What's Coming Next?

What's Coming Next?- By Rob Pue - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/08/25/whats-coming-next-by-rob-pue/ I think we all knew that 2020 was going to be a very tumultuous year for our country. But I don't think any of us were prepared forjust how dramatic the tyranny and violence would be - not just here in America, but worldwide. I certainly had no idea that things would change so rapidly and so drastically in just a few months. Today, we have 34 states thatmandate the wearing of face masks in public. Some are even "strongly recommending" we wear them while sequestered in our own homes. This for a "virus" with more than a 99% survival rate... and a virus that's been reported by government and health officials,aided by their allies in the mainstream media with enormously inflated case numbers - and many outright lies, designed to instill great fear and panic among the people. Perhaps most alarming is that the vast majority of people are happy to go along with these mandates - even with evidence of a massivehoax plainly visible for all to see if only they would look. And the mask-wearers are even proud to wear their masks - it's a badge of "virtue" to them. It's as if they "strut" pridefully out in public, wearing their designer masks while looking down theirnoses at those who don't wear one. It's like another world out there now, altogether. We also saw months of "lockdowns," where businesses were forced to close their doors, and people were not allowed to go to work unlesssomehow they were deemed "essential workers." Interestingly, the "essential" businesses and workers included "big box" stores like Walmart, (perhaps the country's largest retailer of Chinese-made products), liquor stores, smoke shops and marijuana dispensaries.Christian churches were ordered to close across the country. Those allowed to open again have been commanded that there be no singing praises to God allowed. Then came the "race riots," with massive violence, looting, and unbelievable destruction of property, while police were ordered bymayors and city councils to "stand down" and let the rioters destroy. We even learned that bricks and rocks were conveniently placed in these devastated neighborhoods, stacked along the streets or piled in bins on the sidewalks - even BEFORE the George Floydincident ever happened. Then we saw the conquering of American cities by ANTIFA and the Marxist Black Lives Matter movement. Black people forcing white people to get down on their knees, kiss theirfeet and apologize for their "white privilege." The demand for the defunding of police departments; a street in DC renamed "Black Lives Matter Plaza,"within just a matter of DAYS; the words "Defund Police"and "Black Lives Matter"painted in 60ft tall letters on the streets leading to statehouses and even the US Capitol. Conveniently,most of the rioters were wearing masks - like the rest of the country - so most could not be identified. But that didn't really matter, since most of them were never arrested anyway... they were allowed - indeed - even encouraged in some areas to wreak asmuch havoc as possible by the leadership there. In Minneapolis, the city council voted unanimously - (in a veto-proof vote) - to not only defund the police but to disband the policedepartment altogether, replacing it with "Community Organizers" - led by the radical "Nation of Islam." I should also mention the countless statues and monuments either destroyed or censored from view all around the country, essentially removing the memorialsof our nation's history. This in a land where the vast majority of our young people are already nearly completely ignorant when it comes to history. That's a subject most were never taught in the public schools and colleges, and if they were, it was a "skewed"history - a re-written type of history, where everything American was taught as evil and oppressive. It's no wonder our young people hate their country today. If you think I'm exaggerating, just ask someone in their teens or 20s what happened on December 7th, 1941. There's a greater than90% chance you'll get nothing more than a blank stare. We also saw the desecration of countless veterans' cemeteries across the country - the final resting places of those who fought, bled and died for the cause of freedom... not just American freedom, butthe freedom of people living under tyranny and oppression the world over. What's coming next? It's very plain to see that the end goal of all this is a tyrannical, totalitarian New World Order, but thatcannot be fully accomplished until America is vanquished, utterly in ruins. And the New World Order cannot run efficiently unless every person on earth has been marked with a digital microchip implant, which will be delivered through a mandatory vaccine - a vaccine that, I believe, will prove so deadly that many will die quickly after taking it, not from any virus or other pestilence, but from the vaccine itself. That's partially what it's designed for. And I don't think it's going to be long before we seethis all come to pass. It's not just America. I received an email this past weekend from someone in Australia who read one of my previous commentaries.He emailed to affirm what I had asserted in my message: that Australia is currently, for all practical purposes, under communistic rule. The lockdown there is so severe that police are stopping vehicles, smashing car windows and pulling people out to be arrested,if they're even just suspected of violating the lockdown rules. Great Britain is much the same. Jesus spoke of the last days in Matthew 24 and stated that IN the last days, "...because lawlessness shall abound, the love of manywill grow cold." We've certainly witnessed that recently, haven't we? Common citizens attacking one another for not obeying mask mandates. Neighbors "snitching" on neighbors. It appears that the deviland all his minions are raging. Have you heard about the recent murder of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant? The North Carolina boy was outside, riding his bike in his yard, when his next-door neighbor, a black man named Darius Sessoms - (a repeat offender, multiplefelon, who has served multiple prison sentences and has two pending felony drug charges) - walked over and shot the boy point-blank in the head. Later, Sessoms boasted on social media about killing the boy, stating he had (quote) "blown his 'white privileged'brains right out of his head." This incident received almost no coverage in the mainstream press, so if you know about it, you most likely didn't find it there. And are you aware that the violent attacks and rioting we've been seeing in the major cities are NOW coming to suburbs, small townsand even rural areas? Recently, BLM marched through a Seattle suburb, demanding white people vacate their homes and GIVE them to black people. ANTIFA hasthreatened to destroy fields of crops and kill cattle in farming states. For those who don't believe this, or think I'm some sort of tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorist or simply just don't want to hear anything"negative," you can choose to continue to wear your blinders (along with your 'mandatory' face masks) if you like... but all this will soon be coming to YOUR front door. What will you do then? Beg the government to protect you and happily jump aboard the busesto the FEMA camps, I suppose. Black Lives Matter. Yes. ALL life matters. But we've had the wool pulled over our eyes yet again by the Leftist propaganda of the mainstream media. Do yourresearch and you'll find that everything Black Lives Matters stands for is absolutely antithetical to everything good and Godly, everything American and everything freedom-related. This is a demonic group of Marxists and Communists MANIPULATING and takingadvantage of black people to systematically destroy all of Western Civilization, with an emphasis on destroying the United States. This is an invention of Barack Obama, George Soros, the Clintons and others who quite frankly should all be sitting in Gitmoright now on charges of treason and sedition. Yet, like the LGBT movement - ALSO bent on our ultimate destruction - BLM is being richly funded to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars,not only by our domestic and foreign enemies, but even happily and proudly by our major corporations. Google has donated $12 million. Facebook and Amazon are donating $10 million each. Apple Corporation is in for $100 million dollars.Walmart just announced it's donating another $100 million. Target stores: $10 million; Home Depot: $1 million. These are just a few. There are MANY more donors to the BLM movement - because it SOUNDS good; because so many are so deceived, theybelieve BLM is a GOOD thing; because the mainstream press has fed it to us that way. Again, we only see what they WANT us to see, and they've played this strategy well, tugging on the emotional heartstrings of the populace. These corporations want to appearrighteous and benevolent, so they are funding the very organization that intends to completely destroy capitalism and the free market economy that has allowed them to thrive. Those within the Deep State of Leftist politics have also been recruiting Christian church leadership as their "useful idiots." Sofar, they've recruited 28,000 clergy to be part of their "Clergy Response Team." Their job is to tailor their sermons, in the midst of all this present darkness, to brainwash their congregations to obey government authorities through the deliberate misinterpretationof Romans 13. Perhaps the pastors don't know any better, but they're now all on board, acting as "sleeper cells," if you will, ready to supportthe unconstitutional dictates of their government "masters" through agencies like FEMA and Homeland Security whenever called upon. They've been instructed to teach "government obedience," for such things as turning in firearms, re-locating to 'FEMA Camps,'submitting to mandatory vaccinations and more. They've already willingly closed their churches, forced face masks and social distancing when ordered to do so, so if you think this is "farfetched," think again. This is right out of the Nazi' playbook.' AndI wonder - is YOUR pastor part of the Clergy Response Team? Do you even know? Would he even tell you if you asked? The question still remains, What's Next? Dana Coverstone is a pastor in Burkesville, Kentucky. A couple months ago, he released ahomemade video that went viral on social media. In the video, he is quick to point out that he does NOT claim to be a prophet, or to "speak for God" in any way. But he revealed a series of dreams he has had that are very disturbing. He felt the need to sharethem in order to sound a warning of what may be coming next, so God's people can prepare. His first dream was in December of 2019. In this dream, he saw a calendar indicating the month of March. A finger underlined theword "March" and then "tapped" the calendar three times. He saw sickness, people wearing masks, and ambulances. Then, in his dream, the calendar moved forward to June. Again, a finger underlined the word "June" and then tapped it three times. He saw citieson fire and rioters in the streets and extreme rage. He heard the words: "Brace Yourself, Brace Yourself." All these things came to pass, just as he saw in the dream. Then later, he had another dream. In this dream, he again saw a calendar with the month of September highlighted. And again, a fingerunderlined the word "September," and tapped the calendar three times, indicating something significant coming in September. And then the calendar moved forward to November, but this time it was different. Instead of "tapping" the calendar, a giant FIST smashedthe calendar to bits - and he saw the numbers representing the days of November "explode" into the air, even appearing to be 3D in shape. He saw fighting in the streets, businesses and schools closed, money being sucked out of banks, Washington DC in flames.He saw no sign of President Trump or any legislators in Washington. But he did see people hiding in their homes and churches, stores and homes burning. And he again heard the words "Brace Yourself, Brace Yourself." Also, within Pastor Coverstone's dreams, he saw the banks having no change, no coins. The US Mint was no longer producing currency.In his dream, the bank teller told him to "prepare for hyperinflation." And then again, he heard, "Brace Yourself, Brace Yourself." I'm not sure what to make of this, and I've always been pretty skeptical when people have told me they have a "word from the Lord"for me or some special revelation. But I'm reminded of the words of the prophet Joel, repeated in Acts, Chapter 2: "And it shall come to pass in the lastdays, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those daysof My Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lordcome. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." You can take the dreams of Pastor Coverstone with a grain of salt if you like. But I believe he very likely DID receive a warningfrom the Lord in his dreams, and as a watchman, sounded the warning for the rest of us. None of us knows what the rest of our days on this earth will hold. But we can certainly discern the signs of the times we are living in. And I believe we had BETTER beabout our Father's business, occupying until He comes, standing strong in the faith, even as others fall away and deny Him all around us. It's very likely our time is shorter than any of us realizes now. And whether that great and terrible Day of the Lord comes in ourlifetime, or whether we go into captivity for the horrific sins we have allowed to continue and in our apathy have done nothing about, I do believe the righteous judgment of God Almighty is about to strike our wicked land very soon, because we've claimed thename of Christ, many have... we profess Him with our lips but our hearts are far from Him. We'd BETTER get right with God NOW. We'd better start studying and seeking and praying and repenting today. Because "tomorrow" you may find yourself standing beforeHim. What will you have to say for yourself then?

AMERICA IN CRISIS: 8.29.20 - We Should Mourn For What Is Happening To America

We Should Mourn For What Is Happening To America - Michael Snyder - http://themostimportantnews.com/archives/we-should-mourn-for-what-is-happening-to-america This week it was Kenosha, Wisconsin and next week it will probably be somewhere else. Yet another senseless police shooting was followed by more rioting, looting and violence.Of course rioting, looting and violence have basically become a nightly occurrence in America at this point anyway. The protests never seem to end in some cities, and crime rates are absolutely skyrocketing all over the country. Much of what is written aboutall of this chaos is focused on trying to pin the blame on someone, but even if we correctly identify who is to blame, will that actually stop the violence? I don't believe that it would. In fact, I don't think that anything is going to stop the violence anytime soon. I just feel so sad today. We are literally watching the meltdown of our society, and that process is going to continue no matter what happens in November. I have never seenso much anger in America, and the frightening thing is that the level of anger seems to just keep growing. I wish that we could learn to truly forgive one another, love one another and come together as a society. For years I have been telling my readers that civil unrest likethis was coming, and there is an entire chapter in my new book entitled "Civil Unrest and Martial Law". So many of the things that myself and others have been warning about are now playing out right in front of our eyes, but there is absolutely no joy in beingcorrect. There is only sadness. I love the United States of America and what I see happening to our nation grieves me very deeply. Whenever I write articles about our need to love one another, those articles tend not to get much attention at all. In America today, we would much rather hate our enemiesthan love them. The corporate media has trained us to hate those "on the other side", and they have done that job very well. They have been stirring the pot for years, and now much of the population has been perfectly primed to explode. In such an environment, it was inevitable that there would eventually be eruptions of violence. On Sunday night, it was Kenosha's turn... Armed rioters shut down streets in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday night as the city fell into chaos after a police-involved shooting earlier in the evening. A large group of rioters - including at least two armed rioters - blocked a police armored car from proceeding down a street. After a standoff, the police began throwingtear gas canisters from the top of the vehicle to disperse the crowd. Moments later, gunshots rang out after one of the protesters appeared to open fire. The police shooting that caused these riots only happened a few hours earlier. That means that some of these rioters were already armed and were ready to cause chaos on very little notice. And it seems that these sorts of riots are almost always accompanied by widespread looting... The violence quickly spread and eventually large mobs began looting shops and stores throughout the city. Later in the night, vehicles at several car dealerships were set ablaze. Including one at a dealership next to a church which displayed a Black Lives Matter sign. And just like in so many other cities, police officers in Kenosha quickly became targets. In fact, it was reported that one officer was actually knocked down with a brick. Protesters were promising to come back Monday night, but Governor Tony Evers called out the National Guard in a desperate attempt to keep that from happening... In a bid to stave off another night of chaos, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said 125 members of the National Guard would be in Kenosha on Monday night with responsibility for'guarding infrastructure and making sure our firefighters and others involved are protected.' The Kenosha Police Department declared a state-of-emergency curfew for Monday night beginning at 8pm until 7am the following morning, according to a post on the police department'sTwitter feed. Meanwhile, we witnessed yet another senseless riot in Portland on Sunday night... A tumultuous weekend in Portland ended late Sunday night with Portland Police declaring a riot outside of the bureau's North Precinct. Police said they made 23 arrests over the course of the night on various charges like interfering with a peace officer and rioting. During the riot, protesters were literally hurling anything that they could find at the police... Demonstrators lit dumpsters on fire, and threw fireworks, rocks, and "sharp chunks of ceramic" at officers, police said. Just after 10:30 p.m., police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly. Sadly, a similar scene unfolded in Denver just the night before... Dozens of armed Black Lives Matter anarchists descended on the Denver Police Headquarters and damaged buildings, set fires and shot fireworks at cops. The mob, consisting of between 50 to 75 demonstrators, were said to be wielding numerous weapons - from axes to guns - during the incident. Of course the riot in Denver didn't even make many headlines around the nation because this sort of thing has become so commonplace in our major cities at this point. We have basically entered a period of semi-permanent civil unrest. And now that lawlessness has been unleashed in our streets, new eruptions of violence will be easily sparked with each new incident that comes along. I am particularly concerned about this upcoming election season. It is easy to imagine quite a few scenarios which would unleash widespread rage and fury. I just wish that things could be different. Americans should not be fighting other Americans in the streets, and it deeply grieves me whenever I see it happening. If everyone simply treated others the way that they would like to be treated, we wouldn't see senseless police shootings and there wouldn't be rioting and looting in ourstreets. Unfortunately, the very basic values that this nation was founded upon were rejected by our society long ago, and now we are paying a very great price for that choice. Tornadoes, Heatwaves & Hurricanes - America's Natural Disasters On The Rise It has just been one thing after another in 2020. First, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted and quickly spread all over the globe. At this point more than 800,000 people have died globally, and authorities are warning us to brace ourselves for another waveof the pandemic in the fall. Of course many would argue that fear of the virus has been even worse than the disease itself, and it is undeniable that the COVID-19 shutdowns were the primary reason why we have plunged into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the1930s. More than 57 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits so far this year, and that number just keeps rising with each passing week. On top of all that, the tragic death of George Floyd caused an unprecedented wave of civil unrestto erupt in major cities all across America, and many are anticipating a fresh outburst of unrest as we head toward election day in November. So coming into this month we had already faced far more trouble than we do in a typical year, and now a very strange series of natural disasters is making things even worse. For example, earlier this month an absolutely massive storm known as a "derecho" with winds of up to 112 mph came roaring through the Midwest. Millions upon millions of acres of crops were destroyed, and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has described this stormas a "40-mile-wide tornado that went through the state of Iowa"... The damage was so bad that the New York Times reported that Iowa state officials estimate that at least 14 million acres of necessary farmland were damaged by the storm. Not only were crops destroyed but hundreds of millions of bushels of commercial storagegrain, as well as tens of millions of bushels of on-farm storage grain, were also lost. Shannon Textor, who is a spokesperson for the Iowa Corn Growers Association, reported that it may be weeks to determine the monetary loss as a result of the storm. "It's really hard to get your arms around the devastation at this point," Textor admitted. President Donald Trump took notice of the destruction and on Tuesday discussed the damage and promised Iowans the "full support of the federal government in recovery. According to Iowa Governor. Kim Reynolds, the devastation caused an estimated $4 billionin damages from the storm. During a briefing with the president, Reynolds described the storm as a "40-mile-wide tornado that went through the state of Iowa." Shortly after that historic storm ripped a giant scar across the Midwest, the western half of the nation was gripped by a historic heatwave. The highest temperature ever captured by modern instruments was recorded in Death Valley, California, many other all-time records were shattered all over the Southwest, and the city of Phoenix actually broke their record for most days in a year in whichthe high temperature reached at least 115 degrees. Yes, we see wildfires in California every year, but we have never seen anything quite like this. Just consider the following facts... -12,000 lightning strikes have hit the state over the past week, and many more are expected this week. -More than a million acres have been destroyed by fire so far. -Two of the five largest fires in the history of the state are burning in northern California right now. -Wildfires in California have already caused more death and destruction in 2020 than they did in all of 2019. -A "red flag" warning has been issued for Monday. Authorities are anticipating that winds of up to 65 mph and widespread lightning strikes will make this crisis even worse. As if everything that I have shared so far wasn't enough, two very dangerous storms are headed toward the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Marco is likely to make landfall first, and residents of the Gulf Coast will begin to feel Marco's fury as early as Monday morning... At 5 p.m. CDT on Sunday, Marco strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was moving to the north-northwest at 13 mph. Forecasters warn that time is running out for residents along the central Gulf Coast to make preparations, as impacts will start to be felt early Monday morning. Marco is expected to continue intensifying through Sunday. Following closely on the heels of Hurricane Marco is Tropical Storm Laura. Laura will likely enter the Gulf of Mexico early this week, and forecasters fully expect it to also develop into a hurricane... Tropical Storm Laura is forecast to reach the Gulf of Mexico early this week, where significant intensification into a hurricane is expected. The area with the highest chance of seeing a hurricane strike from Laura by midweek is along parts of the northernand western Gulf Coast, but this forecast is still uncertain. At this point, many are anticipating that Laura will end up being the stronger of the two storms, but we shall have to wait and see how everything plays out. Meanwhile, much of the other side of the globe continues to wrestle with a historic plague of locusts. Some of these swarms of locusts are the size of major cities, and it would be difficult to overstate the crop devastation that we have been witnessingin many countries. When combined with the tremendous impact that COVID-19 has been having on global food distribution systems, these two factors have created a tremendous worldwide crisis. In fact, the head of the UN World Food Program has once again used the word "biblical"to describe the famine that the planet is potentially facing... The Covid-19 pandemic may lead to a calamity of epic scale, with millions facing starvation worldwide, the head of the UN's hunger-fighting body has warned. "All the data we have, including WFP forecast that the number of people experiencing malnutrition will grow by 80 percent by the end of the year, ... points to a real disaster," David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP), said. "We are risking a famine of biblical proportions." 2020 has truly been a year like no other, and it is imperative for everyone to understand that the "perfect storm" that we are now facing is just getting started. All of a sudden, the U.S. is being hit by one major crisis after another, and to many people it seems quite unlikely that so many nightmarish events would happen so closely together by random chance. So what do you think? Could it be possible that someone is trying to get our attention? It would be a major understatement to say that 2020 has been a "crazy" year so far, and I have a feeling that quite a few more surprises are in store for us before this year is over. Originally published at End Of The American Dream - reposted with permission. Why Is America Being Hit by So Many Horrific Natural Disasters All Of A Sudden? - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/why-is-america-being-hit-by-so-many-horrific-natural-disasters-all-of-a-sudden It has just been one thing after another in 2020. First, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted and quickly spread all over the globe. At this point more than 800,000 people havedied globally, and authorities are warning us to brace ourselves for another wave of the pandemic in the fall. Of course many would argue that fear of the virus has been even worse than the disease itself, and it is undeniable that the COVID-19 shutdowns werethe primary reason why we have plunged into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. More than 57 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits so far this year, and that number just keeps rising with each passingweek. On top of all that, the tragic death of George Floyd caused an unprecedented wave of civil unrest to erupt in major cities all across America, and many are anticipating a fresh outburst of unrest as we head toward election day in November. So cominginto this month we had already faced far more trouble than we do in a typical year, and now a very strange series of natural disasters is making things even worse. For example, earlier this month an absolutely massive storm known as a "derecho" with winds of up to 112 mph came roaring through the Midwest. Millions upon millions ofacres of crops were destroyed, and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has described this storm as a "40-mile-wide tornado that went through the state of Iowa"... The damage was so bad that the New York Times reported that Iowa state officials estimate that at least 14 million acres of necessary farmland were damaged by the storm.Not only were crops destroyed but hundreds of millions of bushels of commercial storage grain, as well as tens of millions of bushels of on-farm storage grain, were also lost. Shannon Textor, who is a spokesperson for the Iowa Corn Growers Association, reported that it may be weeks to determine the monetary loss as a result of the storm. "It'sreally hard to get your arms around the devastation at this point," Textor admitted. President Donald Trump took notice of the destruction and on Tuesday discussed the damage and promised Iowans the "full support of the federal government in recovery. Accordingto Iowa Governor. Kim Reynolds, the devastation caused an estimated $4 billion in damages from the storm. During a briefing with the president, Reynolds described the storm as a "40-mile-wide tornado that went through the state of Iowa." Shortly after that historic storm ripped a giant scar across the Midwest, the western half of the nation was gripped by a historic heatwave. The highest temperature ever captured by modern instruments was recorded in Death Valley, California, many other all-time records were shattered all over the Southwest,and the city of Phoenix actually broke their record for most days in a year in which the high temperature reached at least 115 degrees. Of course that heatwave set the stage for the nightmarish wildfires that we are witnessing in the state of California right now. Yes, we see wildfires in California every year, but we have never seen anything quite like this. Just consider the following facts... -12,000 lightning strikes have hit the state over the past week, and many more are expected this week. -More than a million acres have been destroyed by fire so far. -Two of the five largest fires in the history of the state are burning in northern California right now. -Wildfires in California have already caused more death and destruction in 2020 than they did in all of 2019. -A "red flag" warning has been issued for Monday. Authorities are anticipating that winds of up to 65 mph and widespread lightning strikes will make this crisis even worse. For much more on these wildfires, please see my article entitled "The State Of California Is Never Going To Be The Same After This". As if everything that I have shared so far wasn't enough, two very dangerous storms are headed toward the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Marco is likely to make landfall first, and residents of the Gulf Coast will begin to feel Marco's fury as early as Monday morning... At 5 p.m. CDT on Sunday, Marco strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was moving to the north-northwest at 13 mph. Forecasters warn that time is running out for residents along the central Gulf Coast to make preparations, as impacts will start to be felt early Monday morning. Marco isexpected to continue intensifying through Sunday. Following closely on the heels of Hurricane Marco is Tropical Storm Laura. Laura will likely enter the Gulf of Mexico early this week, and forecasters fully expect it to also develop into a hurricane... Tropical Storm Laura is forecast to reach the Gulf of Mexico early this week, where significant intensification into a hurricane is expected. The area with the highest chanceof seeing a hurricane strike from Laura by midweek is along parts of the northern and western Gulf Coast, but this forecast is still uncertain. At this point, many are anticipating that Laura will end up being the stronger of the two storms, but we shall have to wait and see how everything plays out. Meanwhile, much of the other side of the globe continues to wrestle with a historic plague of locusts. Some of these swarms of locusts are the size of major cities, andit would be difficult to overstate the crop devastation that we have been witnessing in many countries. When combined with the tremendous impact that COVID-19 has been having on global food distribution systems, these two factors have created a tremendous worldwide crisis.In fact, the head of the UN World Food Program has once again used the word "biblical" to describe the famine that the planet is potentially facing... The Covid-19 pandemic may lead to a calamity of epic scale, with millions facing starvation worldwide, the head of the UN's hunger-fighting body has warned. "All the data we have, including WFP forecast that the number of people experiencing malnutrition will grow by 80 percent by the end of the year, ... points to a real disaster,"David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP), said. "We are risking a famine of biblical proportions." 2020 has truly been a year like no other, and it is imperative for everyone to understand that the "perfect storm" that we are now facing is just getting started. All of a sudden, the U.S. is being hit by one major crisis after another, and to many people it seems quite unlikely that so many nightmarish events would happen so closelytogether by random chance. So what do you think? Could it be possible that someone is trying to get our attention? It would be a major understatement to say that 2020 has been a "crazy" year so far, and I have a feeling that quite a few more surprises are in store for us before thisyear is over. What's Coming Next? - By Rob Pue - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/08/25/whats-coming-next-by-rob-pue/ I think we all knew that 2020 was going to be a very tumultuous year for our country. But I don't think any of us were prepared forjust how dramatic the tyranny and violence would be - not just here in America, but worldwide. I certainly had no idea that things would change so rapidly and so drastically in just a few months. Today, we have 34 states thatmandate the wearing of face masks in public. Some are even "strongly recommending" we wear them while sequestered in our own homes. This for a "virus" with more than a 99% survival rate... and a virus that's been reported by government and health officials,aided by their allies in the mainstream media with enormously inflated case numbers - and many outright lies, designed to instill great fear and panic among the people. Perhaps most alarming is that the vast majority of people are happy to go along with these mandates - even with evidence of a massivehoax plainly visible for all to see if only they would look. And the mask-wearers are even proud to wear their masks - it's a badge of "virtue" to them. It's as if they "strut" pridefully out in public, wearing their designer masks while looking down theirnoses at those who don't wear one. It's like another world out there now, altogether. We also saw months of "lockdowns," where businesses were forced to close their doors, and people were not allowed to go to work unlesssomehow they were deemed "essential workers." Interestingly, the "essential" businesses and workers included "big box" stores like Walmart, (perhaps the country's largest retailer of Chinese-made products), liquor stores, smoke shops and marijuana dispensaries.Christian churches were ordered to close across the country. Those allowed to open again have been commanded that there be no singing praises to God allowed. Then came the "race riots," with massive violence, looting, and unbelievable destruction of property, while police were ordered bymayors and city councils to "stand down" and let the rioters destroy. We even learned that bricks and rocks were conveniently placed in these devastated neighborhoods, stacked along the streets or piled in bins on the sidewalks - even BEFORE the George Floydincident ever happened. Then we saw the conquering of American cities by ANTIFA and the Marxist Black Lives Matter movement. Black people forcing white people to get down on their knees, kiss theirfeet and apologize for their "white privilege." The demand for the defunding of police departments; a street in DC renamed "Black Lives Matter Plaza,"within just a matter of DAYS; the words "Defund Police"and "Black Lives Matter"painted in 60ft tall letters on the streets leading to statehouses and even the US Capitol. Conveniently,most of the rioters were wearing masks - like the rest of the country - so most could not be identified. But that didn't really matter, since most of them were never arrested anyway... they were allowed - indeed - even encouraged in some areas to wreak asmuch havoc as possible by the leadership there. In Minneapolis, the city council voted unanimously - (in a veto-proof vote) - to not only defund the police but to disband the policedepartment altogether, replacing it with "Community Organizers" - led by the radical "Nation of Islam." I should also mention the countless statues and monuments either destroyed or censored from view all around the country, essentially removing the memorialsof our nation's history. This in a land where the vast majority of our young people are already nearly completely ignorant when it comes to history. That's a subject most were never taught in the public schools and colleges, and if they were, it was a "skewed"history - a re-written type of history, where everything American was taught as evil and oppressive. It's no wonder our young people hate their country today. If you think I'm exaggerating, just ask someone in their teens or 20s what happened on December 7th, 1941. There's a greater than90% chance you'll get nothing more than a blank stare. We also saw the desecration of countless veterans' cemeteries across the country - the final resting places of those who fought, bled and died for the cause of freedom... not just American freedom, butthe freedom of people living under tyranny and oppression the world over. What's coming next? It's very plain to see that the end goal of all this is a tyrannical, totalitarian New World Order, but thatcannot be fully accomplished until America is vanquished, utterly in ruins. And the New World Order cannot run efficiently unless every person on earth has been marked with a digital microchip implant, which will be delivered through a mandatory vaccine - a vaccine that, I believe, will prove so deadly that many will die quickly after taking it, not from any virus or other pestilence, but from the vaccine itself. That's partially what it's designed for. And I don't think it's going to be long before we seethis all come to pass. It's not just America. I received an email this past weekend from someone in Australia who read one of my previous commentaries.He emailed to affirm what I had asserted in my message: that Australia is currently, for all practical purposes, under communistic rule. The lockdown there is so severe that police are stopping vehicles, smashing car windows and pulling people out to be arrested,if they're even just suspected of violating the lockdown rules. Great Britain is much the same. Jesus spoke of the last days in Matthew 24 and stated that IN the last days, "...because lawlessness shall abound, the love of manywill grow cold." We've certainly witnessed that recently, haven't we? Common citizens attacking one another for not obeying mask mandates. Neighbors "snitching" on neighbors. It appears that the deviland all his minions are raging. Have you heard about the recent murder of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant? The North Carolina boy was outside, riding his bike in his yard, when his next-door neighbor, a black man named Darius Sessoms - (a repeat offender, multiplefelon, who has served multiple prison sentences and has two pending felony drug charges) - walked over and shot the boy point-blank in the head. Later, Sessoms boasted on social media about killing the boy, stating he had (quote) "blown his 'white privileged'brains right out of his head." This incident received almost no coverage in the mainstream press, so if you know about it, you most likely didn't find it there. And are you aware that the violent attacks and rioting we've been seeing in the major cities are NOW coming to suburbs, small townsand even rural areas? Recently, BLM marched through a Seattle suburb, demanding white people vacate their homes and GIVE them to black people. ANTIFA hasthreatened to destroy fields of crops and kill cattle in farming states. For those who don't believe this, or think I'm some sort of tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorist or simply just don't want to hear anything"negative," you can choose to continue to wear your blinders (along with your 'mandatory' face masks) if you like... but all this will soon be coming to YOUR front door. What will you do then? Beg the government to protect you and happily jump aboard the busesto the FEMA camps, I suppose. Black Lives Matter. Yes. ALL life matters. But we've had the wool pulled over our eyes yet again by the Leftist propaganda of the mainstream media. Do yourresearch and you'll find that everything Black Lives Matters stands for is absolutely antithetical to everything good and Godly, everything American and everything freedom-related. This is a demonic group of Marxists and Communists MANIPULATING and takingadvantage of black people to systematically destroy all of Western Civilization, with an emphasis on destroying the United States. This is an invention of Barack Obama, George Soros, the Clintons and others who quite frankly should all be sitting in Gitmoright now on charges of treason and sedition. Yet, like the LGBT movement - ALSO bent on our ultimate destruction - BLM is being richly funded to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars,not only by our domestic and foreign enemies, but even happily and proudly by our major corporations. Google has donated $12 million. Facebook and Amazon are donating $10 million each. Apple Corporation is in for $100 million dollars.Walmart just announced it's donating another $100 million. Target stores: $10 million; Home Depot: $1 million. These are just a few. There are MANY more donors to the BLM movement - because it SOUNDS good; because so many are so deceived, theybelieve BLM is a GOOD thing; because the mainstream press has fed it to us that way. Again, we only see what they WANT us to see, and they've played this strategy well, tugging on the emotional heartstrings of the populace. These corporations want to appearrighteous and benevolent, so they are funding the very organization that intends to completely destroy capitalism and the free market economy that has allowed them to thrive. Those within the Deep State of Leftist politics have also been recruiting Christian church leadership as their "useful idiots." Sofar, they've recruited 28,000 clergy to be part of their "Clergy Response Team." Their job is to tailor their sermons, in the midst of all this present darkness, to brainwash their congregations to obey government authorities through the deliberate misinterpretationof Romans 13. Perhaps the pastors don't know any better, but they're now all on board, acting as "sleeper cells," if you will, ready to supportthe unconstitutional dictates of their government "masters" through agencies like FEMA and Homeland Security whenever called upon. They've been instructed to teach "government obedience," for such things as turning in firearms, re-locating to 'FEMA Camps,'submitting to mandatory vaccinations and more. They've already willingly closed their churches, forced face masks and social distancing when ordered to do so, so if you think this is "farfetched," think again. This is right out of the Nazi' playbook.' AndI wonder - is YOUR pastor part of the Clergy Response Team? Do you even know? Would he even tell you if you asked? The question still remains, What's Next? Dana Coverstone is a pastor in Burkesville, Kentucky. A couple months ago, he released ahomemade video that went viral on social media. In the video, he is quick to point out that he does NOT claim to be a prophet, or to "speak for God" in any way. But he revealed a series of dreams he has had that are very disturbing. He felt the need to sharethem in order to sound a warning of what may be coming next, so God's people can prepare. His first dream was in December of 2019. In this dream, he saw a calendar indicating the month of March. A finger underlined theword "March" and then "tapped" the calendar three times. He saw sickness, people wearing masks, and ambulances. Then, in his dream, the calendar moved forward to June. Again, a finger underlined the word "June" and then tapped it three times. He saw citieson fire and rioters in the streets and extreme rage. He heard the words: "Brace Yourself, Brace Yourself." All these things came to pass, just as he saw in the dream. Then later, he had another dream. In this dream, he again saw a calendar with the month of September highlighted. And again, a fingerunderlined the word "September," and tapped the calendar three times, indicating something significant coming in September. And then the calendar moved forward to November, but this time it was different. Instead of "tapping" the calendar, a giant FIST smashedthe calendar to bits - and he saw the numbers representing the days of November "explode" into the air, even appearing to be 3D in shape. He saw fighting in the streets, businesses and schools closed, money being sucked out of banks, Washington DC in flames.He saw no sign of President Trump or any legislators in Washington. But he did see people hiding in their homes and churches, stores and homes burning. And he again heard the words "Brace Yourself, Brace Yourself." Also, within Pastor Coverstone's dreams, he saw the banks having no change, no coins. The US Mint was no longer producing currency.In his dream, the bank teller told him to "prepare for hyperinflation." And then again, he heard, "Brace Yourself, Brace Yourself." I'm not sure what to make of this, and I've always been pretty skeptical when people have told me they have a "word from the Lord"for me or some special revelation. But I'm reminded of the words of the prophet Joel, repeated in Acts, Chapter 2: "And it shall come to pass in the lastdays, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those daysof My Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lordcome. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." You can take the dreams of Pastor Coverstone with a grain of salt if you like. But I believe he very likely DID receive a warningfrom the Lord in his dreams, and as a watchman, sounded the warning for the rest of us. None of us knows what the rest of our days on this earth will hold. But we can certainly discern the signs of the times we are living in. And I believe we had BETTER beabout our Father's business, occupying until He comes, standing strong in the faith, even as others fall away and deny Him all around us. It's very likely our time is shorter than any of us realizes now. And whether that great and terrible Day of the Lord comes in ourlifetime, or whether we go into captivity for the horrific sins we have allowed to continue and in our apathy have done nothing about, I do believe the righteous judgment of God Almighty is about to strike our wicked land very soon, because we've claimed thename of Christ, many have... we profess Him with our lips but our hearts are far from Him. We'd BETTER get right with God NOW. We'd better start studying and seeking and praying and repenting today. Because "tomorrow" you may find yourself standing beforeHim. What will you have to say for yourself then?

All Israel Will Be Saved

All Israel Will Be Saved - By Pastor Mike Taylor - https://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2020/08/all-israel-shall-be-saved.html 25 "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, untilthe fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-27) (I have spoken of this subject in times past, but as the times grow closer to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, these events become more apparent on the horizon. It wasreported that Hezbollah in Lebanon would attack Israel this summer..it hasn't happened yet, but it will happen in God's timing. It could happen before I post this message on my blog and on Prophecy Update) THE MIRACLE THAT IS ISRAEL Have you ever stopped to consider in this fast paced world we live in, the miracle this is the nation of Israel? Of all people on earth, the Israelites, the Jewish peoplehave been the whipping boy for the entire world. They have been persecuted wherever they went. The Gentiles around them abused and destroyed many of the members of this race, God called Israelites, or Hebrew in the Old Testament during the time of Abraham. I see what the history of Israel has been since I've been alive, and all you can say, God has worked a miracle when it comes to Israel. Let us examine for a bit, the quickhistory of the establishment of Israel and the fight she has had to bring to her enemies who only wish to destroy her. ISRAEL REBORN In 1948, the tiny nation of Israel declared her independence and was recognized by our president at the time, Harry S. Truman, which gave them immediate credibility on theworld stage. But it also brought about the swift action of the surrounding Arab neighbors who wished to drive them into the sea. Israel should not have won. Their military assets were grossly inferior to the blood thirsty Arabs who wished only to destroy this fledging nation and remove her from theface of the earth once and for all...but that is not what happened. Anyone who wants to read about the unheard of "miracle" of the first war of survival that Israel was faced with can only come away with one impression., that is, God was on the side of Israel. No one can explain how Israel won the 1948 War of Independence. The US Army War College at West Point doesn't even study Israel's victory. When asked why, they replied,"We don't teach miracles here."...Even our military realized that it was an impossibility for Israel to win against such odds, but she did. She has been the recipient of God's blessings, and many of those who fought did not realize that they were a part of the Divine intervention of God Almighty. Fast forwardto the war that developed in 1967, or the Six Day War. ISRAEL RECLAIMS THE TEMPLE MOUNT In May, 1967, Egyptian and Syrian troops began massing along Israel's borders. Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. Egyptian President Gamel Abdul Nasserfilled the airwaves with calls to drive the Jews into the sea. Facing five well-equipped, Soviet trained Arab armies, Israel's defeat was virtually a foregone conclusion. But instead of defeat, Israel managed to achieve a stunning victory. In just six days, Israel doubled its territory, capturing the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, Gaza, the West Bank and the Old City and Temple Mount. This lightning speed war that gave Israel the victory against all odds, was called a miraculous victory, but it wasn't Israel's first miracle on the battlefield and it wouldnot be her last. Every single battle that Israel has fought with her Arab neighbors has resulted in their victory in every single one of them and they all were miraculous. There was a man that I was reading about during this Six Day War, that has a miraculous story to tell. The man Gershon Salamon tells a story of battling Jordanians forcesjust outside of his home in Israel. The man is a tenth generation "Sabra" or "native born Jerusalemite" who fought in every war since the 1948 war of Independence. The man was reported to had to have use of a cane to walk, and from that he told his story.The man's back was bowed and you would think he had some type of genetic defect that he was born with, such as Spina Bifida, or some similar defect that left him in this condition. His wife reported that she stood on her balcony and saw the fighting in a field just behind their house. She pointed out that the Jordanians were "right there" as she pointedoff into the near distance. She knew her husband was probably fighting in that field Backing up, it was told in 1958, during a battle on the Golan hights, that her husband was wounded by an Israeli tank. Salamon told of how the tank accidentally rolled overhim and ran him over. The tank caught his collar of his shirt and folded him over backwards, snapping his spine in two. The Jordanians overran their position and were shooting wounded Israeli soldiers as they lay on the ground. As they were about to shoot Gershon Salamon, he told that theysuddenly dropped their weapons and ran away. Later, it was reported to UN officers these enemy soldiers had seen thousands of soldiers surrounding the crippled IDF officer and had, therefore, fled believing they wereoutnumbered..The event was corroborated by a UN document filed by a UN observer, as he went to see the injured Salamon because he witnessed the retreat and was mystified to its cause. DIVINE MIRACLES FILL YOUR BIBLE Gershon Salamon's story of angelic warriors is not the first I'd heard -- it was merely the first time I'd heard the story from an eyewitness. The bible speaks of anothertime, when Angelic host came to fight on the side of Israel. In 2nd Kings, there is a recorded miracle of Divine intervention when the enemies of Israel surrounded the city and God provided a miracle that Elisha saw and told his servant"Fear not". : 14 "Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. 15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him,Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain wasfull of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to theword of Elisha." (2nd Kings 6:14-18) REPORTS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD Soldiers have reported seeing angelic being on the the battlefield and this has happened in all of Israel's wars. There is an example of a Colonel Uri Ram that was welcomedinto Shecham by enemy Jordanian troops during the Six Day War. Somehow the Jordanians inadvertently mistook the Israelis for Iraqis and by the time they realized their mistake they had no choice but to surrender. Another instance recalls of a lone Israeli soldier stumbling into a Jordanian trench where he single handed captured Ammunition Hill which led to the capture of the OldCity of Jerusalem the following day. And an Egyptian tank commander in the Sinai surrendered his entire column to less than a dozen Israeli tanks on the second day of the Six Days War. He later said thathe saw thousands of them. Remember the scripture that Elisha opened the eyes of his servant to the hills being filled with chariots of fire all about them? 17 "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. 18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LordGod might dwell among them"(Psalms 68:17-18) THE LIST GOES ON AND ON Need a few more miracles that cannot be explained? I saw this on TV that was a depiction of this next miracle, when a group of Israel commandos were trapped in a minefieldin the dark and they could not move, unless they trip a mine and kill them all. So they stayed where they were not knowing what to do. Suddenly, a strong wind came up and surrounded them and blew very hard for several minutes. When they finally opened theirclosed eyes from the blowing sand being expired, they could not believe their eyes. The wind had blown away all the sand around each land mine, and exposed them all to the soldiers and they were able to escape the mine field safely. An Israeli documentary series entitled "Against All Odds - Israel Survives: The Complete First Season" details miracles a lot harder to explain, like strange beings withflaming swords defending a Jewish farming community from marauding Arabs. And the list just goes on and on. I guess with any reported miracle, you could take it apart and try and explain it away as some natural cause rather than a supernatural cause. The Egyptian tank commanderwho lost his whole column could have been seeing only a "mirage" . Maybe the Jordanians had never seen an Iraqi tank and could not tell the difference between it and a Israeli tank. Maybe the lone Israeli soldier was just "lucky" when he captured a whole host of Jordanian soldiers and the capturing of Ammunition Hill and the retaking their Holy Cityof Jerusalem. I don't know what you could come up with to explain why the man Gershon Salamon survived and the enemy ran away seeing thousands of soldiers around him. I choose to believethat God has got Israel's back and will not let them be destroyed. Could it be coincidence? I don't believe God works in coincidence. The Bible identifies the archangel Michael as Israel's guardian angel. (Daniel 10:13) Daniel specifically notes that at the time of the end: "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since therewas a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:1-3) The prophet Zechariah prophesied that in the last days, God would send His angels to fight alongside Israel. 6 "In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people roundabout, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves againstJudah. 8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God,as the angel of the Lord before them. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem."(Zechariah 12:6-9) The war of Independence that Israel fought in 1948 is no less a miracle than the preservation of the Hebrew children in the desert when they took flight from Egypt underthe command of their mortal shepherd, Moses. Or the miracles that Joshua commanded Israel to reclaim the land of Canaan for their promised land. God has been doing miracle after miracle when it comes to the land of Israel, as God said that they would never be uprooted again. 20 "and when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth outof his land. 21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profanedamong the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saiththe Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you." (Ezekiel 36:20-25) Israel has had to fight for her very life, since she came back into her own land, that God gave to her descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for a perpetual inheritance...meaningit will never end. Remember in the recent past when Saddam Hussein fired thirty Scud missiles in to Israel during the first Gulf War, hoping to divide the UN coalition? Most of the missileslanded in the inhabited portions of Tel Aviv to name one, where in comparison, a single Scud missile fired at the US barracks in Saudi Arabia killed 28 National Guardsman from Pennsylvania. But not one missile killed one Jewish resident of these major citiesof Israel. Only two injuries were reported..a Saudi security guard, and an Israeli-Arab. During this war, Israel had nothing to do with the conflict between Kuwait and Iraq, but Israel is always the ultimate goal and target of those who wish to do her harm inany war in the Middle East. IN RECENT NEWS CLIPS I have been reading the developments in the nations surrounding Israel and from all reports, the Syrians and the Lebanese are trying to create a noose around Israel's neck.I have reported this in the recent past, but the enemies of Israel are growing more bold, since they have as their junkyard Dog, the nation of Russia to give them confidence of their ability to wage war in the area. I note that Hezbollah has upwards of 150,000short, medium, and long range guided missiles that in the next war will cause much devastation for the Israeli-Arab citizens. To the east, the Golan Heights are being enforced with Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their troops that are building bases rightat Israel's front door. The likelihood of another war involving Lebanon, or/and Syria is not if, but when will the fighting start. PSALMS 83 WAR IMMINENT It doesn't take much imagination to see that the next war is shaping up to be fought very soon. I have been watching and wondering when the prophesied war of Psalms 83 wouldbe coming forth, and I feel we are on the cusp of its fulfillment. Never has this prophecy been completed, even though Israel has fought many wars since her birth in 1948. God has promised Israel that they will possess all of the land promised to their forefatherAbraham, and this war just might do it. When Israel is cornered and her existence is in doubt, the "Samson Option" will be put in place. I believe it might include a nuclear hit on the capital of Damascus, Syria and the fulfillment of the Oracle of Damascusbeing destroyed as prophesied. FROM ONE WAR TO ANOTHER As I have preached in the past, this coming Psalms 83 war sets the table for the next big war that will cause the earth to tremble when God will come down to defend Israelin all His fury and there will be no doubt who is doing the miracle here. 16 "And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathenmay know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17 Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bringthee against them? 18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are uponthe face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother. 22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowingrain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 38:17-23) Does it give you pause to know that each war is a domino, that when it falls, the next one is set up to be knocked over as well? What will the coming Ezekiel War produce?It will produce profound desolation of the invading armies that will destroy 85% or 5/6 of the invading army. The plague that will be produced will follow the survivors back to their home countries and the destruction continues in their own land, family, andcountrymen. I believe Islam will take a powerful devastating hit, as the armies of this invading hoard are near total Islamic. What is coming will be swift. It won't take many years before Gog-Magog will be brought down into Israel like a fish with a hook in his mouth and be destroyed on the mountainsof Israel. When this happens, look for a charismatic man to arise who will attempt to prevent such a total disaster from happening again in this part of the world. The world has always been focusing on Israel as the problem with everything, including terrorism,the plight of the so called "Palestinians", and every ill they can conceive to cast upon Israel. Anti-Semitism is and will grow to make Nazi Germany look like a school yard picnic compared to what is coming. As you know, this man will "confirm" a pre-existingcovenant to fulfill the coming 70th week of Daniel's prophecy concerning the people of Israel. I see the whole scenario coming very quickly in our end of days, which we live in. But not to worry, if you be found in Jesus Christ, for that man will not be revealed untilone thing happens. Can you say it before I do? THE RAPTURE OF THE BRIDE OF CHRIST. The removal of the Church from this planet, as that covenant confirmed will not be ratified before that time, and God will reveal that "man of sin" which we only can wonderwho he is at the present time. He will be revealed at God's timing, and only God knows when He will remove the church from out of the way to bring His Holy Wrath upon this earth, and it starts with the signing of this 7 year "peace treaty" by the Anti-Christand the government of Israel. 6 "And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2nd Thessalonians 2:6-10) The Holy Spirit will be drawn back, and we who have a deposit, or earnest of His Spirit residing within us, will leave at that same time. THEN the Anti-Christ will be revealedsometime after that glorious event. But, Israel still has a long "row to hoe" as she will face untold persecution in the foreseeable future. But God will bring a remnant through much suffering, and will comeand fight for them, as Zechariah prophesied, and it is just over the horizon, just out of sight for us, but grows closer with each passing day. 2 "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forthinto captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 "Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof towardthe east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquakein the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee." (Zechariah 14:3-5) Israel will realize their Messiah through much death and persecution, where the Bible says 2/3 of the people will be slain, but a remnant will be saved. 8" And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I willhear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God."(Zechariah 13:8-9) Believe my reader, Israel's existence is a daily miracle, punctuated at times by a whole set of miracles, but you have not seen anything yet. Those who are still on thisplanet, will see much happening in the nation of Israel. They will see Divine Protection, but also Divine judgment to bring Israel to the realization of her Messiah. "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zechariah 12:10) This Divine protection over Israel, even their refining as silver is refined in the fire (Malachi 3:3), is not conditional. God will not remove His Hand from the protectionof Israel, unlike what is happening in America. God cannot withdraw His hand from Israel, but it doesn't apply to the USA, as we do not have a covenant with God, as Israel does and ratified in the time of Abraham. America could collapse and go the way of theRoman Empire, but Israel cannot. Israel is on the exact real estate that the Roman Empire evicted them from in 70 AD. Restoration began in 1948 and will never be annulled. God will not allow Israel to bedestroyed and restored again. These are the final days of the end for this earth, and the fulfillment of Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy. COUNTDOWN BEGAN WITH ISRAEL BECOMING A NATION The restoration of Israel marks the beginning of the countdown to the return of Christ within that generation. Israel can only be restored for the first time once. "Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the wavesthereof roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever." (Jeremiah 31:35-36) Note that the word 'ordinance' means 'law.' God has decreed the existence of Israel forever as a matter of Divinely-settled law. Israel's miracles aren't over. Not by along shot. If anything, they are just beginning. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Israel has all kinds of Divine promises to protect, and restore her. You and I cannot say the same thing. We are a Gentile nation that God has a plan for us as well. Israelare a special people in His eyes, but He has another special people that He desires to be in His family, just as Israel are His chosen people. God has been working with a "people who were not His people" We the chosen of this age are called "His people" His bride... 7 "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 'And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darknessinto his marvellous light; 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." (1st Peter 2:7-10) God has chosen a people, who will become part of His family..the Family of God YAHWEH. We who accepted Jesus as personal Savior will not see much of what I have spoken ofnear the end. It is designed for the future after the church is gone. I invite you to become part of this family...The Family of God. It only takes belief in two scripture passages, as there are many more, but this two passages seal the gift of eternal lifefor all who believe. 16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."(John 3:16-18) and the other passage I like to include in any message I write beside the above, is the following: 8 "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 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. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. ." (Roman 10:8-13) Make that decision for Christ today, as Israel has a promise, you do not have. Jesus could come at any moment, and no one should be blinded by the soon appearing of ourLord...not SOON, BUT VERY SOON... This is pastor Mike Taylor, praying for your salvation today. If you need prayer, counseling, or just a listening ear, email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, , God bless you all. TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET

Is the Antichrist Watching the News?

Is the Antichrist Watching the News? - Olivier Melnick - https://www.newantisemitism.com/antisemitism/is-the-antichrist-watching-the-news First, we need to realize that the Antichrist is a real person. He is not a Christian legend to scare people. The Antichrist is real and while nobody knows that for sure, he might even be alive today. What I can tell you,is that if he is alive, he is probably watching the news daily, awaiting to make his entrance on the world stage as the greatest "peacemaker" ever introduced to mankind. That is of course not taking into consideration the real peacemaker; Yeshua the Messiah!So, what do we really know about the Antichrist? For this, we have to go to the source, where truth can be found. The Bible actually has quite a few details about him: * The Antichrist is a coming global human ruler - Daniel 7-12 * He will be a Gentile - Revelation 13:1 * He will be revealed after the departure of the Holy Spirit (after the Rapture) - 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 * He will rise to absolute power - Daniel 7:8, 20; 8:23 * He will sign a seven-year treaty with Israel - Daniel 9:27 * He will break his treaty/covenant in the middle of the seven-year Tribulation - Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:21; Revelation 13:14-15 * He will claim that he is God - Daniel 11:36 * He will persecute the Jewish People - Daniel 7:21 * He will set-up and start "the abomination of desolation" - Daniel 12:11 * He will invade Israel - Daniel 11:40-45; Ezekiel 38-39 * He will conquer - Daniel 11:38-44 * He will be defeated - Daniel 7:11, 26; 9:27 Much more can be learned about the Antichrist from Mark Hitchcock in his book The End: A Complete Overview of Bible Prophecy and of the End days. Over time, people have speculated about the identity of the Antichrist. Each time that a nasty world figure became prominent in the news, it garnered them the title-albeit potential-of Antichrist.Eventually, that person would fade away or die and their wrongly assigned title with them. Whoever he is, and regardless of him already being alive today or not, the world has to be in the right place for the Antichrist to enter the stage and be accepted byall. This leads me to the concerns I have about the recent normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. First, we must look at peace from three different perspectives: From a human perspective, in a region that has been punctuated by wars since Israel's birth as a modern nation on May 14, 1948, seeing peace between the two countries is highly unexpectedand very exciting. There has been a "proverbial" hatred between Arabs and Jews for the last 75 years. In all honesty, the hatred is lopsided. There seems to be more hatred for Israel and the Jews from most Arab countries than there is from Israel towards theArab world. This still takes into consideration the fact that both sides have friends and foes for either side. It's complicated! But from a human perspective, peace is good. As long as we understand that humanly speaking, peace simply means the absence ofwar. I'll still take that any day! From a biblical perspective, it goes even further. We are asked to be at peace with our neighbors and love them (Leviticus 19:18; Romans 12:18). We are also supposed to be at peace and submissiveto our governments (Romans 13:1-3). Additionally, in the very words of Yeshua, we are also to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). From a human perspective, this is a very tall order and it is also the only command of the sort from any of all the world religions.I have to remind myself every day that I MUST pray for my enemies and love those who persecute me. In that sense, this makes followers of Yeshua very unique. We definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit for that one! But I would also like to look at one more aspect, being the prophetic perspective. We read in Daniel 9:26-27, "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolation's are determined. 27 And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but inthe middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." There aren't that many passages in the Bible that include so much meaning and span such a long period of time in only two verses. I would like to bring our attention to the semblance of peacethat this individual will bring. It will apparently come at a time soon after the Rapture of the Church when a lot of people would have "mysteriously" disappeared. Havoc will reign worldwide and the need for stability will be greater than ever. The Antichristwill come and sign a covenant with Israel, giving the world the false idea that peace has arrived on earth in general and in the Middle East in particular. We have to always keep in mind that the Antichrist will counterfeit for his own profit, all that Messiah(Christ) does. If Messiah brought real peace in the heart of men (at His first Coming) and real peace in the world upon His return at the Second Coming after the Tribulation, the Antichrist will try to counterfeit that as well with false peace. The region in the world that is the most volatile, and has been that way for decades, is the Middle East. If that region could appear to be at peace, that would go a long way to prepare thestage for the Antichrist. This is why I don't look at the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE with the same enthusiasm as others. I rejoice for the temporal human peace aspect from that historic decision, but I also see it as a potentialfirst of many agreements setting up the stage for the Antichrist. I look at this with great anticipation because I know that the End-Times clock is ticking towards the final countdown. Ezekiel told us that Israel will be invaded when "my people Israel are living securely" (Ezekiel 38:14), so Israel must feel at peace to somehow have its guard down. Antichrist will do hisbest at gathering nations against Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:1-2; 14:1-3), Revelation 16:16; 19:19). There will be much damage and many casualties (Zechariah 13:9), but ultimately, Antichrist will be defeated (Revelation 20:10) and all Israel will know theirMessiah (Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11) My intention is not to be the bearer of bad news. Again, from a human perspective, this normalization will undoubtedly bring a well-deserved period of respite to the region, only the thirdtreaty after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Not to mention the threat to Iran if more Arab countries follow suit-and they most likely will. Looking at the geographical situation with Iran, alliances between Israel and any Arab country will continue to bea threat to Iran's aspirations of hegemony. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" as they say, and this could have even played a part in the recent decision. At the end of the day, the world is ready for the Antichrist, but the world is also ready for the Messiah. It is up to those of us who know the difference, to teach those who would be temptedto follow the Antichrist, and lead them to the only true Prince of Peace known as Yeshua of Nazareth (Isaiah 9:6-7; 52:13-53)

Trouble in this World

Trouble in this World - Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com There's a lot of trouble in this world. We don't have to think very hard to come up with some very troublesome things that have been occurring more frequently in recentyears. Wars and rumors of wars fill the news. Nations are fighting each other, but there's also fighting within nations. Men's hearts are growing cold and hatred is pouring out into the streets. Families are falling apart. Single mothers, dead-beat dads, andkids rebelling because the family unit is broken, there's little discipline, and certainly honoring God is marginalized at best. Corrupt liberal governments pass ungodly laws, right is called wrong and wrong is called right. Pestilence is in the headlinesand people hide in fear because of an enemy we can't see. What is a Christian to do? Do we sit back, watch TV, and allow evil to invade, or do we study Scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in a spiritual fight? These troubling times in which welive should bring every Christian before God Almighty in humble prayer and repentance. Many are praying for America as hatred, fanned by liberal media and liberal politicians, rampages in the streets. Prayer is good, but remember, we need to look at our ownsin and repent before we can expect God to do anything about our nation. It's not only in America, but every nation. God is not at all pleased with the sin that grips Christians and non-Christians alike. "For the time is come that judgment must begin at thehouse of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17. There's a lot to be fixed within the Christian community. We seem to think we can embrace sin and God will turn a blind eye. Maybe theevil that's permeating society is happening because Christians embrace the world and God's ready to judge. Many people blame God when turmoil happens, but you need to put the blame where it belongs. Choices not made with God's guidance will always bring trouble. If the voiceyou're following leads you into sin, then it's not God's voice you're hearing. Quite often, things go wrong because of our own actions and choices, and because we listen to the lust of the flesh instead of the prompting of the Holy Spirit. If you choose tolive against God's ways, you have to accept responsibility for the trouble that follows. When tribulation besets you because of worldly choices, that's when many cry out in anger "God, why did You do this?" Your own choice brought your trouble, but you stillexpect God's blessing on your actions. "Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation." Judges 10:14. If you choose to follow the gods of lust, greed, and pride you cannot blame God Almighty for the outcome.Satanic evil is behind all hatred and wickedness in this world. Your own poor choices cannot be blamed on God Almighty. Even if you've made choices and decisions which are based on Scripture, you'll still have trouble in this world. Jesus didn't promise Christians a bed of roses. We do livein a fallen world and there are many people who are ruled by Satan. If we happen to cross their path and don't bow to their god, we may be victims of their wickedness. When we choose to follow Christ, Satan and his minions don't give up their efforts to pullyou away from the path of righteousness. Jesus did warn us. "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33. In other translations, theword "tribulation" is translated "trouble and suffering" (NET), or "trials and sorrows" (NLT). It simply means that on this side of Heaven Christians will face troubles. Jesus said that the fact that we follow Him will cause conflict. "For I am come to seta man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." Matthew 10:35. He didn't mean that it has to be this way, but if a son chooses to follow Jesus rather than follow his father alonga path of sin, conflict will happen. What if a student in public school stands upon God's word and rejects evolution or believes in a Godly moral code? There's a professor at Iowa State University who has threatened discipline against students who "undertookprojects that oppose Black Lives Matter and abortion" (https://www.foxnews.com/us/iowa-state-professor-black-lives-matter-abortion). Christian's know that all lives matter to God (not just black ones) and that He calls murder a sin (even when condoned by lawand called abortion). Would you take that class and just go along with what's on that teacher's agenda? If you stand firm upon God's word, you will face tribulation. Jesus didn't sugar-coat His words to His disciples about what it meant to follow Him. He told them that it would take a person of strong character to follow Him in a worldfilled with Satan's influence. "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34. What did He mean "...take up his cross"?It doesn't take much research to understand what carrying a cross meant in those days. Just look through the Gospels and you learn carrying a cross meant crucifixion and death. It meant that your life was over. Does that mean that when we accept Christ weare to end our life? In a way it does, but Jesus meant the lust of the flesh and self-centered attitudes are to be put to death. We are to make decisions and choices based upon Scriptural facts regardless of the trials and suffering we may face. Paul is agood example of a man who was drastically changed when he met Jesus. He had once led a life of privilege, but gave up all luxury and comfort to live his life for Christ. He understood what Jesus had meant when He said to take up your cross. "I beseech youtherefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1. Christian choices need to be based upon Christ's example, even if that choice causes us troublein this world or moves us away from the sin we once found so pleasurable, Christians must follow Christ. Why do we have to face troubles? If you're an athlete and want to win a race, what do you do? Do you just sit on the couch watching TV until the day of the big race? No,you train. You begin by jogging a short distance, then as you get stronger you go farther. The struggle you faced at first, disciplining yourself to make healthy choices in food and exercise, make you stronger later. Christians face trials in order to makeus stronger in our faith and teach us to rely upon God. "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patienc; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shedabroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Romans 5:3-5. It's never enjoyable to face troubles, but if you allow God to work in your life, you'll come through all things stronger in your faith and God will be glorified. You'll also beable to help others in their times of conflict and tribulation. "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2 Corinthians 1:4. A personwho has faced tribulation in life and has come through it stronger in faith can help another Christian come through a crisis better than someone who hasn't had many trials in life or has made ungodly choices. Brothers and sisters, nobody enjoys going through trials. Whether those trials are in our own life or in the conflicts of the world, trust God. The riots are reprehensibleand are causing distress for us who watch the lunacy, but those people filled with such hate need to learn about the saving grace of Jesus. Pray for them. Wars in the Middle East seem to never end. Personal tragedies will always cause us tribulation. Remember,it isn't God who's to blame. Satan is the prince of this world right now. He's behind the turmoil and hatred. When you face illness or the death of a loved one, don't blame God. He created a perfect place but Satan deceived Eve and Adam sinned by disobeyingGod. That's when sin and death became real. If you need to blame anybody for the tribulation in the world and in your life, blame Satan. "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness." 1 John 5:19. That wickedness is from Satan.Satan controls the world and the people in it. Christians are of God and we need to start acting like we belong to Him. Choices, decisions, and lifestyles all need to reflect God. That won't stop the tribulation in our life, but it will strengthen us and drawus closer to our Lord. Things will continue to become more violent, evil, and full of tribulation. We are swiftly coming to the end of days, and prophecy is being fulfilled. As Christians we needto recognize the signs of the times and do all we can to keep ourselves right with Jesus. Christian men and women need to put Christ in the center of the family and be sure the children are being taught God's truth instead of the lies taught in public schools.Tribulation will continue to spiral out of control, but Jesus Christ is still our individual Saviour. Serve Him instead of the principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and the wickedness in high places, which are the evil entities behindthe tribulations we face. As Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33. God bless you all, Nathele Graham

WORLD AT WAR: 8.29.20 - Are Turkey and Greece Heading for War?

Are Turkey and Greece Heading for War? - by Uzay Bulut - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16395/turkey-greece-heading-for-war The Greek Armed Forces are on high alert on land, sea and air, closely monitoring Turkish movements in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to Greek media. After Turkeylast month restarted prospecting for oil and gas in an area overlapping Greece's continental shelf, Greece deployed warships between the islands of Cyprus and Crete. Since then, tensions have run high between Turkey and Greece. On August 12, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned about the possibility of an "accident" in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greek and Turkish naval forces deployedin the area after Ankara sent a vessel to conduct seismic research south of Kastellorizo. "The risk of an accident lurks when so many naval forces gather in a limited area, and responsibility in such a case will be borne by the one who causes these conditions,"Mitsotakis said in a televised address. Turkey has threatened to invade the Greek islands in the Aegean since at least 2018. A recent Egyptian-Greek maritime deal appears to have escalated Turkey's regional aggression. The maritime deal, which was signed on August 6, set the Mediterranean Sea boundary between Egypt and Greece. It also demarcated an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for oiland gas drilling rights. The Egyptian-Greek move was widely seen as a response to a disputed agreement between Turkey and Libya's Tripoli-based administration, according to the newspaper Kathimerini. Meanwhile, Turkey has been systematically violating the territorial waters of Cyprus and Greece. In May, the foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Cyprus, Greece and the UAEissued a joint declaration "denouncing the ongoing Turkish illegal activities in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone and its territorial waters, as they represent a clear violation of international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Lawof the Sea." On May 15, the European Union announced that it "condemned the escalation of Turkey's violations of Greek national airspace, including overflights of inhabited areas, andterritorial sea, in violation of international law." But the condemnation has not stopped the violations by Turkey. On August 5, for instance, eight Turkish military airplanes carried out a total of 33 violations of Greece's national airspace over the courseof one day, Greek military authorities said. After the deal between Greece and Egypt, Turkey again deployed a seismic research vessel to prospect for potential oil and gas reserves within Greece's continental shelf.Greece has again placed its armed forces on high alert. Warships were sent to the spot between Crete and Cyprus, demanding the vessel's withdrawal. Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, continues defying Greece and Cyprus. On August 14, referring to Greece and other Western states, Erdogan said: "They sent all terrorist organizations against us. We gave our response to these attacks in the language they understand through our operations in northern Iraq, Syria,Libya, and the Eastern Mediterranean. We gave [an answer] today too! We told them, 'Look, don't attack our Oruç Reis vessel. If you attack it, you will pay a heavy price'. And today they got the first answer." "No colonialist power," Erdogan said on August 19, "can deprive our country of the rich oil and gas resources estimated to exist in this region." Turkey is a colonialist power that has been occupying Northern Cyprus since 1974. The Turkish government does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus as a state, and claims44% of the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as its own. Another sizable section of that zone is claimed by the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" in the island's occupied north -- recognized only by Turkey. "Turkey has adopted a revisionist policy in the Eastern Mediterranean," Dr. Giorgos Kentas, Associate Professor of International Politics and Governance at the Universityof Nicosia, said in an interview with Gatestone. "Turkey's policy is part and parcel of a broader strategy to expand Turkey's influence in the Middle East, the Gulf, and Africa. The aim is to impose geopolitical dominion:an undisputed regional hegemonic regime whereby Turkey is be able to determine big and important developments. That revisionist policy is pursued by a mixture of soft and hard power instruments. "With regard to Greece and Cyprus, Turkey clearly maintains an offensive posture. It appears willing to use military force in order to impose its revisionist plans. Foralmost two decades now, Turkey (under the leadership of Erdogan) has been developing a strategy to dominate over large maritime zones. [This] strategy is known as the 'blue homeland'. It begins from the Black Sea and extends through the Aegean Sea towardsthe maritime zones of Libya, Egypt, Israel, and Syria. Turkey believes that Cyprus and Greece must voluntarily submit to the parameters of the blue homeland, otherwise they must face the consequences of its military might. Turkey plans against Greece and Cyprusunder a strategic doctrine of a unified front. "As of the early 2010s, Turkey started an illegitimate program of seismic surveys in the maritime zones of Cyprus, supported by considerable aeronautic forces. In May 2019,Turkey launched an offshore drilling program in Cyprus' EEZ. So far it started and/or completed 7 drillings, at least one in Cyprus' territorial waters. Turkey has actually de facto extended its military occupation of Cyprus from the land it occupies as of1974 to island's maritime zones. All that went mostly unanswered with the exception of some statements by third states and some symbolic sanctions by the EU. "Turkey is currently attempting a similar policy of revisionism against Greece. The aim is to impose a hegemonic regime over Greece's maritime zones and/or maritime zonesthat Greece claims in Eastern Mediterranean. "Turkey has developed the military might, and acquired the means, to challenge and revise the geopolitical momentum created by a series of delimitation agreements betweenCyprus, Egypt, Lebanon and Israel. [Turkey] also undermines the hydrocarbon program of Cyprus. Greece now tops the agenda of Ankara in the framework of the blue homeland dominium." According to Harris Samaras, an expert on the Cypriot EEZ and chairman of the international investment banking firm Pytheas, Turkey's foreign policy in eastern Mediterraneanis largely an extension of its Islamist domestic policies. "Turkey is an authoritarian country increasingly shaped by ultranationalist and Islamist forces," Samaras told Gatestone. "Inspired by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have pursued policies that furthered the Islamization of the country,promoting religion, fundamentalism, and limiting individual freedoms and rights. Turkey globally supports Islamism and jihadism as in the cases of ISIS, Hamas, Boko Haram, al Qaeda and the Iranian regime, among others. It is thus accurate to state that Turkeyis today among the most anti-American and anti-European countries in the world. It operates as a polarized engine of religious radicalism with a global reach." According to Samaras, there are three main causes of Turkey's aggression towards Greece and the general Turkish jingoistic behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean: "1. Erdogan desires to lead the Islamic world, a project aimed at fulfilling his ambitions - and better regional supremacy complexes - to seize the Muslim world's politicalleadership legitimated by consciously assuming the mantle as successor of the 'glorious' history of the Ottoman empire. 'Turkey', as Erdogan has repetitively stated, 'is a continuation of the Ottoman Empire'. This infers that as its leader, Erdogan is analogousto the Caliph. Note here the similarities with statements by ISIS leaders. "2. While the vast majority of European and US leaders from all parties, including the intelligence community and the Pentagon, recognize the reality of Turkey, certainEU leaders, US diplomats and appointees continue to apologize for and rationalize Turkish behavior. They dilute measures to hold Turkey to account. Their denial of evidence about Turkey's regional malfeasance not only weakens the West and its credibility,but also benefits Russia, Iran and terrorism. "Furthermore, and over and above, those elements who intentionally turn a blind eye to Turkey's violations of the Rule of Law not only encourage Erdogan to intensify hisbullying and jingoistic policies, but also pressurize Greece (like they do with Cyprus) to strike an energy and sovereignty 'sale' deal. This is contrary to international law and an attempt to delaying to convicting Turkey, eventually justifying its atrocities. "3. Erdogan's (and his AKP) popularity has slumped to the lowest level ever since his autocratic reign. This is a result of his systematic power grabbing, nepotism and corruption.The economy for one is in dire straits. Theatrics like the one with Hagia Sophia and the gunboat diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as bursts about the 'tyrannical' EU and Israel, are 'required' to direct the interests of his polarized compatriotselsewhere and away from the misery his foul administration has inflicted. Wrapping himself in a cloak of patriotism is part of Erdogan's agenda and his regime's propaganda narrative. "Erdogan, however, is now anticipating that Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, his best ally and in many ways his 'accomplice', will compel Greece into discussions. Heis hoping that under Germany's pressure Greece will 'conform' to selling part of its sovereignty. However, the Western world has to face and address the Turkish reality, the strategic reality that any possibility of a Western-leaning Turkey is gone." Meanwhile, the US State Department has issued a statement concerning Turkey's activities in the region. "The United States is aware that Turkey has issued a notificationto other ships of survey activity in the Eastern Mediterranean. We urge Turkish authorities to halt any such plans for operations and to and to avoid steps that raise tensions in the region," a State Department spokesperson said on August 10. "Turkish aggression against Greece is really nothing new," Anna Koukkides-Procopiou, a Senior Fellow and Member of Advisory Board of the Center for European and InternationalAffairs of the University of Nicosia, told Gatestone. "For example, there have been myriads of air space violations in recent years. Turkey is just taking everything to a different level nowadays. This gradual tension spiral,first, aimed at testing the waters, both literally and metaphorically. But Greece has proven it will not go quietly, despite Turkey trying hard to set a maximalist agenda on its own terms, before negotiations ensue at some point. Turkey considers her use offorce both a carrot and a stick for Greece to succumb to its claims. "Second, there is no doubt that all the neo-Ottoman, anti-Lausanne rhetoric which Erdogan and his ministers have been making good use of should be taken seriously. It ispart and parcel of a hegemonic bid to master regional leadership, as well as an attempt to woo audiences at home. An authoritarian ruler reigns by bread and games. Bread seems to be running out in Turkey at the moment, so there also needs to be a focus ongames." As for what the Europe and the US should do in the face of continued Turkish aggression, Procopiou said: "There has been enough talk and little action. If Europe and the US are serious about halting Turkey's aggression, they need to show that they mean business. Europe keepsfeeding Erdogan money while he is making a spectacle of democracy, international law and human rights. [These are] fundamental values which the European Union supposedly stands for. "In essence, Erdogan has been ridiculing the EU, NATO and the US with zero consequences. Why should he stop? If the only reaction he gets is a shamble of a sanctions listin Europe - with only two inconsequential individuals' names on that list - and no enforcement of the American CAATSA [The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act], he is taking everyone for a ride. So, we could begin at least with that. TheTurkish economy found itself on its knees last time US President Donald Trump cared to send Erdogan a message over the arrest of American Pastor Andrew Brunson. What is keeping President Trump from doing that now?"