Scripture of the Day

Zechariah 14

2. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7. But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Scripture of the Day

Isaiah 45
5. I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
6. That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
7. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Scripture of the Day

Revelation 14

9. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Scripture of the Day

Revelation 11

2. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
3. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
7. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
13. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

Much of Hezbollah’s Arsenal Unable to be Precision-Guided

Story here.

Hezbollah’s missile arsenal has been static for ‎years and the organization lacks the industrial ‎ability to convert, upgrade or produce precision ‎weapons, Director of Military Intelligence Maj. Gen. ‎Tamir Heyman said earlier this week.‎

Briefing the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense ‎Committee on the tensions in the northern sector, ‎Heyman said Operation Northern Shield to neutralize ‎Hezbollah tunnels snaking under the Israel-Lebanon ‎border, as well as other measures exercised by the ‎IDF, were part of “an era of disruption and shaping ‎new reality on the ground” the Israeli military is ‎pursuing as part of the “campaign between the wars.” ‎

He was referring to a strategic concept that ‎encompasses a host of covert and low-intensity ‎military and intelligence efforts to prevent enemy ‎states and terrorist organizations from becoming ‎stronger and thwart their offensive activity.‎

‎”The regional upheavals are waning and we are on the ‎brink of significant changes, which harbor ‎opportunities as well as risks in all sectors,” he ‎said.‎

Commenting on the situation in Syria, Heyman said ‎that Israel was determined to curb Iran’s aspiration ‎to entrench itself militarily in Syria, which he ‎said was also a source of friction among decision-‎makers in Tehran.‎

This friction has caused Iran’s efforts in Syria to ‎slow considerably, he noted. ‎

Iran is facing an economic crisis over the U.S.’s ‎decision to reimpose sanctions on it. so far, ‎Israeli intelligence has been able to successfully ‎warn the relevant entities in the international ‎community as to the Islamic republic’s attempts to ‎bypass the American sanctions, he said.‎

Heyman stressed that despite regional tensions, ‎chances of war remain slim, “As it doesn’t seem to ‎be in our enemies’ interest at this time.” ‎

He nevertheless warned that the volatile situation ‎in all sectors consistently creates conditions for a ‎potential rapid escalation.

Meanwhile, an American think tank released an ‎analysis of Hezbollah’s missile arsenal.

‏The Missile Threat website, a product of the Missile ‎Defense ‎Project at the Center for Strategic and ‎‎International Studies in Washington, which looks at ‎a wide ‎range of policy, program, and strategic ‎issues ‎related to missile defense, has found that ‎the Shiite terrorist group is in possession of ‎‎130,000 rockets and missile, concluding that ‎‎”Hezbollah is the world’s most heavily armed non‎state actor, and has been described as a militia ‎trained like an army and equipped like a state.” ‎

The report found that the majority of Hezbollah’s ‎arsenal comprises short- and medium-range surface-to-surface, anti-tank and anti-ship missiles that ‎cannot be upgraded to precision-missiles, mostly ‎over Israel’s persistent efforts to thwart Iran’s ‎attempts to aid Hezbollah in this respect. ‎

The Shiite terrorist group has thousands of Katyusha and Scud missiles, as well as a wide ‎array of Iranian-made projectiles covering ‎various ranges, including Shain, Fajr, Falaq and ‎Zelzal missiles.

While the Scud ‎missile is considered the group’s ‎‎‎”heavyweight threat,” the report noted that they are ‎‎”usually seen as impractical weapons” as they are ‎‎”very bulky to transport and difficult to hide and ‎manipulate, requiring 45 minutes of preparation. ‎They do not provide Hezbollah much advantage.‎”

Where The Most Journalists Are Imprisoned Worldwide

Story here

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group, has released its annual census showing the number of journalists imprisoned across the world. As Statista’s Niall McCarthy notes, more than 250 journalists are behind bars for the third consecutive year and the CPJ said that an authoritarian approach to critical news coverage is more than just a temporary spike.

As of December 1st, 2018, Turkey was the worst jailer with 68 journalists identified as being in prison there. China came second with 47 while Egypt was in third place with 25.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Collectively, Turkey, China and Egypt are responsible for more than half of all jailed journalists worldwide for the third year in a succession. CPJ said that those countries (and others such as Saudi Arabia) are experiencing a wave of repression which has resulted in a crackdown on press freedom. The vast majority of imprisoned journalists are facing anti state charges such as belonging to or aiding groups deemed by authorities as being terrorist organizations. Others are in jail on false news charges, particularly in Egypt with 19 in total.

The issue was brought into the spotlight this week with the one-year anniversary of the detention of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar. Among a group of journalists named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine, they are serving seven-year sentences for reporting on a massacre of Rohingya by the country’s military. The issue has resulted in heightened criticism of Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. On Wednesday, journalists, activists ans rights groups rallied in Yangon and called for the immediate release of the imprisoned journalists.

Still, we couldn’t help but notice the extreme irony of Erdogan’s current onslaught of abuse and accusations against Saudi Arabia’s MbS over the Khashoggi killings when his own nation is head and shoulders above the world in journalist capture.

The Day of the Lord

Its common for Christians to claim to be looking for the second coming of the Messiah. We are told that is our blessed hope, to be with our GOD and HIS Son, to be united in Heaven surrounded by Divine Love forever.

The reality is most give little thought as to the process of reaching that state of being. Yes, accepting Jesus as our Savior, as the last sacrifice for sin, asking for forgiveness and giving ourselves to that new life given to us by the Father; being part of the body of believers, doing & fulfilling our part in that body, whether in leadership or elsewhere, everyone has their purpose, all have their position in the body of believers.

Our lives here are our reflection our lives to come. The wise servant received ten cities because he wisely utilized that which was entrusted to him, the other who buried what his lord gave him suffered loss when his lord returned. We are to seek to utilize what gifts or skills the Heavenly Father grants to us. If we squander those things in the end we will suffer loss.

As Believers we are to pray for our Lords return, but we need to be aware that its not going to be as glorious we’ve been led to believe. Yes after He comes & sets up His kingdom on this earth & beyond, glorious barely describes what we can expect, but that process of getting there; through that proverbial Day of the Lord, thats what few seem give thought to.

Some simply believe they’ll be raptured away while others think humans are going to establish GOD’s kingdom before His return, others believe some alien entity will save mankind from extinction, the views of the as many as there are churches & religions. I’ll drop a few Scriptures I believe point to the fact the Day of the Lord is not going to be as glorious as some expect.

In Isaiah chapter 13, verses 6 through 13 to start.

6. Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:
8. And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Here we read about

  1. Destruction
  2. Hands are faint
  3. Peoples hearts melt
  4. People being afraid
  5. Pangs (pains) & sorrow
  6. Pain as a woman in chilbirth
  7. Amazed at one another
  8. Faces shall be as flames…

In verse 9 we read this,

the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger

Wrath and fierce anger…. a Living GOD, Creator of the universe comes with wrath and fierce anger…🙁😟… why?

to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

Laying the land desolate, bad yes, destroying the sinners out of it, worse. Why worse, because in Ezekiel 33:
11. Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Also in Ezekiel 18:
23. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

The Father doesn’t find pleasure in the fact that the wicked are going to die, the Day of the Lord isn’t going to be something pleasurable for those going through it.

We read above,

I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place,

Millions are going to die, mankind is going to be rare and few left alive, definitely not in the billions when the Day of the Lord is over.

I’ll write more later, work calls.

GOD bless.

The European Court of Human Rights goes full dhimmi

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe – which today counts every European state except Belarus and Vatican City as a member – is supposed to be a guardian of democracy and human rights. That’s its official raison d’être. It is separate from the European Union, and its court, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), whose judges are elected by the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (a legislative body whose 324 members are drawn from Europe’s national parliaments), should not be confused with the EU’s European Court of Justice (ECJ). It began hearing cases and handing down verdicts in 1959.

How many Europeans are even aware of the Council of Europe’s existence – or, if they are, could explain what it does? How many know the difference between the ECHR and the ECJ? Relatively few, I suspect. But this is par for the course in Europe, where the elected governments, in the decades since World War II, have built up a network of international bodies that wield considerable power while operating in the shadows with little or no accountability to the people. Guardian of democracy, indeed.

Full story here.

Killing Fields

War is mentioned throughout the the Bible, primarily in the Old Testament. Our GOD is not only a GOD of love, He is also a GOD of war. One who makes the war gods of myth miniscule in an honest comparison.

In the end our Savior wars against those evil armies of the world who come against Israel, the person known to us as antichrist leading those wicked armies.

Many books and opinions have been written across the centuries concerning those last days of the age of man. Different views of the man of evil, various scenarios of battles, origins and names of the evil of those days. Recently people are leaning toward an Islamic antichrist, I’m not going to deny they’re accuracy, I’ll wait for the Lord to reveal who it is. Some pre-tribbers think believers will be wisked away in a mysterious rapture and not see any judgement. I think we’ll be around although being wisked away does have its draw, I just think its a little escapist like.

In the battles our Lord fights during the last days, its going to be a bit lopsided, the infinite Creator vs the finite creation. One side isn’t going to stand a chance and its going to be a literal bloodbath. A killing field, one loving Creator wiping away millions of evil wicked men who rejected His love and who chose to follow another false god.

If interested here is a link I’ve found very well researched, so instead of pecking away on my phone here is the link…

PLEASE READ MORE ABOUT OUR GOD OF WAR.

Discerning the Signs and the Times

Having been a Christian for well over thirty yrs of my life, having stumbled, fell, gotten back up again and plodded along in this life with our Christ; I’ve seen, read, spoken about, studied, and devoted many prayers, hours, days, and yrs to private study of Scripture.

Always learning and hoping in faith for that glimpse of the wisdom of our Heavenly Father, as seen through Scripture, a view given by the Holy Spirit.

I do see everyday, the divine providence of our LORD. Answered prayers in the smallest of things, & in HIS time also, the larger prayers being answered. The Father is faithful, even when we are wavering in ours, HE remains steadfast, never completely forsaking those of HIS faithful. HE allows HIS children to reap what they’ve sown; if good seed then we receive such, if evil then we also reap those returns.

In our day, it’s often reported within Christian circles that we are in the “last days” or “endtimes” as described throughout Scripture. People point this way or that way, citing events trying to relate those events to prophecy. Some quote their dreams as prophetic; thinking those dreams are from GOD. Some twist Scripture to fit their own narrative, taking pieces and parts creating a semblence of factuality when they’re doing nothing but deceiving the brethren.

Many today claiming the name of Jesus are doing so for their own gain, whether monetary or due to some psychosis; they’re deceving many.

For myself, I can see 2 Thessalonians 2:3 being fulfilled; even though throughout the history of Chrissendom this specific Scripture can be referenced. From the beginning of the Church we are told evil people will enter always enter into the flock to devour the weak. Today though, there’s a difference, we have Israel reestablished as a nation, a people returned as a nation after 2k yrs of dispora.

Israel alone resets all previous endtimes eschatology. If Israel isn’t included their interpretations are meaningless.

Discerning the times in which we live, based primarily on Scripture, secondly on world events, can for most, take time and studying. Although a few seem to have a nack for it, most don’t give it hardly any thought.

I’ve chatted with people throughout the yrs about endtime eschatological views, most are firmly grounded in their beliefs, which can be good. But we are told by Paul to be “renewed in the spirit of our mind“, if we are so grounded in our own interpretation of Scripture, thinking we have “it” and everyone else is wrong, I think we as believers are doing others a disservice by not being “Berean” enough. Not only do we show our arrogance in thinking ours is the only path, we show our Savior we are stiffnecked. The Savior found issue with the early churches, admonishing each, why should we “feel” as if we are better?

Being grounded in Scripture is a necessity, being grounded in our own beliefs isn’t.

1 Chronicles 12:32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

This verse implies small numbers have the ability to understand the times, not a single person has everything right, only GOD has that luxury.

Yes, Noah was singled out, as were the prophets and apostles. When Elijah believed he was the last prophet, GOD corrected him telling him there were 7000 others who refused to take the knee to ba’al. So knowing and understanding our times may, at times, be discerned only by a few. Regardless of that number, it’s the responsibility of those gifted with discernment to warn others of whats coming down the pike.

Discernment, understanding, and wisdom come the LORD.

Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

6. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

7. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

So we are told to seek for both as both are necessary, from our relationship with the Father to discerning the times in which we live.

Our Time

Today societies have the opportunity to be bombarded with news and information 24/7. No region, no nation, no information is more than a few seconds away from anyone willing to search for it. Whether truth or lies, good or evil, vice or virtue; its all just seconds away.

I was raised to believe in a Pre-tribulational rapture, called Pretribbers by others. After 36yrs I’ve learned the pre-trib view isn’t completely accurate. Personally I lean more toward a Pre-wrath rapture, meaning before the final 40 to 75 days, give or take, of the end of the 7 year tribulation.

I say lean because a view or opinion of the rapturing of the church isn’t a prerequisite to salvation. Knowing we are going to be resurrected is the primary we need to rest upon, the timing is in the Fathers hands.

To me, people arguing about the “timing” of the rapture is as asinine as trying to catch a cat not using a litterbox. You think you got in the box but find another pile behind something else. People setting times or dates or presumptuously claiming absolute truth of their view to me is equals to a pile of dung.

Regardless of the yeahs or nays there will be a catching away of the saints as described in 1st Thessalonians 4.

The so-called learned will ramble on about their educational achievements, about their books or how many they’ve spoken to. Their own arrogance of their own knowledge has become their stumbling stone. Most refuse to look outside of the box they’ve placed themselves in.

On of the simplist errors in their unadulturated eschatology can be found in their interpretation of the beasts of Daniel 7
11 I beheld because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke:
and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was destroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt:
12 And that the power of the other beasts was taken away:
and that times of life were appointed them for a time, and a time.

This verse is often overlooked and dismissed because it tosses aside the view that the four beasts are historical dead kingdoms, lost in antiquity. When this verse, 12, shows the four beasts – kingdoms, nations – are contemporary and exist at the same time as the final beast. While the last beast is destroyed completely the previous 3 are allowed to exist for a time and a season after the Kingdom of the Christ is established.

Why?

Because mankind still living after the Second Coming exist in these nations. Mankind will need a time to learn the rules of the new government of Christ, they’ll have new laws put into place, new everything. The Lord knows this and in His love he gives mankind a time to relearn what “real” justice and good governance is.

Yes there will be non-resurrected humans living during the reign of the Messiah. These non-resurrected, or NR’s, if I may tag them as such, are going to live and work, tilling the ground, working to remake a life on a resurrected planet goverened by a resurrected Messiah, Jesus the Christ.

Concerning our time, we are living in those last days. The clock is ticking, if you do not know Jesus as Savior my prayer and hope is you will chose to know Him and to know Life.

I’ll be writing more later about this subject, suffice to say, most people don’t read very much nowadays.

GOD Bless.