The End of the Beginning

The End of the Beginning - Pete Garcia - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8309

 

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." ~Sir Winston Churchill

 

As mortal and finite humans, eternity is a very difficult concept for us to wrap our heads around.  We struggle with it so much because we simply have nothing tangible that we can associate with the concept.  But as humans, we must realize that the overwhelming bulk of our existence will be spent in eternity-future.  It is to this understanding that we recognize we are in the last days, and also at the end of this stage of the story.  More importantly, that we are not really at the end, but only at the very beginning of it.

 

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  Ephesians 2:4-7

 

Regarding what God has in store for us, the Apostle Paul stated that "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Cor. 2:9)

 

Put in another way, we have no conceivable way to understand all that God has in store for those of us who belong to Him.  It is simply beyond any human understanding in this realm.  They say that time is relative, to which, I would agree.  But what if time itself were no longer a constraint we ever needn't worry about again?  Again, it is difficult for us now to comprehend what existence itself would be like without being relegated to time in some form or fashion.  But that is a problem for the living.  The dead know perfectly well what eternity feels like. 

 

Assessment

 

For those who have already died in Christ, the way they are now will always be their future (if I can relate to it that way).  Granted, there are a few details that I am glossing over for those who have already died in Christ, having yet received their glorified, immortal bodies which will happen at the Rapture.  There may also be campaigns afoot into eternity future which may involve far more grandiose plans than what God has made known to us within our own existence.  This world, this life, and all the history associated, may in fact play some integral role for something yet future.  Of this, admittedly, I do not know. 

 

But what we do know, is the closeness and existence with the Godhead in Heaven for all eternity.  It is the compilation of all things good, righteous, holy, divine, pleasurable, interesting, joyous, and blissful all rolled into some divine, overarching existence we will find ourselves in, forever. 

 

The dead are no longer corrupted by time but have been made immortal, so that we may in some small measure, partake in God's immortality.  This though, is only made possible by receiving the one true and safe passage, which is Christ Jesus.  He is the Door that all must pass through to receive eternal life.  This is why salvation is not predicated on lineage, social status, heredity, or wisdom.  Salvation can only come when a person comes to the end of themselves and realize that they cannot save themselves but must fully trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. (1 Cor. 15:1-5)

 

Once a person receives eternal life by placing their hope and trust in Christ, they are immediately changed.  Their spirit, once dead, is now revived, sealed, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  It is here, that a person becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:19-21) and is already placed into the heavenlies.  It is in a way, like calling ahead and making a reservation at a fancy restaurant, where a place is already being prepared for you and only awaits your arrival to be filled.

 

Another interesting thought, is that the future then, what lies beyond the Millennial Kingdom, has not yet been written.  Was this done brevity's sake, or for the fact that we probably wouldn't be able to wrap our minds around all that lies into eternity future?  One thing I am sure of, it will not be us sitting around on clouds strumming harps.  No, based on what we know of God now (according to numerous examples within Scripture), is that we will be busy.  I do not believe that God does things arbitrarily, but always acts with a sense of purpose to compliment, aid, change, or complete, His will.  There will be purpose in our being with Him, and in our glorified bodies beyond the necessity of simply being with Him.

 

Godhood

 

The ancient Gnostics and the modern day Theosophists, Buddhists, Hinduists, and New Agers all liken us to be a part of God or that we are a physical manifestation of it.  Their goal was to bring man to the realization that through meditation, secret knowledge, self-realization, and channeling, we could achieve this divine state apart from the God of the Bible. 

 

But the Bible is very clear on this matter; we are not God and can never, ever, ever be Him.  We are only created creatures made in the likeness of Him.  When one becomes born again we become a new creation in which God infuses part of Himself (the Holy Spirit) into us, much the same way that radiation changes our DNA when we are exposed to it.  We are not naturally part of that radioactive material we were exposed too but through exposure it fundamentally changes us all the way down to the molecular level. 

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

 

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor. 5:17-21

 

Relativity

 

But what is time?  In simple layman's terms, time is the measurement of moments from one to another.  A Femtosecond is one thousandth of one trillionth of a second, or 1/1,000,000,000,000,000th of a second.   Even smaller, the Attosecond, is one quintillionth (10-18) of a second, or 1 (0.0000000000000000001). The smallest measurement of time that within the laws of physics, 'Planck Time', is equal to 10-43 seconds.  That would be a 10, with 43 zeros behind it.  Anything beyond that would be indistinguishable to us in any known research methods.

 

It is unknown yet as to which of these, a 'twinkling of an eye' would occur (1 Cor. 15:52) in our transformation from mortality to immortality as occurs at the Rapture of the Church.  I don't know if it's that time speeds up to such a degree that we have the Disney version of the transformation (think Beauty and the Beast moment where the prince is lifted up, spinning, while being transformed), or if we are simply doing what we do at any given moment, and we immediately find ourselves in the glorified state. 

 

For instance, I could be sitting here typing this article, and as I type this word, immediately, I'm transformed.  Perhaps, from the human perspective, it is immediate.  But from the eternal perspective, which does not regard time (a day as a thousand years), as relative to anything; our transformation could be more of the spinning, sparkling change, as if there were some of God's ceremonial showmanship in our transformation process.  Either way, I don't pretend to know, I only present these as things to consider.

 

Conclusion

 

I've often wondered what God did in eternity past.  I believe that God has always existed, and yet there was the time (I have no better word) immemorial before Adam and the Creation, in which God existed.   What did He do then?  Was there other histories and civilizations of eons past to which God tended?  What I don't think is that God sat in the darkness or in whatever heavenly abode He surrounds Himself in doing nothing.  Whatever it was, I'm am positive we will find out in due time.  All we know is that as this age comes to an end. The next one, the eternal one, begins.  This is where we will all spend the rest of forever inside of.

 

Thomas Watson once wrote "Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise."  That is both an exhilarating and terrifying thought...depending on where you stand with God now.

 

When this world comes to a close, the next will open up for us in such a manner, that this current one will dim and fade into obscurity.  The Apostle John recorded in Revelation 21:4 for us, that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

 

 Granted, as believers, we are new creations in Christ, but we still live in a fallen world, and in a fallen state of being.  In relation to all the former things, these being; pain, sickness, anger, lust, hate, pride, envy, sadness, violence, perverseness, duplicities, wickedness, and all the other things to vile to even list, we understand that God strips that all from us on that Day.  Whether we as Christians go in death, or at the Rapture man is irrevocably reconciled to His Creator to co-exist with Him forever.  

 

Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The Counterfeit Miracles of the Antichrist

The Counterfeit Miracles of the Antichrist - By Britt Gillette - http://raptureready.com/featured/gillette/bg76.html

 

Not everyone in the world today accepts the message of Jesus. This shouldn't surprise you. Even many of those who met Jesus refused to accept His message. In spite of the love He offered... In spite of His revolutionary teachings... In spite of His miracles... They rejected Him. Why? Jesus said it's because such people are children of the devil - the father of lies (John 8:42:44). Otherwise, why would anyone reject Jesus?

 

Jesus embodied truth (John 14:6). He gave sight to the blind (John 9:6-7). He opened the ears of the deaf (Mark 7:35). He cured the lepers (Luke 17:14). He even brought the dead back to life (John 11:43-44). His miracles testified to His identity as the Son of God (John 5:36). Still, many of those who witnessed His miracles turned away from Him. Many of those who heard  His words did not believe Him. And in the years since, millions upon millions have rejected Jesus as the Messiah.

 

Yet Jesus tells us a time will come when the world will gladly follow someone else. He said, "Another will come, and Him you will follow" (John 5:43). Who is this man the world will follow? Who is this false messiah? I'm sure you've heard of him before. His name is the Antichrist.

 

The Bible tells us the Antichrist will be so powerful, the world will worship him (Revelation 13:4). He will command a global government with complete power over every person on earth (Revelation 13:7). His power will be so complete he'll control everyone's ability to buy or sell (Revelation 13:17). But is this power the only reason the world will worship him?

 

Most likely not. Many kings and rulers have held power. Few have been worshiped. But the Bible provides us with a clue as to why the world will worship this man. It says he will perform great miracles (Revelation 13:13). In fact, these miracles will be so amazing, they will deceive God's people - if such a thing were possible (Matthew 24:24).

 

The "Miracles" of Advanced Technology

 

Many describe technology as a modern day miracle. Since the Industrial Revolution, we've witnessed one technological breakthrough after another. With each passing year, our devices cost less and grow in power. Given current trends, we have no reason to believe this won't continue right up until the moment Jesus returns.

 

After all, we live in a world of exponential change. We live in a world where each year technology improves by leaps and bounds. And it's in this world where the Antichrist will perform his deceptive miracles. How will he do this? I don't know. But in the near future, he will be able to use new technologies to copy almost every miracle of Jesus.

 

Is it any wonder he will deceive so many people? The Bible says the whole world will follow him. And his "miracles" are one of the reasons they will. But the Antichrist's miracles won't be miracles at all. They'll be fakes.

 

Keep in mind, counterfeit miracles are nothing new. Pharaoh's magicians copied many of the plagues God sent on Egypt (Exodus 7:11). Is it any surprise the Antichrist will be able to do the same?

 

Are You the Messiah?

 

When John the Baptist sent a messenger to ask Jesus if He was the long awaited Messiah, Jesus responded, "The lame walk. The deaf hear. The blind see..." (Luke 7:22). For John, this was enough. These facts confirmed the identity of Jesus. After all, never in the history of the world had a man restored sight to a man born blind (John 9:32). His miracles proved Jesus was the Messiah.

 

But very soon, such miracles will be commonplace. Advanced technology such as molecular manufacturing, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology will cure all disease and disabilities. The blind will see. The lame will walk. The deaf will hear. The sick will be healed.

 

It's easy to imagine that when that happens, one man will claim credit - the Antichrist.

 

Let's look at a few of Jesus' miracles and how the Antichrist could use future technology in an effort to copy them:

 

Feeding the Five Thousand - Tasked with feeding a crowd of 5,000 men (and even more women and children), Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish. He blessed them, broke them into pieces, and had His disciples hand them out to the people. Everyone ate as much as they wanted, and twelve baskets of leftovers were collected (Matthew 14:13-21).

 

Did you know the dirt in your front yard probably has every element needed to make fish and bread? All you need is a recipe and the means to make them. With the blueprint for a piece of fish or a loaf of bread, advanced technology will be able to do just that.

 

By rearranging matter, you could literally create a fish or a loaf of bread from nothing but dirt. And with enough dirt, you could feed five thousand people. In fact, with enough dirt and the right technology, you could feed the whole world.

 

In a world of advanced technology, the Antichrist will be able to feed the whole world. And if he did, the world would worship him for it (Revelation 13:4). But again, this would be a false miracle. Man does not live off of bread alone, but from the Word of God (Matthew 4:4).

 

Water into Wine - The first miracle Jesus performed in public took place at a wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus told the servants to fill six jars with water. Then, He told them to dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies. When they did, the water had turned into wine (John 2:1-11).

 

With advanced technology, the Antichrist could also turn water into wine. Remember, natural chemical processes create both water and wine. Once computers can control the forming and breaking of chemical bonds, humans will be able to direct those chemical processes. If you have the elements needed to form the chemical compounds in wine, advanced technology will open the door for turning water into wine.

 

Curing of Disease - Jesus cured lepers (Luke 17:14), gave sight to the blind (John 9:6-7), healed the lame (Mark 2:11-12), opened the ears of the deaf (Mark 7:35), and cured disease (Luke 8:2). Will the Antichrist be able to do the same? In all likelihood, yes.

 

Advanced technology is on the verge of monumental breakthroughs in medicine. Soon, we'll be able to replace cancerous cells with healthy ones. Designer antibodies will attack and destroy once deadly viruses. Imagine man-made machines so small they can travel through the blood stream. As they encounter deadly bacteria and viruses, they latch on and disable them, effectively ending all illness and disease.

 

In such a world, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the paralyzed will walk again. No one will die from infection. No one will die from heart disease. The aging process will be reversed.

 

Some Things Can't Be Replicated

 

Again, counterfeit miracles are nothing new. Pharaoh's magicians appeared to copy many of the plagues God sent on Egypt. But in the end, Pharaoh and his court couldn't match God's power over death. Death ultimately came to the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 12:29).

 

Likewise, what Jesus did on the cross can't be copied. He took on the sin of the world, and through Him, we receive forgiveness. Can the Antichrist (or any man) forgive sin? No. Jesus is the only name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). He has the power to lay down His life and to pick it up again (John 10:18). He has the power to raise the dead (John 11:44), and He has power to judge the world (John 5:22).

 

The end times will be a time of great deception (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11). Even though the teachings of Jesus are well known, much of the world continues to look for a messiah-a savior who will end the suffering of this world. The Bible tells us the world will follow the Antichrist. They will marvel at his "miracles."

 

They will worship him as their savior and god. But it will all be false. It will all be an illusion. Nothing but a counterfeit hope, when real hope is found in Jesus.

'The Hal Lindsey Report' : 9.23.16

'The Hal Lindsey Report' - Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com

 

The mainstream media barely mentioned it. They're preoccupied with the presidential campaigns.

 

And besides, the United Nations Security Council has met before in emergency session to discuss North Korea -- and nothing happened. How was the emergency session on September 9 any different?

 

It's true. North Korea and its weapons testing has been the subject of past UN Security Council meetings. And though official action has been adopted, nothing of any great consequence has ever resulted.

 

But North Korea's most recent weapons testing is different for a couple of reasons. First, the nuclear devices NK exploded a few days ago were more powerful than anything they've tested before. Probably because the North Koreans claim to have developed hydrogen bombs.

 

Second, it now appears that North Korea has achieved the capacity -- or will soon have it -- to mount these weapons on ballistic missiles.

 

This point is critical because earlier in the same week, they also successfully launched three medium-range missiles. Those missiles traveled more than 600 miles. That puts South Korea, Japan, and parts of China within reach.

 

Maybe that's why China acknowledged that the North Korean tests "shocked the world."

 

To further complicate matters, just a few weeks ago, North Korea successfully launched submarine-based ballistic missiles. That puts every coastal city in the world at risk.

 

And even though the left-leaning media tries to imply that North Korea is isolated from the world and poses no real threat, that's simply not true. Iran and NK have been partners in crime since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. And Pakistan furnished the expertise to help NK build the nuclear devices.

 

Further, The Korea Times is reporting that last May North Korea and Cuba started holding talks to strengthen their friendship.

 

What does this mean for the United States and the world? Well, North Korea is starving for cash (its people are literally starving), but they have weapons of mass destruction. And thanks to President Obama, Iran is newly flush with cash and desperate for those weapons of mass destruction. That's a marriage made in hell.

 

But that's just one possibility. Under President Obama's leadership, the world has experienced the worst nuclear proliferation ever. Nations that had never pursued nuclear weapons before are now active customers in the nukes market. Japan and South Korea will probably start their own nuclear weapons programs as a deterrent to North Korea.

 

Since the west has decided to allow Iran to join the nuclear club soon, other nations in the Middle East are actively shopping for places to purchase nuclear arsenals as a deterrent to the neighborhood bully. We're not just seeing a proliferation of these weapons, but an explosion of them.

 

You know, this all started back in 1994 when then President Bill Clinton decided to humor North Korea and make his own toothless "nuclear deal" with them. They promptly accepted all the goodies from the US, then reneged on the deal and proceeded to develop their own weapons.

 

Sound familiar? Foreign policy blunders live on well beyond the President who made them.

 

But none of this surprises students of Bible prophecy. In several passages, the Bible depicts future events that are eerily (and accurately) descriptive of nuclear warfare.

 

That's just another way we're seeing the whole world take the shape foretold by the ancient Bible prophets thousands of years ago.

 

Other interesting things are happening in Asia, as well.

 

The G-20 Summit was recently held in Hangzhou, China. President Obama attended, along with at least 19 other world leaders. But when he arrived aboard Air Force One, the Chinese hosts didn't bother to lay out the red carpet.

 

They didn't even roll the mobile stairway up to the door of the President's plane. He was forced to exit the plane by the built-in rear stairwell.

 

Further, on the tarmac, Chinese officials were rude to high-ranking members of the American delegation and some in the US press contingent.

 

Not a nice way to treat your largest customer. But China is obviously piqued at the US or at President Obama.

 

Probably because China wants to claim all of the South China Sea as its own and the rest of the world won't agree to it. Not the rest of the nations in the area. Not the United Nations. Not the World Court at The Hague. And especially not the United States.

 

In fact, in March President Obama specifically warned Chinese leader Xi Jinping not to build military installations on the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, near the Philippines. But they're doing it anyway.

 

So the United States and its allies have been sending warships into the international waters near China and warplanes to fly close to China's airspace. All in an effort to emphasize that these are international lanes of commerce and China is not going to claim them and control them.

 

China isn't pleased. And they're not happy about President Obama's so-called "Asia Pivot." That means he sees America's future as aligned less with Europe and the Middle East and more with Asia.

 

Partly because the markets there are growing so fast. And partly because we want to rein in Asia's growing menace -- China.

 

Most observers believe that China refuses to stop North Korea from its madcap dash to nuclear capability so that it will continue to keep that part of the world off-balance and in turmoil. That distracts the rest of the world from the ferocious pace of China's drive to hegemony in Asia.

 

Whatever is really happening there, it is definitely worth watching. China has enormous wealth and technical expertise. China is aggressive and often hostile. And China figures prominently in the Bible prophecies about the "Kings of the East" in the last days.

 

As does Russia, of course. And it has gotten even more intriguing since my last program. See how quickly things are unfolding in the end-times scenario?

 

Last week, we learned that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was on the KGB payroll in the 1980s. As was Russian President Vladimir Putin. Abbas's code name was "Mole."

 

The information was discovered in a British archive of KGB agents from that period. Though the Palestinian Authority is trying to deny it, it makes sense. Abbas headed a Palestinian-Soviet friendship foundation during that time.

 

And now that the US is turning away from involvement in the Middle East and focusing on Asia, many people are pushing for Russia to become the new broker for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

 

A Hollywood screenwriter couldn't construct this intricate a plot, but the Bible's ancient prophets did. And they did it thousands of years ago.

 

Couple this bizarre turn of events with the alarming rise of antisemitism across Europe and into the Middle East and it's undeniable that the pace is quickening.

 

Recently, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations noted that hatred of Jews and the demonization of Israel has reached "the highest level of our lifetimes."

 

Again, just as the Bible predicted.

 

Folks, if you have never accepted the forgiveness of sin that Jesus Christ purchased with His death on the cross, NOW is the time to do it. The race to the end is accelerating as never before. Time is short. It cannot be too long before Jesus will return to snatch away the true believers of this earth. You do not want to be left behind.

 

This week, I am going to discuss "Redemption" and show you how you can be ransomed and released from the "Certificate of Debt" that hangs outside your cell door. There is only one way out. You must be "redeemed." And only one Man can do it for you.

 

Don't miss this week's Report on TBN, Daystar, CPM Network, The Word Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com  or www.hischannel.com . Check your local listings.

 

Watch this week's Report before it airs! An HD quality MP4 download of each week's show will now be available for purchase from the website. Visit the store at www.hallindsey.com  to get your report.

The Last Barrier Between Christianity and Islam

The Last Barrier Between Christianity and Islam - By Giulio Meotti - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=668

 

Perhaps it was a coincidence that Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna and tipped to be the next Pope, chose September 12, the anniversary of the Siege of Vienna, when Turkey's Ottoman troops nearly conquered Europe, to deliver a most dramatic appeal to save Europe's Christian roots.

 

"Many Muslims want and say that 'Europe is finished'," Cardinal Schönborn said, before accusing Europe of "forgetting its Christian identity." He then denounced the possibility of "an Islamic conquest of Europe."

 

Konrad Pesendorfer, head of the Austrian Office of Statistics, said that by 2030, 40% of the population of Vienna will be foreign-born, thanks to internal demography and migration flows (60,000 arrivals in just one year).

 

Since the fall of Constantinople in 1453, much of Eastern Europe's Christian population spent centuries under Islamic occupation, particularly under the Ottomans. It now seems that the clock has reverted to 1683, when Ottoman armies were at the gates of Vienna.

 

It is not a coincidence that the fierce resistance of Eastern Europeans has been the main impediment to a unified response by the European Union to the migrant crisis. It was these Eastern states that forced German Chancellor Angela Merkel to halt the massive flux of migrants. Today, where there is no border, migrants keep coming en masse. In August alone, 23,000 migrants arrived in Italy.

 

Brussels is whipping up a propaganda war to cast the Western Europeans, who favor unvetted Muslim migration, as cosmopolitan and tolerant, and Eastern Europeans as a bunch of xenophobic bigots, if not outright neo-Nazis.

 

Europe's educated elite might do well to listen to their Eastern brethren. These countries, ironically, are the core of the "new Europe," the last to join the European project and the very countries, having escaped from authoritarian regimes, which should have revived it. Brussels' policy is now pushing this Eastern bloc back under Russia's sphere of influence.

 

The Eastern Europeans' reluctance to open the doors to massive Muslim migration can be explained by the economic crisis, falling birth rates, their relatively homogenous societies, the persecution of the Christians under Communism, memories of a conflict with Islam dating back to the Middle Ages, and the attempt by Brussels to impose a cultural agenda. 

 

The European Parliament, in fact, has constantly passed resolutions pressuring conservative East European member-states such as Poland, Hungary and Croatia, to legalize same-sex marriage and abortion on demand.

 

The President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, calls him "Viktator" Orbán. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, defiant, is going ahead with the construction of a wall on Hungary's border with Serbia. 

 

When Communism fell, Hungary was the first country to open the Iron Curtain and let people out. Now it is first country to erect a fence to keep people out. Orbán is also planning an additional fence along that border.

 

Orbán is the Eastern nemesis of the European elite. No one else in Europe except him speaks about defending "Christianity." The "Visegrad-4," the alliance between Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia, want to distinguish between Christian and Muslim immigrants. Orbán has the support of Hungarian bishops who oppose Pope Francis' open-armed policy toward migrants.

 

In an opinion piece for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, Orbán wrote:

 

"Those arriving have been raised in another religion, and represent a radically different culture. Most of them are not Christians, but Muslims. This is an important question, because Europe and European identity is rooted in Christianity."

 

Orbán's rebelliousness goes back to his student days in 1989, when he was at the funeral of Imre Nagy, who led the anti-Soviet insurrection of 1956 -- Orbán had the courage to demand the withdrawal of the communist invaders.

 

Orbán later led Hungary into NATO.

 

Son of a communist and a Calvinist mother, Orbán has a devout Catholic wife and five children. To those who question whether he is a reactionary, Orbán replies: "I eat with a fork and a knife, but we are not nice guys from the mainstream." For him, the European Commission is a kind of new politburo. "We did not tolerate being dictated to from Vienna in 1848 nor from Moscow in 1956 and 1990," Orbán said. "Now we're not going to allow ourselves to be dictated to by anyone from Brussels or anywhere else."

 

Orbán's speeches are full of historical references, as when he asked Hungarians to behave with the same courage shown by their ancestors "in the war against the Ottoman armies."

 

The Hungarian constitution is unique in Europe; it protects "life from conception" and says that marriages can take place only between a man and a woman.

 

Orbán's approach has been adopted by other ex-communist members of the EU. Poland's President Andrzej Duda complained about "dictates" from Brussels to accept migrants flowing into the Continent from the Middle East and Africa. 

 

Meanwhile Poland's Law and Justice Party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, appealed "to an old historical viewpoint, according to which Poland is a bulwark for Christianity in the East and must save Europe from itself."

 

"Since its adoption of Christianity in 966, Poland has often played the role of Antemurale Christianitatis, a bastion of Christendom," according to Crisis Magazine.

 

"From halting the European advance of Mongols at the Battle of Legnica in 1241, to saving Europe from Muslim colonization when King John III Sobieski defeated the Turks at Vienna in 1683, this has been reinforced. Communism failed to extinguish Polish Catholicism, when John Paul II was elected pope in 1978 and inspired the rise of the Solidarity movement, which playing a crucial role in ending communism. More recently, Polish immigrants have filled hitherto empty pews in Western Europe. During the current Vatican synod on the family, Polish bishops have been among the most vocal defenders of tradition."

 

The prime minister of another Eastern European country, Robert Fico of Slovakia, said his country will accept only Christian refugees; that Islam "has no place" in his country and that "multiculturalism is a fiction."

 

Czech President Milos Zeman also attacked multiculturalism. Even Socratis Hasikos, Cyprus' interior minister, said that his country would accept refugees but wanted them to be Christians. For many Cypriots, the line that divides the island is a frontier between Greek Christianity and Turkish Islam, just as the Berlin Wall was a frontier between democracy and communism.

 

As the prestigious American Catholic magazine First Things noted, "in Hungary, Croatia, and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, a pro-family, pro-life revolution and a rediscovery of Christian roots is occurring."

 

Like it or not, the last chance to save Europe's roots might well come from the former communist members of the EU -- those who defeated the Ottomans in 1699 and now feel culturally threatened by their heirs.

 

Cypriots know much better than the comfortable bureaucrats of Brussels the consequences of a cultural collision. Ask about their churches on the Turkish side of the island; how many of them are still standing?

When Leaders Reject God's Word

When Leaders Reject God's Word - By Daymond Duck - http://raptureready.com/featured/duck/dd245.html

 

Syria captured the city of Ramoth-gilead from the Northern Kingdom called Israel. The king of Israel, a wicked man named Ahab, wanted it back. He thought he saw the opportunity to retake it when the godly King Jehoshaphat visited him from the Southern Kingdom called Judah (I Kings 22).

 

While King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat were talking King Ahab asked King Jehoshaphat if he would join him in a war against Syria to retake Ramoth-gilead. In essence, King Jehoshaphat replied, "I will help you, but I want you to seek the will of the Lord first."

 

The wicked King Ahab called in about 400 false prophets and asked them if he should go to war. They answered, "Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king."

 

The godly King Jehoshaphat did not believe the false prophets so he asked King Ahab "Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him?" King Jehoshaphat didn't want the advice of godless men. He wanted the advice of God (the truth whether he liked it or not).

 

King Ahab replied, "There is one man, Micaiah ...but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." King Jehoshaphat told King Ahab he shouldn't say that. And to satisfy the good King Jehoshaphat, Ahab sent for the prophet Micaiah.

 

While they were waiting for Micaiah to arrive, King Ahab's false prophets assured him that the Lord would deliver Ramoth-gilead into his hands.

 

When Ahab's servant reached Micaiah he told Micaiah what the false prophets said and urged him to "speak that which is good." That is to say, "If you want to get along with King Ahab, prophesy good things instead of bad things."

 

Micaiah's response was, "As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak." His prophecy would be what the Lord told him to say not necessarily what King Ahab wanted to hear.

 

As the story nears the end, Micaiah told King Ahab, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd." He also told King Ahab, "the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."

 

Micaiah prophesied four things:

 

1) Israel would be defeated;

2) King Ahab would die;

3) God had put a lying spirit in the mouth of his false prophets, and;

4) God had pronounced judgment upon King Ahab instead of blessing.

 

Micaiah was slapped in the face by one of King Ahab's prophets and he was cast into prison to receive nothing but bread and water until King Ahab returned from the battlefield.

 

The godless king rejected the advice of God's man. He did what the lying spirit in the mouths of his false prophets advised him to do. He was killed and his body was brought home to be buried in Samaria.

 

On Aug. 29, 2016, John McTernan and Georgann Ryan wrote an insightful article (Europe: The Substitution of a Population) that triggered this message.

 

McTernan and Ryan suggested that huge numbers of Europeans have rejected the Bible (like King Ahab did when he rejected the advice of God's man), aborted their babies and promoted the homosexual lifestyle. God didn't want them to kill their children, become gay and things like that, but they did it anyway.

 

They could have had multitudes of babies that grew up as their children and grandchildren.  Most of these descendants would have lived peaceful and productive lives among their ancestors. But their descendants didn't get to grow up because they were killed or never born.

 

God gives people time to repent, but when they won't repent His judgments begin to fall. He opened the borders of Europe and replaced the millions of unborn babies with millions of grown Muslims to live among the Europeans causing them to fear terrorism, persecution, rape and death.

 

Let's take this a step farther. How did George Soros get so much power, influence and wealth? Could he have all of his power, influence and wealth without God's approval? Is it possible that God raised up an atheist to give bad advice to world leaders that have rejected His Word of Truth?

 

We ask why do foreigners that illegally enter the U.S. draw bigger checks than people who were born and raised here? That is not fair.

 

Why can foreigners that have illegally entered the U.S. get free healthcare when many of our veterans are dying before they can get in to see a doctor? That is not the right way to treat people who have fought for this country.

 

Why is same-sex marriage taught in U.S. schools when most Americans don't agree with it? That is not normal.

 

Why is America turning against Israel when God said He would bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel? We should want God's blessings.

 

Do we really think an atheist (someone who doesn't believe in God) would advise world leaders to be fair, normal, treat people right and do God's will?

 

It may be far-fetched, but world leaders have rejected God's prophets (like King Ahab did) so I believe God has raised up a godless men like George Soros (like Ahab's demon-possessed prophets) that is tickling their ears with words (lies) that they want to accept.

 

And just as sure as the advice of the godless prophets led to the destruction of King Ahab, the advice of the godless George Soros and others will lead to the failure, perilous times and tribulation.

 

Prophecy Plus Ministries

Daymond & Rachel Duck

Attacking The First Freedom

Attacking The First Freedom - by Hal Lindsey - http://www.hallindsey.com/ww-9-16-2016/

 

In a report issued last week, the Chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Martin Castro, declared that the words "religious liberty" are merely a code for American bigotry.

 

He said, "The phrases 'religious liberty' and 'religious freedom' will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance."

 

He went on to blame the Christian faith for slavery and Jim Crow laws.

 

Our nation's founders viewed the first amendment as the most important in the Bill of Rights. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...."

 

U.S. citizens stand heir to these remarkable words. They were assembled in an attempt to manifest in practical ways what both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King called the "creed" of our nation - "...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights."

 

The Declaration set forth the concept of human dignity before God, and the Bill of Rights codified it into the bedrock of American law.  Yet today the Bill of Rights is under assault on university campuses, in federal courts, and now at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

 

The Commission is an official arm of the United States government. Congress created it in 1957, and reauthorized it several times.  Their website says they are "an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding federal agency."

 

Bipartisan?  One of the 8 commissioners is a Republican, and another is a right-leaning Independent.  The remaining 6 of 8 include 4 Democrats and 2 left-leaning Independents.

 

The Commission's chairman, Martin Castro, is an Obama appointee.  Most Americans view the phrases "religious liberty" and "religious freedom" as precious.  But in the eyes of Chairman Castro, they stand for hypocrisy - mere code words for oppression.  His attack on them shows the depths to which this nation has fallen in just the last few years.

 

You have to wonder how someone so disoriented could rise to the Chairmanship of this important government entity.

 

In some ways, though, the determination of the Commission as a whole may be even more troubling.  The report that contained the Chairman Castro's attack on freedom of religion is called, "Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties."

 

In that report, the Commission wrote, "Civil rights protections ensuring nondiscrimination, as embodied in the Constitution, laws, and policies, are of preeminent importance in American jurisprudence."  They concluded, "Religious exemptions... significantly infringe upon these civil rights."

 

How could the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights fail to recognize that religious freedom is not something that competes with civil rights, but is a major component of those rights?  Because it is listed first in the Bill of Rights, "religious freedom" has long been known as the "First Freedom."

 

In a rebuttal to the Commission's report, Commissioner Gail Heriot wrote, "By starting with an assertion that antidiscrimination laws are 'preeminent,' the Commission's analysis essentially begins with its conclusion. Why should anyone accept it?"

 

The Commission also expressed concern when "religious institutions and organizations claim the freedom under constitutional and statutory law to choose leaders, members or employees according to the tenets of their faith, even if the choice would violate employment, disability, or other laws."

 

This isn't even a matter of religious freedom.  It's a matter of common sense.  Should the NFL be required to hire a Public Relations person who believes football is a dangerous sport that should be outlawed?  Should they be forced to hire someone to speak on their behalf who hates their sport?  Of course not.  To speak for the NFL, the person needs to be able to express the tenets of the NFL.

 

So why should a religious organization be forced to hire an atheist?  How long before the Catholic Church will be required to make women priests?  They aren't required to do so now because of a "religious exemption."  But the Commission officially states that "Religious exemptions... significantly infringe upon these civil rights."

 

All institutions, including religious ones, are defined by their rules.  Abolish the rules and you remove the distinctions that define the group, thus destroying it.  On an international level, it's the equivalent of removing a nation's borders.

 

Governments around the world seem intent on overwriting the rules of faith-based institutions, primarily Christianity.  In this case, they are attacking Christians by saying that our beliefs in God's rules are really just a way to disguise our bigotry.

 

It's another sad day of decline in America - just as the Bible prophets predicted about conditions of the last days just before Christ comes for Christians.

Burned Mystery Scroll Digitally Unraveled Reveals Bible Unchanged for 2,000 Years

Burned Mystery Scroll Digitally Unraveled Reveals Bible Unchanged for 2,000 Years - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - http://www.breakingisraelnews.com

 

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.'" Isaiah 40:8 (The Israel Bible™)

 

This week, incredible cutting-edge technology allowed archaeologists to finally read the contents of a burned 1,500-year-old scroll found near the Dead Sea in 1970. The remarkable discovery of verses from the Book of Leviticus, which matched, letter for letter, the Hebrew text still in use today, is the first instance of one of the Five Books of Moses ever found in a Holy Ark.

 

On Wednesday, researchers in Kentucky and Jerusalem announced in the Science Advances journal the success of new technology called 'virtual unwrapping'. A complicated and difficult process based on the technology used in medical CT scans, researchers said it "represents a significant leap forward in the field of manuscript recovery, conservation, and analysis".

 

The technique allowed scientists to read the Ein Gedi Scroll, a charred, ancient parchment discovered in an ancient destroyed synagogue on the shores of the Dead Sea more than forty years ago which has sat on a shelf, untouchable and indecipherable, ever since.

 

When the researchers saw the first results, it made for a startling revelation: the scroll contained the first eight verses of Leviticus, making it the earliest Torah writings ever found in the Holy Ark of an ancient synagogue and marking a significant discovery in Biblical archaeology.

 

Studies based on historical handwriting placed it at either the first or second century CE. When the researchers read the digitally enhanced text, they discovered that all of the words and paragraph breaks were absolutely identical to the Torah text still used today.

 

"This is quite amazing for us. In 2,000 years, this text has not changed," Emmanuel Tov, a participant in the study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the Times of Israel,

 

"There are clear signs of continuity of tradition," Professor Tov said in an interview with National Geographic. "It can't be coincidental that the synagogue in Ein Gedi that was burned in the sixth century housed an early scroll whose text was completely identical with medieval texts. The same central stream of Judaism that used this Levitical scroll in one of the early centuries of our era was to continue using it until the late Middle Ages when printing was invented."

 

Torah-observant archaeologist Benyamin Storchan, who straddles the two worlds of science and religion, agreed. According to him, the discovery fits perfectly into Judaism's spiritual history.

 

"This a textual building block in the big story. The consistency of the text shows that we have an unbroken chain, the end result being present day Judaism," Storchan told Breaking Israel News.

 

The scroll was first discovered in 1970, when archaeologists were working near Ein Gedi, a natural spring oasis on the shore of the Dead Sea. They discovered the remains of a Jewish community dating back to eighth century BCE.

 

The small city had thrived until 600 CE, when it was destroyed and the buildings burned. In the remains of the ark of the synagogue, the archaeologists found a parchment rolled up but entirely burned, so damaged by fire that it was impossible to unroll it for inspection without the charred parchment crumbling into ashes.

 

The scroll was faithfully stored away by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) with little hope of ever being able to study what was written on them.

 

Forty years later, in 2015, computer scientists at the University of Kentucky developed software for unraveling damaged and delicate texts. Originally designed for deciphering Roman scrolls, the technique is even more successful with ancient Jewish texts written with ink containing a metal element that shows up more clearly on the X-ray scans.

 

Scroll fragment as it was delivered to The Lunder Family Dead Sea Scrolls Conservation Center, IAA.

 

The researchers scanned 100 sections from the charred remains of the Ein Gedi scroll, which had been rolled five times. Incredibly, they were able to create a digital image of the scroll and "unroll" the image without even touching it. The scan revealed two columns of writing, composed of 35 lines, 18 of which were preserved while the other 17 had to be digitally reconstructed.

 

Until 1947, the oldest known Biblical texts dated only to the tenth century. The Dead Sea Scrolls, written in approximately the third century BCE, provided a rare and exciting glimpse into even earlier ancient Jewish texts. Now, the Ein Gedi scroll is filling out that picture and confirming the authenticity of present-day texts.

 

Jewish scribal tradition ensures that discrepancies in reproduction do not occur. Holy texts are hand-copied letter for letter from accepted originals. Strict guidelines are given for writing techniques, shapes of letters, and breaks in the text, striving to maintain an unbroken chain from Sinai. The latest discovery is the closest Jews have yet come to proof that the chain has remained intact.