Calm Amidst the Storm - By Jonathan Brentner -
If you are like me, you are sick of hearing about COVID-19. I think that's why I have delayed for so long in writing a post about it. I do not have new information to share about what to expect, and I hear the same conflicting information as you do.
I thought perhaps the panic buying would have already ended by now, but having recently come from the grocery store, I know such is not the case.
As believers, we have a place of calmness away from the frenzy of the stores, the angst we feel from reading posts and comments on social media, and the inner turmoil we feel each time we hear the latest political and health developments.
Here are a few steps I find helpful in returning my heart to a place of inner calm amidst the storm that rages around us.
Meditate on God's Word
I know this seems obvious to many of you, but I treasure my times alone with the Lord and His Word as the most important part of my day. Although we cannot trust much of what we read these days, we can trust Scripture, which God inspired and protected for thousands of years just so we could have an unfailing and inerrant source of needed comfort and wisdom for times such as this.
Psalm 27 is a great place to start. I remember a time almost three decades ago when I was alone, panicked over my future, and unable to pay all my bills. I read Psalm 27 every morning for months, and at one point, I memorized it. I held on to verses 13-14 like someone holding on during a wild roller coaster ride, "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
I waited a very long time, but the Lord later provided far beyond what I could ever have imagined.
Music is also a great way to focus on the truths of God's Word. I listened to songs about God's faithfulness every morning before work for at least a year during my time of great need. I love many contemporary worship Christian songs, but these songs remain my all-time favorites: Great Is Thy Faithfulness and It Is Well with My Soul.
Pray
My next suggestion is to pray, pray, pray. Besides praying for loved ones and close friends, I would encourage you to pray for our President, Vice President, and those leading our country during this time. They need wisdom, strength and protection.
In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against "spiritual forces of evil." This is absolutely true today with all that is happening with this virus. I am not saying that it's not dangerous or that we should not take precautions, but many in the media and in government seek to use the COVID-19 crisis to bring down President Trump and destroy America.
The forces behind this push are precisely what the apostle wrote about in Ephesians and why we need the armor of God and to pray like never before. This is where the true battle of our time exists!
I pray that this pandemic will end soon and that the Lord will hold back the demonic forces seeking to destroy President Trump and the United States.
After the rapture, these forces of wickedness will prevail in bringing in a new world order through which the antichrist will rise to power. Until then, we should never underestimate the effectiveness of our prayers in limiting what Satan can do in our nation and in the world.
Maintain a Two-World Perspective
We also need a two-world perspective during these trying times. Of course we understand that this current world is not our forever home, but what I mean is that we learn to value the permanent things of eternity versus the fleeting things of this world, which can disappear overnight.
Paul wrote this in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
I know from experience that keeping such an outlook requires much prayer and meditation on God's Word since we live in a world that never stops screaming for all our attention and devotion.
I have found Psalm 46:10 to be of much help, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!" The command to "Be still" assumes an inner feeling of unrest or agitation. The answer is to meditate on the coming time that God "is the King of all the earth" (Ps. 47:7). Let the words of this verse and Psalm 47 soak into your soul; it helped me.
Do not let anyone deceive you with their denials of the coming tribulation and future, full restoration of a repentant Israel. Although some may aptly apply Psalm 46:10 to successful missionary efforts around the world, it will not be fulfilled until Jesus returns to earth, wipes out the kingdom of Satan, and establishes His millennial rule over the nations of this world.
The Lord's judgment on this world will soon begin with the tribulation and culminate with His exaltation and righteous rule as King over all the kingdoms of this world.
Keep Watching for Jesus
I absolutely believe we are in the season of Jesus' return for us. We cannot know the day or hour of His appearing, and it would be more than a little foolish to speculate or set an end date for the rapture. But as the signs multiply around us, I cannot help but think it will happen rather soon.
I recently watched Before the Wrath, which is a movie about how the ancient wedding customs align with the pretribulation rapture. It is an excellent, well-done movie that portrays the Lord's return for us as an act of love for us. (You can find the movie on Amazon.com.) Watching this movie provided an oasis of hope and calm amid the chaos of this world.
I believe that COVID-19 fits with prophecy in that it shows the dogged determination of the world to bring in the new world order and the power of news media to support such an effort after we leave this world via the rapture.
Who would have ever dreamed it would be so easy for a state governor to stop all church services in a state? I fully recognize the need for "social distancing" and for strict precautions during this crisis, but I must confess that alarm bells went off in my head as I watched governors temporarily take away the rights of those living in their states.
I believe these temporary lockdowns foreshadow the tribulation when the people left in this world after the rapture will face pestilences far, far worse than COVID-19 and watch their freedoms forever disappear in a heartbeat.
I know maintaining a calm spirit in these troubling times requires a battle. I feel it inside me even as I write.
But please remember that besides the Holy Spirit who resides in us, we have Scripture available like never before and many great theologically sound hymns of the past and worship songs of today to help us focus our thoughts on the Lord's sovereignty over all things and our eternal hope!
God's Word assures us that Jesus will return to the earth someday and establish His righteous rule, and we will be with Him as He parades across the sky on His way to Jerusalem and puts an end to all the forces of wickedness we see at work today.
Jonathan Brentner
Website: Our Journey Home
Famine in the wake of the COVID-19 pestilence - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
As COVID-19 cases approach 150,000 in America and over 2,000 deaths, there is an eerie feeling about the future. There is much speculation about when life will get back to normal. But there is an anticipation, a hope, and an expectation that with diligence and wisdom, life will return to at least a new normal. In America, we have so far endured this pandemic with the exception of being able to find toilet paper as a result of the hoarders, and perhaps having been rationed on certain food products. There are systems in place to prevent hoarding, price gouging, and taking advantage of people during this time of need. But what if you lived in a country where a lockdown or travel ban meant you may not be able to eat?
It's been 16 days since my son Christian and I returned from Ghana, West Africa. When we left, there were two cases of COVID-19. We got out ahead of President Trump's travel ban. Some 12 hours after we left, Ghana closed its borders and air traffic. Now, with 152 cases, the entire country is on lockdown-schools and businesses are shut down. Police are enforcing people to stay indoors. The country is doing its part to defeat this virus. But that doesn't account for the human factor, which is greed. Some landlords are threatening to throw people into the streets if an extra six months rent is not paid up front. There is hoarding and reselling. There is price gouging. Food prices have inflated 500% in some areas.
In a developing country like Ghana, there are laws against such profiteering and price gouging, but there is essentially no infrastructure to enforce them. So unlike American's hoarding of toilet paper, Ghanaians, especially in the poor rural areas we serve, face extraordinary greed against the background of needing to eat. Our ministry partner Pastor William Agbeti writes: "Unfortunately, Government and its law enforcement agencies are helpless to do anything about the price hikes, even in the presence of laws against profiteering! Since last week, we had been supplying foodstuffs, hand sanitizer and small amounts of money, out of our very meager resources to support some of the poorest of the poor." We have developed a system to get food to the poorest families in the rural areas. We have a list of families and a list of foodstuffs to buy.
We have a vehicle to distribute them. In areas we cannot reach by vehicle, we can distribute funds via a phone app to our trusted representatives who will buy and distribute food. Every $50 we send will feed a family for about two weeks-which is when the lockdown is supposed to be lifted. If there is any small amount you can spare to assist with this effort, it would be greatly appreciated. A little bit goes a long way. As is written in 1 Peter 5:2, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by compulsion, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." Proverbs 22:9 says, "He that has a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he gives of his bread to the poor." Famine follows pestilence. Can we do something about it?
I don't have COVID-19, but I am sick of: - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
That's right. I don't have COVID-19. And, yes, I believe that God has protected my family and myself from it. But I am sick of a couple of other things. First, I'm sick of the news media and the Democrats blaming President Trump, Republicans, conservatives, and Christians for this disease. They have repeatedly spread fear, misinformation, out-right lies, and hate. They say Trump has murdered Americans because of his response to this crisis. While they held up relief legislation for nearly two weeks to admittedly advance their agenda, cases increased from 7,800 to 121,500 and over 2,000 deaths. As people are dying, are confused and fearful, Democrats played politics with our lives. They should be ashamed.
While I believe God has protected my family and myself from COVID-19 so far, we also have not tempted God during this pandemic. We have taken great precaution and used wisdom that we might not get this disease or spread it to others. We are careful how and when we get food. We stay to ourselves. We check up on our friends and loved ones by phone or online. We hold our church services using Zoom. In short, we are not being stupid. And, yes, we have strong faith. As I have quoted 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." So the other thing I am sick of are those claiming to be Christians, yet do and say things that endanger lives and bring ridicule aimed at God and Christ. An example comes from a well-known televangelist and name it/claim it theologist.
He shouted on March 29, "In the name of Jesus, standing in the office of the profit of God, I execute judgment on you COVID-19...I call you gone...No more...And the United States of America is healed and well again...It's dead. At exactly 12 noon on the 29th day of March. It's over. It's over." He and another preacher agreed that COVID-19 is dead, done, and has "ceased to exist." At the risk of offending many, this is wrong in so many ways. God is the Master. We are the servants. We pray, we act. He chooses His response to our requests. Since this "office of the prophet directive," COVID-19 has expanded in the US by the thousands. America is not healed. When Christ should be presented as the answer, hope and salvation, this invites ridicule, and endangers lives as people who believe this proclamation ignore the warnings.
Those who say people lack faith if they don't attend church in person, or believe that God will protect them from the virus no matter what they do (and many have come down with COVID-19, some have died), or make proclamations as if they are God, are part of the problem, not the solution. This foolishness gives people a false sense of security and they do things that jeopardize themselves, their families and the rest of us. Or it brings ridicule upon all Christians. Does this honor God? Does this bring others to the Lord in this time of need? Remember Christs' words in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Pray. Act. Encourage.
COVID-19 Big Brother Mass Surveillance Is Only Just Beginning - By Tyler Durden/Activist -
This week a technology startup called Unacast launched a new app called "Social Distancing Scoreboard," which tracks the GPS location of smartphones and grades geographical regions, such as a town, county, and or even a state, on how well residents in those areas are abiding by the government-enforced social distancing rules.
The app creates an index, ranked from A to F, for whether people are staying home or not.
Comparing the nation's mass movements between February 28 to March 23 - virus cases started to rise and local governments across the country began to implement "shelter in place" public health orders, which by mid-month, changes in the average mobility for Americans started to slope downwards.
As of March 23, the app ranked the US with a "C," detailing how many people in the US are ignoring calls by the federal and state governments to stay home amid community spreading.
As of March 23, the top five states where citizens were practicing the best social distancing were District of Columbia, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, and Alaska. The bottom five states were Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
On a state and county level, Maryland earned a "B" with much of its counties surrounding Washington, DC, and central counties receiving good marks on Monday as many stayed home. However, in Western Maryland, it was life as usual as many seemingly did not care about the virus crisis.
Unacast is just another example of how technology is being deployed as mass surveillance tools to combat the virus.
Several other examples of companies and governments extracting data from citizens for surveillance purposes to support quarantines have been though monitoring social media posts and facial recognition databases.
Ghost Data, a big data analysis firm, collected half a million Instagram posts in March, mainly from hard-hit virus regions in Italy that are in lockdown. The company was able to run facial recognition software on all images to identify people who were violating the country's quarantine orders.
Another technology company that has joined the effort to support big governments in their quest to enforce full lockdowns with high-tech tools is telecommunications firm Vodafone. The company is giving European governments heat maps of location data, to track mass gatherings.
The World Health Organization has widely supported the actions by governments to tap technology companies to unleash mass surveillance programs to fight the virus.
However, monitoring the populace through invasive technology tools will erode whatever freedoms people of the West have left and risk ushering in a more permanent dystopian surveillance system like China's.
United Nations Wants All Nations To Begin Paying A 10% Global Tax For 'COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund' Amounting To $8.7 Trillion - by Geoffrey Grider - https://www.nowtheendbegins.com/united-nations-wants-ten-percent-global-tax-for-dedicated-covid-19-coronavirus-response-recovery-fund/
The United Nations Secretary-General, Ant�nio Guterres is asking for a 10% global tax to fund a 'dedicated COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund'.
The bible talks about taxes, and when it does it is nearly always connected to end times events. Daniel 11 tells us that Antichrist will be a 'raiser of taxes', and it tells us that at the First Coming of Jesus Christ, there was a global tax in place. So it makes sense that one of the signs connected to His Second Coming, at the end of the time of Jacob's trouble, will be a global tax as well. The United Nations announced yesterday that in order to 'deal effectively' with the global coronavirus pandemic, a global tax of %10, a tithe, needs to be levied. Well, hello Caesar, welcome back!
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city." Luke 2:1-3 (KJB)
The idea of a global tax is not new to NTEB readers, click the image below to read our previous article on an idea floated for a global tax back in November of 2019. Of course, a lion's share of the money, should it be raised, will go to funding 'sexual reproductive health services', a Liberal dog whistle for abortion on demand. But can you just imagine what the United Nations would do with $8.7 trillion dollars, or even with one trillion dollars? I can.
"Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries." Daniel 11:20,21 (KJV)
Population control advocate Bill Gates and his eponymous foundation are listed on the UN Sustainable Development 'partnership platform' meaning he gives them untold millions of dollars to 'carry out the work'. What is some of the 'work' Bill Gates is passionate about? Event 201, ID2020, the Certified Mark, and vaccinations that come with a digital ID. Yep, that's what the United Nations will do with monies raised from a global tax, vaccinate and chip the whole world.
United Nations wants 10% of entire planet's annual income in fund for coronavirus response
FROM LIFE SITE NEWS: The United Nations Secretary-General, Ant�nio Guterres, has announced the creation of a fund for addressing the global coronavirus pandemic - and he is simultaneously asking nations to contribute the equivalent of at least 10 percent of the annual income of the entire planet to a massive "human-centered, innovative and coordinated stimulus package" that would be administered at the international level. Although Guterres doesn't state it explicitly, he seems to be connecting the new fund, which he calls a "dedicated COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund," with the massive stimulus package plan, announcing both measures in the same press release.
If countries were to accept the plan, the United Nations or some similar coordinating agency would be given the equivalent of approximately 8.7 trillion USD, an unprecedented amount that would be 2,900 times greater than the UN's annual budget of 3 billion USD.
The proposed plan would effectively place a global agency, presumably the UN itself, in charge of propping up the economies of the world during the coronavirus crisis, placing it in charge of 10% of global income.
THE ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN TALKS AT PARIS FORUM DISCUSSING A GLOBAL TAX SYSTEM POSSIBLE PROPHETIC HARBINGER
Guterres also wants 100 billion USD for the World Health Organization, whose president has been blamed for helping to cause the coronavirus pandemic by repeating in January the Chinese government's false claim that COVID-19 is not transmissible to humans.
He also wants the same organization to build an "interconnected Global Health Emergency System for data, workforce, and supplies." Guterres says that the money would be channeled "not only to the business sector and lead firms, but to the workers and SMEs worldwide that underpin the global economy."
"It is not enough to protect major businesses: we need to protect their suppliers, and the global consumer demand - the household income - that will usher the global economy back to life," writes Guterres in his report, called "Shared responsibility, global solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19. To be effective, the stimulus package will need to focus on direct and targeted transfer of resources to the most vulnerable households and scaling up health emergency preparedness, social protection, tax abatement, low interest rates, access to credit, insurance and wage support schemes," he writes.
Among the objectives of the plan, Guterres includes "attention to continued delivery of sexual reproductive health services, such as access to contraceptives without prescription during the crisis."
"Sexual reproductive health services" are a euphemism often used by international organizations to refer to abortion and contraception.
United Nations and World Health Organization helped to create the pandemic, says expert
Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, noted that the UN's World Health Organization (WHO) helped to create the pandemic by repeating communist Chinese government's false propaganda denying the health risks of COVID-19, and said he was against giving them or the UN in general any additional money for the crisis.
"The UN bureaucracy primarily exists to perpetuate itself and various Left-wing causes that are inimical to liberty and sovereignty," Mosher told LifeSite. "If the China coronavirus teaches us anything, it is that in moments of global crisis we can only trust our fellow citizens not a distant and detached group of bureaucrats who are better compensated than nearly all Americans."
He also noted that "reproductive sexual health," in reality "means forcing contraception, sterilization and abortion on peoples who have not asked for it," and added that such priorities have left poorer countries unprepared to deal with COVID-19.
"If the clinics in Third World countries had been stocked with medicine instead of abortifacients and contraceptives, they would be better able to cope with the current pandemic," said Mosher. "In other words, population control programs cost lives."
COVID-19, ID2020 & the Coming of Antichrist - By Geri Ungurean - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/04/02/covid-19-id2020-the-coming-of-antichrist-by-geri-ungurean/
For me, everything is now coming into sharp focus.
Before you watch this video, I want to make some points which you must understand. The mandatory vaccines which will place Identity information IS NOT THE MARK OF THE BEAST!
However, Bill Gates and the rest of the Globalists are putting into place the technology (which is already here) which will be used when Antichrist makes his appearance onto the world stage. We who belong to Christ will be safely in heaven with Him when these things occur.
If you carefully read the "ID2020 Manifesto," you will begin to understand that these Globalist scientists are providing everything that will be needed for the people of the world to choose to worship Antichrist or not. Those whose eyes are opened during the Tribulation to our Savior Jesus Christ, and refuse to receive the mark (666) into their chips which are already implanted, these Tribulation Saints will be hunted down by Antichrist and killed.
They will immediately be in the presence of Jesus Christ forever.
But those who choose to worship Antichrist will report to specified locations to receive the Mark of the beast 666. There will be NO second chance for those who choose Antichrist as their god.
Those who have the mark (666) will be the only people who are allowed to buy and sell on the earth.
Going Back to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals in 2015:
Here is an article I wrote back then which shows clearly that the U.N. implemented "Forced Migration." This was clearly stated in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of 2015.
Many did not realize that the migration of Muslims into Europe and other parts of the world was part of what we are seeing today.
Before I continue, here is the best article on the U.N. Initiative:
In that article, you will see that forced migration was part of the initiative.
Why is this important? You will understand why when you read the ID2020 Manifesto. In that document, they state that there are many people who have no way of self-identifying (Migrants). They go on to say that the chip will contain, not only vaccine information, but the identity of each individual.
Brethren, can you see how all of this is falling into place for the coming of Antichrist? Satan leads the United Nations and always has.
I want to repeat something which I feel is of utmost importance. Before you watch this informational video - you MUST understand that if we who belong to Jesus are forced to get this chip in our right hand or forehead - THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN THE MARK OF THE BEAST!!
NO ONE will be tricked into taking the mark (666) - it will be a conscious decision!! As I said before, what we will be seeing in the coming months is the technology for the mark being mandated by governments under the guise of keeping everyone safe from pandemics.
The Mark (666) will not come into play UNTIL Antichrist has entered the world scene!
The Reader Must understand that this Manifesto was created in 2018. Also, keep in your mind the Democratic/Communist saying:
"Don't let a good crisis go to waste."
From ID2020.org/manifesto
Alliance partners share the belief that identity is a human right and that individuals must have "ownership" over their own identity.
In 2018, ID2020 Alliance Partners, working in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), drafted a formal articulation of our perspective on ethical approaches to digital identity. The landmark ID2020 Alliance Manifesto below lays out these shared principles and forms a starting point to guide the future of digital identity globally.
The Alliance Manifesto
- The ability to prove one's identity is a fundamental and universal human right.
- We live in a digital era. Individuals need a trusted, verifiable way to prove who they are, both in the physical world and online.
- Over 1 billion people worldwide are unable to prove their identity through any recognized means. As such, they are without the protection of law, and are unable to access basic services, participate as a citizen or voter, or transact in the modern economy. Most of those affected are children and adolescents, and many are refugees, forcibly displaced, or stateless persons.
- For some, including refugees, the stateless, and other marginalized groups, reliance on national identification systems isn't possible. This may be due to exclusion, inaccessibility, or risk, or because the credentials they do hold are not broadly recognized. While we support efforts to expand access to national identity programs, we believe it is imperative to complement such efforts by providing an alternative to individuals lacking safe and reliable access to state-based systems.
- We believe that individuals must have control over their own digital identities, including how personal data is collected, used, and shared. Everyone should be able to assert their identity across institutional and national borders, and across time. Privacy, portability, and persistence are necessary for digital identity to meaningfully empower and protect individuals.
- Digital identity carries significant risk if not thoughtfully designed and carefully implemented. We do not underestimate the risks of data misuse and abuse, particularly when digital identity systems are designed as large, centralized databases.
- Technical design can mitigate some of the risks of digital identity. Emerging technology - for example, cryptographically secure, decentralized systems - could provide greater privacy protection for users, while also allowing for portability and verifiability. But widespread agreement on principles, technical design patterns, and interoperability standards is needed for decentralized digital identities to be trusted and recognized.
- This "better" model of digital identity will not emerge spontaneously. In order for digital identities to be broadly trusted and recognized, we need sustained and transparent collaboration aligned around these shared principles, along with supporting regulatory and policy frameworks.
- ID2020 Alliance partners jointly define functional requirements, influencing the course of technical innovation and providing a route to technical interoperability, and therefore trust and recognition
- The ID2020 Alliance recognizes that taking these ideas to scale requires a robust evidence base, which will inform advocacy and policy. As such, ID2020 Alliance-supported pilots are designed around a common monitoring and evaluation framework.
Brethren, keep in mind that this ID2020 was created in 2018, knowing full well what was coming: Covid-19 Pandemic - Ground Zero Wuhan, China.
I believe that this Virus was weaponized bio-terror (manmade) and was unleashed on the world at the appointed time.
At this time, we who belong to the Lord Jesus should be reading His Word, Praying and sharing the Gospel with the lost. Show your unsaved family and friends that they would do well to read God's Word because everything we are seeing is prophesied in Scripture.
This may bring MANY to place their trust in Christ for Salvation!
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