38:12-13.
• Conditions inside Israel at the time of the invasion – (A nation at peace that is dwelling securely without walls). Ezek. 38:8, 11, 14.
• Defeat of the invaders – (Supernatural means through an earthquake, pestilence, bloodshed, flooding rains, great hailstones, fire and brimstone). Ezek. 38:18-23.
• Aftermath of the event – (Israel will gain international renown for burying the dead for seven months and burning the invaders weapons for seven years). Ezek. 39:9-16.
• Purpose of the prophecy – (The upholding of the holy name of God). Ezek. 39:7.

The Lord appears to have intended these verses to be relatively easy for everyone to understand, because this is the epic event through which He pledges to notify the world that He is the one true God!

There will be no way to misconstrue that the supernatural destruction of the Magog invaders came exclusively through the hand of the Lord. Although Israel is positively identified within this prophecy, and possibly even America, the victory over the Russian coalition will not be attributed to either, but the Lord will get the full credit. In the aftermath, He alone will be able to slam dunk the football in the end zone after the winning touchdown!

The Lord will be able to proclaim, with absolute authority, that He is the covenant making God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so that all who receive Him as their Lord and Savior would not perish but have eternal life.

This prophecy will be explained in more detail at a later point within this work. The explanation will address why this prophecy appears to occur before the seven year Tribulation Period commences, (i.e. Daniel’s Seventieth Week), why the Rapture probably occurs beforehand, and how America is identified in Ezekiel 38:13, as the young lions of the merchants of Tarshish. America in this prophecy is depicted as a lesser nation, a meager sideline spectator of the Magog invasion. America, shrunken to this non-superpower stature, appears to occur as one of the NOW Prophecies.

Big Brotherism

July 27, 2025 7:53 am / 2 Comments on Big Brotherism

We’re witnessing an assault—including that of the most violent sort—by communist-style revolutionary evil in America. It all smacks of being directly out of the Karl Marx playbook. The young candidate for mayor of New York City, who has basically sewn up the Democrat nomination, is currently the chief archetype example of this radical leftist assault.

Marxism, communism, Nazism, fascism…these evoke thoughts of tyrants and dictatorships. Well, Marxism and communism might be wishful utopianism to some within political ideology circles in these days of movement toward socialism. But for the most part, thoughts of these isms generate study-related memories of the likes of Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Mussolini, and other humanity-destroying beasts.

The matters involved within the recollection include revolution, war, torture, gulag, genocide—any systems of governing that should be avoided at all costs. Fear and apprehension over dictatorships were the very reason the United States Constitution was written. Specifically, the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, spells out the rights of each citizen that government cannot usurp. These rights, the shapers of the Constitution meticulously wrote, are “inalienable.” That is, they are given by God, thus can’t be taken away by people in government.

Another ism has developed that threatens our inalienable rights. Its ominous construction continues at a torrid pace and will ultimately be worse than any of the aforementioned isms. As a matter of fact, it will be all those tyrannical nightmares rolled up into one system of utter decimation. George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, authors of well-known novels, played upon fear of such governments in their futuristic books, 1984 and Brave New World. The swiftness of developments lately makes their works of fiction look ever more prophetic.

Orwell used London and Britain in 1984 as the genesis of a world of ruthless control. “Big Brother is watching you” is a phrase the author used with grave effect. It continues to be used by those who warn of the exponentially encroaching surveillance technologies. Again, Orwell’s vision was almost prophetic in the biblical sense.

A friend who is a well-known journalist in Great Britain emailed me a number of years ago with the following troubling, though fascinating, information:

I was putting together some slides for one of my presentations yesterday and discovered that Britain has 1.5 times as many surveillance cameras as China! We now have cameras that talk to people, bossing them around in the streets! They are being installed in twenty cities. They are also getting listening devices. Some places also have face-monitoring systems so they can scan for people the authorities are interested in.

The average Briton is now filmed about three hundred times per day! We also have camera cars patrolling the streets, filming whatever takes their fancy and harassing motorists.

We are years ahead of America in plans to put GPS systems in cars, etc. They also want even more speed cameras, speed-averaging cameras—you name it. All of them are being linked into one enormous grid. The records of journeys are logged and kept. As you drive down the main highways, your number plates are scanned every few miles. Our son and I spent a day in the control room where all this information is monitored—an astonishing operation, with screens showing all the main roads. The EU is now planning to store all e-mails, log every web page visited, every phone call, etc., which Britain has done for years.

My friend told me—has told the world—that cameras are trained on his home from right across the street, atop a telephone-type pole.

It isn’t hard to imagine what that surveillance system is like these years later with the exponential developments involving AI (artificial intelligence).

It’s just a matter of time until all of England is under a surveillance system much more sophisticated and intrusive than our 1940s author, George Orwell, could have imagined. All of Europe is following suit, and we can see developments hourly of evidence that America is coming into Big Brotherism’s orbit of control.

The whole world is on track for super-sophisticated tracking. And a familiar name pops through the inky blackness of cyberspace to make this a readily observable fact: google.com.

Who in the world knows as much about you and your private thoughts as Google? That’s the question Katherine Albrecht, radio talk-show host and one-time spokeswoman for Startpage, a search engine that protects user privacy, posed to American Internet surfers a decade and a half ago.

“It would blow people’s minds if they knew how much information the big search engines have on the American public,” she told WND. “In fact, their dossiers are so detailed they would probably be the envy of the KGB” (Chelsea Schilling, “Life with Big Brother: Killer Way to Slay the Google Beast!” WorldNetDaily, 1/27/2010).

Albrecht detailed how Google and other search engines gather and maintain dossiers on everyone who uses the service. Despite legislative efforts in Congress to regulate Google and other such intrusive cyberspace entities, the information continues to be released to governments—for example, to America’s Homeland Security Agency—when information is requested. It seems the Bill of Rights is cast aside, even with efforts to legislate against invasive intrusion. Such ability to collect data on their victims was merely the dreams of people like those in Stalin’s secret service and Hitler’s Gestapo.

Albrecht said Americans unwittingly share their most private thoughts with search engines, serving up snippets of deeply personal information about their lives, habits, troubles, health concerns, preferences, and political leanings.

“We’re essentially telling them our entire life stories—stuff you wouldn’t even tell your mother—because you are in a private room with a computer,” she said (ibid.).

Big Brotherism, of course—in our view at Rapture Ready—is another way of defining the ideology that is heading up the drive toward establishing the regime of Antichrist, found in Revelation 13:16–18. With the government groping for control in ways that totally disregard the wishes of US citizenry, more often than not throwing constitutional safeguards to the winds of political expediency, the ideology becomes ever more manifest through our daily headlines.

All of this shows how near we must be to the Tribulation hour—thus, we’re that much closer to Christ calling His Church to be with Him (John 14:1–3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).

As believers in Jesus Christ and believers in God’s prophetic Word, and knowing how all this points to the any-moment call of the Lord to His Church in the Rapture, we should be ever more faithful in warning those who will be left behind if they don’t accept the salvation offered by Christ.

Here is the message so vital at this late hour of this Age of Grace.

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)

To all contributors to the Pakistani mission effort

July 26, 2025 7:28 am / Leave a comment

This note from Pakistani Pastor Anil Jasper,  who translated my Prophecy Power: Strength From God To Face Your Future book into his native language, is from his heart. And I add to that my profound Thanks to you, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, who have so generously donated. We are still asking for your contributions, and, as you see from Anil’s note, your helping with this Mission is reaping great results for those in his country who need Christ in their lives. –Terry

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings to you in the most precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

With a heart full of gratitude and heavenly joy, I, Pastor Anil Jasper, would like to express my deepest thanks to each one of you who has faithfully donated and stood with us in the distribution of Brother Terry James’ powerful book, Prophecy Power, here in Pakistan.

Your faithful monetary support have helped us share this soul-awakening message with pastors, evangelists, young leaders, and many seekers of truth across our nation. This book has opened many hearts to the urgency of the hour, the Blessed Hope of the Church, and the soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is strengthening the true faith of believers and boldly declaring the message of salvation to those still in darkness.

We are also witnessing the mighty hand of God moving through every copy distributed. All glory to our Lord!

Please continue to support us not only monetarily, but with your prayers, as we need to distribute more copies for the glory of God and the salvation of the lost souls.

May the Lord richly reward your labor of love and faithfulness. Together, we proclaim: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

In Christ’s unfailing love,

Pastor Anil Jasper

Pakistan

DONATION LINK

Jeremiah 49 Elam Destruction

July 13, 2025 7:36 am / Leave a comment

Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, has perhaps framed my thinking in this commentary.

He says that US B-2 bombers “need to visit Yemen” after Houthis missile intercepted.

“We thought we were done with missiles coming to Israel, but Houthis just lit one up over us in Israel,” the ambassador noted after the first missile attack since the Iran war. “The law of Yemen is the law of Tehran,” he wrote. “After we strike the head of the serpent in Tehran, we will also strike the tail of the serpent in Yemen” (Rapture Ready News, July 2, 2025).

Huckabee’s words validate that the 12-Day War between Israel and Iran, as it has been termed, isn’t over. This is no surprise to any Bible student who is familiar with God’s prophetic Word. The war with Israel’s surrounding enemies has been waged for thousands of years, and we know from Bible prophecy that the conflict hasn’t come to an end with the B-2 bombers dropping multiple bunker-buster bombs down the center of the mountain hiding the Iranian Fordow nuclear facility.

The leak to CNN and others from out of the Department of Defense claiming that the huge ordnance sent into that facility three hundred feet beneath the mountain didn’t finish off the Iranian nuclear program, whether true or not, has created a strong sense that there’s more to be done to end the Iranian regime’s nuclear-weapons ambitions.

The leakers inside the DOD, who are being pursued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegset and by the Trump administration, are thought to be of the deep-state variety. These, it is charged, want never-ending war, particularly in the Middle East, to feed the greed of the so-called military-industrial complex. (That, plus the desire to bring down the presidency of Donald J. Trump.)

Some who study Bible prophecy from the pre-Trib perspective have suggested that this strike to rid Iran of its nuclear program was the fulfillment of the following Jeremiah 49 prophecy:

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD. But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 49:34–39)

The prophecy certainly seems to fit, in some respects, with what the Israel’s IDF and America’s B-2 attacks wrought in Iran.

My good friend Bill Salus, whom I believe has a Holy Spirit-directed focus on the evil in the Middle East against God’s chosen nation, Israel, wrote several years ago with uncanny accuracy about the Jeremiah 49 prophecy.

In this prophecy Jeremiah declares that a time would arrive when the Lord would be furious with the leadership of Iran. We know this because Jeremiah 49:38 says that the kings and the princes will be destroyed. This most likely represents the Iranian government in place when the prophecy occurs. The Lord would never destroy good kings and princes, so we can safely presume that bad Iranian leadership is the problem.

An example of good Iranian leadership was King Cyrus the Great of Persia who lived between 600-529 BC. Isaiah 44-45 predicted his arrival on the world scene a century before Cyrus was even born. Isaiah called Cyrus by name and confirmed that he was anointed by the Lord. If Iran’s current supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was a good leader like Cyrus, then Jeremiah 49:34-39 would not be a NOW prophecy. The Lord would be pleased with the Ayatollah, rather than furious with him.

But why is the Lord fiercely angry with the government of Iran at the time of the prophecy? The reason is because Iran wants to launch something powerful somewhere. This is why the Lord will break the bow at the foremost of Iran’s might in order to prevent such a lethal launch.

But where does Iran want to launch something powerful? (The Now Prophecies by Bill Salus, Prophecy Depot Publishing, 2016)

Despite the Israeli Defense Force reportedly taking out almost all the Iranian regime’s leadership, and most of the nuclear scientists involved with the weapons program, and American bombers “totally obliterating” the Fordow facility, according to President Trump and Secretary Hegset, there is growing evidence that Iran is back at it. That is, enough of Iran’s nuclear program survived to begin anew the development of nuclear bombs, some sources say.

Satellite and other surveillance apparently observed a number of eighteen-wheeler type trucks moving from the Fordow facility just before the attack by the B-2 bombers. This indicates, to those who are concerned, that the ninety-something canisters of enriched uranium were removed to another location or locations. That nuclear material, the sources say, was almost at the point of being usable to construct the nuclear weapons the regime is determined to affix onto the nose of their ballistic missiles.

Whatsoever the case, it’s obvious that the total destruction indicated in the Jeremiah 49 prophecy against Elam hasn’t yet been fulfilled. The inhabitants haven’t been totally dispatched from the area. The nuclear fallout that many of us think is part of this prophecy that will scatter the inhabitants of Elam far and wide hasn’t occurred. Not yet.

My thinking, as I wrote above, as framed by Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s words on the need perhaps for the B-2s to again be used, is that Iran will again be struck in powerful attacks. With the brilliance of Israeli intelligence and the sophisticated technologies to detect movement of assets, one must presume that if the canisters of enriched uranium or whatever was transported to safety, Israel—and America—know with precision where they now are.

I very strongly suspect that at the appropriate time, if these nuclear materials exist, they will be hit. Could this be when the full extent of this prophecy about Elam’s destruction reaches the beginning of its fulfillment?

    ***Please donate to this Gospel Witness effort in Pakistan ***

Dear Rapture Ready family, my translated Sunday School-size book “Prophecy Power: Strength From God To Face Your Future,” has been reprinted in Pakistan, thanks to a generous donation by a friend of the RR ministry. Just as we are so grateful to each of you who have contributed in past efforts, we are most grateful to him, and thankful to our Lord for that funding so the book can go forth with God’s word to those so in need in that sin-darkened area of the world.

The Pakistani minister who translated my book into his native language must travel far and wide –and at great personal risk due to the hatred of Christianity, as you know.

There is a great need for travel and other expenses in the preaching, teaching and distribution of this book.

The pastor reports much positive response to the efforts, as the people are hungry for good news. And the Gospel is the Ultimate Good News!

So please, if the Lord is speaking to you in spirit, donate to this important Great Commission cause so near the end of this quickly fleeting Age of Grace.

Again, I have no doubt that great will be your Heavenly Rewards.

To donate, please send to my attention.

I’m sorry, but checks are the only option this time in this effort. Please make them payable to me,Terry James, putting on the line at the bottom the words: “For Pakistan”.

Please send to:

Attention: Terry

Rapture Ready

P.O. Box 969

Benton, AR 72018

Almost Persuaded

July 6, 2025 12:48 pm / 2 Comments on Almost Persuaded

When I heard the words I sat a bit straighter in my chair while the president ended his uncharacteristically brief speech. He was reporting the “total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear facility buried 300 feet below a mountainous terrain.

In ending his speech Mr. Trump thanked the pilots who flew the B2 bombers that released the “bunker buster” bombs. He thanked the Israeli military for their work in making it possible to fly to the targets in an uninhibited way. He then thanked God and followed that by what made me sit straighter in my chair.

The president of the United States said: “We love you, God.”

Never had I ever heard such words coming from a president of the United States. And it came from a man I have always supported yet have said he isn’t a godly man –but is “God’s man” for this time and place so near the end of this Church Age.

What does this statement mean? Is it a statement just for speechifying? Is it a comment of momentary elation over a spectacularly successful mission sent by this presidential administration? Is it made just to solidify and satisfy the president’s evangelical Christian base? Is it a genuine thanks to the God of Heaven made by a worldly man who has seen the light and now is a believer for salvation of his soul?

His statement of love for God did come from a tone of heartfelt gratitude.

Regardless of the reason for saying “We love you, God,” it is, in my view, a most significant, even profound, matter in this profoundly late prophetic hour.

Upon reflection of the statement and things going on that give evidence of God’s great hand in all things involved in not just Iran and the bombing of the nuclear facility, but in all matters surrounding this president, my thoughts immediately leaped to the Apostle Paul and his meeting with King Agrippa.

Paul was accused falsely of blasphemy, fomenting uprising and for crimes of sedition and with other charges. He claimed the right of a Roman citizen and was brought before King Agrippa.

The apostle laid out before the king how he had greatly persecuted Christians, but that Christ disrupted his journey on the road to Damascus. He told of Jesus’ words to him and all the rest. How he was thus converted to the Christian faith.

Festus, who brought him before the king, was incredulous. Here is the account.

And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. (Acts 24-29)

So, I am led in my spirit to wonder, based upon his being spared death in the assassination attempt, whether our president, in view of his “We love you, God,” prayer-like words stem from his conversion like the Apostle Paul’s, or to the “almost I am persuaded” words of near conversion like in the case of King Agrippa.

I prayerfully hope, of course, that it is the former rather than the latter of those possibilities that is the case.

But the real point in pursuing this line of thought with this commentary involves the number-one prophetic indicator of where we stand on God’s prophetic timeline. I mean, of course, the nation Israel.

A prominent Jewish writer presented for me a most interesting segway into my thinking regarding matters somewhat akin to the Apostle Paul’s meeting with King Agrippa. The writer offers a novelist’s perspective into the Jewish look at Bible prophecy. It fits within our theme “Almost persuaded.”

“The Bible is a story,” the Yeshiva University philosophy professor told a global audience Thursday evening. “It has a beginning, middle, and an end—and we are the characters writing its final chapters.”

[Rabbi Yosef Bronstein’s] thesis was unlike anything being said by other commentators: this isn’t about ancient prophecies coming true, but about understanding ourselves as active participants in a divine narrative that began with creation and is racing toward its climactic conclusion. By Sunday night, as President Trump announced Iran’s nuclear program had been “completely and totally obliterated,” Rabbi Bronstein’s vision of real-time biblical storytelling seemed prophetic.

The author of “Engaging the Essence: The Torah Philosophy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe” wasn’t offering traditional religious commentary. Instead, he presented something far more compelling: a framework for understanding current events as the latest chapters in the ultimate story ever told.

“The Bible begins with Genesis—’In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’—and ends with the eschatological perfect world where God’s presence is revealed for all to see,” explained Rabbi Bronstein, who leads a rabbinical training center in Efrat and holds a PhD in Talmudic studies. “In between, you have an unfolding story where God is constantly trying to push the world forward from creation all the way to redemption.”…

Three days after his presentation, as Iran’s nuclear facilities lay in ruins and the world witnessed what seemed like divine intervention through human action, Rabbi Bronstein’s vision of participatory biblical narrative seemed less like literary theory and more like an instruction manual for understanding our times.

We aren’t just witnessing history—we’re writing the Bible’s final chapters. And the story, Rabbi Bronstein suggests, is approaching its long-awaited happy ending.(“We Are Characters in God’s Story” – Scholar Reveals How Israel’s War Writes the Bible’s Final Chapters, Elie Mischel, Biblical News Israel365 June 23, 2025)

This author, an orthodox rabbi, is persuaded that God’s story of humankind is right and true and he can see it developing to a “happy ending”. But he, along with all who are of belief held within Judaism, as well as all other belief systems not centered in Jesus Christ, are almost persuaded, just as was King Agrippa almost persuaded when Paul preached to him. Sadly, tragically, theirs, apart from coming to belief in God’s only way to salvation –His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ—is destined to end in eternal separation from God and heavenly bliss. It will, for these, not be a happy ending.

This is why it is vital that we who name that majestic, Holy Name witness as never before to those who need to come to Jesus, who is the only way, truth, and life that leads to the Heavenly Father and happiness in Heaven forever.

Here, again, is how to witness to those who are not yet persuaded.

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)

Last-Days Lawlessness and Power

June 22, 2025 8:40 am / Leave a comment

In 1887, in a series of letters to Bishop Creighton about the moral issues of writing history about the Inquisition, British historian Lord Edward Acton wrote, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” His understanding of the human psyche bordered on prescient, it seems, considering the all-out quest for power that saturates the American political culture at present.

Former US Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger famously said: “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” Growing up in Germany as a boy, because of lawlessness among governmental leaders, he became pessimistic about human nature, skeptical about the inevitability of progress, and deeply committed to the values of order and stability. To these ends, Kissinger viewed power, not moral ideals, as the driving force of history. (This according to “Henry Kissinger and the Seductions of Power,” Iowa Capital Dispatch, https://iowacapitaldispatch.com.)

In America, at this late moment of this Age of Grace, we certainly have to consider Dr. Kissinger’s viewpoint, brought about from his experience in the power struggle he witnessed early in his native country. Stability, in this world of lawlessness, in reality, comes not from moral ideals, but rather from power. There is no reasoning from a morally correct position that will calm the paid-for rage/chaos that has swept the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities. The organized No Kings rioters claim they’re protesting the Trump administration’s use of ICE (the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to carry out raids against those who have illegally entered America.

While the violent rioters are held up as bastions of righteous cause by mainstream news media, and the Trump administration is falsely accused as authoritarian and an evil wielder of power, the lawlessness expands to what looks to be prophetic levels.

Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse, told about how things will be as His return nears:

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24: 12 NKJV)

To my way of seeing this, in an important sense, the Lord’s words could be taken that the lawlessness being demonstrated to champion illegals staying inside America stems from the absence of love for this nation as founded. I realize much more is involved in the meaning of Jesus’ prophecy here, but there is an undeniable coldness in the way the vicious rioters throw at police and ICE agents frozen bottles of water and chunks of concrete taken from curbs they’ve sledgehammered, in addition to the property they loot and damage at every opportunity.

It is telling of just how appropriate it might be to consider Jesus’ prophecy for this particular time, because almost half of the members of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate either back the lawlessness by supporting the rioters, or, at the very least, offer no condemnation.

This is because one political party has demonstrated time and time again that power is what they seek above all else. They want to swell the voting base with illegals—almost all of whom will support them—no matter the cost to other, legitimate, citizens. Their aim is to garner all power into their political party. Love for country and lawful conduct within government and society is out the window with this party. In this ideology, they’re in agreement with the ideology that sparked the 1917 revolution in Russia: “The end justifies the means.”

To those on the totally reprobate political left in America today, power is indeed the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Indeed, as Lord Acton presciently said, “power corrupts.” And they—the leftists—seek absolute power, and at any price—even to the undoing of the document that gave us a constitutional republic…the American government that Benjamin Franklin told someone the founders had given we the people (adding, “If you can keep it”).

The lawlessness we witness taking place on an increasing level hourly is but another ingredient that adds to the last-days prophetic puzzle. It is a large part of “all these things” our Lord told us to look for at the moment He is about to come for us in the Rapture:

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

Jesus will soon return to this unlawful, politically corrupt planet to establish righteous rule and lawful conduct among earth’s inhabitants. It will take His omnipotent power to bring about His millennial (thousand-year) reign.

But it is His power that can bring about a change in the minds and spiritual hearts of humankind even now, amidst this current time of lawlessness and chaos. He can take away the sinful, destructive thoughts, thus the evil actions, of each person who will receive His grace gift of salvation.

Here again is how to receive that gift that renews the mind and dispels lawlessness while empowering with God’s righteousness:

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)

Rapture or Rupture

June 17, 2025 10:42 am / 8 Comments on Rapture or Rupture

For immediate posting

Author’s note: Events we are witnessing revolving around God’s chosen nation, Israel, speaks to my spirit in ways I’ve not sensed to this point. Christ’s call to His Church must be very near indeed.

It is time as never before to look up and lift up our heads, for our redemption (the Lord Jesus Christ) is drawing near.  He is, I believe, on the very cusp of stepping out onto the clouds of Glory to call to Himself all believers of this Church Age–those alive and those who have already passed into His presence.

I heard again this week an interview between Scottish Christian broadcaster Sheila Walsh and Dr. David Jeremiah regarding the Rapture. This and the likely prophetic import of things happening surrounding Israel prompted me to again post this article, which was previously posted January 3, 2022.

Rapture or Rupture

Twenty something years ago, Pat Robertson was on his network, Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). I remember him saying in an almost amused, mocking tone that there would be no Rapture of the church. He declared that if that were to happen, it would completely disrupt all of the human condition across the world.

Planes would be crashing, cars would be wrecking, trains would run wild, and destruction of every sort would take place in such a moment. That’s not going to happen, he said. There will be no Rapture. He implied rather that there will be a “rupture” of all culture and society across the world. The Tribulation would be the implosion that wrecks everything, rather than the explosion a so-called Rapture would cause.

I remember distinctly Pat talking with his then co-host Sheila Walsh, the Scottish Christian broadcaster. As a side note, I presume Sheila has since moved on from agreeing with Mr. Robertson and his dismissing the pre-Trib Rapture “theory,” as he called it. I’ve heard her just within the past year on air with Dr. David Jeremiah, who teaches solidly on the pre-Trib Rapture of the church. She seemed to agree totally with all he said on the prophetic topic.

Over the years, there has been banter coming from those who adamantly hold that the pre-Trib Rapture is a myth. These sometimes use the word “rupture” to sneer at the idea of a Rapture, which we believe is Bible truth as taught by the Apostle Paul—and, by the way, by the Lord Jesus as well. He said the following as recorded by the Apostle John.

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)  

In these words of the Lord we are told, I’m convinced, the same as the Apostle Paul foretells.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

For all the fun-making against pre-Trib Rapture and those of us who believe it to be the next catastrophic intervention by Christ into human affairs, they can’t erase these powerful promises. That is, they can’t without spiritualizing and allegorizing as they make their case. They have to conclude that neither Jesus nor Paul meant what they said in a literal sense.

There is, however, a biblically prophetic passage that speaks, I believe, of a rupture. It is a key prophecy that will take place immediately after the Rapture of the Church. As a matter of fact, we’ve seen this rupture beginning for some time. It will be the tear in the fabric of this world system that will rip civilization the way Mr. Robertson once feared.

The prophet Zechariah forewarned of this coming rupture.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. (Zechariah 12:3) 

The prophet is saying here that when the world takes on Jerusalem and Israel–God’s chosen city and nation—it will be a load too heavy to lift. They will be injured severely, or ruptured, in their attempt to remove the city and nation from being in the place where God put them.

We’ve seen almost daily leaders from countries surrounding modern Israel declaring they will destroy the tiny Jewish state. Those such as Nasser and Sadat have tried to do so. Israel not only remains, but is now in a stronger position than ever, even though constantly threatened.

Antichrist and his juggernaut will finally manage to invade Israel, following all of Israel’s surrounding enemies being destroyed in the Gog-Magog attack of Ezekiel 38 and 39.  But the man of sin will, too, be severely injured and ultimately bound in chains and removed to eternal punishment. Israel will become the chief nation of the entire world during the Millennium—Christ’s thousand-year reign on planet earth.

Thankfully, all who accept Christ now, this side of the Rapture, will not endure the rupture the whole world will suffer when God again begins dealing with His chosen people, the Jews.

Here again is how to avoid being part of that future injury—that rupture—that will condemn the soul to eternity apart from God.

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)

However Positive, God’s Golden Age Will Not Come About Through Efforts Made In Washington D.C. :: By Jan Markell

March 26, 2025 1:35 pm / 6 Comments on However Positive, God’s Golden Age Will Not Come About Through Efforts Made In Washington D.C. :: By Jan Markell

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If you listen to conservative media—which I do, by the way, and appreciate much of it—we are entering a “golden age.” Those who understand the concept of the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ realize that it is the true golden age. But, that is not what the news analysts are referring to!

Their perspective is that the dumpster fire of the previous administration, who thought about evil continually, is in the rearview mirror. Righteous people didn’t think they could be shocked and re-shocked with the debauchery of the left, but each day’s rundown of offenses were worse than the previous. When you have a Romans 1 mentality, you just think evil continually.

The leftist cabal had been drowning in evil and when voted out of office, they received an appropriate smackdown. But they are by no means on permanent hold. They are licking their wounds. They are plotting and scheming and planning a comeback. But in the meantime, at least in Washington D.C., they have some appropriate chains on and they have some restrictions.

Hundreds of evil outfits are being shut down through the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Yes, Elon Musk has troubling aspirations that include brain chips that sound Tribulationesque, and no watcher of the times is ignoring these things.

So, Is God’s End-Time Agenda on Hold?

So, is this a respite? Maybe a reprieve? Has Satan’s agenda been put on hold? Is the rapture now on hold? Do you think that the globalists are going to relax and willingly turn their agenda over to President Donald Trump? Do you think that Klaus Schwab & Associates plan to take a four year hiatus and go quietly into the night? Do you think that Yuval Noah Harari will fade away because he acknowledged that a Trump victory would be the “end of the global order?”

To all of the above, a resounding no way!

Let’s always remember that God’s agenda never pauses. It is never on hold. If we think He is not acting— that He is not raising the curtain on the last act—it is only because He wants more to be saved. He doesn’t employ stall tactics.

God’s plan of the ages began before time began. It is never early. It is never late. It is always right on time. The “birth pang” markers we are to watch for have not diminished! North Carolina hurricane destruction was a recordsetter. Los Angeles fire destruction was unprecedented in modern history. They were warnings that time is running out.

The Powerbroker’s Goal Is Still One World

I appreciate similar thoughts by author and commentator Jonathan Brentner who states, “While it might be tempting to think there’s been a pause in the mad rush of events leading up to the start of the Tribulation period, the elite powerbrokers of our world remain busy. They are working behind the scenes to quickly set the stage for when they can openly enslave the world under their domain.”

Brentner additionally says, “It’s tempting to think that way. I have found myself wondering if perhaps there’s been a pause in the parade of events leading to Jesus’ soon appearing. However, two thoughts bring me back to reality.

“First, I remember Jesus’ assertion that the fulfillment of Bible prophecy will happen at the time sovereignly set by the Father (Matthew 24:36; Acts 1:7). God knows the precise time when He will send His Son to get His Bride and bring her to glory. He already took into consideration all that we see happening today, when He long ago set the time of our departure from this world.

“Second, I’m aware that a strong undercurrent in world affairs remains, which after the rapture will directly lead to the Antichrist’s covenant with Israel, which will mark the beginning of the sevenyear Tribulation for the world. The lawlessness of those who seek to destroy our nation remains on full display.”

Brentner concludes, “So, does that mean that world events are accelerating toward Jesus’ appearing? I prefer to put it this way: the stage-setting for the future oneworld government has not ceased or slowed down in any way.”

“In the Last Days, Evil Will Wax Worse and Worse”

Evil never takes a break. It never re-groups. It never gathers in a huddle to plot and scheme. It just keeps charging forward. It says in II Timothy 3:13 that “evil waxes worse and worse.” And it has escalated exponentially since October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded southern Israel and perpetrated genocide on Israel.

In March, Islamic radicals stormed through Syria, wiping out religious minorities, including Christians. The same is happening in parts of Africa.

Most often the targets are “people of the book”—Jews and Christians. This is a sure sign that we are not in any kind of “golden age.” The people in Ukraine have no “golden age.” Nor do the targets of Haitian gangs, nor victims of Islamic terror in parts of Europe who believe in open borders.

Further evidence is that following the October 7 slaughter, the world cheered for Hamas. What a perfect illustration of evil being called good (Is. 5:20); of an upside-down world under the sway of the evil one.

God’s Golden Age

We are all thankful for the many actions of the new administration to rein in evil, waste and corruption! But even better news than this is that God has given us a wonderful promise: Jesus is preparing a place for us and will take us there to be with him forever: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” (John 14:2-4)

After that seven-year time period, we return to a golden age back on earth—the Millennium. It’s not perfection, but it’s good enough to be called a golden age. Kids can play near snakes and the animal kingdom even loves one another.

So, get excited when there is talk about a coming “golden age,” but keep it in the right context and in its rightful place in prophecy. It doesn’t come about through any efforts in Washington, D.C. Rather, thanks to the Hand of God, in His timing.

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.

Prophecy from Your Pulpit? Book a Lamb & Lion Evangelist!

January 17, 2025 7:37 am / Leave a comment

Pastors, would you like to hold a Bible prophecy conference or service at your church this year?

Our mission at Lamb & Lion Ministries is to proclaim the soon return of Jesus Christ. We do not believe it is possible to know the date when He will return, but the signs of the times indicate that we are living in that season. And, we believe when Christians become excited about Jesus’ return, they embrace a tremendous hope that motivates them to holy living and evangelism. We love to energize the Church with this hope and do so in a number of different ways.

For one, we’re primarily a television evangelism ministry whose program Christ in Prophecy is aired all over the world. Two, we write a lot about Bible prophecy in our books, and our magazine and blog. Three, we attempt to connect the younger generations to the Gospel through our short-form videos and digital media. And, four, we travel all over the world preaching the hope of Christ’s return at church services, Bible conferences, Israel tours, and webinars.

Pastors, would you like to plan a Bible prophecy conference at your church? We can help! Our evangelists can fit such a conference into Sunday services, over a weekend, or across several nights during the week. And, we can adjust the topics to the specialized interests of your congregation.

Our ministry has four outstanding teachers and preachers. One is Tim Moore, our Senior Evangelist and the host of Christ in Prophecy, and the other is Nathan Jones, our Internet Evangelist and co-host. Our team has two additional evangelists, Dave Bowen and Vic Batista. Our evangelists can speak on a wide variety of prophetic topics and use extensive PowerPoint presentations when speaking.

We are a faith ministry, so we have no fees for our services. We expect only that the church will cover our expenses and provide a love offering to Lamb & Lion Ministries.

We’re looking forward to sharing with you what the Bible calls that “blessed hope” about the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. So please, pastors, contact us and we’ll work together to set up a Sunday service or Bible conference at your church. Maranatha!

The Jeremiah of Our Time

December 2, 2024 3:13 pm / 10 Comments on The Jeremiah of Our Time

by Jan Markell

 

I’m not waiting for the Antichrist. I’m waiting for Jesus Christ. And that is due, in part, to the ministry of Hal Lindsey. His books and television program carefully outlined Dispensational Theology, also called left behind theology—named after the famous book series. 

As a young adult, I found life confusing until someone handed me a copy of The Late Great Planet Earth.  After reading it in a day, followed by a trip to Israel, I could press on in life and enter the ministry. I would go on to devour dozens of books and follow solid Bible teachers who promoted eschatology or Bible prophecy.

Time Magazine called Hal Lindsey the Jeremiah of our time. His classic book sold 35 million copies, but other books and TV productions influenced millions more. I believe his two greatest contributions were his teaching that:

·    Israel is the key to our past, present, and future. Most churches today marginalize this, focusing on church growth or are steeped in other theologies such as Amillennialism. Only Dispensationalism explains what the Bible teaches: The King is coming again, and Israel is the key to understanding this.

·    As believers, we should be awaiting Jesus Christ, not the Antichrist. Millions are caught up in strange rapture-timing theologies that offer no blessed hope, which is taught in the Bible (Titus 2:13)! Jesus is coming at any minute. Only Dispensationalism explains the imminency of the Lord’s return with Israel as the centerpiece! 

I brought Hal to the Twin Cities in 2004 and 2005. He told me at that time that it was his goal in the 1960s to write a book on the end times that was easy to understand. When his book appeared in 1970, the only books available were written by theologians and for theologians!

They were terrific, but the man on the street was lost.

Dwight Pentecost’s Things to Come was a classic back then, but it was 500 pages and way too scholarly. Without a seminary degree, readers were lost and frustrated.

Once Hal opened the door for end-time discussion, two- dozen writers followed him, including Chuck Missler, Tim LaHaye, Dave Hunt, Ron Rhodes, and many more. Publishers were eager to help readers understand how the last days played out. And how many of you were impacted by the Left Behind book series I referenced written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins?

These topics have been discussed now for 23 years on Understanding the Times Radio. I am so thankful for the scholars who went before me, helping us non-scholars to understand these key theological issues and make sense of what is often senseless! The rise of lawlessness, the rush to globalism, the decline of character as outlined in II Timothy, and so much more as the birth pangs have exploded in recent years.

There is a run-up to the Tribulation and we are in it, but who knew before we learned from such incredible men? There is prophetic stage-setting, which is so prominent here at the end of the Church Age!

Pastors, please, with whatever time we have left before a trumpet sounds, teach your congregation these truths. The urgency of the hour demands it.

Find this outstanding summary of the life and effectiveness of Hal Lindsey here. Read testimonies from Ron Rhodes, Tom Hughes, David Jeremiah, Jonathan Brentner, and more.

https://harbingersdaily.com/forever-changed-hal-lindseys-eternal-impact-on-generations-of-trusted-ministries/

Hal Lindsey was a flawed human being like all of us, and I could slip in details, particularly of the eccentric man I featured twenty years ago here in the Twin Cities. I’d rather not. I just want to say thank you to him for opening my eyes.

I had no idea I was here on assignment to also help others in this last days’ countdown to the rapture of believers! And to help get many into the ark of salvation because when all is said and done, Jesus really is coming!

Perhaps today. Thank you, Hal, for encouraging me to prepare so many for this journey!

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