WORLD AT WAR: 11.9.24 - Iran to strike before US elections?

Iran to strike before US elections? Islamic Republic reportedly plans ‘definitive and painful’ response Iran is considering launching a retaliatory response to Israel’s strike before the U.S. elections next Tuesday, Nov. 5, CNN reported on Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. news site reported that a “high-ranking source” told them Israel’s recent strike on Iran will be met with a “definitive and painful” response. “The response of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the aggression of the Zionist regime will be definitive and painful,” the source told CNN. The source also claimed that Iran’s response “will probably take place before the day of the US presidential election.” Following the Israeli strikes last week, which hit primarily military targets, there was some hope that Iran would not choose to respond. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments on Sunday appeared to strike a balance that some analysts hoped would indicate it was not planning to retaliate. “It is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime and to take actions that serve the interests of this nation and country,” Khamenei said. Newly appointed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also appeared to be pushing for restraint. “We do not seek war, but we will defend the rights of our nation and country.” Several Iranian military officials appeared to downplay the significance and damage caused by the Israeli strike. It appeared this was partially an attempt to minimize the demand for a response. On Monday, IRGC Commander Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami claimed that Israel had “failed to achieve its sinister goals.” However, Salami also warned that Israel would face “the bitter consequences” of its actions. Remarks issued from this “high-ranking source” appear to signal a departure from Iran’s initial attempts to downplay the severity of the Israeli strikes. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comments. In his initial response to last weekend’s strikes, the Iranian regime's leader, Khamenei, opted to give a more measured response, saying the strikes should “neither be exaggerated nor downplayed.” Israeli defense and security officials claimed to have struck “strategic systems,” including key air defense systems and ballistic missile facilities. As Iranian rhetoric became more aggressive in recent days, Israeli leaders warned Iran not to retaliate. Visiting an Israeli Air Force base on Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi warned that the IDF is ready for an Iranian response and will respond harshly in return. “If Iran makes the mistake and launches another barrage of missiles at Israel, we will once again know how to reach Iran, reach even with capabilities that we did not use this time, and hit very, very hard both the capabilities and places that we spared this time,” Halevi said. On Wednesday, opposition Knesset Member Avigdor Liberman said Israel should not wait for Iran but should engage in a “preemptive strike.” “We must not wait until the Iranians carry out their threats against the State of Israel,” Liberman wrote on 𝕏. “We must switch from waiting to a preemptive strike, from a proportional reaction to a clear defeat.” ------------------------------------ Replacement Hezbollah Chief Debuts with Violent Speech Vowing to Continue Jihad Naim Qassem, chosen the week to replace Hassan Nasrallah at the helm of the jihadist terror organization Hezbollah, delivered his first speech as leader of the group on Wednesday evening, promising to “remain on the path of war” against Israel and threatening to the genocidal removal of the Israeli people from their country. Qassem used his first address to honor both Nasrallah, who led the Iran-backed terrorists in Lebanon for decades, and Yahya Sinwar, the slain mass murderer who led Hamas this summer after former Hamas “political” leader Ismail Haniyeh died in an explosion in Tehran. He also insisted that Hezbollah was in fighting shape and prepared for a prolonged war against Israel despite its high-profile losses in the past four months, including both top leaders and a vast network of associated targeted in what was believed to be an Israeli attack weaponizing pagers, walkie-talkies, and other low-technology communications devices. Hezbollah also lost one of its main coordination centers to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) airstrikes in Lebanon, where Hassan Nasrallah is believed to have met his demise. “They wanted our secretary general’s killing to defeat our spirit of resistance and shatter our will to fight. But his blood continues to boil in our veins and strengthens our determination,” he vowed. “We fight on our land and liberate our occupied territory; no one asks us for anything, nor does anyone impose anything upon us.” Multiple media outlets outside of Iranian and pro-Hezbollah propaganda focused in their reports on the speech on the fact that Qassem appeared to contemplate the potential of a ceasefire with Israel. Qassem mentioned it as a possibility only in the event that Israel concedes all of Hezbollah’s demands, which appear to include the elimination of the Israeli state. ---------------------- North Korea intercontinental ballistic missile test records longest-ever flight time North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew for its longest ever recorded flight time and with a theoretical range capable of striking the U.S. mainland, South Korea and Japan's militaries reported Thursday. It marked North Korea's first ICBM launch since December and comes as the reclusive nuclear-armed country may be seeking to grab U.S. attention ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. The launch also comes as the nation has ratcheted up its rhetoric against U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, and as NATO and the Pentagon estimate that North Korea has sent about 10,000 soldiers to train in eastern Russia for possible eventual deployment in Ukraine to support Russian President Vladimir Putin's war effort there. U.S., allies:We have evidence North Korean troops deployed to Ukraine The ICBM was in the air for 86 minutes, beating its previous record by 13 minutes. It was launched from near North Korea's capital Pyongyang and traveled for about 620 miles before crashing into the sea in waters off Japan. However, because the missile was fired at what Japan's defense ministry described as a "very high" angle, reaching an altitude of about 4,350 miles, this means it could in theory have flown much farther. Anchorage, Alaska is fewer than 3,700 miles from North Korea. Washington, D.C. is about 6,800 miles from Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Thursday's launch showed "our will to respond to our enemies," according to comments he made to his country's state media. Kim described the test as "appropriate military action." The White House's National Security Council Spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement that the test was a "flagrant violation" of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. Savell said United States Indo-Pacific Command assessed the launch "did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies." Tokuda Ryosuke, a journalist for Japan's state broadcaster NHK who specializes in North Korea, said there was "no doubt" that Pyongyang had the U.S. and its upcoming election "in mind" when it conducted its test. North Korea is estimated to have an arsenal of about 50 "stored" nuclear warheads, meaning they are not actively deployed on its various land-based weapons systems including its long-range missiles. Of the more than 12,000 global inventory of nuclear warheads, more than 10,500 belong to the U.S. and Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The U.S. and Russia each have about 1,700 "deployed" nuclear warheads, meaning they are ready to be used with land-and-sea missile systems, as well as aircraft. -----------------------------

NOTICE: 10.31.24 : NEW FORMAT

Dear Readers, I am trying to get my website working like it used to be. I recieve articles from other websites that I subscribe too. The websites are now paid subscriptions. I am not one of those. I go through websites that I like and post them to my website. The subscriptions are many. I do this for free as I have been doing this for over 40 years. The paid subscriptions and new formats are reather difficult. I will continue to update my website. It will have fewer articles until I can figure out how to make it like it used to be. I am very busy daily, and will continue to add articles to PWNG. The websites that I go to now have many pop up ads,and can be lengthy and time consuming. I am very busy and will send articles throughout the week. I am going to try different ideas to make it flow better......Thank You.....Terry PWNW

Here Are 8 Major Election Developments That Everyone Needs To Know About

Can you believe that we are less than a week away from Election Day? Over 57 million Americans have already voted, and in some states more than half of the total expected vote is already in. So it may already be too late for a last minute surprise to alter the outcome of the election. In 2020, Democrats absolutely dominated the early voting period, but in 2024 things are very close between Democrats and Republicans. Is this an indication that a “red landslide” is coming, or are Republicans simply shifting votes that would have been cast on Election Day into the early voting period? We will soon find out. In any event, the following are 8 major election developments that everyone needs to know about… #1 The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the state of Virginia can purge approximately 1,600 non-citizens from its voter rolls… The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Virginia to move forward with its removal of roughly 1,600 alleged noncitizens from its voter rolls just days before the 2024 election. The high court granted a request from state officials to pause a lower court order that blocked Virginia from continuing its voter removal program that was launched in August, exactly 90 days before Election Day. A provision of the National Voter Registration Act requires states to complete programs aimed at purging ineligible voters from registration lists up to 90 days before federal elections. #2 There were reports that officials in Bucks County, Pennsylvania had been turning away on-demand mail ballot voters early. Now a judge in Bucks Country has extended on-demand mail ballot voting until Friday, and this is considered to be a major victory for the Trump campaign… Bucks County Judge Jeffrey Trauger has ordered the Bucks County Board of Elections to extend its on-demand mail-in ballot deadline until “the close of business” on Friday, Nov. 1. The Wednesday afternoon ruling stems from a lawsuit filed several hours earlier by former President Donald Trump’s campaign and other state and national GOP groups claiming Bucks County illegally turned away voters. The filing with the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, posted online late Wednesday morning, alleges that the county violated the state’s election laws by not allowing some voters to use the “on-demand mail-ballot” option in the final hours of the mail-in ballot application at 5 p.m. Oct. 29. #3 In Wisconsin, turnout in the conservative counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington is far higher than turnout in the liberal bastion of Dane County… The conservative “WOW” counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington have increased their turnout advantage over liberal Dane County up to 12.16%. Dane’s turnout advantage going into Election Day 2020 was 0.9%. This represents a 13% turnout swing compared to ‘20. #4 In Arizona, Republicans are doing a much better job of turning out “low propensity voters” than Democrats are… A look at AZ voter frequency scores shows that Democrats are trailing Republicans by a couple of points in the zero, one, and two buckets, turning out more of their 3/3 voters. It’s not an excellent combination for available votes down the stretch, so Republicans are likely to outvote Democrats by 300,000+. #5 Abortion is on the ballot in both Arizona and Nevada, and this was supposed to be a major advantage for Kamala Harris in those states. But it turns out that vast numbers of pro-abortion voters are going to vote for Trump anyway… While an Washington Post-Schar School poll conducted in October found that 68 percent of voters in Arizona and 80 percent of voters in Nevada say they planned to support their state’s abortion referendum, the same poll showed Harris narrowly behind Trump in Arizona and tied in Nevada. Harris’s support among likely voters in the poll was 46 percent in Arizona to Trump’s 49 percent, and they both had 48 percent support in Nevada. Meanwhile, Trump — who has claimed credit for Roe’s reversal — has been working to assuage the concerns of independent and Republican voters who support abortion rights. In recent weeks, the former president has promised to veto a national abortion ban, after repeatedly refusing to make such a pledge. While he has maintained that each state should choose its own abortion laws, he said in a recent town hall geared toward women voters that many of the current bans are “too tough.” Republican and independent voters who plan to split their ticket on abortion — voting for an abortion referendum and for Trump — said they were willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt on the issue, with some feeling reassured by his recent promises not to crack down further on abortion. #6 As I discussed yesterday, it appears that the Harris campaign may be giving up on the swing state of North Carolina. So far, Democrats in the state have cast over 300,000 fewer votes than they did at the same stage of the 2020 early voting period… According to AdImpact, a political intelligence firm, on Monday the Harris-Walz campaign reserved $2.7 million worth of ads in North Carolina for the last stretch of the campaign, only to turn around and kill more than $2 million of its reservations on Tuesday. Though Harris is following through on a scheduled Raleigh rally on Wednesday morning — while Trump is holding his own event in Rocky Mount, NC — her campaign managers’ hopes of winning North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes have likely plunged as daily updates of early voting numbers continue to paint a grim picture of her prospects in the Tar Heel State. The 2020 vs 2024 contrast in early voting patterns is striking. Compared to the same time four years ago, North Carolina Democrats have cast 341,000 fewer votes,while Republicans have cast 9,000 more, noted Andy Jackson of the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation. Aside from the party mix, North Carolina is also seeing lower turnout among two traditional Democratic voter blocs: young people and blacks. In 2020, 92% of the state’s black voters backed Biden. Across the country, however, black support of Trump is surging. #7 A television station in Pennsylvania is apologizing for broadcasting “randomly generated test results” that were meant to “help news organizations make sure their equipment is working properly in advance of election night”… Test results for the upcoming November 5 general election mistakenly appeared on WNEP-TV early Sunday evening during a broadcast of the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix. Those numbers should not have appeared on the screen, and it was an error by WNEP that they did. The numbers seen on the screen were randomly generated test results sent out to help news organizations make sure their equipment is working properly in advance of election night. #8 It turns out that the incendiary devices that were used to set ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington on fire had a pro-Palestinian message inscribed on them… Ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington were set on fire with incendiary devices early Monday in what authorities believe are connected incidents, police said. The devices used in the arson incidents carried markings with the expression “Free Gaza,” two sources familiar with the ongoing investigation told ABC News. Sadly, I believe that this is just the beginning of the chaos that is coming. November 5th may be the end of the campaign, but it will also be the beginning of a very dark chapter in our history. There is going to be such an outpouring of negative emotion in the aftermath of this election, and whoever emerges as the winner is going to be facing crisis after crisis.

Halloween

Most people gleefully celebrate Halloween without ever thinking about how it originated or what our Halloween traditions really mean.  They just assume that it must be okay since almost everyone else is doing it.  Today, Halloween is celebrated all over the world, but that hasn’t always been the case.  In fact, there was a time when most Americans did not celebrate it.  It was only during the 20th century that it actually became a nationwide holiday that was celebrated on a widespread basis, and only within the past few decades has it really taken off as a truly global holiday. To find the original roots of Halloween, one must go back approximately 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain… Halloween’s original roots trace back to Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”—because of course the Celts couldn’t make it easy), an ancient Celtic festival that marked the end of the harvest season in Ireland. The Celts believed that on October 31st, the boundary between the living and the dead became, shall we say, a little thin. To keep any wandering spirits at bay, they’d light massive bonfires and don costumes—probably doubling as a solid excuse for some much-needed group bonding (what else was there to do in ancient Ireland, really?). This is where the tradition of “Halloween costumes” began. Some revelers apparently wore costumes to ward off spirits, but others apparently wore them “to allow for communication with the spirit world”… Besides the reasons given above, Halloween masks and costumes were used to hide one’s attendance at pagan festivals or—as in traditional shamanism (mediated by a witch doctor or pagan priest) and other forms of animism—to change the personality of the wearer to allow for communication with the spirit world. Here, costumes could be worn to ward off evil spirits. On the other hand, the costume wearer might use a mask to try to attract and absorb the power of the animal represented by the mask and costume worn. According to this scenario, Halloween costumes may have originated with the Celtic Druid ceremonial participants, who wore animal heads and skins to acquire the strength of a particular animal. Today, some of the most popular Halloween costumes are of ghosts, witches, vampires and fallen angels. But most people are entirely convinced that there is absolutely no danger in dressing up as such entities. According to the History Channel, during Samhain the Celts would also “burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities”… In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort during the long, dark winter. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. That is quite alarming. And there are also some ancient documents that indicate that humans were often sacrificed in massive Samhain fires as well… According to old documents, in its most primitive guise, Samhain would have featured many sacrifices to the Celtic gods of death, with both animals and humans thrown in to huge firepits as offerings. People claimed the ancient Druids ate their first born children on Samhain, or collected the blood of their sacrificial humans in cauldrons and drank it. But nobody does such things anymore, right? Well, Pastor John Ramirez says that when he was a practicing Satanist he actually participated in the sacrifice of animals on Halloween… Ramirez, now a pastor, knows all about the dark reality of Halloween. He once sacrificed animals as part of satanic rituals and his friends even knew him as “Lucifer’s son.” Now as a born again believer, he strongly warns Christians against celebrating Halloween and participating in harvest festivals. “The only harvest we should celebrate is the harvest of souls,” he adds. Those that are obsessed with spiritual darkness take these things very seriously. Many of them even still call this holiday “Samhain” even though most of us call it Halloween. So how did it come to be called Halloween? Well, it all started when the Celts were invaded by the Roman Empire… However, when the Roman Empire took over the majority of the Celtic region, two ancient Roman festivals merged with the festival of Samhain over the 400 years the Romans occupied the territory. These festivals were Feralia, a day honoring the dead, and a day celebrating Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees who is primarily symbolized with an apple. It was not until roughly the 9th through 11th centuries when early Christianity was spreading throughout the Celtic territory that we finally obtained the name we all know and love. The Christian (specifically Catholic) holiday of All Saints’ Day was very similar to the festival of Samhain with bonfires and costumes, though it was celebrated in early November. It was also called All-Hallows and the festival of Samhain—celebrated the night before—became known as All-Hallows Eve and eventually Halloween. From that time forward, “Halloween” was primarily a Catholic celebration. That is why the Puritans that settled in early America were steadfastly against it. The following comes from Wikipedia… Lesley Bannatyne and Cindy Ott write that Anglican colonists in the southern United States and Catholic colonists in Maryland“recognized All Hallow’s Eve in their church calendars”,[141][142]although the Puritans of New England strongly opposed the holiday, along with other traditional celebrations of the established Church, including Christmas.[143] Almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was widely celebrated in North America.[26] It was not until after mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century that Halloween became a major holiday in America.[26] Most American Halloween traditions were inherited from the Irish and Scots,[27][144] though “In Cajunareas, a nocturnal Mass was said in cemeteries on Halloween night. Candles that had been blessed were placed on graves, and families sometimes spent the entire night at the graveside”.[145]Originally confined to these immigrant communities, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and was celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial, and religious backgrounds by the early 20th century.[146] Then, through American influence, these Halloween traditions spread to many other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century, including to mainland Europe and some parts of the Far East.[28][16][147] Today, Halloween has become one of our biggest holidays. In fact, it is being projected that Americans will spend more than 11 billion dollars on Halloween this year alone… Americans are projected to spend $11.6 billion on Halloween decorations, costumes, candy and other festive purchases this October, according to an annual survey from the National Retail Federation. When broken down, that $11.6 billion translated to $3.8 billion spent on costumes, $3.8 billion dedicated to decorations, $3.5 billion allocated to purchasing candy and $0.5 billion spent on greeting cards, per the survey. If you can believe it, Americans even spend approximately 700 million dollars on costumes for their pets each year. Can you believe that? One survey found that 93 percent of Americans celebrate Halloween in some way. Needless to say, this makes certain people very happy. The founder of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, once made the following statement: “I am glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year. Welcome to Halloween.” Like I noted earlier, most people celebrate Halloween without ever even thinking about it. In fact, many people don’t know why they believe what they believe about most things. If we are going to do something, we need to understand why we are doing it. As for where Halloween originally came from, now you know the truth.

Historical Facts that Prove Jesus Really Did Rise from the Dead" on YouTube

https://youtu.be/RmKg62GDqF4

Prophecy Unfolding: Why Today's World Looks Exactly Like The Bible Warned

Almost two thousand years ago, Peter prophesied about the last days. He said just before Jesus returns, people will openly mock the Second Coming. They'll say, "What happened to Jesus? I thought He was coming back? Yet everything remains the same as it has since the world first began" (2 Peter 3:3-4). I'll bet you've heard this argument many times. But is it true? Is the world of today "the same as it's always been"? Absolutely not. In fact, it's absurd to say it is. Why? Because the truth is the exact opposite. Our generation is unlike any before it. Not only can we point to clear signs of His Return, but almost every sign the Bible says to look for is present right now. Some signs are completely fulfilled (such as the re-establishment of Israel as a nation state). Others seem to be in an early stage of fulfillment (such as the emergence of a revived Roman Empire in the form of the European Union). Regardless of the stage of fulfillment, some form of almost every end times sign is converging in our time. Nevertheless, most people remain ignorant of these signs. And that's a shame. Remember, Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His time for their failure to recognize His coming. He said they knew how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but they didn't know how to recognize the signs of the times: "He replied, 'You know the saying, 'Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.' You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don't know how to interpret the signs of the times!'" Matthew 16:2-3 (NLT) Jesus expected the religious leaders of His day to recognize the signs of the coming Messiah. In the same way, Jesus expects us to recognize the signs of His Second Coming. So let's take the same approach. Just as you know a storm is coming when you see dark clouds on the horizon, these signs will alert you to His return: 1) Israel Back in the Land In A.D. 70, Roman soldiers put down a rebellion, sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and carried the Jewish people to the farthest corners of their Empire to serve as slaves. They tried to eliminate every trace of the nation of Israel, even renaming the land Palestine in honor of Israel's historical enemies, the Philistines. Rome intended to erase the memory of Israel forever. Fortunately, God had other plans. Thousands of years ago, He foretold the long exile of His people. He promised to call them from "among the nations" (Ezekiel 39:28), from "the farthest corners of the earth" (Isaiah 11:12), and from "north, south, east, and west" (Psalm 107:3). He promised to welcome the Jewish people home from the lands where they were scattered (Ezekiel 20:34), and He promised to restore them to the land of Israel from distant lands (Jeremiah 30:2, 10). And this is exactly what He did. Every person on earth is an eyewitness to the modern miracle of Israel. Long ago, the prophets said this restoration will precede a monumental event - the coming of the Messiah to set up His everlasting Kingdom (Isaiah 35, Joel 3, Jeremiah 23, Micah 4). In other words, Israel's existence in our day and time is a sign the Second Coming is near. Think about that. Then think about this... For 1,878 years, Christians could not point to this sign. Israel didn't exist, and the Jewish people were not in the land. But today? Jewish people from around the world return to Israel on a daily basis. 2) The Jewish People Back in Jerusalem When the disciples asked Jesus to reveal the signs of His coming and the end of the age, He gave them one of the keys to understanding the timing of His return. He told the disciples this: Jerusalem "will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles come to an end." And then? After that, Jesus promised to return (Luke 21:24-28). So when did this time period begin? The Gentile trampling of Jerusalem began with the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 by Titus and the Roman legions. For centuries thereafter, Gentile kings and kingdoms held complete control over the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem. However, in June 1967, the Six-Day War concluded with Israel in control of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount for the first time since A.D. 70. And according to Jesus, the Jewish repossession of Jerusalem will immediately precede His return. For 1,897 years, Christians could not point to this sign. The Jewish people did not control Jerusalem. For those 1,897 years, numerous Gentile kingdoms ruled over Jerusalem. But today? Today, Israel controls Jerusalem. 3) Israel's Neighbors Out to Destroy Her More than three thousand years ago, the prophet Asaph claimed the surrounding nations would be unanimous in their contempt for Israel. He said they will say: "Come, let us wipe away the nation of Israel. Let's destroy the memory of its existence." (Psalm 83:4) And "Let us take for ourselves these pasturelands of God." (Psalm 83:12) Do these statements sound familiar? They should. They're almost word for word what we hear in the Middle East today. And we've heard these same declarations from the Muslim world over and over again since May 14, 1948. Ezekiel predicted these same neighbors would say "God has given their land to us" (Ezekiel 11:14-17), and "Israel and Judah are ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care if their God is there?" (Ezekiel 35:10). Isn't this what we read in the headlines each day? It is. The enemies of Israel claim the land belongs to them, that "the mountains of Israel have been given to us" (Ezekiel 35:12-13). Syria, which lost the strategically important Golan Heights in the Six-Day War joins a chorus of Israeli critics in claiming "the Golan Heights belong to us" (Ezekiel 36:2). Again, for 1,878 years, this sign didn't exist. Israel's neighbors weren't out to destroy her because Israel as a nation state didn't exist. But today it does, and the Bible tells us this hatred toward Israel will take place "when the time of Israel's iniquity comes to an end" (Ezekiel 35:5). In other words, when God brings His people back into the land after a long exile. 4) Israel With An Exceedingly Great Army In his Valley of the Dry Bones vision (where God breathes life back into the Jewish people), the prophet Ezekiel saw the Jewish people come to life and stand up as "an exceedingly great army" (Ezekiel 37:10). Zechariah repeated this promise, speaking of a day when Israel is like a fire among sheaves of grain, burning up the neighboring nations (Zechariah 12:6). In fact, he claims even the weakest soldier among them will be like David (Zechariah 12:8). Do we see this today? We sure do. What are the odds of Israel winning four conventional wars in a 25 year period? Israel barely cracks the Top 100 nations in terms of population, but its military consistently ranks among the most powerful in the world. The whole country is less than 13,000 square miles (approximately the size of New Jersey). That's less than one-tenth of one percent of the land mass of the surrounding nations that wish to destroy her. Does this sound like a recipe for "an exceedingly great army"? Yet, that's exactly what the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is. Surrounded on all sides, a brand new nation that didn't even have a formal military emerged victorious in a multi-front war in 1948. With Syria, Jordan, and Egypt preparing for war, the Israelis struck preemptively in 1967. The result? They achieved overwhelming victory in just six days. Caught by surprise on Yom Kippur in 1973, her enemies almost cut Israel in half within 48 hours. But the IDF quickly won back all the territory it lost in the opening days of the war, and the world brokered a truce with the IDF at the gates of Cairo and Damascus. Against all odds, Israel always seems to come out on top. Just looking at the last few weeks Israel's military has demonstrated not only it's military power but it's tactical genius in taking out some of the worlds top terrorist leaders. And what does the Bible say about the timing of Israel's emergence as a world military power? When does it say Israel will have an "exceedingly great army"? You guessed it. The Bible says, "when God's people are re-gathered in the land just before the Messiah returns" (Ezekiel 12, 36, 37). When the Jewish people have been "brought back from the nations where they were scattered, and given the land of Israel by God Himself" (Ezekiel 11:17). 5) An Increase in Travel and Knowledge Approximately 2,600 years ago, an angel told the prophet Daniel to keep his visions secret until a later date. What later date? The angel said, "Until the end times, when travel and knowledge will increase" (Daniel 12:4). In other words, a significant increase in travel and knowledge will mark the end times and the time just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Have we seen such an increase? I think the answer is obvious. For all of human history right up until the early 19th Century, the fastest mode of land-based transportation was a horse. Yet today, we can travel to the other side of the earth in a matter of hours. As for an increase in knowledge, think about how much information is on the Internet. In 1990, there was only one website. Six years later, the Internet featured more than one hundred thousand. And a decade later? One hundred million. Today, estimates place the number of websites at somewhere around six hundred million. 6) The Rise of a Revived Roman Empire The Bible repeatedly states a revived version of the Roman Empire will ascend to power in the end times (Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Revelation 17). This will be the final world empire before Jesus returns. According to Daniel, it will be a ten nation alliance made up of weak and strong nations. Some parts will be as strong as iron, while other parts will be as weak as clay. Do we see this empire today? No. Not yet. Do we see an alliance of strong and weak nations in the area of the old Roman Empire. Absolutely! It's called the European Union, and its entire purpose is to collectively strengthen the member nations through alliance - just as the statue's iron and clay feet and toes would attempt to strengthen themselves through "intermarriage" (Daniel 2:43). As of this writing, the European Union contains the world's 3rd and 7th largest economies (Germany and France) - but it also contains the world's 100th, 106th, and 118th largest economies (Estonia, Iceland, and Malta). Individually, no EU nation is a world power. Together, the combined nations of the EU are the world's leading economic power. And this is precisely the type of arrangement the Bible says will exist in the time just prior to Christ's return. 7) The Gospel Preached Throughout the World In answering His disciples, Jesus described many signs to look for. Among them, He said this: "And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14 (NLT) Think we're getting close to that day now? I do. The Bible is available in hundreds of languages. Satellites broadcast Christian programming throughout the world. And every day, missionaries carry the Gospel to people who have never heard it before. We're not there yet, but we're getting close. Unfortunately, while this sign is all around us, most people don't see it as a sign. They don't think the global reach of Christianity is a big deal. But think about it. The promise to see the Gospel preached throughout the world was made by a Jewish carpenter with some fishermen as followers nearly 2,000 years ago. That's a bold proclamation, and its fulfillment is something the world takes for granted. Even after 1,500 years of Christianity, the message of Jesus was largely confined to the European continent. But today, the Gospel is preached in every nation. The Converging Signs All the signs mentioned here - the re-establishment of Israel, the Jewish back in Jerusalem, the dramatic increase in travel and knowledge, and many more - point to the nearness of His return. Not a single one of these signs existed for almost the entire history of Christianity - and now they all do! Think that matters? I do. When the disciples approached Jesus and asked Him, "What are the signs of your coming and the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3). Jesus replied by giving them a list of signs and events to look for - signs such false prophets, earthquakes, wars, and desecration of the Temple. But Jesus said one sign in particular is cause to "look up" because your redemption draws near. Our generation is witness to that sign. So what is it? Convergence. That's right. The most significant sign of all is not a single sign, but the convergence of all the signs Jesus, Moses, and the Old Testament prophets said to look for. Jesus said, "When you see all these things occur, look up. For your salvation is near!" (Luke 21:28). Note that Jesus didn't say, "When you see these things, I might come back in a couple hundred years." No. He said, when you see all these signs, I'm "right at the door" (Mark 13:29). The convergence of so many specific and detailed events - events Jesus told us to look for - should command the attention of even the most hardened skeptics. Why? Because for more than 1,800 years following the crucifixion, these signs were noticeably absent. But today? Today, we see them all around us. For the first time ever, each of these signs is present - and all at the same time. Think that's a coincidence? I don't. It's not a coincidence. And time will prove it's not. Jesus is coming. Now is the season of His return.

How to Overcome Evil

How to Overcome Evil By Tom Gilbreath Spooks and specters… talking heads and attack ads… Halloween and Election Day. We live in terrifying times. But we don’t need to be terrified. God is good. And God still reigns. Not long ago on X, someone wrote that their work had become tedious. This person felt the world was on the verge of something big, perhaps something of biblical proportions. Next to that, the daily labor needed to put bread on the table felt inconsequential. The post resonated with large numbers of people. Many replied, “Same,” or “Feel it too.” Some were relieved to learn they were not alone. One spoke of being “crippled” by “overwhelming stress.” Others couldn’t enjoy life as they had in the past, found it difficult to sleep, or just couldn’t get over the jitters. The upcoming US elections caused many of these fears. This was even true of people who don’t live in the United States. Many felt overwhelmed by the suspense of who might win, or what it would mean if their side lost. For still others, the feeling was about something bigger than an election. So much has gone horribly wrong in America and elsewhere, they felt that a reckoning was imminent. The election certainly looms over most people’s thoughts these days. Both sides agree that the America we have known is at stake. We always hear that this is the most important election ever. This time they may be right. So, vote! But the political issues of our day are only symptoms of a bigger, deeper problem. Romans 1:18-32 (NKJV) tells the story of a civilization in moral freefall. It starts with rejection of God. Verses 21-22 explain the result of that rejection. People “became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.” Verse 28 says, “Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind.” The KJV says, “reprobate mind.” The NASB says, “depraved mind.” Most of us who are Christians lead pretty sheltered lives. Only occasionally do we get a glimpse of just how horrible things have become outside our neighborhoods or beyond the doors of our churches. But those glimpses of depravity are enough. Should we hide in fear? Will it help to rage against those leading our country toward cultural suicide? No. We respond to society’s sickness by lovingly presenting God’s cure for the problem, and that problem is sin. 1 John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” If you are a follower of Jesus, you know it worked for you. It still works today. We can speak the Gospel in bold confidence knowing that we have what the world needs. Vote, but don’t fear. Election outcomes do not diminish God’s power, love, or care. Don’t let fear-mongering political ads make you afraid. The Bible teaches us to be good citizens. That means we have a responsibility to vote. But we are also citizens of God’s kingdom, something earthly elections cannot change. As a Christian, you represent Jesus and His Gospel. And that’s what the world needs. So, in this season when evil is often glorified, follow Romans 12:21. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Blessed Assurance

 Blessed Assurance – Terry James - https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2024/09/22/blessed-assurance/ True believers in Jesus Christ will never be depressed. We will never face circumstances that can cause a loss of trust in our position within God’s family, if we are truly saved. The above statements are not validated by God’s Word. On the contrary, they’re propagated by the father of lies—the wicked one who stalks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour.And I must confess to myself—and to you—that I have sensed the tempter’s whisper into my own ear lately. It goes something like, “Look around you. In every direction, things are growing ever darker. Think on these things and believe these conditions will growinfinitely worse, as Heaven taking action just isn’t in sight.” This is my thought, even though I write about all of the strangeness I observe that is transpiring at this time so near the end of the age. I then reason that our Lord wouldn’t charge me withthe business of correlating issues and events with end-of-the-age prophecy if there wasn’t the best possible end to it all at some glorious point in the future. One sentence from Scripture almost always emerges in my thinking to replace the depression begun from that whisper from the evil one: “Comfort one another with these words.” The most prominent placement of this statement in God’s Holy Word is where the promise of the glorious end of these evil days for believers is presented. And what a presentation it is! For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive andremain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18) So it was the other morning when I began my day with a number of thoughts about the depressing things going on in the world. Paul’s great prophetic utterance above, ending with the comfortingexhortation, finally emerged near the surface of my aging gray matter. Then the thought struck that obliterated the depression the minion whispering earlier intended to inflict to ruin my day. The words of “Blessed Assurance” burst into my memory–melody and all. The Holy Spirit brought to mind that great old hymn I’ve heard all my life. You may have heard and sung it, too. And what a remembrance it was; what a comforting truth it delivered! Depressionfrom all the oppression that dark region of Satan’s realm could fling had no chance of surviving that burst of “Blessed Assurance”! Here are the lyrics to remind all of us of the magnificent future we believers in Christ have as inheritors of all of the heavenly riches that belong to Jesus Himself. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine Heir of salvation, purchase of God Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood This is my story, this is my song Praising my Savior all the day long This is my story, this is my song Praising my Savior all the day long Perfect submission, perfect delight Visions of rapture now burst on my sight Angels descending bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love This is my story, this is my song Praising my Savior all the day long This is my story, this is my song Praising my Savior all the day long Praising my Savior all the day long We can’t avoid the pure evil assaulting our eyes and ears–our spiritual senses—such as yet another attempt on the same presidential candidate’s life while he played golf Sunday, September15, in Florida. Yet all the wickedness we observe fades in the brightness of the Lord Jesus’ promise to call us into His presence at any moment. We have blessed assurance that we will not face the concluding seven hell-on-earth years marked by Antichrist’sregime or face the wrath and judgment of the righteous God of Heaven. We will be in Jesus’ Father’s house–which is our house, too (John 14:1–3), because of what Jesus did on that old rugged cross at Calvary. As that old hymn, “Blessed Assurance,” says, we who are in God’s family are heirs…heirs of salvation and all of Heaven’s glory. So, as we’re thinking about what Jesus has done for us, we can cast aside the depression–the oppression—Satan desires to inflict. All of this brings to mind another hymn with lines that expresshow Christ’s work on that cross and His Resurrection give us blessed assurance. This hymn tells us what we should be doing to do the work assigned us while we’re on earth: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. If you don’t have that blessed assurance because you’ve never accepted God’s grace gift offer of salvation through belief in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of theworld, here is how to be part of God’s eternal family: That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness;and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

A Mighty Fortress

 A Mighty Fortress - By Nathele Graham - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/09/22/a-mighty-fortress-by-nathele-graham-2/ There’s a battle raging, and it’s the epitome of Good vs. Evil. God is Good, and Satan is Evil. Of course, this battle isn’t one we can see with our eyes. It’s a spiritual battle that hasbeen raging since Satan rebelled against God. We can feel the battle, and there are times that it manifests in the natural world, but the battle is supernatural. This world and all of humanity is the battlefield. Sometimes it seems as if evil is winning. Especially in this day and age, when all manner of evil and wickedness have been legalized, and if a person speaks out against the insanity, thatperson is labeled a “hater.” How can we hold on? I really don’t know how people cope if they don’t know Jesus. He is the Rock of our salvation and our strength in times of trouble. We certainly have trouble today. “ I will love thee, O LORD, my strength, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and myhigh tower” (Psalm 18:1-2). Fear can cripple us and is a weapon of the enemy, but when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is with us, we have nothing to fear. He is our fortress. There have been troubled times throughout history, and Martin Luther lived during troubled times. He was born in 1483, became an Augustinian monk in 1505, and was ordained as a priest in 1507.The Roman Catholic Church had/has many false teachings, and Luther began to reject things like “indulgences.” He tried to reason and discuss the issues he had but to no avail. Pope Leo X demanded Luther renounce the ideas he set forth in the Ninety-five Theses.Luther refused and was excommunicated. What heresy could have caused him to be excommunicated and declared a criminal? He spoke about grace through faith in Jesus alone. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). He angered the pope by believing Scripture above the pope’s decrees. He believed that the Bible was the only divine revelation from God. He also considered all true Christians to be priests. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Luther read Scripture and believed it. Brothers and sisters, this is a very important point to understand. No matter what your preacher preaches, if it disagrees with Scripture, he is wrong.Sadly, Luther was also antisemitic, so use discernment if you study his life and teachings. Martin Luther trusted the Lord through all of his hard times and wrote hymns that encourage and strengthen our faith. As Christians, we need to look to God as our mighty fortress in theseevil times in which we live. We must stand strong on God’s truth rather than fall for Satan’s lies. A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD Words by Martin Luther A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing; Our helper he, amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing For still our ancient foe Does seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, And armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal. Satan has always tried to put fear and confusion into the minds and hearts of those who look to the Lord for strength. We see it so much in the Psalms of David. He faced many battles, evenbefore he became king. At a young age, he fought a bear and a lion, which prepared him to fight the giant Goliath. King Saul tried many times to kill him. After David became king, he fought many foes, including his own son. David always turned to the Lordfor strength. “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me” (Psalm 31:3). God never failed David, nor will the Lord fail us in our times of battle. Spiritual battles are hard because the enemy is unseen and attacks our minds to draw us from our God. Remember, Godis our rock and fortress, not our enemy. Many Christians aren’t armed for a spiritual battle. Pastors seem to ignore our mortal enemy and choose to preach “feel good” sermons. There is a vicious spiritual battle raging, and looking at the news headlines, Christiansare failing God in the battle and siding with Satan. Pastors need to stop tickling ears and start arming the soldiers for battle. Turn to Scripture for God’s truth, and then don’t be ashamed to stand upon His truth. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Seeker-friendly preachers won’t tell you that it’s God who can destroy body and soul in Hell. All they preach is “God is love.” He is love. Like sugar is sweet and water is wet, God is love.It’s His nature to love. He doesn’t send us to Hell, but by rejecting Jesus Christ for salvation, we send ourselves to Hell. Still, God has “rules,” and if we reject the only way of Salvation, then we have made our choice. When we accept the sacrifice thatJesus made on the Cross, the Holy Spirit is sealed within us, and salvation is secure. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which isthe earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). If your profession of faith was earnest, then the Holy Spirit is sealed inside you, and your salvation is secure. Did we in our own strength confide Our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth his name, From age to age the same; And he must win the battle. Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Christianity is not a religion; it is faith. Faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, thetruth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). It’s not by our own strength that we can accomplish anything for God. It is only through Jesus. He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. We are no longer under the Law of Moses, but that doesn’tmean the Law is null and void. We still have the moral law of God. In Christ we have rest and no longer have to do works to try to save ourselves. “And he said unto them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. Therefore the Son of man is the Lord also of the sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo! His doom is sure; One little word shall fell him. Do you doubt there are demons in this world? Scripture tells us they are real. Jesus cast out many demons from people. Paul also cast them out. I have no doubt that all of the Apostles andthose who followed their teachings also cast them out. These evil spirits are in the world today. Too often, their handiwork is named as a medical condition. Drugs weaken our minds, so these demons can possess people. Satan had a field day in the 1960s. Many people smoked pot or used some other mind-altering drug. LSD was very popular. Since that time, the moral decay around the world has been incredible.We cannot battle Satan or his minions on our own. We get attacked by Satan in many ways. He may confuse your mind, like he confused Eve, and cause you to doubt God’s truth. Another way demons can take control of you is through Yoga, which is designed to open “chakras” and release the kundalini spirit in you. A person is encouraged to clear their mind. This opens you to any passing spirit that might want to take possession of you. We are to meditate on our Lord, filling our hearts and minds with His Holy Spiritand His love. “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation,to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Timothy 4:12-15). The more you think about God and all that He has done, the harder it is for Satan to confuse and control you. Satan will never stop trying to destroy God’s people, but the battle was won onthe Cross. Believe in Him and resist the wiles of the devil. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Not by your strength, but by God’s power. That Word above all earthly powers No thanks to them abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours Through him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also; The body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still His kingdom is forever! God’s word is above all, and He never changes. Satan is attacking so many things that God sees as precious. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by Him, but today it’s being perverted.Children are special to Him, but many people see it as a woman’s right to murder the baby in the womb. Children are taught evolution instead of truth, and you can read in the first chapter of Romans to see what depravity that leads to, and it’s “legalized” today. When we understand that we are sinners on the road to eternal damnation, that’s when we realize we need Jesus. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and thatwhich is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee Ye must be born again” (John 3:5-7). God’s truth never changes. In order to enter into His eternal kingdom, you must be born again. That takes faith. Faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When you realizeyou’re a sinner, you must repent of your sins. If you’re a person who gossips or lies, repent and change your mind about these sins. If you’re a man who has sexual encounters with other men, repent and turn from that sin. Same goes for women. If you have anysexual encounters outside of a one man/one woman marriage, repent and ask God to forgive your sin. God’s grace and forgiveness are a blessing, but if you continue sinning, then you haven’t earnestly given your life to Christ. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). The choice to repent and live for Christ may cause family to disown you. Jesus didn’t come to make life easy. In fact, faith in Him may cause much friction in your family. “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, andthe daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:34-36). Don’t pick a fight with your family and friends, but don’t deny your Lord. The spiritual battle is real, but we have a mighty fortress that will never fail; Jesus Christ is our fortress. God provides the spiritual weapons for the spiritual battle we are fighting.Study them in Ephesians chapter 6. “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the evil” (Ephesians 6:10-11). Use these weapons to fight against the wickedness; don’t fight for Satan. The evil in this world is all caused by Satan; he is pure evil. You cannot win a battle with him by yourself. Godis your fortress. Stand firm upon His word without wavering. He is your fortress in times of battle. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to theglory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). His kingdom is forever. God bless you all, Nathele Graham twotug@embarqmail.com Recommended prophecy sites: www.raptureready.com www.prophecyupdate.com www.raptureforums.com All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed. If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).

End-times Ethnic Eruption

 End-times Ethnic Eruption – Terry James - https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2024/09/23/end-times-ethnic-eruption/ The satanically spawned Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, seems to have opened in a major way an end-of-the-age Tribulation stage-setting prophecy. Jesus Himself gave the prophecy as part of the Olivet Discourse while sitting with His disciples overlooking the Temple Mount: And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation… (Matthew 24:6–7). The prophecy we need to look at in this fascinating time in history is Jesus’ statement that “nation will rise against nation” in an unprecedented way just before He returns to set up HisMillennial Kingdom on earth. When giving only a cursory glance at these words, we think that, yes, that’s certainly true. Many a nation has risen against another nation just during the past several decades. There have been many wars, and other wars are looming.But, is this the kind of “nation against nation” reference Jesus specifically gave? To answer this, we must look at the Greek language–the language from which the New Testament was translated into English. Jesus was in actuality saying these uprisings would be unusual inthat they would be based in ethnos–the Greek word for “nation.” They would be ethnic in origin. They would pit ethnic, or racial, group against ethnic group. It is equally true that ethnic factors have been the cause of many wars throughout the centuries. The Arabs and Jews–as a matter of fact, many ethnic peoples against the Jews—marked the conflictsof Old Testament times. Almost without exception, those early wars were “ethnic” in origin. Things haven’t changed. Arabs and Jews still have the ethnos factor at the heart of their differences. And, never in history has the conflict been more virulent. Israel is hated like no otherpeople—and by almost all of the nations of the world. The Islamic nations—mostly Arab—are blood-vowed to push the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea and wipe the Jewish race from the planet. Some Arab leaders of the past and other leaders–e.g., Iranian leaders—continueto want all Jews expunged from the region, and even off the planet, as we hear incessantly through their protesting US college-campus minions. They have made it their national policy through their oratorical invectives. There have been conflicts in the centuryjust passed involving peoples of the Caucuses, the Balkans, etc., and horrific slaughters in Africa and other places–all based upon ethnic differences. Now, this hemisphere is experiencing the burgeoning effects of ethnic conflict. The invasion of illegal aliens from points at US borders north as well as south, welcomed by a presidentialadministration that seems conjoined to the globalist intention to bring America into compliance with their New World Order aspirations, is threatening to erupt into violence within even smaller cities. This invasion affecting even the smaller towns is easily discernable through reports like the following: At this moment, there is a tremendous amount of discussion on social media about what is happening in the city of Springfield, Ohio. The Haitian population of Springfield has become very large, and Newsweek is reporting that it is being alleged that “some of these people have been killing and eating folks’ pets”… Springfield, which had a population of around 60,000, has recently been at the center of the immigration debate, with its Haitian community growing to between 15,000 and 20,000 over the lastfour years, according to city officials. The past few days have seen locals report that some of these people have been killing and eating folks’ pets… At a recent city commission meeting, one local resident was literally begging for officials to do something. He claimed that migrants are “grabbing up ducks by their neck” and “eating them”… “I really challenge you guys to get out here and do something,” he told the meeting. “These Haitians are running into trash cans, running into buildings…they’re flipping cars in the middle of the streets…” The man added: “They’re in the park, grabbing up ducks by their neck, and cutting their head off and walking off with them. They’re eating them.” (“Are they really eating our pets?”, RaptureReady News, September 10, 2024) Point is, Jesus said that a great, swelling uprising involving ethnic strife would grow to be a major crisis during the Tribulation era–that last seven years just before He returns to putan end to all of the conflicts at Armageddon (Revelation 19:11). This ethnic eruption we’re witnessing each day in our headlines is something to watch closely, so far as being observant for prophetic end-times signals is concerned. The unrest constitutesyet another indicator of where this generation might stand on God’s prophetic timeline. We can say with a degree of certainty based upon study of God’s Word, and belief in the pre-Trib Rapture of Christ’s Church, that because of the burgeoning ethnic unrest,in conjunction with all of the other indicators we see interjecting themselves with growing intensity and frequency, Jesus’ shout, “Come up here!” can’t be far distant. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

The Secular World Is Cheering for The Arrival Of The ‘Man Of Lawlessness’

 The Secular World Is Cheering for The Arrival Of The ‘Man Of Lawlessness’ – By Jan Markell - https://harbingersdaily.com/the-secular-world-is-cheering-for-the-arrival-of-the-man-of-lawlessness/ A godless globalist extravaganza! Of course, I refer to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. Much has been written about them. They opened with a rider on a white horse seeming to announcethe arrival of the Antichrist. The organizers, and not the athletes, seemed to cheer him on. Clearly, the brains behind the outfit are a bunch of one-worlders who see the world as a global entity. They see us hurtling towards a sinister agenda. And worst of all, Olympic organizers and their creative geniuses, were Satan’s useful idiots to advertise for him and to promote his kingdom. Back in 2021, I wrote an article titled Anticipating the Antichrist and how America, particularly, is preparing for his any-day-arrival. Here we are in 2024 and the world is doing that evenmore enthusiastically. Not believers. We’re anticipating the return of Jesus. But the secular and pagan world is cheering for the arrival of the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2). Book Ends of Blasphemy and Debauchery The Olympics featured book ends of mockery. Their opening and closing ceremonies took inclusion and DEI to new levels. There was a prayer to Zeus. A golden calf was featured. Fallen angelswere celebrated. Drag queens mocked the Last Supper. Demons seemed to be center stage. Jesus was mocked and portrayed by a lesbian. Scene after scene reflected blasphemy and debauchery—with a small child observing it all. We are in an all-out war. A spiritual war. Christians are fair game. Islam, Mohammed, and the Koran are not. But even nonChristians could not help but comment on the fact that rituals andceremonies were suspiciously dark and even Satanic. It wasn’t subtle. It was blatant— in your face. Are You Seeing the Pattern? No, it was nothing new. We saw it at just some of the following: •In New York City in 2015 when the goddess Kali was displayed on the Empire State Building. •At the Gotthard Base Tunnel ceremony in Switzerland in 2016. •In the Commonwealth Games of 2022 which featured a woman riding a beast—a bull—with many bowing down before them. •In endless Grammy Award ceremonies. •In many Super Bowl half-time performances. World Leaders: A Bridge Too Far World leaders often mock anything to do with God but as it concerns the activity in Paris this summer, many were in unity, denouncing these godless, pagan actions. You didn’t have to be arightwing fundamentalist, or conspiracy theorist, to say they should have pulled the plug on whoever was the creative artist. Satan wants to be glorified, and he wants to always remind the world that his kingdom is waiting in the wings. And he’s got legions of clueless, blind people who are willing co-conspirators.They may be laughing now, but one day, they will be wailing and pleading for mercy. It will be too late. Channeling Ancient Babylon Darkness is loved, while light is being ardently and actively hated. It isn’t enough for people to just revel in the darkness, they want to showcase it on the world’s stage and celebrate it.Surely, ancient Babylon operated in like manner. John 3:19-20 says, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wickedthings hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” Satan’s Short-Lived Kingdom This is not all bad news. It means that Satan is trying to rush his kingdom with good press releases. Here’s the good news: His kingdom is a laughing stock compared to what God has plannedfor those who love and serve Him in the days and years ahead. “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (I Corinthians 2:9). God’s kingdom is out of this world. No words can describe it. Things are wrapping up. They’re falling into place. Be encouraged.

Becoming what we hear

 Becoming what we hear - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com Because the world doesn’t want to be told what to do, many critically see the Bible as a book of do’s and don’ts. But in reality, the commandments of God are freely chosen and if obeyed leadto a life of liberty rather than one of bondage. In Deuteronomy 27:9-10, Moses and the priests tell the people, “Be quiet and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of the LORD your God. Therefore you are to listen to what the LORD your God saysand obey his commandments and laws, which I am giving you today.” The commands contain the Hebrew word “shema,” which means to hear, listen, internalize and respond. Shema is used 92 times in Deuteronomy and its deeper meaning is very unique. Shema means to not just hear, but become what you are hearing. When we imitate God, we are internalizing the values and virtues He relates to us. Rabbi Maimonides, considered among the foremostcommentators on Judaism, said it well, “The pinnacle of the moral life, to which we all aspire, is to do what is right because it is right, because that is what it is to walk in God’s ways.” The commands are more than a list of do’s and don’ts, God gives reasonsfor the commands, throughout the book of Deuteronomy. Many of the reasons have to do with being slaves in Egypt. So they know what it feels like to be oppressed, and an outsider. There also is a connection between Genesis 1, the story of creation, and thelaws of holiness. The world ridicules the laws against the mixing of meat and milk, wool and linen, not plowing an ox with a donkey, etc., But they are about respecting God’s ordained order. These are not justdivine decrees, but also practical, even life-giving. During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught from the Torah and read the haftarah portions in the synagogue. He repeatedly affirmed the central teaching of the Torah, the Shema—”Hear O Israel,” which thenbeckons the response of duty to love God above all else (Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Mark 12:29). Jesus, through His sacrifice, ratified the New Covenant in His blood (Matthew 26:28). In Jeremiah 31:31-33, the LORD promises to make a New Covenant and write it on ourhearts that He shall be our God and we, His people. 2 Corinthians 3:6-9 says, “He has made us competent to be workers serving a New Covenant, the essence of which is not a written text, but the Spirit. For the written text brings death, butthe Spirit gives life.” In other words, the Old Covenant was given on Sinai because of transgressions until the Messiah came (Galatians 3:19). The problem was not with the law, but with men’s hearts. Romans 8:1-11 explains that the spiritual rebirth of the “heart of flesh” is the God-given power to walk in love which transcends the law and its regulations. Romans 8:2 says, “The law of the Spirit of life, has set us free from the law of sin and death” and verse 4 says walking in the Spirit fulfills the righteousnessof the law in us through faith. Let us hear the LORD and become what we hear that we may be set apart and free from the world’s concept of do’s and don’ts.

The “Comet of The Century” Is Here! Has God Put It There to Be A “Sign In The Heavens”?

 The “Comet of The Century” Is Here! Has God Put It There to Be A “Sign In The Heavens”? - by Michael Snyder - https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/the-comet-of-the-century-is-here-has-god-put-it-there-to-be-a-sign-in-the-heavens/ Is it just a coincidence that the “Comet of the Century” has appeared just as all-out war is about to erupt in the Middle East and a presidential election that has the potential to changelife in America forever is about to be decided? Perhaps you do think that it is just a coincidence, and you are certainly entitled to that opinion. But my personal opinion is that it is not a coincidence that this comet has appeared at this specific momentin history. In this article, I am going to share some truly remarkable things that I have discovered about this comet, and that will include some things that I did not learn until today. In Genesis 1:14, the Bible specifically tells us that one of the reasons why God created the lights in the heavens was because He intended to use them as “signs”… 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years And in Luke chapter 21, Jesus warned us that there would be “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars” in the days prior to His return. So anyone that attempts to claim that events in the heavens never have any meaning is directly contradicting the Bible. All throughout human history, there have been important signs in the heavens. And now the “Comet of the Century” is here. This comet’s official designation is “comet C/2023 A3”, but it is also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, and right now people all over the Internet are talking about it… Unless you’ve been on a hiking holiday in Outer Mongolia for the past year you’ve probably heard that there’s going to be a “bright comet” in the sky next month. It’s everywhere! It’s called comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), and you’re likely to be hearing a lot about it over the coming weeks. Already you can’t go on social media without seeing half a dozen news stories announcing “the comet of the century is coming!” illustrated with an AI-generated graphic showing a brilliantball of light with a glowing tail stretched out behind it. The reason why the comet’s official designation has “2023” in it is because it was originally discovered in early 2023… As always, the name of the comet itself reveals important details about it, its official name is C/2023 A3 and proceeding in order the letter C indicates that it is a non-periodic comet, thenumber 2023 that was discovered in 2023, the letter A that its first observation took place in the first half of January and finally the number 3 indicates that it was the third object discovered in that same period. In reality, however, the official confirmationof the discovery of this comet took place on February 22, 2023. We have now reached the time when it will start to become visible in the sky in the northern hemisphere, and that is very exciting. According to an article that was posted by Wired, it was being projected that the date when the comet would shine the brightest would be October 2nd… C/2023 A3 will shine in the northern hemisphere sky from September 27 and will remain visible until the last week of October. During this period, the comet will reach its minimum distancefrom the sun, before beginning its journey back out of the solar system. According to the specialized blog Cometography, the day when C/2023 A3 will shine the brightest will be October 2. The comet’s tail will be long and spectacular at this point due to its proximityto the sun. As I discussed in a previous article, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on October 2nd. In addition, there will also be a “ring of fire” solar eclipse on October 2nd. So on Rosh Hashanah the “Comet of the Century” will be the brightest at the exact same time that a spectacular “ring of fire” eclipse is appearing in the sky. That is quite a “coincidence”. There will only be two solar eclipses during 2024. The first was the Great American Eclipse on April 8th, and the second will be the “ring of fire” eclipse on October 2nd. The “ring of fire” eclipse will only be visible for a very short time, but the “Comet of the Century” will continue to be visible throughout much of October. On October 9th and 10th, the comet will “pass almost directly between Earth and the Sun”… Thanks to pure good fortune, comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will then pass almost directly between Earth and the Sun on October 9 and 10. This could cause a spectacular brightening of the comet, thanks to “forward scattering” caused by its dust. Imagine looking towards a bright light source through a cloud of dust grains. Thegrains nearest to the light source will scatter light from the source back towards you. If conditions are just right, and right now we don’t know if that will be the case or not, there is a possibility that this comet could actually become visible during daylight hours for ashort period of time… As the comet swings between Earth and the Sun, it will be perfectly placed for this forward scattering process to occur. If the comet is particularly dusty, this could cause its apparent brightnessto increase by up to 100 times. If it does, there’s a small chance the comet could briefly become visible in the daylight sky on October 9 and 10. We won’t know for sure if this will actually happen until then, but if it does happen it will make news all over the globe. Subsequently, “the Comet of the Century” will come closest to our planet on October 12th… By the time C/2023 A3 passes closest to Earth on Oct. 12, skywatchers can find it in the evening sky, shortly after sunset. It turns out that Yom Kippur just happens to fall on October 12th this year. That’s right. The “Comet of the Century” will be closest to Earth on one of the most important days on God’s prophetic calendar. But I suppose that is just a “coincidence” too. We are being told that the comet will appear to “rapidly climb in the western sky” and will become “a bright, naked-eye object for a few days” starting on Yom Kippur… After swinging between Earth and the Sun, the comet will appear in the evening sky. It will rapidly climb in the western sky, and should be a bright, naked-eye object for a few days from October12. The sliders below will give you a sense of where to look. For the first few days of this period, the comet will still benefit from the forward scattering of sunlight, but this will decrease as it moves away. Could this comet be a sign of war? We are so close to the unthinkable, and it appears that there will be no turning back now. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has announced that his nation “will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe returnof the residents of the north to their homes.” That means that all-out war is coming. And as I write this article we are only about 40 days away from the most pivotal presidential election in any of our lifetimes. At this point, everyone should be able to see that we are entering a period of extreme chaos. But a lot of people out there have not wanted to listen to any of the warnings, and they certainly are not interested in any signs in the sky. That is extremely unfortunate, because none of us will be able to avoid what is soon coming upon this planet.

The real threat

 The real threat - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com Former President Donald Trump has survived two assassination attempts. Each time opponents have condemned the acts and said that the political temperature must be dialed down. Yet, they heatit up with the same divisive rhetoric. Joe Biden told the nation after the first attempt, “Our politics must never be a literal battlefield, and God forbid, a killing field…We stand for an America not of extremism and fury, but of decency and grace.” KamalaHarris said after the second attempt, “As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence. I am thankful that former President Trump is safe.” But who isdog whistling more violence? On many occasions since Biden and Harris took office, they have used political rhetoric that encourages the type of third world violence we have witnessed against Trump. A main DemocraticParty campaign theme has been that Trump is a threat to Democracy, wants to be a dictator, compares with Hitler, and that he and his supporters are extremists. Just days before the first assassination attempt on Trump, Biden said it was time to put Trump ina bullseye. In fact, Democratic Party campaign tweets said “Trump Parrots Hitler” and used Trump’s and Hitler’s faces juxtaposed with quotes from each. Never mind that Trump’s quotes were taken out of context. The mainstream news media has amplified the rhetoricrepeatedly. Hollywood leftists are quoted ad nauseum parroting the Hitler theme. Democratic elected officials are quoted repeatedly saying that Trump supporters are extremists and that Trump is a threatto Democracy. The theme has been constant. And when called out on it, Democratic Party propaganda shills like the Washington Post, blame it on Trump, implying that his rhetoric is what has caused all the violence. In a September 18 article, the WashingtonPost wrote: “Trump is blaming his Democratic opponents, declaring this week, as Sunday’s incident is still under investigation that “their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at”…there is no evidence that Vice President Kamala Harris or President Joe Biden specificallyinspired the attack.” The Post then wrote how Trump has “often used incendiary language to describe his rivals.” There is one thing that is true—Trump is a threat to the Democratic Party’s form of “democracy.” It is a dangerous path to totalitarianism. Just look at how the “democrats” selected theirpresidential candidate—they essentially fomented a coup against a sitting president and installed a replacement who received absolutely no primary votes. That is a strong indicator. Also, the history of assassinations in communist countries against opponentsof those in charge is commonplace with the incumbents always denouncing political violence while claiming their opponents want to destroy “democracy.” The pattern is undeniable. And it is here in America today. As the Lord said in Matthew 24:4, “Take heedthat no man deceive you.” What these politicians accuse others of doing, they themselves are doing. Who, therefore, is the real threat?

‘History Is Being Rewritten’

 Wikipedia’s Redefinition of Zionism Draws Severe Rebuke: ‘History Is Being Rewritten’ – By Breanna Claussen - https://harbingersdaily.com/wikipedias-rewritting-of-jewish-history-draws-severe-rebuke-downright-antisemitic/ Despite Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger’s warnings that the online encyclopedia has become a bastion of bias and “leftist propaganda,” millions continue to rely on it as their primary sourceof information on a wide array of topics. One of the most recent issues highlighting the danger of Wikipedia’s impact on public opinion came when the group changed its definition of Zionism in mid-June. Though only now drawing publicattention, the revisions are receiving severe backlash on social media, with users warning that “history is being rewritten.” While much of the condemnation focuses on changes made between 2023 and 2024, venturing further back to Wikipedia’s page in 2004 shows just how far the editors have gone in redefining Zionism. “Zionism is a political movement among Jews holding that the Jewish people constitute a nation and are entitled to a national homeland,” the 2004 page stated. “The word ‘Zionist’ derives fromthe word ‘Zion,’ being one of the names of Jerusalem, as mentioned in the Bible. To diaspora Jews, Zion has been a symbol of the Holy Land and of their return to it, as promised by God in Biblical prophecies.” Though still far from perfect in its definition, the page in 2004 acknowledged the Jewish history in the land, the desire of Jews to return since the Roman Empire’s destruction of Jerusalemin 70 AD, the antisemitism faced globally by diaspora Jews, and that there has always remained, to varying degrees, a Jewish presence in the land. Slowly rewritten over time, the latest revisions made in June now insist that Zionism is an “ethno-cultural nationalist movement” rooted in the desire to “create a Jewish state in Palestinewith as much land, as many Jews, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible.” “The common ideology among mainstream Zionist factions is support for territorial concentration and a Jewish demographic majority in Palestine, through colonization,” the revision furtherstates. As Tel Aviv Institute senior fellow Hen Mazzig noted, “The new Wikipedia entry on Zionism isn’t just inaccurate, it’s downright antisemitic,” pointing to its section calling into questionthe genetic authenticity of European Jews. “It asserts that the origin of Ashkenazi Jews is ‘highly debated and enigmatic,’ echoing Khazar theory, the dangerous lie that Ashkenazi Jews are converts and not descendants of the Jews exiledfrom the Land of Israel,” Mazzig stressed. “This theory is often weaponized to call Israelis ‘colonizers’ and thus dehumanize us. In fact, Jewish history of repeated exile and migration from Israel to Europe is incredibly well-documented, as are genetic studieslinking our people to the Middle East. Any balanced article discussing Jewish genetics and Israel would mention that. Wikipedia has become a hate site.” While the page in 2023 asserted that “Critics of Zionism view it as a colonialist, racist, or exceptionalist ideology or movement (through settler colonialism),” the revision now adds thateven “Proponents of Zionism do not necessarily reject the characterization…” In other words, supporters of Zionism are apparently in agreement that their views are rooted in conquering, ethnically cleansing, and exploiting Palestinians. Antisemitism expert Olivier Melnick would undoubtedly beg to differ, highlighting recently the vast scriptural evidence “validating the claims of Zionism.” “From the biblical record, starting in Genesis, it can easily be argued that God Himself was the first Zionist,” Melnick underscored. “It hasn’t changed and never will. Those who fight orreject Zionism are fighting and/or rejecting God. Incidentally, He doesn’t want anybody to perish, and He certainly has the same love and compassion for both Jews and Arabs and so should we. Being a Zionist doesn’t mean that one is a racist or a colonizer.” Wikipedia also recently voted to rename its page “Allegations of genocide in the 2023 Israeli attack on Gaza” to “Gaza genocide.” The editors argued that the claims of so-called “genocide” in Gaza are a “settled fact.” One of the “experts” cited by the editors was United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has faced strong condemnation by Israel, the United States, Germany, France, and othersfor her long history of repeating antisemitic tropes—including her distortion of the holocaust and recent comparison of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Policy analyst Aviva Winton, in an opinion piece for the Jerusalem Post, stated that the move by Wikipedia “should, by any reasonable measure, hammer a final nail into the coffin of its credibilityas a reliable source of information about Israel and Jews.” Winton further warned that anti-semitic lies are “being magnified greatly by the activist takeover of Wikipedia.” Artificial intelligence tools have also been programmed to rely on Wikipedia as a primary source of information. That information is then given to users, Winton warned, making it “yet anothermeans by which billions of people are being fed inaccurate research and dangerously skewed narratives about Jews, Jewish history, antisemitism, Israel, and Zionism.” British author and political commentator Douglas Murray recently underscored that anti-Zionism has seemingly branded itself as the only “acceptable form of antisemitism.” “The interesting thing about antisemitism is the Jews can never win because, historically, they’ve been hated for being rich and for being poor,” he stated. “They’ve been hated for integratingand for not integrating. They were hated for being stateless; now, they’re hated for having a state… Zionism is simply the right of the Jews to self-determination in their historic homeland—that’s all.” Amir Tsarfati, Founder and President of Behold Israel, details that “the Zionist vision [was] grounded in God’s Biblical promises.” “The Zionist movement initiated the realization of the long-awaited dream of reestablishing a Jewish Homeland in the land of Israel. It is clear to us, now more than ever, that the establishmentof the State of Israel in 1948 was the fulfillment of God’s promise to gather His people back to Zion,” Tsarfati stated. “This miracle was described in Ezekiel 36:24, [where God said] ‘I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries,and bring you into your own land.’” “However, opponents of the Biblical vision of the Jewish return have often used the term ‘the Zionist entity’ to deny the rights and historical connection of the Jewish people to the land,” he explained. “This narrative portrays Zionism as an illegitimate Colonial project.” “Despite this hostility, it’s important to recognize that Israel’s modern rebirth is intertwined with the Zionist vision grounded in God’s Biblical promises,” Tsarfati continued. “Believingin Israel’s right to the land means embracing Zionism, a movement that is not just political but spiritual. If you stand with God’s biblical promises for Israel, congratulations, you are a Zionist.” “Remember,” he implored, “Zionism isn’t just a good thing; it’s a God thing.”

Our Hidden Enemy

 Our Hidden Enemy The world is full of dangers. We are under the constant threat of conflict: civil strife, terrorism, and outright war. Crime, too, is a perennial problem, and althoughit tends to be greater in cities, it frequently strikes in rural areas. We must be careful about what we eat, as it may be contaminated with disease or full of harmful chemicals. Speaking of disease, as we well know, lethal pathogens can spread swiftly fromremote areas of the globe even into medically advanced nations. Nor should we discount the perils of natural disasters, accidents, genetic weaknesses, political clashes, and a host of other potentially hazardous circumstances. Yet, one of our greatest enemies lurks within us, poised to bring disaster upon us if we allow it to take control. This devious, corrupt enemy even hides its motives from itself so that its owner does not really know it. It is full of deceit,folly, and incurable corruption, and it often prompts us to act against our best interests before we are even aware we are weakly following its urges. What is this enemy that is so well concealed, evil, and against our own good? Jeremiah 17:9 reveals it to us: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" As the Expositor's Commentary points out, "In Old Testament usage, the heart signifies the total inner being and includes reason." The heart is a biblical code word for the way we think, feel, and make decisions. Unfortunately, it is heavily influenced by our bodily needs and desires (which the Biblecalls our flesh), as well as the promptings of Satan the Devil. However, God does not leave us without instruction on how to protect ourselves from our hearts' misguidance. Proverbs 4:23 cautions, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." We are to keep or guard the heart with great care and attentiveness, watching over it like a hawk, as it were, because it determines the course of ourlives to a large degree. Guarding the heart is serious business to God. To guard something is to watch over or care for it, to protect it, to control it. A guard must remain vigilant and take precautions not to be surprised by his adversary and to avoid being distracted. If we take this responsibility casually, we are likely to let our diligence slip, and the enemy, our own heart, will break out and causeus harm. Indeed, there is guard duty, and then there is guard duty. While in the military, I pulled guard duty on motor pools, warehouses, and supply depots here in the United States. These areas are relatively safe and well-lit, and should trouble develop,help is just around the corner. But guarding a position on the front line brings an entirely different standard of vigilance to the term "guard." Here, the area is dark, and the enemy may appear at any time with lethal force. Guard duty during a war can require hours of intenselistening for any sound and scanning the darkness to detect any movement that might indicate an approaching enemy. Dozing off, being distracted, and failing to take his duty seriously could well mean death for the guard and for the others who depend on himto do his job of keeping them safe. This is the kind of guard duty required to protect our hearts. Why is guard duty on our hearts so important? Because the heart directs us in all we do. If we are not alert in this culture, where temptation, distraction, and ungodly ideas bombard us constantly, it can lead us to sin and to all of its terrible consequences. In effect, guarding our hearts is where conversion begins and ends. If, with God's help, we can control our hearts, we are well on the pathtoward righteousness and godliness. The heart will justify hatred, prejudice, lust, laziness, anger, revenge, gossip, criticism, resentment, idolatry, murder, theft, deceit, selfishness, and many more evils! It will soften black and white into shades of gray. It will manipulate circumstancesto provide it opportunities to do what it wants. It will play games of "just this once" and "God wants me to be happy." It will patiently erode even the most resolute decision through doubts, temptations, and twisted reasoning. It is a formidable adversary,and thus must be dealt with, as the proverb says, diligently and firmly. Why must we take such a hard line with it? "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). For all the years prior to our calling, our hearts, which we trusted, had been programmedin this world by Satan. The heart had had its way, and it had become used to its freedom to sin at will, to fulfill its desires, to get its way. But when God calls us to His way of life, the heart is required to change drastically—to the point that God saysthat He must give us new hearts (see Ezekiel 36:26). Even with the Spirit of God at work within us, the heart will work to do all it can to satisfy itself. Proverbs 4:24-26 lays out the general parameters of what we have to do to stay out of trouble: Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. The advice is to control what one says and does and what one allows his eyes to view. In other words, we are to monitor both what comes into our hearts and what we allow our heart to spit out as words and deeds. Jesus says in Mark 7:15, "[T]he things which come out of him, those are the things which defile a man." It is the old "garbage in, garbage out" process. God wants us to reverse this human failing so that it becomes "goodnessin, goodness out." The author writes in Hebrews 6:10-12: For God is not unjust to forget your works and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate thosewho through faith and patience inherit the promises. God is indeed faithful to remember our labor of love toward Him, others, and ourselves in guarding our hearts, an essential duty in transforming our natures to the image of His glorious character. The hope that he mentions is our earnest desirefor and sure expectation of the Kingdom of God. This hope motivates us to keep watch over our minds so we can persist in living righteously to the end of our lives or until the return of Jesus Christ. So, as Paul encourages us, let us not be slothful in our guard duty but show true diligence in warding our heart. Jesus Christ, tempted in all points as we are, lived more than three decades without sin (Hebrews 4:15)! How did Heaccomplish all this? It started with the guarding of His heart. How can we begin to overcome our sinful nature? In the very same way. - John O. Reid

Pope Francis Crosses All Red Lines with Claim 'All Religions Are a Path To God'

 Pope Francis Crosses All Red Lines with Claim 'All Religions Are a Path To God' - By PNW Staff - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=7343 Pope Francis has made several questionable statements over the years causing people to debate just what he meant by certain words. However this time he has made it pretty clear what he believesabout the exclusivity of the Gospel and now has many Catholics questioning how this man can be Pope while contradicting the core tenets of the faith. During a three-day visit to Singapore and while attending an interreligious meeting with young people at a Catholic junior college, Pope Francis departed from his prepared remarks and declaredto the gathering that "every religion is a way to arrive at God." He continued, "Sort of a comparison, an example, would be they're sort of like different languages in order to arrive at God." The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics continued along this universalist tack: "But God is God for all. And if God is God for all, we are all sons and daughters of God." He lamented that some argue, "But my God is more important than your God!" and asked, "Is that true?" Answering his own question to the young people, the pontiff finished, There is only one God and each of us has a language, so to speak, in order to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian. There are different paths. Understand? And the leaders on stage, representing various religions, happily shook their heads in agreement. Reacting to the pontiff's comments, Bishop Joseph Strickland, who oversaw the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Texas, until his dismissal by the Vatican last year, said in a post on X, "Pleasepray for Pope Francis to clearly state that Jesus Christ is the only Way. To deny this is to deny Him. If we deny Christ, He will deny us, He cannot deny Himself." Strickland was ousted for disagreeing with Francis on the issue of banning pro-abortion Catholic politicians from receiving communion and over the degree to which outreach to the LGBT communityis acceptable in the Catholic Church. A petition created in defense of Strickland last year said he was ousted because he "publicly corrected several heterodox statements from Pope Francis." Jesus didn't say, "Go out and point people toward any random religion or philosophy," nor did he offer any prompt that affirms "all religions are paths to God." The pope's claims simply donot stand up to the Bible's historical and theological narrative -- and even an atheist understands this reality. The proclamation is a head-turning, show-stopping moment considering it slipped from the lips of the man who heads the world's largest Christian denomination. Critics were quick to appropriatelyreact in sheer horror, frustration and with corrective rebuke. If Francis is correct, then Jesus was wrong when He stated, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me" (John 14:6). The false doctrine which Francis proclaimed has been around for centuries. But Jesus did not die on the cross to merely provide "one more way" of getting to God. He died for our sins becauseit was the only way we could be reconciled to our Father in Heaven. "God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is only through Christ that anyone can be reconciled to the Father. Theresimply is no other way, period. You see, "If righteousness could be gained through the Law, Christ died for nothing" (Galatians 2:21). In other words, if a person could get to God without Christ, the Father would never havesent His only Son to suffer the agony of crucifixion for our salvation. The world wants Christians to embrace the false gospel that Pope Francis unashamedly presented as truth. The world is unable to comprehend the true Gospel. And without the working of the HolySpirit, you and I could never understand and believe the Gospel. Pray for Pope Francis to repent of his false teaching and come to know the true Gospel. This is no minor doctrine but is a foundational issue for every professing believer and every professingchurch body. Francis previously faced criticism and accusations of heresy on social media back in May for claiming the human heart is "fundamentally good" during a "60 Minutes" interview. When asked by interviewer Norah O'Donnell what gives him hope about the world, the pope responded with "everything," citing acts of goodness by people as proof of humanity's inherent goodness. "You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things," he said. "You see heroic mothers, heroic men, men who have hopes and dreams, women who look to the future. That gives me a lotof hope. People want to live. People forge ahead. And people are fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good." At the time, many commenters on X criticized Francis for his remarks, with some accusing him of failing to grasp the basic teaching of the Gospel. Others quoted portions of Scripture thatteach God alone is good and that humanity has a sinful nature. Some X users noted that Francis' comment appeared to be an example of Pelagianism, a fifth century heresy that denied original sin and taught the essential goodness of humanity.