WORLD AT WAR: 3.26.22 - Perilous times indeed

Perilous times indeed - Bill Wilson � www.dailyjot.com Much of what is carried by the news media about the Russian invasion of Ukraine is propaganda controlled by either side, or by the military industrial complex and their puppets who sadistically want war for profit. The rhetoric spewed from the mouths of leaders is far more telling about the perilous times in which we live. Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted at the use of nuclear weapons. Reuters reports that former Russian President and now Russia�s Security Council Deputy Secretary Dmitry Medvedev said the US has stoked �disgusting� Russophobia and that �Russia has the might to put all our brash enemies in their place.� This is very similar to how the Soviets ran their mouths during the Cold War. MEMRI TV carried a January 14 interview of Russian Duma member Yevgeny Alexeyvich Fyodorov saying that the US thinks Putin is bluffing when he makes tough statements. He said, �Until there is a physical demonstration of (Moscow�s) determination, America will perceive the positions of Russia and (Putin) as a bluff. So they need a demonstration. The most convincing demonstration would be the physical destruction of America�s defense Department facilities�we could demonstratively strike the test range in Nevada with a ballistic missile�If we create risks for US territory, say, a risk of 10,000 casualties, from a strike of even a weak missile, then the US will perceive this as a threat of 10 million casualties.� He said there would be no retaliation strike because of America�s weak mentality. Putin further said during a televised video conference that he will conduct a cleansing of Russian enemies within the country. He said, �Any people, and particularly the Russian people, will always be able to tell apart the patriots from the scum and traitors and spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths. I am convinced that this natural and necessary self-cleansing of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to meet any challenge.� The words of Russia�s leadership are chilling reminders of Soviet-era communists, when communism was responsible for the deaths of over 100 million people during the 20th Century. They have an appetite for death. Ukraine�s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday appealed to the US Congress for more aid to fight off the Russians who he labeled terrorists. He said, �This is a terror that Europe has not seen, has not seen for 80 years and we are asking for a reply, for an answer to this terror from the whole world.� He received a standing ovation and a commitment from Joe Biden to send $14 billion to Ukraine in aid and arms, calling Putin a �war criminal.� Given the rhetoric of the leaders and the aggression of Soviet era communists, escalation of this war is unfortunately inevitable. People will push for more American involvement and US leadership is not equipped to navigate these rough seas. 2 Timothy 3:1 says, �This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.� Indeed, Pray and fast for peace. Evil minions are working hard toward destruction. ------------------------------------ The Reality Of What Is Really Happening On The Ground In Ukraine - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/the-reality-of-what-is-really-happening-on-the-ground-in-ukraine/ Why can’t the mainstream media just tell us the truth? When it comes to the war in Ukraine, getting accurate information has proven to be rather daunting. From the Russian media and pro-Russian sources, we are getting an endless stream of Russian propaganda, and I suppose that is to be expected. On the other side, the mainstream media in the western world is often just regurgitating Ukrainian propaganda and repackaging it as “truth”. For example, an article that was bring widely circulated earlier today says that the Russians “could buckle in 10 days” and it claims that the Ukrainians are inflicting catastrophic losses on the Russian military. Day after day, we are being told that the Ukrainians are on the verge of victory, and of course that is complete and utter hogwash. The Russians continue to win more territory, and the Ukrainian military has been suffering defeat after defeat. But the Ukrainians want to project a positive narrative, because that gives them the best chance of enlisting outside help. Personally, the people that I feel really bad for are all of the innocent Ukrainians that are stuck in the middle of this conflict. Millions are needlessly suffering, and so let us hope that the shooting will end soon. Most Americans don’t realize this, but the Russians are actually offering to end the conflict if six major conditions are met… 1.NoNATO membership and a neutral position. 2.Russianshould be the second official language of Ukraine, with laws prohibiting itabolished. 3.Recognize Crimea as Russianterritory. 4.Recognize the independence of Donetsk andLugansk. 5.Demilitarization of Ukraine and abandonmentof weapons that could be a threat to the Kremlin. 6.Banning of ultra-nationalist parties andorganizations in Ukraine. But you won’t hear much about this on the major cable news channels, will you? And that is because it doesn’t fit with the narrative that they are currently pushing. I definitely understand the desire of many people to root for the underdog, but the reality of the matter is that the Ukrainian armed forces are greatly outmatched. On the eastern front, the Russians just flattened the town of Avdeevka and essentially wiped out the Ukrainian 95th Airmobile Brigade… The big news of the day is that the Russian forces finally decided to, shall we say, change pace, and by all account the intensity of the artillery, aerial bombing and missile barrage which hit the Ukie forces in the town of Avdeevka was absolutely unprecedented and following this barrage the LDNR forces broke through 8 kilometers of just about the most heavily defended sectors in the entire theater or operations. The Ukrainian 95th Airmobile Brigade (one of the most combat capable unit of the Ukrainian Army!) was defending this sector. According to reports, this entire brigade was basically wiped out. The truth is that what the Russians just did to Avdeevka could be done to every single major city in all of Ukraine. The Russians possess immense conventional firepower, and in this case it appears that they were trying to send a message to the other Ukrainian units that are now essentially encircled in the “cauldron” in the east… So, not only did Russian encircle the entire Ukrainian forces in an operational cauldron, she then proceeded to cut that single force into two smaller cauldrons (but both still contained in the bigger, operational, cauldron) and now as a show of force, she destroyed the most combat capable Ukrainian unit in the most heavily defended town. The “message” here is clear: we strongly encourage you to lay down arms or else… Meanwhile, we may be about to see a new major operation in the south. According to multiple sources, a Russian naval task force appears to be heading toward the Odessa area for a potential amphibious landing… Russian Navy ships can be seen in satellite imagery approaching the Ukrainian Coast. The Sentinel 2 satellite image, taken at 11:47 local time, shows at least 14 vessels. The vessels were found by Naval News with the help of Damien Symon, an independent defense analyst. Preliminary analysis of the vessels suggests 3 groups. Two are made up of combatants, and one has several landing ships. The landing ships appear to have sailed directly from their staging position off the Crimean coast. Analysts are searching the imagery for more vessels. Over in Mariupol, the Russians are using devastating tactics that they employed during the two Chechen wars… Rockets rained down on Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov of about half a million people, over the weekend targeting residential blocks and systematically flattening suburban areas of the city. During the two Chechen wars, rather than sending troops to try and take the city, the Russian army simply flattened it with sustained shelling and then just marched in across a sea of rubble. This is why the Russians have only encircled most of the major Ukrainian cities that they have approached so far. It is essentially siege warfare. The Russians are cutting off supply routes, and they will relentlessly pound opposing forces until they either surrender or are wiped out. It isn’t a fair fight, and the death toll is rising with each passing day. Fox News reporter Steve Harrigan just returned from Ukraine, and this is his assessment of the conflict… I think for me, Ukraine is a done deal. It’s flattened and they lost. Sadly, that is a very accurate assessment. But the western media is still encouraging Americans, Canadians and Europeans to volunteer to fight with the Ukrainian military. Of course this isn’t anything like the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. When you go to war against Russia, you can be suddenly killed by a cruise missile while you are sleeping… THREE British ex-special forces troops are feared to have been killed following a deadly Russian airstrike on a base close to the Polish border. It is believed they died instantly in the cruise missile blast which reportedly killed several more than previously through – possibly well over 100 – according to the Daily Mirror. Insiders have said the three men were not part of the foreign fighters unit that was being trained at the Yavoriv base on the edge of the border with Poland. It remains unclear which branch of special forces they had served in. And once you get over to Ukraine, there is a very good chance that they may not ever let you leave. If you doubt this, just listen to this testimony from someone that was miraculously able to make it out of the country. WATCH – LISTEN Those that are pro-Russia get upset with me because I am not cheering for the Russians to win. And those that are pro-Ukraine get upset with me because I am not cheering for the Ukrainians to win. But this is not a game. I was strongly advocating for peace before the war erupted, and I am strongly advocating for peace now. So many are needlessly dying, and the longer this war stretches on the more likely it is that it will lead to a global nuclear conflict. And if a global nuclear conflict happens, billions of people could die. So I am not ashamed to be rooting for peace. Unfortunately, leaders on both sides are making very foolish decisions, and so I don’t expect the shooting to end very soon. --------------------------- Investing in Evil – Todd Strandberg - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ In the summer of 2003, Vladimir Putin flew to London on a special mission: cementing Russia’s business ties with the West. Now that Russia was free of Communism, many companies saw the opportunity to make huge amounts of money from an untapped market. Putin donned a white tie and tails to dine with Queen Elizabeth II. He sipped iced vodka with 700 bankers and business executives. And during an energy conference with Prime Minister Tony Blair, he watched the British company BP sign a commitment to invest $6 billion in a Russian oil and gas venture. “Our priority is the step-by-step integration of Russia into the European and world economy,” Putin told the conference, stressing Russia’s desire to double its economy and attract investment in high-tech and aerospace sectors, too. Such cooperation, he said, three years into his presidency, would be “a great investment in strengthening Europe’s stability.” Nearly 20 years on, those deals and plans lie in ruins as Western governments and companies isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil have said they will abandon multibillion-dollar investments in energy. Banks and insurance companies worldwide are cutting transactions with their Russian counterparts. Investors could be forgiven for giving their money to a nation that was free of Communism. When it became clear that Putin was a dictator, they should have looked for the door. They foolishly thought they could work with a tyrant and suffered a great loss for their mistake. Any money invested in Russia is now trapped. Moscow is blocking foreign investors, who hold tens of billions of dollars worth of Russian stocks and bonds, from exiting. Russian companies were also barred from paying dividends to overseas shareholders. The Russian stock market has been closed for several days. People need to keep in mind that the Russian stock market closed in 1917 and didn’t open up until 75 years later. At any point, Putin can have a company nationalized, wiping out the stock value of shareholders. The value of Russian ETF funds that are still trading in the West has seen huge losses. The Dow Jones Russia GDR Index is an index designed to track the top Russian Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs). The index plunged a mind-boggling 97% in just a few days and wiped out $572 billion from the market value of 23 stocks, including Gazprom PJSC, Sberbank of Russia PJSC, and Rosneft PJSC. One of the most widely traded ETFs is VanEck Vectors Russia fund that trades under the stock symbol of RSX. It traded at $33 right before the invasion and quickly dropped to $5 as Russian troops moved in. I’m shocked to see that many investors are buying up these Russian stocks. They are lured in by PE rations at one-tenth of US stocks. The people buying these stocks are hoping that peace will return and these stocks could go up many folds. Stocks like Gazprom would seem to be a good investment with vast resources and a near-monopoly in the natural gas business. However, the stock has done poorly since it became a public company in 2006. Nearly all the Russian ETFs have gone down since their IPO. Investing in Russia is investing in evil. The nation is run by a tyrant that has pocketed hundreds of billions from bribes and fraud. The oligarchs that run the companies use them as their personal debit cards. In the past week, dozens of Western companies have closed their operations in Russia. The Russian government has proposed nationalizing these shuttered foreign-owned companies. Toyota, Nike, and IKEA didn’t take their factories with them when they closed up shop. The abandoned inventory, property, and investments worth billions are just a free gift to the Russian government. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Western nations have pumped about $400 billion into Russia. These so-called investments have only benefited Putin and his cronies. When BP made that $6 original investment into Russia, it poured another $19 in over the years and now has to write off the whole $25 billion. I like to think that the West has learned a valuable lesson in realizing the danger of investing with a dictator. We lost equal amounts of money in the 70s and 80s by investing in South American nations that were run by military dictatorships. Things would get tough, and we would have our investments nationalized. The same scenario would play out again in the same nation a dozen years down the road. Greed has a special power to blind people to even the most obvious financial danger. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10). ------------------------ Praise Of Zelenskyy Highlights The Global Hunger For A Worldly ‘Savior’ - By Breanna Claussen - https://harbingersdaily.com/praise-of-zelenskyy-highlights-the-global-hunger-for-a-worldly-savior/ Volodymyr Zelenskyy has garnered much praise over the past few weeks for his strong leading of the Ukrainians amid invasion from Russia and his refusal to go into hiding despite Russian assassination attempts. The now seemingly famous line is, “I need Ammunition, not a ride.” Ukraine is in great need of support. Russia is mercilessly attacking them under the dark and scheming leadership of an emboldened Vladimir Putin bent on war. Respect for Zelenskyy’s actions was and is warranted. As a Christian, seeing a leader take a hands-on approach in war has brought to mind Biblical accounts of kings accompanying their armies into battle, a way of doing things that has been long lost in the modern age. However, as the world’s praise has risen to an out-of-control level and information about his ties to the World Economic Forum emerged, a point was reached in which many Christians began to become cautious about the Ukrainian leader. To understand the reason for this concern, we need to go back to the Bible, which describes a future leader of a global government that will emerge and be viewed as a savior of the world. Scripture refers to Him as the lawless one, and the “anti-Christ” (Rev. 13, Daniel 7, 9:27, 2 Thes. 2, 1 John 2:18). In a recent “Prophecy Roundtable” alongside Amir Tsarfati, Barry Stagner, and Mike Golay, Jan Markell stated that amid a vacuum of leadership in the world, Zelenskyy might be a person Christians should cautiously keep their eye on. “Right now, the world lacks a leader. We don’t have a leader in our White House. We don’t have a leader in Europe, really. I believe the world is longing for somebody that they can look to as a hero, a Mr. Fix-it,” she explained. “Along comes a very obscure person; actually, he was an actor at one time, and in the last three years, he became Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a very intriguing fellow. I’m very captivated by him, and I think the world is captivated by him as well.” “There’s talk that he’s an antichrist candidate; we don’t know that,” she underscored. “Look, people said Emmanuel Macron was an antichrist candidate, and he’s sinking in the sunset really fast, so I think we have to be careful of even saying things like that.” Who the Antichrist will be is a mystery and will remain a mystery in the time prior to the Rapture of the Church; therefore, too much speculation is largely un-useful and stirs dangerous conjecture. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 KJV – “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 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” (emphasis added). Markell added that it is unlikely Zelenskyy will be alive for very long considering the bounty Russia has placed on his life. “My goodness, the goal of the Russians right now is to bump him off. How on earth might he be protected? That would be a God thing,” she maintained. “But I think folks should keep an eye on him.” “If he does survive and if he were to rise in power somewhere, just keep an eye on him,” she concluded. One piece of news that well summarized the over-the-top praise and certainly won’t diminish the stirs of Zelenskyy as a possible “antichrist candidate” came in the form of a song written about the leader titled, “Can One Man Save The World?” The song’s lyrics, written by John Ondrasik, read: “Nail or carry up his cross, I don’t know but he’s got everyone thinking, yeah, he’s got all of us thinking, Can one man save the world?” Does this song mean that Zelenskyy is the future anti-Christ? Of course not. Similarly, The Economist’s magazine cover depicting Emmanuel Macron walking on water with the words “Europe’s Savior?” does not mean Macron will fill the prophetic role. Both demonstrate, however, that the Christ-rejecting world is growing in its hunger for a worldly savior, and the true Antichrist is waiting in the wings to fill that wicked role. The Gospel truth and Good news is that one man did save the world. God Himself became a man through His precious Son, Jesus Christ. Christ placed upon Himself the sins of the entire world so that by Faith in His identity, sacrifice, and resurrection we can be saved and inherit eternal life. 1 John 4:14 KJV – “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” --------------------------------- Is Psalm 83 a Possible Key to Ezekiel 38:8? - By Dave Hubley - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/03/16/is-psalm-83-a-possible-key-to-ezekiel-388-by-dave-hubley/ In the past few weeks, there has been a considerable uptick in interest/speculation, etc., about the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel spoken of in Ezekiel Chapter 38 and 39. Given recent activities, it is no surprise. I have been a student of Bible prophecy for over two and a half decades, and in that time, I have read much in the way of different interpretations of the “when,” not “if” about these verses. While I am in the camp of those who believe this invasion will not happen prior to the Rapture, this article will deal with a rather intriguing verse dwelling in the midst of Ezekiel 38. That is to say, verse 8. Ezekiel 38:7-9 “Get ready; prepare yourself, you and all your company gathered around you; you will be their guard. 8 After a long time you will be summoned. In the latter years you will enter a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and all now dwell securely. 9 You and all your troops, and many peoples with you will go up, advancing like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.” I think it is clear that Israel has not been “dwelling securely” since the time of the height of Solomon’s kingdom. Neither has Israel ever fully recovered from war. In fact, they must be constantly preparing for that very reality. If you were to travel there today, you could not help but notice that the Israelis are ever on a war footing. In worldly terms, Israel is under a constant existential threat. Every day, every night, every minute. Even since the rebirth of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, there has been no respite. Since the time of Solomon, the warning the Lord gave to the Hebrew peoples in Deuteronomy 28:64-67 has continued unabated, with varying intensity, depending on world conditions. “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. “So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see.” The Lord indeed has, and is still, bringing about all that He promised due to the intransigence of His people. It should be carefully noted here that while this discussion relates to the Jews, by no means would ANY OTHER PEOPLE have behaved any differently or any “better.” Now let us examine verse 8 of Ezekiel 38 as it may be seen in light of Psalm 83: verses 1-8. Psalm 83:1-8 “O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God. See how Your enemies rage, how Your foes have reared their heads. With cunning they scheme against Your people and conspire against those You cherish, saying, ‘Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.’ For with one mind they plot together, they form an alliance against You—the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, of Philistia with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them, lending strength to the sons of Lot.” There are many who believe that this imprecatory prayer is simply that. But there are many who believe that this is a war yet future. It is from the position that it is an actual future war that this author will seek to pose a consideration that makes some sense of verse 8 in Ezekiel’s prophecy. The “nations” specifically mentioned in verses 6 and 7 above are, for the most part, immediately surrounding the modern-day state of Israel. While the names have changed, the various origins, ethnic groups, etc., that comprise the countries that are Israel’s modern-day neighbors still exist today, along with the mindset that has always been present throughout history. In the hearts of the leaders of these countries (not every citizen), there is a burning hatred for the Jews, and the conditions described in verses 2-5 above are alive and active. Nothing has changed. Politically, things may occasionally seem peaceful, but nothing has really changed. If – and I emphasize IF – a war was to break out between the Psalm 83 nations and Israel, and Israel was to achieve a complete victory with the perception that they “did it by their own power, technology, and skill,” and they were to annex these lands and feel that they (Israel) were “invincible,” would it be possible that they might feel that they would finally be secure? That they might drop their guard? This precedent has existed before. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel became complacent, even overconfident, and was almost overrun in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War. They had dropped their guard. Their enemies pounced, and they were in serious trouble at the beginning of the war. I spoke with an IDF soldier when I visited Israel back in 2012, and he said that they (the IDF and the Israeli people) were tired of the constant daily pressure and threats of annihilation. “We just want peace,” he said. I believe him. I can see where they would almost accept peace without careful examination of the conditions around them and even fail to consider the prophecies present in their own Old Testament scriptures. I would suggest that this condition, were Psalm 83 to become a reality, would be one of the only situations that could explain this seemingly mysterious verse (38:8) residing in Ezekiel’s prophecy. It also might explain why the countries listed as the allies of Magog in the Ezekiel prophecies do not appear to include any of the countries that immediately surround Israel at present. It might also offer an explanation for one other prophecy that I have pondered over the years. Isaiah 17:1 and 14) “1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap…. 14And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.” This prophecy appears to indicate that the destruction of Damascus will occur in a single night. Could this prophecy be encased in a real Psalm 83 war as a result of Syria (or Iran through Syria) employing chemical or biological weapons? Could Israel annex all of Syria, resulting in the loss of the warm water ports that Russia has invested so heavily in, as well as massive Russian casualties? Could this, along with Israel’s vast, newly discovered resources, constitute the “hook” of Ezekiel 38:4? I have wondered about these things for many years. In the closing chapter of the book of Daniel (12:4), we read: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” This can mean both general, technological knowledge (which is certainly true today), but as with many prophecies in God’s Word, it can have a dual meaning. That is to say, it can also indicate a more complete understanding of hitherto unclear prophecies like a lifting fog. I suspect that we will soon see. A word of caution: We can speculate and wonder about these prophesies, but we must always remember: God is the final arbiter of prophecy fulfillment. It is His signature. Isaiah 46:9-10: “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'” A parting plea: For anyone who may read this article who has not come to salvation in Jesus Christ, I offer this plea in hopes that you have come looking for answers to the blitzkrieg of uncertainty regarding everyday life that surrounds us all in this period that is the end of the end of days. You can be saved from the consequences of ignoring God and denying that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life by coming to Him under His terms. And what are His terms according to His Word? Genuine repentance Confession of sins Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross To acknowledge that you are unable to pay that debt To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion If you do this and you genuinely mean it, you will receive the free gift of eternal life guaranteed by God’s own Word. John 5:24: “Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears my words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life.” Pro Salvator Vigilans To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com --------------------------------------- Siege And Squeeze: The Mainstream Media In The West Doesn�t Understand Russian Military Tactics In Ukraine - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/siege-and-squeeze-the-mainstream-media-in-the-west-doesnt-understand-russian-military-tactics-in-ukraine/ The Russians are employing the exact same tactics that we witnessed in Syria and during the two Chechen wars, but the mainstream media doesn�t seem to understand this. Up to this point, the mainstream media has used the fact that many major Ukrainian cities have not yet fallen as evidence that the war is not going too well for Russia. But the truth is that the Russians did not intend to recklessly send their forces into dense urban areas immediately. That is something that western military leaders do way too often, and it is a way to get thousands of troops needlessly gunned down. Instead, the Russians are encircling the largest Ukrainian cities. A perimeter is established which cuts off all food and supplies, and then the circle is slowly but surely squeezed tighter as the �cauldron� is relentlessly pummeled by Russian firepower. It is essentially ancient siege warfare adapted for modern times, and the Russians have previously used such tactics with devastating effectiveness� The siege is a military tactic popularized in medieval times and designed to crush a population through starvation and violence, allowing an attacking force to spare its own soldiers the cost of entering a hostile city. Instead, civilians are the ones left to die, slowly and painfully. Putin has refined the tactic during his years in power, first in the Chechen city of Grozny in 2000 and then in the Syrian city of Aleppo in 2016. By the time those two sieges were over, Grozny and Aleppo were both totally leveled. Now �siege and squeeze� is being employed against a number of the largest Ukrainian cities simultaneously, and that includes the capital of Kiev� As the number of people driven from the country by war eclipsed 3 million, large explosions thundered across Kyiv before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes, as Russia�s assault on the capital appeared to become more systematic and edged toward the city center. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city, killing dozens of people. The shelling ignited a huge fire in a 15-story apartment building and spurred a frantic rescue effort. The good news for the Ukrainians is that Kiev has not been entirely encircled just yet. But the situation is much more dire in Ukraine�s second-largest city� In Kharkiv, Ukraine�s second-largest city, time is elastic. It�s close to the border with Russia and the nightly shelling from Russian artillery and warplanes gives no rest. The past two weeks have seemed like an eternity, yet peace can be remembered as if it were yesterday. In a frozen landscape on the city�s north-eastern edge, 21-year-old Lieutenant Yevgen Gromadsky stands with hands outstretched. There are trenches dug in nearby. �Outgoing,� he says, lifting his right hand to accompany the thump of fire from his positions. �Incoming,� he says, and his left hand ticks up. With a crump, Russian shells are fired from their positions 900m away across snow-covered fields. Let us pray for peace in Ukraine, because countless more people are going to die in the weeks and months to come if this conflict drags on. Perhaps the best example of �siege and squeeze� right now is the southern city of Mariupol� Russian forces have successfully encircled Mariupol and are conducting daily assaults on the western and eastern outskirts of the city. Russian air, missile, and artillery strikes continue to target residential areas and civilian infrastructure to force the city to capitulate. Russian forces have encircled the city to a depth that will likely prevent the defenders from breaking out and prevent Ukrainian efforts to relieve the defenders. Russian forces will likely be able to capture Mariupol or force it to capitulate despite strong Ukrainian defenses. The Russian capture of Mariupol will free up Russian forces, likely including large portions of the 8th Combined Arms Army, to threaten Ukrainian defenders along the line of contact in Donbas with encirclement or alternatively reinforce a Russian offensive toward Mykolayiv and Odesa. This assessment assumes that the defenders in Mariupol will run out of ammunition and/or water at some point in the relatively near future. I think that the Russians feel a particular sense of urgency to �finish the job� in Mariupol because of the Azov Battalion and other forces that are based there. If you have been following the situation in Ukraine for an extended period of time, then you know exactly what I am talking about. If the Russians are planning to agree to a ceasefire in the not too distant future, it is likely that they would like to wipe out the Azov Battalion and their allies before that happens. And right now Mariupol is being pounded like no other major city in the entire country� Each airstrike and shell that relentlessly pounds Mariupol � about one a minute at times � drives home the curse of a geography that has put the city squarely in the path of Russia�s domination of Ukraine. This southern seaport of 430,000 has become a symbol of Russian President Vladimir Putin�s drive to crush democratic Ukraine � but also of a fierce resistance on the ground. In the nearly three weeks since Russia�s war began, two Associated Press journalists have been the only international media present in Mariupol, chronicling its fall into chaos and despair. The city is now encircled by Russian soldiers, who are slowly squeezing the life out of it, one blast at a time. The Russians said that one of their goals was to �demilitarize� Ukraine, but way too many civilians are dying. Millions upon millions of Ukrainians are deeply suffering because of a war that the politicians started, and that isn�t right. And ultimately this conflict in Ukraine could spark a much broader war between the western powers and Russia. If that happens, it would be way too easy for things to �go nuclear�. In fact, even the Secretary General of the United Nations is warning that nuclear war is �now back within the realm of possibility�� U.N. Secretary General Ant�nio Guterres said Monday that the prospect of nuclear conflict is �now back within the realm of possibility� after Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the alert levels of the country�s nuclear forces last month. In remarks to reporters, Guterres called Putin�s move a �bone-chilling development� and said further escalation of the war in Ukraine would threaten all of humanity. �It�s time to stop the horror unleashed on the people of Ukraine and get on the path of diplomacy and peace,� he said. Stopping a nuclear war is in all of our interests, because a nuclear war would mean the end of civilization as we know it. But instead of pursuing peace, leaders on both sides just continue to escalate matters. This didn�t have to happen. Politicians on both sides should have been able to sit down and find a diplomatic way out of this mess. But now war is here, and nothing will ever be the same again. ----------------------------------- Ukraine and the Devaluing of Human Life � Jonathan Brentner - https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2022/3/17/ukraine-and-the-devaluing-of-human-life Many have written about the possible prophetic significance of Russia�s invasion of Ukraine, but what strikes me the most is the devaluing of human life that�s evident on both sides of this conflict. I realize that such disregard for life has been a part of wars throughout history; it�s full of genocidal accounts committed by evil people yielded to the devil. Who else could inspire such atrocities? What we see today is worse than anything before because the devaluing of human life is more widespread than ever before. In America, we murder 1.1 million babies each year, 63.6 million preborn children since 1973. According to the World Health Organization, the number of abortions worldwide each year stands at about 73,000,000. This worldwide genocide is barbaric and demonic. The Lord will severely judge this shedding of innocent blood (Psalm 75:8). What should we expect from world leaders and governments that have a long history of advocating the killing of preborn babies? Why are we surprised at their tendency to disregard human life in many other areas? Concerning the war in Ukraine, it�s clear that human life matters very little to Vladimir Putin; his tactics are brutal and demonstrate a total disregard for the welfare of the Ukrainian people, to say the least. As for the west, I see a similar contempt. Now that Putin is exacting a heavy toll of death and causing a humanitarian crisis not seen since WWII, America and the rest of Europe seem content to let the war continue amid great human suffering; they have yet to take seriously Putin�s demands for peace or intervene in a meaningful way to stop the killing and suffering. On March 16, 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, pleaded with the U.S. Congress and President Joe Biden to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Putin has said that such an action would widen the scope of the war and lead to a nuclear confrontation with the west. Why is Zelenskyy asking the U.S. take such action and risk a nuclear war that would lead to the deaths of millions of people? Does any of this make sense? A CLASH OF GLOBALISTS The battle in Ukraine is shaping up as a clash of globalists seeking to acquire power in the coming New World Order. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a graduate of Klaus Schwab�s school for global leaders as are many other government leaders in Europe. A member of the Ukraine legislature stated on Fox News that her country was also �fighting for the New World Order,� which aligns with the World Economic Forum (WEF ) training that Zelenskyy received under Klaus Schwab. They are fighting for more than just the survival of their nation. An insightful article appeared in the Canada Free press written by Ray DiLorenzo who is presently affiliated with the Stand Up America Foundation founded by Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely (Ret). Zelenskyy is not the hero. Like Biden, Zelenskyy is a puppet of the New World Order, taking orders from the globalist elites in Davos, not allowed to make peace with Russia, lest Russia�s sanctions are removed. Russia has been negotiating with Ukraine to get civilians out of cities under siege to little or no avail. The Ukraine government, while sabotaging talks, will not allow any Ukrainians to escape to Russia or Belarus, threatening to shoot them if they try.[i] Those in control of the U.S. government are likewise devoted to the ideals of the WEF, which strives to enslave the world under a tyrannical Marxist world order that currently flies under the banner of benign-sounding terms such as the �Great Reset� and �Build Back Better.� On the other side we have Russia, China, and perhaps Iran. I believe Russia/China alliance is fighting for their version of a new world order or perhaps a greater role in the coming �Great Reset.� Vladimir Putin is also a graduate of Klaus Schwab�s school for young global leaders. However, Putin vigorously opposes the LBGT agenda and has no tolerance for the BLM or ANTIFA, which is probably another reason why the left hates him. I�m not defending him or his demonic killing of people in Ukraine, only pointing out differences in the visions for the future of the world. Putin has long wanted to annex Ukraine, but he also believes he is fighting a regime infiltrated with Nazis. Ray DiLorenzo had this to say about the strange behavior of the West in regard to the war in Ukraine: The West seems to want conflict with Russia while Ukraine is doing their best to make it happen. . . .The New World Order (NWO) globalists want Putin to rot in Moscow while elites like Soros arrange regime change.[ii] I agree with the above observation. The globalists need a destabilized word in order to bring about the Great Reset. They cannot �build back better� until the current order of our world lies in ashes and they offer their solution. THE PERIL FACING US Regardless of where the conflict in Ukraine takes the world, the unwillingness of either side to compromise has already led to dire predictions for the remainder of 2022 and beyond. Here is what Michael Snyder recently wrote about food crises created by the war in Ukraine on his blog, The Economic Collapse: Previously, I have written about how global agricultural production is going to be down all over the globe in 2022 because fertilizer prices have started to spiral out of control. In fact, in Africa alone it is being projected that enough food to feed 100 million people will not be grown this year because of the outrageous cost of fertilizer. Well, guess what? It turns out that Russia is one of the biggest global exporters of fertilizer� Even before the war erupted, some types of fertilizer had doubled in price, some had tripled in price and some had actually quadrupled in price. A few weeks ago, I shared what one industry insider told me about fertilizer prices. He warned that many farmers all over the U.S. simply will not be able to grow corn this year because it will not be profitable due to soaring fertilizer prices. And now fertilizer prices are likely to go much higher. This really is a nightmare. Six months down the road, we are likely to see food riots all over the globe. I believe he is correct, unless both sides quickly agree to a peaceful resolution, both the war and the sanctions on Russia will lead to a critical worldwide lack of food that will negatively impact all the nations of the earth. Even with a sudden end to the hostilities, it might be too late to avoid the impending food calamities predicted for later in 2022. Leo Hohmann shared this quote on Telegram: �Ukrainian farmers - who produced a record grain crop last year - say they now are short of fertilizer, as well as pesticides and herbicides. And even if they had enough of those materials, they can�t get enough fuel to power their equipment, they add. �Ukraine and Russia are major wheat exporters, together accounting for about a third of world exports- almost all of which passes through the Black Sea.� Ukraine is a world leader in growing wheat and barley; many consider the nation to be the �breadbasket of Europe.� When we turn to the third horsemen of Revelation 6:1-8, what do we see as the key shortages? Wheat and barley (v. 6). Since we will be safely with the Lord in heaven before He opens the seals of Revelation 6, how close must our homegoing be if these predictions of famine materialize? Ronald Reagan often said this while he was president, �You ain�t seen nothing yet!� to depict the good things he had planned for the U.S. As for the wars and catastrophic events currently occurring across the planet, we might say the same thing regarding what lies ahead for our world after the Rapture. The elite globalists created the supply chain crisis and now with the war, vital supplies needed to grow crops will be in even shorter supply. The resulting famine and suffering will further their purpose of bringing in the Great Reset, which is all that matters to them. The suffering and death caused by their agenda does not matter to them; it�s all about achieving the power they crave. Far too many people ignore the satanic mindset of the globalists and those that wield great power throughout our world. If they can promote the slaughter of innocent preborn children, they are also capable of causing inflicting suffering and the deaths of millions, or many more, as long as it suits their agenda. OUR HOPE: REAL AND EXCITING For all of us who know Jesus as our Savior, please know that our hope does rest on things getting better in this tattered and dark world, but solely upon Christ and His promises to us. The Lord inspired Paul to assure the Thessalonians that they would not see the Lord�s wrath during the future day of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10); this is also His promise to us. God�s judgments on sinful humanity will overtake the entire earth after the Rapture, but we will be safely with Jesus before the Tribulation period starts. We might suffer between now and the Rapture; the forecast food shortages will likely impact us, or those we love, if the Lord does not come for us soon. Whatever happens, we can rest in the absolute assurance that Jesus is coming to take us to the place He�s preparing for us in His Father�s house (John 14:1-3). It could happen today. We have a glorious future regardless of what we experience in this broken and evil world until then. The Bible assures us of a glorious eternity as we eagerly wait for Jesus� imminent appearing. Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is now available on Amazon. It�s written to provide hope for the perilous times in which we live. Jonathan C. Brentner Website: Our Journey Home [i] Ray DiLorenzo, Putin vs. Zelenskyy - Part 2, Before We Descend Into the Abyss, March 12, 2022, on the Canada Free Press Website, https://canadafreepress.com/article/putin-vs-zelenskyy-part-2-before-we-descend-into-the-abyss [ii] Ibid. --------------------------------------

PRE-TRIBULATION WORLD SHAPING UP -------------

10 Signs the War In Ukraine Is Part Of The Great Reset - Tyler Durden - https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/10-signs-war-ukraine-part-great-reset Welcome to the second phase of the Great Reset: war. While the pandemic acclimatized the world to lockdowns, normalized the acceptance of experimental medications, precipitated the greatest transfer of wealth to corporations by decimating SMEs and adjusted the muscle memory of workforce operations in preparation for a cybernetic future, an additional vector was required to accelerate the economic collapse before nations can ‘Build Back Better.’ I present below several ways in which the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is the next catalyst for the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset agenda, facilitated by an interconnected web of global stakeholders and a diffuse network of public-private partnerships. 1. The war between Russia and Ukraine is already causing unprecedented disruption to global supply chains, exacerbating fuel shortages and inducing chronic levels of inflation. As geopolitical tensions morph into a protracted conflict between NATO and the Sino-Russia axis, a second contraction may plunge the economy into stagflation. In the years ahead, the combination of subpar growth and runaway inflation will force a global economic underclass into micro-work contracts and low-wage jobs in an emerging gig economy. Another recession will compound global resource thirst, narrow the scope for self-sufficiency and significantly increase dependence on government subsidies. With the immiseration of a significant portion of the world’s labor force looming on the horizon, this may well be a prelude to the introduction of a Universal Basic Income, leading to a highly stratified neo-feudal order. Therefore, the World Economic Forum’s ominous prediction that we will ‘own nothing and be happy’ by 2030 seems to be unfolding with horrifying rapidity. 2. The war’s economic fallout will lead to a dramatic downsizing of the global workforce. The architects of the Great Reset have anticipated this trend for a number of years and will exploit this economic turbulence by propelling the role of disruptive technologies to meet global challenges and fundamentally alter traditional business patterns to keep pace with rapid changes in technology. Like the pandemic, disaster preparedness in the age of conflict will rest significantly on the willingness to embrace specific technological innovations in the public and private spheres so that future generations can supply the labor demands of the Great Reset. A recurring theme in Klaus Schwab’s Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is that groundbreaking technological and scientific innovations will no longer be relegated to the physical world around us but become extensions of ourselves. He emphasizes the primacy of emerging technologies in a next generation workforce and highlights the urgency to push ahead with plans to digitize several aspects of the global labor force through scalable technology based solutions. Those spearheading the Great Reset seek to manage geopolitical risk by creating new markets which revolve around digital innovations, e-strategies, telepresence labor, Artificial Intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, the Internet of Things and the Internet of Bodies. The breakneck speed in which AI technologies are being deployed suggest that the optimization of such technologies will initially bear on traditional industries and professions which offer a safety net for hundreds of millions of workers, such as farming, retail, catering, manufacturing and the courier industries. However, automation in the form of robots, smart software and machine learning will not be limited to jobs which are routine, repetitive and predictable. AI systems are on the verge of wholesale automation of various white collar jobs, particularly in areas which involve information processing and pattern recognition such as accounting, HR and middle management positions. Although anticipating future employment trends is no easy task, it’s safe to say that the combined threat of pandemics and wars means the labour force is on the brink of an unprecedented reshuffle with technology reshaping logistics, potentially threatening hundreds of millions of blue and white collar jobs, resulting in the greatest and fastest displacement of jobs in history and foreshadowing a labor market shift which was previously inconceivable. While it has long been anticipated that the increased use of technology in the private sector would result in massive job losses, pandemic lockdowns and the coming disruption caused by a war will speed up this process, and many companies will be left with no other option but to lay off staff and replace them with creative technological solutions merely for the survival of their businesses. In other words, many of the jobs which will be lost in the years ahead were already moving towards redundancy and are unlikely to be recovered once the dust is settled. 3. The war has significantly reduced Europe’s reliance on the Russian energy sector and reinforced the centrality of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ‘net zero‘ emissions which lies at the heart of the Great Reset. Policymakers marching lockstep with the Great Reset have capitalised on the tough sanctions against Russia by accelerating the shift towards ‘green’ energy and reiterating the importance of decarbonization as part of the ‘fight against climate change’. However, it would be very short-sighted to assume that the Great Reset is ultimately geared towards the equitable distribution of ‘green’ hydrogen and carbon-neutral synthetic fuels replacing petrol & diesel. While UN SDGs are crucial to post-pandemic recovery, more importantly, they are fundamental to the makeover of shareholder capitalism which is now being vaunted by the Davos elites as ‘stakeholder capitalism’. In economic terms, this refers to a system where governments are no longer the final arbiters of state policies as unelected private corporations become the de facto trustees of society, taking on the direct responsibility to address the world’s social, economic and environmental challenges through macroeconomic cooperation and a multi-stakeholder model of global governance. Under such an economic construct, asset holding conglomerates can redirect the flow of global capital by aligning investments with the UN’s SDGs and configuring them as Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) compliant so that new international markets can be built on the disaster and misery of potentially hundreds of millions of people reeling from the economic collapse caused by war. Therefore, the war offers a huge impetus for the governments pushing the reset to actively pursue energy independence, shape markets towards ‘green and inclusive growth’ and eventually move populations towards a cap-and-trade system, otherwise known as a carbon credit economy. This will centralize power in the hands of stakeholder capitalists under the benevolent guise of reinventing capitalism through fairer and greener means, using deceptive slogans like ‘Build Back Better’ without sacrificing the perpetual growth imperative of capitalism. 4. Food shortages created by the war will offer a major boon to the synthetic biology industry as the convergence of digital technologies with materials science and biology will radically transform the agricultural sector and encourage the adoption of plant-based and lab-grown alternatives on a global scale. Russia and Ukraine are both breadbaskets of the world and critical shortages in grains, fertilizers, vegetable oils and essential foodstuffs will catapult the importance of biotechnology to food security and sustainability and give birth to several imitation meat start-ups similar to ‘Impossible Foods’ which was co-funded by Bill Gates. One can therefore expect more government regulation to usher a dramatic overhaul to industrial food production and cultivation, ultimately benefiting agribusiness and biotech investors, since food systems will be redesigned through emerging technologies to grow ‘sustainable’ proteins and CRISPR gene-edited patented crops. 5. Russia’s exclusion from SWIFT (The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) foreshadows an economic reset which will generate precisely the kind of blowback necessary for corralling large swathes of the global population into a technocratic control grid. As several economists have opined, weaponizing SWIFT, CHIPS (The Clearing House Interbank Payments System) and the US Dollar against Russia will only spur geopolitical rivals like China to accelerate the process of de-dollarization. The main benefactor of economic sanctions against Russia appears to be China which can reshape the Eurasian market by encouraging member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS to bypass the SWIFT ecosystem and settle cross-border international payments in the Digital Yuan. While the demand for cryptocurrencies will see a massive spike, this is likely to encourage many governments to increasingly regulate the sector through public blockchains and enforce a multilateral ban on decentralized cryptocurrencies. The shift to crypto could be the dress rehearsal to eventually expedite plans for programmable money overseen by a federal regulator, leading to the greater accretion of power in the hands of a powerful global technocracy and thus sealing our enslavement to financial institutions. I believe this war will bring currencies to parity, therefore heralding a new Bretton Woods moment which promises to transform the operation of international banking and macroeconomic cooperation through the future adoption of central bank digital currencies. 6. This war marks a major inflection point in the globalist aspiration for a new international rules-based order anchored in Eurasia. As the ‘father of geopolitics’ Halford Mackinder opined over a century ago, the rise of every global hegemon in the past 500 years has been possible because of dominance over Eurasia. Similarly, their decline has been associated with losing control over that pivotal landmass. This causal connection between geography and power has not gone unnoticed by the global network of stakeholders representing the WEF, many of whom have anticipated the transition to a multipolar era and return to great power competition amid America’s receding political and economic influence and a pressing need for what technocrats call smart globalization. While America tries desperately to cling to its superpower status, China’s economic ascent and Russia’s regional ambitions threaten to upend the strategic axial points of Eurasia (Western Europe and Asia Pacific). The region in which America previously enjoyed uncontested hegemony is no longer impervious to cracks and we may be witnessing a changing of the guard which dramatically alters the calculus of global force projection. Although China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has the potential to unify the world-island (Asia, Africa and Europe) and cause a tectonic shift in the locus of global power, the recent invasion of Ukraine will have far-reaching consequences for China-Europe rail freight. The Ukrainian President Zelensky claimed that Ukraine could function as the BRI’s gateway to Europe. Therefore, we cannot ignore China’s huge stake in the recent tensions over Ukraine, nor can we ignore NATO’s underlying ambition to check China’s rise in the region by limiting the sale of Ukrainian assets to China and doing everything in its capacity to thwart The Modern Silk Road. As sanctions push Russia towards consolidating bilateral ties with China and fully integrating with the BRI, a Pan-Eurasian trading bloc may be the realignment which forces a shared governance of the global commons and a reset to the age of US exceptionalism. 7. With speculation mounting over the war’s long term impact on bilateral trade flows between China and Europe, the Russia-Ukraine conflict will catapult Israel – a leading advocate of the Great Reset – to even greater international prominence. Israel is a highly attractive BRI market for China and the CCP is acutely aware of Israel’s importance as a strategic outpost connecting the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea through the Gulf of Suez. Furthermore, the Chinese government has for many years acknowledged the primacy of Israel as a global technology hub and capitalized on Israel’s innovation capabilities to help meet its own strategic challenges. Therefore, Naftali Bennet’s mediation between Moscow and Kiev is likely to factor the instrumental role of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in expanding both China and Israel’s regional and global strategic footprint. Israel’s status as among the leading tech hubs of the future and gateway connecting Europe and the Middle East is inextricably tied to the web of physical infrastructures, such as roads, railways, ports and energy pipelines which China has been building over the past decade. Already a powerhouse in auto-technologies, robotics and cybersecurity, Israel aspires to be the central nation in the millennial Kingdom and the country’s tech startups are predicted to play a key role in the fourth industrial revolution. Strengthening its evolving relationship with China amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis could help propel Israel into a regional hegemon par excellence with a large share of centralized economic and technological power converging in Jerusalem. As Israel embarks on efforts to diversify its export markets and investments away from the United States, it begs an important question. Is Israel in the formative stages of outsourcing its security interests away from the US and hedging its bets on the Sino-Russia axis? 8. It is now common knowledge that Digital IDs are a central plank in the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset agenda and are to be streamlined across industries, supply chains and markets as a way of advancing the UN 2030 SDGs and delivering individualized and integrated services in future smart cities. Many have cottoned on to how such a platform can be used to usher in a global system of technocratic population control and compliance by incorporating humanity into a new corporate value chain where citizens are mined as data commodities for ESG investors and human capital bond markets and assigned a social and climate score based on how well they measure up against the UN SDGs. This seamless verification of people and connected devices in smart environments can only take place once our biometrics, health records, finances, education transcripts, consumer habits, carbon footprint and the entire sum of human experiences is stored on an interoperable database to determine our conformity with the UN SDGs, thus forcing a monumental change to our social contract. Vaccine passports were initially touted by public-private partnerships as an entry point for Digital IDs. Now that such a logic has run its course, how might the present geopolitical tensions contribute to scaling what is the key node in a new digital ecosystem? Ukraine has traditionally been called Europe’s breadbasket and alongside Russia, both nations are major global suppliers of staple grains. Therefore, the war has all the makings of a black swan for commodities and inflation. With an economy teetering on the brink of collapse due to a global supply crunch, I believe the resulting economic tremors will trigger wartime emergencies across the world and the public will be told to brace themselves for rationing. Once this takes place, the multilateral adoption of Digital IDs which interface with Central Bank Digital Currencies can be touted as the solution to efficiently manage and distribute household rations under an unprecedented state of emergency and exception. The Bank of England has already floated the prospect of programmable cash which can only be spent on essentials or goods which an employer or government deem sensible. Once the issuer is granted control over how it is spent by the recipient, it will become nigh impossible to function adequately without a Digital ID, which will be required to receive food parcels and obtain a basic means of subsistence. Think UBI (Universal Basic Income). If food inflation continues on an upward trajectory with no signs of abating, governments may institute price controls in the form of rationing and ration entries could be logged on blockchain ledgers on the Digital ID to track our carbon footprint and consumptive habits during a national emergency. 9. Europe is directly in the line of fire once a hybrid war between NATO and the Sino-Russia axis is underway. It would be remiss to ignore the clear and present danger posed by a cyber attack on banks and critical infrastructure or even a tentative and tactical nuclear exchange with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). I can’t see how any warring party will not be limited by the doctrine of mutually assured destruction so a thermonuclear fallout is unlikely. However, the use of remote access technologies to erase system memory from the SWIFT banking apparatus or Cross-Border Interbank Payment System can potentially render much of the international economy non-operational and send the dollar into a tailspin. If an event of such cataclysmic proportions was to occur, it will undoubtedly lead to increasing demands to overhaul cyber security. The fallout from such an event could very well establish a new global security protocol according to which citizens must possess a Digital ID as a necessary national security measure. One can imagine how accessing the internet or public services in the aftermath of a nationwide cyberattack may require citizens to use a Digital ID to authenticate that their online activities and transactions are from a legitimate and non-malicious source. There are few coincidences in politics. 10. The economic implications of this war will be so disastrous that governments and the public sector will require a significant injection of private capital to address the financing shortfall. This will effectively render the traditional separation of powers between central banking institutions and governments obsolete, as the former will be positioned to disproportionately influence the fiscal trajectory of nation states, whose sovereignty will be hollowed out by the wholesale capture of governments by the central banks and hedge funds. Therefore, the nation-state model is gradually being upended by a global technocracy, consisting of an unelected consortium of leaders of industry, central banking oligarchs and private financial institutions, most of which are predominantly non-state corporate actors attempting to restructure global governance and enlist themselves in the global decision-making process. Therefore, the future of international relations and the social, economic and political transformation which the world is presently undergoing in light of the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict will not be decided through multilateralism and elected representatives of sovereign states. Rather, it will be decided through a network of multi-stakeholder partnerships which are motivated by the politics of expediency and not accountable to any electorate or beholden to any state and for whom concepts like sovereignty and international law are meaningless. ---------------------------- Tribulation Rising: The Globalists Need a War � By Jan Markell - https://harbingersdaily.com/tribulation-risingthe-globalists-need-a-war/ We do not know where the Russia/ Ukraine conflict is heading in Eastern Europe. In a worst-case scenario, Russia will try to seize much of its old territory. The Baltics are in the bear�s sites, as well as Poland, Romania, and Hungary. And while Ukraine has fought the good fight and, she cannot overpower Putin�s military. The conflict could also abruptly end before this periodical hits your mailbox. Russia is paying an economic price that is staggering. But most analysts feel Russia will do to Ukraine what they did to Aleppo, Syria: Virtually wipe her off the map. The Bear Is Out of Hibernation Ronald Reagan, in his �peace through strength,� forced the Russian bear into hibernation years ago. Not any longer. He�s come out of his den, he�s angry, and he�s a ruthless destroyer. Society became fear-based two years ago with the pandemic, which opened the door for government overreach and dependence on government. More and more, the world longs for a governmental leader, a Mr. Fix-It. Right now, such a person is not prominent. He may be obscure at this time, but he is waiting in the wings. Not one world capital can boast of a successful leader. That is why this headline captivated my attention, posted to Fox News, digital: �Saving Ukraine: Looking for a World Leader to Stand Up.� Weapons of Mass Distraction? Some feel this conflict is a �weapon of mass distraction� planned by the World Economic Forum and George Soros. They need a constant crisis. They instigated a �plandemic� and now have orchestrated a war, all to destabilize. America and capitalism must be taken down for a new world order to rise. Ukraine�s President Zelensky is a lackey of the World Economic Forum, and in his heart, may have as much loyalty to this globalist outfit and a globalist mentality as he does for his home country. He�s not folk hero he�s being painted as. On March 15, a popular new song was released about Zelensky titled, �Can One Man Save the World?� While we must be careful about trying to name the Antichrist, it is clear that this man is drawing international attention, with aspirations given to him as a global leader. Add to that, he is European, Jewish, and rose from obscurity. It would be safe to say he could be another �type� of the Antichrist as the true Antichrist will have these characteristics. A European and Jewish heritage is debated, but this writer believes the real Antichrist will have those identifying markers. While even the Bible refers to the rise of global government, or a new world order for the very last days, Mr. Putin is not a part of this movement. He wants to see Russia�s glory days come back and considers the efforts of Klaus Schwab and George Soros to be foolish. But someday, even Mr. Putin, or his successor, will bow to the Antichrist. The Biden Administration loves a distraction as well. While cannons were blazing, he extended his national emergency powers, pushed smart health cards and vaccine passports, and continued to devastate the U.S. economy. The sky�s the limit with gasoline and grocery costs. Leftist lunacy never lets a crisis go to waste. But how convenient if the people are focused on other things! A Global Food Crisis? But now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, should the war be extended, that is going to push this rapidly-growing global food crisis to a level that none of us have ever seen before. According to the U.N., worldwide food prices in February 2022 were 20.7 percent higher than they were in February 2021. Some are calling the potential food fall-out �catastrophic.� Russia and Ukraine account for a substantial amount of the world�s grain and fertilizer. Due to a shortage of fertilizer, it is estimated that global crop yields could decline by 50%. Throw in the cost and rise of gasoline, and we have a frightful scenario ahead. The words of Klaus Schwab are haunting. He stated some time ago that, �The Great Reset Needs a War.� The Ukraine crisis could end abruptly with a surrender on the part of Mr. Zelensky. But, there is coming a conflict between China and Taiwan, and Iran and Israel, and North Korea is firing missiles into the air. As this is written, there are 40 wars around the world, although some are labeled as a �conflict.� Crash the System and Form Global Government We are so late in the game that the world�s Godless power brokers and global elite can think of only one thing: Global government. They will use any pawn in their game. They would like nothing better than for America to enter a war like the Ukraine conflict because then it would become a world war! The international concern is that the next tactic will be a cyber- attack on a sovereign nation, even derailing the banking system. Out of those ashes will come a digital ID system. The ultimate goal of the one-worlders is to institute a new digital currency. That would give them ALL control. In mid-March, Mr. Biden signed an executive order allowing for a U.S. central bank digital currency. This should shock and concern every American citizen. It Ends Well for Believers but Not for the World! All of this is a set-up for the Rapture of the Church, as the Church escapes the horrors of the Tribulation and its global government. It won�t end well for the globalists, eventually. It will end gloriously well for believers. The Church is restraining much present-day evil. That means that you and I are on a rescue mission presently. We are called to win the lost while there is time, and to occupy until He comes! What a privilege�and a challenge�to be born for such a time as this, as we see all things fall into place.

This is Not the End of the World ----------- YET!!!!

 This is Not the End of the World - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/03/20/this-is-not-the-end-of-the-world-by-daymond-duck/ As I understand the future sequence of events, there will be the Rapture of the Church (I Thess. 4:13-18), the 7-year Tribulation Period (Dan. 9:24-27), the Second Coming of Jesus (Jn. 14:1-6; Acts 1:10-11), the 1,000-year reign of Jesus on earth (Dan. 2:35; Zech. 14:9; Matt. 25:31; Rev. 5:10; Rev. 20:1-6), Satan will be released on earth for an unspecified length of time (Rev. 20:7-8), and eventually there will be a new heaven and new earth (Psa. 102:25-26; Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Matt. 24:35; II Per. 3:13; Rev. 20:11; Rev. 21:1-2). Having said this, Ukrainian Pres. Zelensky recently said, “The end of the world has arrived.” No, the end of the world will come, but not before every jot at tittle of the Word of God is fulfilled. Here are some recent current events that appear to be prophecy-related. One, concerning the Mark of the Beast and tracking all buying and selling: on Mar. 8, 2022, it was reported that Australia will quickly stop using physical money and could go cashless as soon as 2024 (no later than 2031). Two, concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog: on Mar. 11, 2022, it was reported that the E.U. asked Israel to export natural gas to Europe through Egypt. Income that was going to Russia could soon be going to Israel, and it is possible that this could be the hook that entices Russia to attack Israel. •OnMar. 13, 2022, it was reported that Russia has asked China for militaryequipment and aid to support its war in Ukraine. •OnMar. 14, 2022, Bloomberg reported that “Russia’s economy is fraying, itscurrency has collapsed, and its debt is junk. Next up is a potential defaultthat could cost investors billions and shut the country out of most fundingmarkets.” •OnMar. 14, 2022, it was reported that the U.S. warned China that there will beconsequences if China gives military equipment aid to Russia to support itswar in Ukraine. •OnMar. 15, 2022, it was reported that so many Russian citizens started buyinggold bars, the Russian Central Bank has indefinitely suspended goldpurchases. Three, concerning strong delusion: on Mar. 11, 2022, at 1:20 am (exactly two years from the date, Mar. 11, and time, 1:20 am, that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in 2020), 12 ballistic missiles were fired from Iran at a U.S. military base in Irbil, Iraq. Iran attacked the U.S. base at a time when Biden is removing sanctions on Iran, planning to give Iran billions of dollars, and trying to negotiate a deal that will let Iran get nuclear weapons. How can a man that wants to give terrorists billions of dollars and nuclear weapons when they are firing missiles at U.S. troops not be strongly deluded? •Biden’sAssistant Secretary of Health is Rachel Levine. As a man, Rachel was marriedand the father of two boys, but Rachel divorced his wife, started wearing abra and identifying as a woman. •OnMar. 13, 2022, it was reported that Rachel is one of USA Today’s Women ofthe Year. Four, concerning hyper-inflation and an economic collapse, some pundits think we are seeing the beginning stages of an economic collapse now. With the U.S. debt now more than $30 trillion, on Mar. 9, 2022, the U.S. House, and on Mar. 10, 2022, the U.S. Senate, passed a $1.5 trillion spending bill that was more than 2,700 pages long, loaded with pork projects, and few, if any, legislators had time to read. (More: On Mar. 15, 2022, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said producer prices increased 10% in the year ending in February. According to the report, the situation will continue to worsen.) Five, concerning natural disasters increasing in frequency and intensity at the end of the age: on Mar. 13, 2022, it was reported that a 6.4 earthquake struck the Philippines, and a 6.6 earthquake struck Indonesia moments later. It was too early for reports on injuries or destruction. Six, concerning famine, on Mar. 14, 2022, an official with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the inability of Ukrainian farmers to plant crops, especially wheat, is causing massive uncertainty over global food supplies. (My opinion: The rapture of farmers could greatly exacerbate this problem.) Seven, concerning a rebuilt Temple: on Mar. 14, 2022, it was reported that the Mikdash (Temple) Education Center has minted a 10-gram, pure silver coin that they are selling to fund “a practical effort to establish the third Temple.” Eight, concerning the decline of America: on Mar. 16, 2022, the Gatestone Institute reported that an Iraqi political analyst (Ali Al-Sarraf) said, “The Biden administration is very foolish” (for ignoring the concerns of Saudi Arabia and the UAE while listening to Iran and Venezuela). Al-Sarraf said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed rejected Biden’s attempts to contact them, “not because they want to abandon the alliance with the U.S., but because they do not see a president in the White House. This president is deaf. He cannot be trusted.” Biden’s rejection of “America First” and turn to “Globalism First” is hurting the U.S. Finally, are you Rapture Ready? If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this. duck_daymond@yahoo.com

Prophecy and Increased Knowledge

 Prophecy and Increased Knowledge - Nathele Grahams - twotug@embarqmail.com Are you afraid? Do you listen to the network news and find many reasons to stay in your home and bury your head in useless pursuits? Many people are addicted to watching the news and are very scared because of what they hear. Instead of reporting news, it seems reporters are geared to instill fear. People deal with fear in various ways, such as playing video games, partying, YouTube videos with low moral value, and much more. By throwing themselves into such activities, they hope to drive the trouble out of their minds. Instead of turning to God for answers, people turn to the world. The world has no answers, but God does. God has given Biblical prophecy, but the mindset of most Christians is that it’s too confusing. I agree that you can’t understand it unless you study. When you study, it’s important to let go of ancient interpretations, and study it with knowledge of today. Daniel was given an amazing prophecy of the end times, but was told “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:3. The word “knowledge” is “da’at” in Hebrew and means “knowledge, perception, skill and discernment, understanding, wisdom”. In other words, what Daniel was shown would make no sense to him, but as time went on, this prophecy (and indeed, all prophecy) would make more sense. Daniel wanted to know more. “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” Daniel 12:8. He was very concerned about what he had been shown. Remember, Daniel was Jewish and had heard some disturbing things concerning the entire world, but mostly about Israel. We all need to be concerned about Israel. The answer that was given to Daniel wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:9-10. Brothers and sisters, we are nearing “…the time of the end.”, but too many Christians don’t even try to understand prophecy. Have you studied the book of Daniel? Have you studied Revelation? Have you studied any Biblical prophecy? If not, you should, and if you do then use increased knowledge to gain understanding. Until a few years ago, things that happened miles away, could only be known after time had passed. If a large earthquake happened in Japan, it would take time for the news to reach people in distant lands. But now we can watch on-the-spot, live news coverage. As the war between Russian and Ukraine continues, there’s live coverage of it all. I have an App on my cellphone that sends an alert every time rockets are shot at Israel. Sadly, it goes off way too often. When Scripture tells us that there will be two witnesses in the streets of Jerusalem during the final week of History, and that the whole world will see them lying dead in the street, people of yesterday just don’t understand how. Truly knowledge is increasing, and we need to apply it to our understanding of prophecy. It seems that knowledge of Biblical prophecy is stuck in the Dark Ages. Praise God there are a few knowledgeable men who share their insights. When Scripture was first written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit, the weapons of war included horses, spears, and swords. When Isaiah penned the prophecy in Isaiah 17 regarding the destruction of Damascus, the weapons of war were very primitive. “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” Isaiah 17:1-2. I can understand why those who have read it through the years were confused. Damascus, Syria, is an ancient city, and there have been many wars fought there, but none have left it a ruinous heap. How could soldiers on horseback, with swords and arrows totally destroy this large city? Maybe they could have set fire to it? The ancient people wouldn’t have known about airplanes flying over with bombs. You see, updating the understanding of prophecy based on modern knowledge can make it more understandable. The news media is a good thing, but also a bad thing. Instead of simply reporting news they choose a side and give a biased report slanted to make their chosen “hero” look good. Today, Russia is the bad guy, and Ukraine is the good guy. The truth is both are led by humans who fail. The images of the destruction that Russia is causing in Ukraine are truly sickening. On the other hand, do you remember a few years back, when Hunter Biden was paid millions of dollars by the Ukrainian government to basically do nothing? Friends, use discernment when placing your loyalties. The tragedy in Ukraine can also be the catalyst for evangelism. Does that make headlines on the nightly news? There are many Christians who are working hard to provide food and shelter to those who have lost their homes in this war. Another overlooked aspect of the war is that Israel has rescued hundreds of orphans and displaced people. I’m certain that when the fighting ends, there will be many stories of God’s mighty hand at work. Never lose sight of the fact that God is eternal, and nothing that happens surprises Him. His desire is that everyone look to Him for salvation. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:22. The greatest tragedy is when a person dies without asking for salvation through Jesus Christ. Use knowledge of prophecy to witness to the lost. Don’t be afraid to study prophecy. The Apostle Peter tells us just how important it is. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:19-21. Peter had been speaking about his experiences with Jesus, whose birth, life, and death were the subject of many prophecies. Had the religious leaders understood those prophecies, they would have recognized Jesus as their Messiah. They chose blindness and ignorance. The miraculous things Jesus did should have been evidence that He was the Messiah, but understanding prophecy should have clinched it. Today the world is getting darker, but God’s light outshines the darkness. Peter said that Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jeremiah, and all of the other prophets of God, didn’t make up the prophecies, but were inspired by the Holy Spirit. They were given a look into the future, and described it as best they could with their knowledge of the time. Today, we’ve gained knowledge and that should make the study of prophecy come into focus. We are nearing the time of Jacob’s Trouble. That’s what Jeremiah called Daniel’s 70th week. “Alas! for that day is great so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:7. Why is it called the time of Jacob’s Trouble? Jacob was the father of 12 sons, each was the head of one of the tribes of Israel. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Those final seven years (Daniel’s 70th week) are about the nation of Israel. Throughout the Old Testament, God’s chosen people are referred to as “Jacob” or “Israel”. Usually, when the nation is rebelling against their God, they are called Jacob. When the nation is in fellowship with God, they’re referred to as Israel. So, by calling that time “Jacob’s trouble”, we know two things. First, the nation is in rebellion and also, those seven years are about Israel. Today, many Jewish people from all nations are returning to Israel, but most of them don’t believe in God…they aren’t in fellowship with Him. Even though the entire world is judged by the wrath of God, the main focus is Israel and bringing them to a covenant relationship with God. One false belief held by some Christians is that Christians have replaced Israel in God’s heart. That is absolutely ridiculous. We have our place and Israel has their place. Not only have we not replaced Israel, but we will be Raptured prior to the start of Daniel’s 70th week. As secular knowledge increases, Biblical knowledge should also increase. We are drawing very close to Daniel’s 70th week. Study Revelation and understand what a horrific time those seven years will be. When the Lamb opens the first seal, the end begins. Read Revelation with discernment. Christians have nothing to fear from the horrors of that week The reason we have nothing to fear is that we will be safely at Home with our Lord. Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, contain seven letters which Jesus dictated to the Apostle John. These letters describe the history of Christianity. The first letter, addressed to Ephesus, describes those Christians in the first century who faced much persecution. Unfortunately, they had begun to change their focus from a relationship with Christ, to religion. “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and has borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.” Revelation 2:2-3. That sounds good, but Jesus sees everything, and has a criticism. “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left they first love.” Revelation 2:4. They were turning the joy of salvation into works and religion. Today we live in the time of the final letter written to Laodicea…the apostate church. What a sad letter it is. Christ is no longer the focus, but many false teachings have entered. The congregation is lukewarm…neither hot nor cold. Jesus says He will spue them out of His mouth. Apparently, the leadership of the congregation has failed. Instead of preaching the pure Gospel, it’s watered-down God’s truth in order to make it easy for the pew-warmers to hear. We should learn from this, but instead of reading Jesus’ prophetic words, we are shutting Him out of our worship and our lives. When was the last time the Gospel was preached from the pulpit in your place of worship? It does make people uncomfortable to think they sin and need to be forgiven. Jesus isn’t wanted inside the Laodicean congregation, but He hasn’t given up. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20. Don’t wait for the pastor to preach the Gospel. You have a Bible, so study and allow the Holy Spirit and increased knowledge of God’s truth to guide you. Answer the knock…Jesus wants to come in to your heart. The first verse of Chapter 4 reads “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet taking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” Revelation 4:1. Remember, the history of the church ended in chapter 3. The first words in chapter 4 are, in Greek, “meta tauta” which indicate a sequence of events. First the Church Age runs its course, then a door is open in Heaven and The Apostle John (representing Christians) was told to “Come up hither”. John is a picture of the Rapture. Knowledge is so important to understanding all Scripture, but when studying prophecy, knowledge is very important. Use it wisely. God bless you all, Nathele Grahams

Gog/Magog War

Gog/Magog War Can�t Happen Before the Rapture, Part 1 :: By Ron Ferguson I want to write about a matter I know there is a lot of variance about and that I feel fairly strongly about because of proper biblical exegesis. Writers on this site and elsewhere have differing views, but I have rarely seen much in the way of justification for a specific viewpoint for the topic I am going to write on. Opinions seem fixed and interpretation molded around that view. People lock their views in vaults, and they do not justify those views. I suspect a good number of people don�t read what others write, in any case. I would not say that if I did not try to read most of the articles myself. One of the key principles to any exegesis or exposition is that all conclusions must be in harmony with the rest of scripture. In order to do that, one must know what the rest of scripture says and how it links in with the whole revelation of God. The matter I wish to examine critically is the �Gog/Magog War.� Ideas fall into 3 main timeframes, and it is this area that is disputed. As to the combatants, there seems to be general agreement with verses 2 and 3 of Ezekiel 38 being understood. It is the timeframe that I want to write about. The three times given are (1) before the Rapture; that is, it could be anytime now. (2). Somewhere in the Tribulation. (3). At the end of the Tribulation as part of the whole Armageddon conflict. There has been the suggestion that this happens after the start of the Millennium, but that is so unlikely I won�t spend time on it. I am convinced thoroughly that (1) is incorrect, and I know it is the dominant view of some RR writers, and I am not writing against anyone in any way. Please continue to read this fairly and not delete. I don�t hold my position without proof, and the proof is internal. One must be able to support one�s position. With that in mind, let us look at it. 1.Welive in the day of grace when the gospel is proclaimed. It is said tobe the age of God�s silence, which means God always has control over theworld but does not intervene as He did in Noah�s time, and Sodom, and withthe destruction of the Assyrian army in Hezekiah�s time, and especially asHe will in the Tribulation. That is God in open judgment. God may have had a�behind the scenes� influence in World War 1 and WW2, but it was notopenly known or seen. In the Gog/Magog war, it most certainly will be seen.The �silence� of God belongs to the age of grace. It would be totallyinconsistent for God to intervene openly nowin the affairs of the world. 2.Israelis always the key to prophecy. It is especially so in the Ezekielaccount. Romans is very clear that these are the times of the Gentiles, andthat is where all the emphasis is. Israel is on the back burner until theGentile Church is removed, and then God takes up His people again. God willnever work with Jew and Gentile at the same time. The Gog/Magog war sees Godintervening openly for His people, and that dispensationally can�t happenthis side of the Rapture. 3.Theinternal evidence in Ezekiel 38 and 39. The internal evidence is verygreat for NO Gog war before the Rapture, and we will consider those aspectsnow. (a). 38:3-4. [[�and say, Thus says the Lord GOD, �Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, 4 and I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords]] � God takes this initiative to bring armies to destruction. This has not happened in the age of grace and will not happen before the Rapture. It is the call and gathering of the Gog/Magog army. Right now, at the end of the Church age, we can see the beginnings of these power alignments, but that is not the war. (b). We come to verse 8. This verse is a problem for all three views of timing. [[Ezekiel 38:8 �After many days you will be summoned. In the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste, but its people were brought out from the nations and they are living securely, all of them.�]] It cannot be said today that Israel is dwelling securely. Neither is that nation �restored from the sword� with the PLO and Hezbollah firing up to 225 Iranian rockets daily into Israel. Verse 8 just cannot apply to our times. It is an impossibility. Israel is surrounded by enemies. The problem also exists possibly that near the end of the Tribulation when the forces gather for Armageddon, Israel is also not at peace. This is when I think the Gog conflict happens, along with Armageddon. It can�t really be said that the nation at that time is at peace. The only time that happens is in the Millennium when Israel is settled and restored. However, the Lord reigns from Jerusalem, and before that, there has been a judgment of the sheep and goat nations. The forces of Gog would definitely be considered goat nations and would not enter the Tribulation anyway, so they cannot be present then. (c). Another problem is found in this verse � [[Ezekiel 38:11 �and you will say, �I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates.�]] The purpose of walls, bars and gates was to protect the city and villages. In this verse, it speaks of a time of peace in Israel, a proper peace with security, and implied no threat from any enemy. That application to our days is ludicrous, and even at the end of the Tribulation when I think this happens, is problematic. The description presupposes a fully unprotected community dwelling peacefully, BUT Israel is one of the best-protected areas in the world. Verses 8 and 11 are difficult. Maybe we are not to know exactly. The Gog/Magog war just can�t happen before the Rapture. It does not fit in any shape or form. (d). This is a critical verse � [[Ezekiel 38:14 �Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, �Thus says the Lord GOD, �On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it?'�]] I have recently done a series on The Day of the LORD and pointed out over and over the special importance of the statement �In/On that day,� or �At that time.� Those catch phrases always refer to the times of the end, in the Day of the LORD, AFTER the Rapture, never before. The emphasis again is on living securely. No one can say that Israel dwells securely today; otherwise, it would not have both offensive and defensive weapons in abundance possessed by Israel to protect its very existence. (e). IMPORTANT VERSE. Next, we look at this verse � [[Ezekiel 38:16 �and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It will come about in the last days that I shall bring you against My land, in order that the nations may know Me when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.�]] �In the last days� in the Old Testament could never have referred to the Rapture or the time before the Rapture because the Rapture was a mystery to be revealed by Paul in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and not before. The term always referred to the time just before the Second Coming. Note this wording � �My people Israel.� Go back to Hosea and read this carefully � [[Hosea 1:8-9 �When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son, and the LORD said, �Name him Lo-ammi, for �you are not My people and I am not your God.��]] Then we move along with the most important conjunction, which is �Yet.� [[Hosea 1:10 �Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which cannot be measured or numbered and it will come about that, in the place where it is said to them, �You are not My people,� it will be said to them, �You are the sons of the living God.��]] The change is there from �Not My people� to �You are the sons of God.� Ezekiel 38:16 uses �My people Israel,� the same aspect of this Hosea verse � [[Hosea 2:23 �I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people, �You are My people,� and they will say, �You are my God.'�]] Israel does not become �You are My people� in the converted state until after the Second Coming. In the relationship sense today, Israel is �not My people,� though in the general sense they are the earthly people of God. There is one more verse to consider in the Hosea passage that throws so much light on this subject. It is this one � [[Hosea 1:11 �The sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and they will go up from the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.�]] That verse just quoted is where redeemed Israel will appoint one Leader, which we know will be the Messiah after the Second Coming. After their restoration, they will be restored as His people, just as Hosea and Ezekiel 38:16 teaches. What is the reason for this? It is stated, and it is this, �for great will be the day of Jezreel.� Jezreel is the valley that contains the hill �Har Megiddo,� which is Armageddon. It is Armageddon that is the great day and spells the deliverance for Israel from the Gog forces, and AFTER that, Israel can be termed as �My people� in the greatest affection. See too, that expression �in the last days,� and as it occurs in the Old Testament, it can only mean the last days of the AGE leading into the Second Coming (same usage as in Matthew 24:1). In the New Testament, when Paul speaks of the last days, as in 2 Timothy 3, he means the last days of the CHURCH AGE, which is right now. Through God�s dramatic destruction of the Gog alliance, the nations will know God, and He will be sanctified through what happens in Israel. That just cannot happen at this time before the Rapture. It would be totally out of place. Israel currently is �not My people.� So great will be Armageddon that the nations will know God and His mighty works. ------------------------------------- Gog/Magog War Can't Happen Before the Rapture, Part 2 - By Ron Ferguson - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/03/13/gog-magog-war-cant-happen-before-the-rapture-part-2-by-ron-ferguson/ In Part 1, we began looking through Ezekiel 38 and 39 in detail, showing that the internal evidence cannot possibly support any Gog/Magog invasion of Israel before the Rapture. It would turn all prophecy against itself and create such confusion. We will see how that invasion happens just before the Second Coming. Now for Part 2. (f). Now take note of this as well. God’s fury mounts up in His anger when Gog is in Israel, and there will be blazing wrath. You who think the Gog war must be before the Rapture, how can you say that with this apocalyptic language that just does not belong to this age of grace. The great earthquake could very well be connected with the one that is coming – Revelation 16:18 (quoted in the next reference (g).) (g). HONESTLY LET’S BE REAL. Consider this verse – Tell me, is this going to be the case BEFORE the Rapture? This is what is going to happen when God rises against Gog/Magog. A God in judgment and blazing wrath is NOT God before the Rapture. A Gog war before the Rapture is an impossibility. Every wall falling down and mountains collapsing are connected with the earthquake of (h). LET’S KEEP BEING REAL. Consider these verses – Who among those who think there is a Gog war before the Rapture can justify the section I have underlined? All that apocalyptic language is NOT of our age. It is post-Rapture. It is God in open display. This war cannot be before the Rapture. Why do people believe such a thing? Why is there an entrenched opinion that is not open to scrutiny? The same principle applies to Matthew 24. (i). That is God in openness with judgment. Just further proof it is post-Rapture. GOD TAKES UP ISRAEL’S CAUSE AFTER THE RAPTURE. The predatory birds parallel this reference to Armageddon at the Second Coming, as we have just had – (j). That thing will not happen before the Rapture. That is judgment and wrath from heaven, not of the Church age. (k). ANOTHER CONCLUSIVE PROOF – The Lord WILL NOT MAKE KNOWN HIS NAME TO HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL BEFORE THE RAPTURE so that His Name is profaned no longer. The Church must be removed first before He takes up His people again. God never works with the Church and Israel at the same time. A redeemed Israel WILL NOT HAPPEN this side of the Rapture, and in fact, it will not be until after the Second Coming. Look at these statements (a) God will make His Name known among His people in Israel. That will not happen before the Second Coming (which ends the Tribulation). Read the last few chapters of Zechariah. That is a strong reason for placing Gog right at the end of the Tribulation. (b) God will not allow His Holy Name to be profaned anymore. That would be an utter impossibility if the Gog war was pre-Rapture because after the Rapture come the great blasphemies of the world leader and False Prophet, and by the people of the earth. Look at these – Those blasphemies will continue right up until the Battle of Armageddon when these two evil men are removed to the lake of fire. When God says He will NOT let His name be profaned anymore, it would have to be after the Gog war (Ezek 39:7). Every true student of prophecy knows that would be an utter impossibility before the Rapture. That can only happen after the Second Coming. If the Gog war was to happen before the events of Revelation 16 (see verse above), then God’s word would be speaking lies. The Gog war has to be after Revelation 16! (c) The nations will know that God is JEHOVAH, the Holy One in Israel. (l). Most certainly, this is referring to the Day of the LORD. It is that day, and God spoke about it often. The Day of the LORD does not begin until after the Rapture. (m). Now we come to the cleansing of the land, Gog’s burial and the Lord’s glory. Surely it is painfully obvious here that God is not going to glorify Himself to Israel before their restoration, and He does that with Gog’s destruction. This is in line with the latter chapters of Zechariah. Their (Israel’s) restoration will come when He sets up His kingdom on the earth and He is glorified in Israel. There is NO WAY these things happen in the Church age. It is so incorrect to maintain that the Gog war can be anytime now. It cannot happen while the Church is still on earth. Please, people, think into these things. The Jews will be very busy cleansing their land after this war, and they know that it is God who delivered them who has glorified Himself in Israel. (n). Then will come the call to all the scavengers of the earth to feed on the corpses of the Gog alliance scattered all through the land of Israel. The passage is verses 17-20, but here is verse 17 – Again, for the purpose of emphasis, compare the parallel passage in Revelation, which is just after the great Battle of Armageddon in which Gog has a part – Those two verses go together so closely. Gog must be part of the Revelation 19 great conflict where the frog spirits have assembled all the nations for war. It is not feasible that this could happen now in the land with the way it is. This happens at the Second Coming, and the first 7 months at least will be spent in cleaning up the land. To be continued in Part 3. ------------------------------- Gog/Magog War Can�t Happen Before the Rapture, Part 3 - By Ron Ferguson - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/03/22/gog-magog-war-cant-happen-before-the-rapture-part-3-by-ron-ferguson/ In Parts 1 and 2, we began looking through Ezekiel 38 and 39 in detail, showing that the internal evidence cannot possibly support any Gog/Magog invasion of Israel before the Rapture. It would turn all prophecy against itself and create such confusion. We will see how that invasion happens just before the Second Coming. My conclusion is that it has to be at or just before the Second Coming, and those reasons I have been exploring. I know there are varying views, but it is important for me that all fits carefully and not with bits poking out. (o). LOOK MOST CAREFULLY AT THESE VERSES � These are critical verses and destroy the position of those who want to continue with the fallacy of the Gog war being this side of the Rapture. If the Gog war happens just after the Rapture, as some think, verse 22 above could not possibly fit. Look at the wording of that verse. Once the Gog war happens, then �the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God FROM THAT DAY ONWARD� would be all through the Tribulation, and that is an utter impossibility. We are speaking of the Restoration of Israel here, and that does not happen before the Second Coming. Therefore, the Gog war happens just before and at the Second Coming. Lock in other verses from Ezekiel, and we know the LORD is with His people in righteousness, having been redeemed. There is NO WAY God will set His glory before the nations in our time. The next thing on God�s calendar is the Rapture, not the unveiling of His Glory! It tells us the nations will see His glory and His judgment on Gog that His hand has executed. The Church age is the silence of God in national declarations. The next verse, 22, is even more striking. The house of Israel will know that Jehovah is their Messiah from that very time of Gog�s destruction, and forever. That is what verse 22 affirms. You can�t twist it. It is an absolute impossibility in this, the Church age. To say so is so wrong. It can only make sense if the Gog war happens right before the Second Coming, and at that Coming, the great war of Armageddon happens. The Gog conflict is part of the Armageddon war along with the forces of Antichrist and the kings of the east. (p). Now we have a summary proof of this great conflict and the outcome of it. There is overwhelming proof again that it can�t be before the Rapture. The LORD explains His position and what happens from Gog�s defeat onwards � Verse 24. God hid His face from Israel because of their rebellion and sinfulness. That will continue through to the Rapture as taught by Romans 11 in the olive tree. That fact cannot be disputed. The Jews will not be grafted back until the Gentile Church shoots are removed in the Rapture. That cannot be disputed from Romans 11. The verses above also refute the idea of a war just after the Rapture. When you look at 24-27 and what is described there, you cannot possibly say this happens at the start of the Tribulation. The fortunes of Israel will not be restored until the Messiah comes to dwell with His people after the Second Coming. In verse 26, �they shall forget their disgrace and all their treachery,� that just will not be any part of the Tribulation. Israel will have a tough time in the Tribulation. Verse 25. Note carefully the �Now,� which is the first word God speaks in verse 25. It connects with the defeat of Gog for the two chapters are progressive. THEN God will restore the fortunes of Jacob/Israel. We know that will happen at the Second Coming when Jesus returns to Olivet and regathers the Jews and restores their fortune and Kingdom, over which He reigns as Messiah. The Kingdom is not going to be set up this side of the Rapture (this side of the Second Coming), so to teach of a Gog invasion of Israel at any time is just so wrong. We need proper exegesis of each Bible verse in this chapter to see that. Verse 26. God will wipe away all disgrace and guilt from Israel. The prophets teach this very clearly, as they do with the restoration of Israel�s fortunes. It says there they will live securely on their land, and no one will make them afraid. This does NOT happen now, and it will NOT happen in the Tribulation. It can only happen in the Millennium. Therefore, the God/Magog war happens immediately before the Second Coming, and then Messiah establishes the nation of Israel securely in its own land. It all happens logically. Verse 27. Israel is restored and brought back from many lands, back to the land of Israel. I have done a series on �The Restoration of Israel� on Rapture Ready, where all the Old Testament passages for restoration were done. It is on this Rapture site. God will be sanctified before restored Israel in the sight of the nations. Israel restored, glorified, and the nations know, and that is at the start of the Millennium, but all this has proceeded from the Gog war. It can only happen just before the Second Coming, and that is where this account fits exactly. The verses just done show clearly the timeframe for the Gog war, and that absolutely excludes the very wrong notion that it has to be/could be in our time, before the Rapture (and soon after the Rapture). Before anyone promotes the wrong notion of a now Gog/Magog war, read all of Ezekiel 38 and 39 carefully, looking at the context. (q). AND IF THERE IS STILL ANY RESERVATION � then study these last two verses � This is what verses 28 and 29 are teaching us. Verse 28. When will Israel know that the LORD is their God? Well, it certainly won�t be before the Rapture or even in the Tribulation. It will be when Messiah returns to the nation. The nation will weep over Him, and they will know Him. That happens just after the Second Coming when the Lord gathers them to their own land (verse 28 above). Just after the Gog destruction, Israel will know the LORD, and His Name will be among His people � Ezekiel 38 and 39 teach that most clearly. Israel does not know the Messiah until He comes in the Second Coming to destroy the Gog forces about to strangle Jerusalem described in Zechariah 12 and 14. Verse 29. No more will the Lord be absent from Israel but dwells as their Messiah-King forever. They shall be with Him and see Him. God will pour out His Spirit on Israel exactly in line with what Joel teaches in detail, where the Spirit is poured out when Israel is redeemed and settled gloriously in its own land. It is impossible that that will happen before the Second Coming, and in NO way before the Rapture. [[Joel 3:1 �For behold, in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat [That is Armageddon]. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and they have divided up My land.�]] That is Armageddon, and it is there in that great battle that Gog and Magog will have their role. That is not going to happen twice. The Gog forces will enter Jerusalem as we have here � The next two verses from Joel speak about the Spirit being poured out on Israel, AND THAT IS IN LINE WITH Underneath, Joel clearly states that when the Spirit is poured out, then Israel will never again be put to shame. WHAT? So Israel is perfectly redeemed and shameless and purified all throughout the Tribulation? [which is the case if the Gog conflict is before the Rapture or a bit after]. We know that is not so. This happens just after the Second Coming. Please read through Joel � all of it. [The pouring out of the Spirit here on the redeemed Jews is the same as EZEKIEL 39 VERSE 29] NONE OF THESE GLORIOUS EVENTS CAN HAPPEN before the Lord�s return for the restoration of Israel. The Gog war is linked so closely with the Second Coming, as I have tried to show, so the only logical conclusion is that it must immediately precede the Second Coming. The Gog/Magog War. Those who say it is pre-Rapture are VERY WRONG. It is ludicrous to think such things that are so contrary to the Bible. This is because set ideas are passed along without any examination. I lament the lack of proper teaching and exegetical preaching from the ministers and pastors of churches. I have tried to examine the subject to show it just cannot happen before the Second Coming after the 7 years� Tribulation. Of course, it is legitimate now to see developments happening as a possible groundwork being laid for the invasion at the time of Armageddon. For example, Russia has established a military base in Syria. Putin has expansionist aims. If you think I am wrong about the timing, then defend your position and show my timing is incorrect. I am not being arrogant at all but seek scriptural truth, and I am open to documented argument. If anyone thinks the Gog war has to be before the Rapture, then prove it from Ezekiel 38 and 39, and refute each of my arguments. I only wish for correct exegesis. The same thing applies to Matthew 24 when I wrote to prove it is not the Rapture in any way. No refutation was given to me. God bless you all. We are in the last days of the Church age, but in the �last days� (of human government), we will be in heaven while the horrible Tribulation plays out on earth. Blessings Ron ronaldf@aapt.net.au WE ARE ON THE LAST PAGE OF THE CURRENT CHURCH AGE We have concluded, the world is deluded. It struggles to find the right course. Men don�t understand what�s the lie of the land, And don�t know what things to endorse. Extinguish the light, then impaired is the sight, So incorrect things they enforce. God is abolished; decency demolished, And for evil, there�s no remorse. Good now is compressed; what�s righteous is transgressed. That�s part of the nation�s downturn. All too rapidly we have hugged apathy, And people no longer discern. Our leaders are weak; they are no longer meek; Anything godly they adjourn. We know in review that the Bible stands true. To its truths, people must return. In darkness men grope, while they�re looking for hope, Because they live in sin�s dark blight. The heart that is cold is unable to hold The truths that we clasp to be right. God�s seeking repentance to end the sentence Of man�s journey into death�s night. One true Bible verse says that things will get worse, For men love darkness, not the light. Like a sharp prickle in man�s self-made pickle, The Christian is one they besmear. The righteous they hate, and their goodness castrate; To Satan�s rule they adhere. The world�s in decline; wickedness they enshrine, But it�s God the Christians revere We�re are on the last page of the present Church age; Don�t be deceived by false veneer. R E Ferguson January 2022 ronaldf@aapt.net.au