THE INTERESTING
INFORMATION CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
CONFIRMING
BIBLICAL TRUTH
MAY 27, 2020
SECTION 1 – INTERESTTING
INFORMATION WEEKLY ARTILCLES
SECTION 2 – SUMMARIES/BOOK
REVIEWS/SPECIAL ARTICLES/CHRISTIAN LINKS
SECTION
III – CONTACT
INTERESTING INFORMATION 5/27/2020
The following material is provided for
information purposes only. Any
conclusions or opinions formed should be based on the principles as outlined in
Acts 17:11. The material is intended for use as a witnessing tool and to keep
you informed so you will not be unaware (Luke 21:34) of what is happening
according to Scripture’s
YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN PASTOR JEFF LEVINE EACH SUNDAY
ON LINE AT 9:00 A.M. (Pacific Time)
NEW SERIES “WAITING FOR THE SON”
Go
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MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE – HIS RETURN: OUR
FUTURE HOPE
LIFTING THE VEIL OF DECEPTION SURROUNDING COVID-19
CONSPIRACIES, UNGODLY AGENDAS
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – “God
loves you just the way you are,
but He refuses to leave you that
way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.” –
Max Lucado
INTERESTING ARTICLES SUMMARY
·
America must be “One
Nation under God,” Not above God
·
God put Donald Trump in
as a “Firewall to the agenda of Hell”
·
MSNBC’s Chuck Todd compares
Christians to “Believers of Fairy Tales”
·
Jupiter’s journey to
the Sun
·
GOD IS ALWAYS IN
CONTROL
INTERESTING ARTICLES
AMERICAN MUST BE 'ONE NATION UNDER GOD,' NOT ABOVE GOD
"We
have forgotten God, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our
hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and
virtue of our own” (Abraham Lincoln).”
Christian
Headline News, May24,2020 -- Over the last few decades, Americans have seen the
destruction of the institution of marriage between a man and a woman, the
removal of God’s Word in several areas, and the aborting of millions of babies.
Ironically, many of the men and women who died for our freedoms did not die for
what we are becoming today. Many gave their lives so that we would be “one
nation under God,” not above God.
A Fifth
Division graveyard sign in Iwo Jima, Japan, states it well: “When you go home,
tell them for us and say, ‘For your tomorrows we gave our today.’” What a
travesty when we fail to honor those who gave their lives for the freedoms we
now enjoy. This Memorial Day, let’s remember those who gave their lives and
those who continue to defend our freedoms.
In the words of
Mr. O’Brien who served in World War II: “It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who
has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus
organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.” O’Brien continues: “It is
the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin
is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.”
Let’s be very
clear on this: “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon
loses both” (Dwight D. Eisenhower). Historically, we know that God judged those
nations who continually tolerated sin; wrong choices had devastating
consequences. Arnold Toynbee, who wrote A Study of History, said:
“Of the 22 civilizations that have appeared in history, 19 of them collapsed when
they reached the moral state America is in today." Brace yourself ... this
is a quote from the 1960s.
Most realize
that a republican democracy, like ours in America, cannot last forever.
Eventually, there is a collapse due to moral decay and financial
irresponsibility—liberty often leads to abundance; abundance to complacency;
complacency to apathy; apathy to a loss of freedom. Based on this, where are we
today?
Unfortunately,
countless people are confusing God’s patience with His approval. “Indeed, I tremble
for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep
forever” (Thomas Jefferson). God, not the government, has the final say!
America has
been desensitized one generation at a time, one court decision at a time, one
compromise at a time, and we are drowning in a cesspool of relativism. “The
wicked freely parade and prance about while evil is praised throughout the
land” (Psalm 12:8).
There are times
to encourage, motivate, and uplift, but there are also times to confront,
challenge, and contend for what is right—that time is now! We are experiencing
the rapid deterioration of a nation right before our eyes. This is not the time
for passivity, but for prayer...to weep, fast, and petition God. Woe be to the
church who is in a hurry to burn through a sermon, scurry through worship, and
head to the nearest restaurant.
We’ve heard
these questions before, and we will hear them again: If not now, when? If not
here, where? If not us, who? God said that He looked for a man from among the
leaders who would build a wall and stand in the gap before Him on behalf of the
land that He might not destroy it, but He found no one (Ezekiel 22:30). This was true in Ezekiel’s day, and
it’s true today. God is still looking for men and women to do what is right.
Today, the
courts have taken it upon themselves to assume the role of a law-making body,
rather than a protector of the Constitution; they have become political rather
than constitutional. The wall of separation of church and state that
was designed to protect America’s freedoms has now imprisoned her.
For those who
believe we should remain passive and silent, I challenge you to read the
writings of the Old Testament prophets. They lamented, shed tears, and pleaded
with the people and the leaders to turn from their sins and to turn back to
God—they spoke the truth in love. Even Jesus wept for Jerusalem when He saw that
her destruction was near.
One of my great
concerns is for the pulpits of America. Many are exchanging truth for
tolerance, boldness for balance, and conviction for cowardliness. We don’t want
to offend; we might lose our audience. But we are not to seek the applause of
men but the applause of God.
Pastors (and
Christian leaders alike) must take responsibility for the spiritual health of
our people. The pulpit inevitably sets the tone of the religious climate of the
nation. A culture void of God simply reflects the lack of conviction in the
pulpit as well as the pew. I conclude with words from John Winthrop
(1588-1649)—one of the leading figures in the founding of
the Massachusetts Bay Colony, “We shall be a city upon a hill, the eyes of
all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this
work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us,
we shall be made a story and a byword through the world.”
But hope is
found in the famous Scripture that many love to quote but few want to
obey: 2 Chronicles 7:14 calls out from the past with
resounding clarity to America today: “If My people will humble themselves and
pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven,
forgive their sins, and heal their land.”
Without
question, repentance, prayer, and humility before God is our only hope.
GOD PUT DONALD
TRUMP IN AS A 'FIREWALL TO THE AGENDA OF HELL' (Excerpt)
Charisma News – May 4, 2020 -- As “The
Dallas Morning News” reported in 1964, Joe Biden, as a junior in
college, let it widely be known that he intended "to become a U.S. senator
by the age of 30, and then the president of the United States." That
ambition still smolders.
Biden needs to be careful with his extravagant exaggeration, or
he may get his wish. As “The Hill” disclosed, "As Biden
struggles, Hillary waits for the call." No doubt, Hillary is once again
angling for the presidency.
Following Donald J. Trump's victory in the Indiana Republican
Presidential Primary on May 3, 2016, many of our evangelical friends in the #NeverTrump corner, as you may remember, became media stars,
omnipresent on TV networks and certain to declare Trump's candidacy as
"dead on arrival." Prayer and reflection led us to write on May 10,
2016, to the 100K American Renewal Project pastors:
What and how will Mr. Trump do? We don't have a clue.
But with Hillary we do know. The progressives that she will
stack on the Supreme Court alone will set back America for a century. Americans
may well lose 1) their Second Amendment right to 'keep and bear Arms' and 2)
their religious liberty, for which Kim Davis was just the warm-up act.
Codifying transgender bathrooms rights will only be the beginning as nine
unelected and unaccountable justices impose a godless agenda, tearing America
apart brick by brick.
That Clinton is still maneuvering for the presidency is a
spiritual worry for the nation, for as it says in Matthew 12:43-45a: "When
an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through dry places seeking rest,
but finds none. Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'
And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and
brings with itself seven other spirits more evil than
itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse
than the first."
Biden's comment to Clinton that she "won the majority of
the vote [in 2016]" should come as a warning signal. A 1968 Syracuse
College of Law graduate, Joseph R. Biden knows full well that the all-important
decider on who wins the presidency is not the popular vote, but the Electoral
College. That he would deploy subterfuge in the face of Hillary Clinton's
momentous Electoral College defeat in 2016, is reason for concern that he, if
elected, would dance around key issues such as freedom of speech, due process,
right to keep and bear arms and free exercise of religion.
Two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, my wife, Cindy,
and I had dinner with Lance Wallnau and his wife.
Lance told that he felt the Lord say that "Donald Trump will be
president," and that "Trump is a wrecking ball to the spirit of
political correctness in America." Five weeks prior to the 2016 election,
Lance had published his book God's Chaos Candidate: Donald J. Trump
and the American Unraveling.
I told Lance that night that he was nuts ...!
Last week, Lance Wallnau produced a
video on what he thinks he's hearing:
God is saying to the United States, "What will you be?
You're not going to do business as usual, either America has reformation and
revival that affects an awakening, affects D.C. government, local government,
that affects your mayors, your sheriffs, so that your economy is not gutted and
America's property sold to some ghastly new beastly system ...'
"I'm the one [God says] who is going to be changing
America, not Donald Trump. I put Donald Trump in as a firewall, as deterrence,
to the agenda of hell.
"America doesn't get transformed by him [Trump], it gets
transformed by an enlightened, engaged, reformed church that is reforming
culture. The good news is that we're in the awakening of the body of Christ.
We're awakening, but it's not business as usual with our irrelevant, if you
don't mind me saying so, 'spiritual activity.' But it's taking the scepter of
Esther, taking the authority of Zion, taking the kingdoms of this world [that
are] now beginning to shake as the church, the ekklesia,
the body of Christ is arising in government, in media, in business ..."
MSNBC'S CHUCK TODD COMPARES PEOPLE OF
FAITH TO BELIEVERS OF FAIRY TALES (Excerpt)
WND – Dec. 31,
2019 -- It has become obvious over the years that some prominent members of the
establishment media have nothing but disdain for their fellow Americans who
adhere to religious beliefs, and those media figures have become increasingly
emboldened in displaying that utter contempt for all to see.
You can count
Chuck Todd of NBC's "Meet the Press" among that dishonorable group,
as he decided to mock Christians who accept the Biblical account of Noah's Ark
as believing in "fairy tales" and therefore being susceptible to
believing the supposed many lies told by President Donald Trump, The Blaze
reported.
Todd's remarks
came during a discussion with the executive editors of The New York Times and
The Washington Post as he read portions of what he described as a
"fascinating" letter to the editor from a Lexington, Kentucky,
newspaper that sought to explain why some voters still believed the things that
were said by a purportedly dishonest president.
Conservative
media watchdog Newsbusters took note and shared
Todd's recitation of the letter, tweeting, "Chuck Todd plucks a Letter to
the Editor to make the point that voters want to be lied to...especially
numbskulls who believe fairy tales like Noah's Ark. If it's Sunday, it's
contempt for religious people."
Todd read,
"Why do good people support Trump? It's because people have been trained
from childhood to believe in fairy tales. ... This set their minds up to accept
things that make them feel good. ... The more fairy tales and lies he tells the
better they feel. ... Show me a person who believes in Noah's ark and I will
show you a Trump voter."
The host added
that the letter reminded him of something his producer used to tell him, which
was, "Hey, voters want to be lied to sometimes. They don't always love
being told hard truths."
Both of Todd's
guests -- executive editors Dean Baquet of The Times
and Martin Baron of The Post -- seemed to push back against the assertion that
voters wanted to be lied to, with Baron even suggesting that the president's
supporters deserved more respect than they have received from "so-called
elites" in the media and political establishment, like Todd.
Baquet
said, "I'm not quite sure I buy that," and noted that history is full
of politicians lying to people. He further stated that he believed people
didn't want to be lied to but rather merely "comforted" by
politicians, and that he viewed it as the media's job to interject itself into
those moments to point out that sometimes those comforting things were also
sometimes untrue.
Baron was a
bit more to the point in pushing back against Todd, and said, "I think we
have to be careful. I don't want to be dismissive of people who support the
president. I think they are owed our respect, and they certainly have
mine."
"They
feel that the so-called elites in Washington have not paid attention to them,
that they don't understand their lives, they don't understand their concerns --
and they're not being heard," he said.
"And they
feel that the president is actually listening to them and addressing their
concerns, and so they tend to believe him and they're deeply suspicious of
so-called elites, like us -- at least people who are described as elites -- and
so they turn to him."
Setting aside
the somewhat surprising commentary from the newspaper editors (for what it is
worth, Baron seems to get why Trump's supporters stand up for him) the remarks
offered up by Todd seemed to fit the bill of the Washington elitist who ignores
the beliefs and desires of his fellow citizens who happen to vote differently
than he does.
Rather than
take the time or expend the effort to try to understand why people voted for
Trump and still continue to support him -- in spite of constant smears launched
by Todd and his media comrades -- they would rather diminish and mock those
people's fervently held beliefs as mere "fairy tales" and
characterize them as naive fools susceptible to blatant falsehoods that make
them feel good
.
JUPITER’S
JOURNEY TO THE SUN
Job 38:33 “Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the
dominion thereof in the earth?”
Creation
Moments – Mar. 30, 2020 -- A recent article about Jupiter was a textbook lesson
in how deep-time scientists confuse fact and theory, science and supposition.
The article, on the popular Science Daily website, began like this: “The giant
planet Jupiter was formed four times further from the sun than its current
orbit, and migrated inwards in the solar system over a period of 700,000
years.”
The
writer seems very definite about his facts. But the question that should be
occurring to creationists is this: What makes him think that Jupiter was formed
four times further away from the sun than it currently is?
Astronomers
have been fascinated by recent discoveries of exoplanets. The main purpose for
their looking for exoplanets – planets orbiting stars other than our sun – is
their search for evolved life elsewhere. But many of the earliest discovered
exoplanets were gas giants, like Jupiter. Yet, instead of being far from their
star, like Jupiter, most of these were in close orbit to their star and were
often labeled “hot Jupiters”. Previously, deep-time
scientists thought they understood how gas giants like Jupiter must have
formed. Therefore, these hot Jupiters must have
formed far from their stars and moved inwards. That supposition is their
“proof”.
Finally,
to make sure all their ideas fit together, they have to assume that Jupiter,
likewise, is on a journey inwards to the Sun. Their theories are constantly
adapted because they refuse to accept that God made these planets on Day Four
of creation.
GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL
Why do bad things happen? Honestly, it’s
a question I can’t answer, but I believe God has a purpose for everything. My
faith is in the fact that the Lord is sovereign (Psalm 22:28).
When we’re in the middle of a trial,
it’s hard to resist crying out, “God, why is this happening?” Sometimes we get
an answer and sometimes we don’t. But we can be sure nothing happens by
accident. We have His promise that He’ll cause “all things to work together for
good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28).
Seeing in advance how God will work all
things for our benefit can be very difficult, if not impossible. Our limited
human perspective often doesn’t allow us to grasp His greater plan. However,
the Father’s good handiwork is in everything—even our pain, hardships, and
losses. He turns mourning into gladness and provides bountiful blessings and
benefits from our darkest hours.
As believers, we must accept that things
won’t always make sense to us. Isaiah teaches that God’s ways and thoughts are
higher than our own (Isa. 55:9). He sees the beautifully completed big
picture. We can rely on the fact that God is in control, no matter how wildly
off-kilter our world seems to be.
In Touch Ministry
THE GRACE THAT WE STAND IN
IS MORE THAN WE DESERVE
PRIOR ISSUE
INTERESTING INFORMATION 5/20/2020
DOUBLE
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Jonathan Cahn
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – "We worship God, not government."-
President Trump, January 2020
INTERESTING ARTICLES SUMMARY
·
National Prayer without
National repentance won’t work
·
Amid changing norms and
economic insecurity, marriage falls to historic low
·
American Imam: Allah
sent Covid 19 to punish Jews
·
The book of Job and he Mazzaroth
·
GETTING OUR ATTENTION
THROUGH ADVERSITY
INTERESTING ARTICLES
"National prayer without national repentance is an
abomination to God. In fact, it's the great national deception."
Charisma News – May 8, 2020 -- Just as the plagues in Egypt were intended to
cause Pharaoh to let God's people go, this plague is the first big sign (9/11
didn't do it) to stir the church, the nation and even the world toward
humility, repentance and a wholehearted (very important word) turning to God.
This plague has altered our nation, but will it be temporary?
Remember, Pharaoh reneged on his promises to let God's people go. He was not
sincere. God is looking for sincerity in our repentance and service to Him.
I'm warning you that if there is insincere repentance and we
return to life as usual, there is something else that will come on the heels of
this virus that will alter life in America again. I wish it were not so, and I
hope I'm wrong. The effects of another national crisis may last longer than
this one. Depending on how the church and people respond to the second thing (I
don't sense it will be another plague, but something else), there will be a
third crisis that will change our nation for good, unless there is humility and
heartfelt repentance.
Oh people, it's time to serve the Lord with holy fear and
trembling. To those who've been genuinely born again, God is our Father who
loves us with an everlasting love, but don't forget He is also a consuming
fire, and it is a fearful thing to fall into His hands (Heb. 10:31). He loves
even His enemies and desires to keep His hand of protection over our lives,
families and nation, but we must cooperate with Him. He is patiently waiting
for the precious fruit of the earth (James 5:7) and returning for a glorious
church without spot or wrinkle. He loves His church and the world so much and
desires His best for all, but we must submit to Him.
Let us repent and seek the Lord while He may be found.
Plagues in Egypt Were to Let God's People Go, But This
Plague Is Much Different. It's
for repentance. Many in the church need to repent of:
Pray That God Might Grant Repentance and an Awakening to
the World
I was hospitalized recently and surrounded daily and nightly by
nice, kind, hard-working people, and I greatly appreciated each one of
them—doctors, nurses, aides, therapists, cafeteria workers and custodians—but
hearing their daily conversations, I heard nothing of thinking that this plague
or virus could be a form of God's judgment against America or a wake-up call.
In fact, I brought up the subject to test them, and some are totally oblivious
to it. They'd rather pray for all of it to just go away, so they can return to
their sinful, comfortable, materialistic lifestyles. That's how the world is,
isn't it? But we, the body of Christ, are part of another kingdom, and judgment
begins first with us, the household of God (1 Pet. 4:17). For this reason,
there will be another severe crisis that will probably come. As we get closer
to the return of Jesus, He said these things would be so anyway. They are going
to happen.
Recently I heard a special report from Washington concerning the
government's mockery of the church:
I saw a statistic that said 77% of Republicans don't care what
the First Amendment to the Constitution says; they want their overlords to
command churches to be closed. (Just imagine the Democrats' view). Remarkably,
they don't feel that way about Walmart.
Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4b). America
needs to believe again that the Bible is the Word of God.
America is under the judgment of God. America's only hope is to
come to sincere and wholehearted repentance from her sins.
Dear friends, never in America has there been such disrespect
for churches and ministers, too. Judgment miracles must come for the church to
regain the honor and respect of these pagan politicians.
AMID CHANGING NORMS AND ECONOMIC
INSECURITY, MARRIAGE RATE FALLS TO HISTORIC LOW (Excerpt)
The Christian
Post – Apr/ 30, 2020 -- While marriage has been shown to positively impact
society in health outcomes, longevity and economic security, a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows
marriage rates have now reached its lowest point in more than 100 years due to
changing norms and economic insecurity.
The report by
statisticians Sally Curtin and Paul D. Sutton also noted that that while adults
have been increasingly postponing marriage, a record number of current youth
and young adults are projected to forego marriage altogether.
Even though
the federal government has been collecting marriage data since 1867, the latest
report focuses on marriage rate per 1,000 population from 1900 through 2018.
From 2017 to 2018, the rate dropped 6%, from to 6.9 per 1,000 population to
6.5, which is the lowest marriage rate on record for the period studied.
“Millennials
are in peak marriage years, their 20s and 30s, and it’s still dropping,”
Curtin, who is the lead author of the report, told the Wall Street Journal. “This is historic.”
Reacting to
the report Wednesday, former MLB first baseman and two-time World Series
Champion Aubrey Huff lamented that there were diminishing incentives for
especially wealthy men to get married.
“I believer in
marriage the way it used to be before it became a business. There is absolutely
zero reason for a wealthy man to marry in today’s society. Nothing to gain, and
everything to lose,” he wrote on Twitter.
Recent research highlighted how a variety of economic factors have
resulted in marriage increasingly becoming a status symbol of wealth. Many
successful women were also being forced to choose to remain unmarried or settle
for men who earn less than $53,000 and lack a college degree, according to
researchers Daniel T. Lichter of Cornell University,
Joseph P. Price of Brigham Young University, and Jeffrey M. Swigert of Southern
Utah University in Mismatches in the Marriage Market.
University of
Maryland sociology professor Philip Cohen, author of The Coming Divorce
Decline, noted in an earlier report that today, marriage is becoming more
of an “achievement of status” for those who choose it.
“Marriage is
become more selective, and more stable, even as attitudes toward divorce are
becoming more permissive, and cohabitation has grown less stable. The U.S. is
progressing toward a system in which marriage is rarer, and more stable, than
it was in the past, representing an increasingly central component of the
structure of social inequality,” Cohen said.
Many poorer
and less educated Americans are often in cohabiting relationships with children
and those relationships are seen as less stable.
Just last
month, a Wall Street Journal analysis of census data from 1980 to 2018,
showed that middle-class Americans were already forsaking marriage amid
financial insecurity.
The middle
three-fifths of U.S. earners, households that earned from $25,000 to $125,000
in 2018, showed the sharpest declines in marriage rates over the past four
decades compared with people at the bottom of the income ladder and those at
the top, the analysis said.
“Economic
conditions, even in the good economy, remain difficult for many working
Americans,” Daniel Schneider, assistant professor of sociology at the
University of California, Berkeley, who has studied marriage, told the
publication. “That is not conducive to you feeling like you could get married,
or people wanting to marry you.”
AMERICAN IMAM: ALLAH SENT COVID-19 TO PUNISH JEWS (Excerpts)
WND - May 10,
2020 -- Shaker Elsayed offered an explanation for the
coronavirus pandemic that is not surprising considering the source: He blamed
the Jews.
The
controversial imam didn't stop there during his sermon at the Dar Al-Hijrah
Islamic Center last month. The Falls Church, Virginia, mosque has a history of
ties to terrorism, according to the New York Post.
Beginning with
the notion that the virus was a "wake-up call," Elsayed
preached that Allah sends the flu every year but has now sent
the coronavirus to a world that is still disobedient.
Elsayed said such trials mean that
"something is going on wrong that our hands are doing, and it is running
out of control" and began, of course, with what the Jews have supposedly
done.
"Because of
injustices of the people of the Jewish community, we have made certain good
things prohibited for them because of their turning away from the path of Allah
a lot of people," Elsayed spoke, referencing the
Quran.
He also accused
the Jews of "devouring the money of people by wrong pretense" and
said that they would suffer "severe and painful torment," according
to the Quran, while the "obedient" ones who follow Allah would not.
Elsayed went on to say that in the world today,
corruption has become a problem "not only by the ... minor community in
the Jewish people" but that "now it is practiced almost by every
nation, every society, no exception."
He also broadly
indicted many ideas that the left holds dear, such as abortion on
demand and gay marriage, saying the whole world is caught up in such sins.
"Instead of
correcting, we are legalizing what [Allah] prohibited," the imam said,
adding that the world deserved chastisement for permitting "abominations
from Allah."
Of course, this
imam gets a pass from the establishment media, despite endorsing some of the
same views many Christian organizations are routinely excoriated for espousing.
THE BOOK
OF JOB AND THE MAZZAROTH
Job 38:32 “Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with
his sons?”
Creation
Moments – May 15, 2020 -- The Book of Job contains references both to a modern
view of the universe and an Earth-centric view of the imaginary star shapes
that we call constellations. One important set of constellations mentioned in
Job is the Mazzaroth. One of God’s challenges to Job,
in chapter 38 verse 32, was: “Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth
in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children?”
The Mazzaroth is a collection of twelve constellations. Because
many of these are supposed to be images of animals, the Mazzaroth
is sometimes called the Zodiac. These twelve constellations are arranged almost
evenly around the ecliptic, which is that part of the sky where the Sun appears
to move and, hence, is actually a tracking of the Earth’s orbit. This is
extremely useful because the rising of each of these constellations in turn
amounts approximately to a calendar month each, thus defining our division of
the year. We are immediately reminded that God said in Genesis 1:14 that the
heavens were to be “for signs and for seasons, and for days and years”.
This convenience has led to
some extending too much significance to the Mazzaroth,
assigning them occult meanings in astrology. Reacting against this, some
Christians have suggested that the Mazzaroth contains
the Gospel message. The truth is much simpler and much more profound; God gave
us these constellations for our benefit, and our praise should be directed
towards Him.
GETTING OUR ATTENTION THROUGH ADVERSITY
When facing
adversity or hardship, some Christians ask, “Why is this happening to me?”
Others think they are being really spiritual when they suffer in silence or say
things like, “God knows what He is doing. He doesn’t have to explain anything
to me.”
It is true
that our heavenly Father knows what He is doing and does not owe us any
explanations, but that doesn’t mean we should dismiss our hardship or avoid
thinking about what He might want to accomplish through it. On the contrary,
the Bible tells us to remember that God is sovereign, even over our adversities
(Eccl. 7:14). This was the case in today’s reading,
where Paul says God sent an affliction—which he describes as a “messenger of
Satan”—to keep him from exalting himself (2 Corinthians 12:7). The apostle
admits pride is a problem for him and acknowledges that God is justified in
dealing with him to correct it.
Such a
truthful confession does not eliminate suffering but sweetens it until we can
say with Paul, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with
distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I
am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
In Touch
Ministry
SECTION II - SPECIAL ARTICLES/ BOOK
REVIEWS
IN THIS
SECTION:
· WHAT HAPPENS
AFTER WE DIE? (WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS)
· WHAT’S IN A
NAME?
· "BOB
PIERCE - THIS ONE THING I DO" - A
BOOKREVIEW/SUMMARY
· "THE
HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE" - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
· "SIGNS
OF THE TIME” - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE?
By D.E. Davis
For Christians, we are told in Scripture in 2Cr 5:8 that to be
absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. For those who turn away
from God, we are told that they are eternally separated from God and go to a
place called Hell. Rev 14:11 says that
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and
ever.
The question that everyone ponders is: What really happens after we
die? Do we just lay dormant until the Lord takes us to be with him or until
judgement is handed out at the Great White Throne as called out in Rev. 20:11?
Are we conscience? Do we feel, touch, think, recognize loved ones, know what is
happening around us? All questions that we have ask ourselves, no doubt, at
some time in our life.
My own personal review of the Scriptures has led me to believe that
after we die, even though our body may be dead and buried, our Spirit is alive
and fully conscience. Chuck Missler likens this state
of conscienceness to the software that runs the
Computer; once the hardware goes, the software remains intact and available for
further applications.
There are two illustrations in the Bible that makes it clear as to
what happens after death, when we're in the spirit.
The first one is illustrated in the Luke account of Lazarus and the
rich man in Chapter 16. After death, Lazarus, a man of God, is escorted into
Abraham’s Bosom, a holding compartment in Hell for the Believers prior to the
Cross. The non-believing rich man was "buried" and went into a
separate compartment in Hell (Hades), apart from Abraham’s Bosom, where he was
in Torment according to Scripture. Both were in a Spirit state; yet by the
account, they could see each other and speak to each other.
The second account is in Revelation, where John is taken (in the
Spirit) to Heaven to see those things that shall come to pass prior to the
return of Jesus Christ to the Earth, or Second Coming (not the Rapture).
I had to conclude from the study, based on the following Scripture,
that all of the senses we have here on earth will be with us throughout
eternity, even unto death.
·
THE
ABILITY TO LOOK/SEE - Luke 16:23;Rev. 1:12;4:1,4; 5:1,2; 6:1,2,8,9; 7:1,2; 8:2;
9:1,17; 10:1,5; 13:1,2,3;14:1,6; 15:1,2; 16:13; 17:3,6; 18:1; 19:11,17,19;
20:1,4,11,12; 21:1,2,22; 22:8
·
THE
ABILITY TO HEAR - Rev. 1:10; 4:1; 5:11; 6:1,3,5,6,7; 7:4; 9:13,16; 10:4,8;
12:10; 14:2,13; 16:1,5,7; 18:4; 19:1,6; 21: 3; 22:8
·
THE
ABILITY TO BEHOLD ( to obtain knowledge of:
understand: perceive) - Rev. 5:6,11; 6:5,8,12; 7:9; 8:13; 13:11
·
THE
ABILITY TO REASON - Luke 16:30
·
THE ABILITY
TO CRY (even though there will be no more crying in Heaven) - Rev. 5:4,5; Luke
16:24
·
THE
ABILITY TO SPEAK - Rev. 5:13; 10:9; 21:6,15; Luke 16:24, 29,30,31
·
THE
ABILITY TO FEEL/TOUCH - Luke 16:23, 24,25
·
THE
ABILITY TO REMEMBER - Luke 16:25
·
THE
ABILITY TO WONDER - Rev. 17:6
·
THE
ABILITY TO WRITE - Rev. 1:11; 10:4; 19:9
·
THE
ABILITY TO QUESTION - Rev. 7:13
·
THE
ABILITY TO TAKE (THE BOOK/ROD) - Rev. 10:8,9,10
·
THE
ABILITY TO FALL (ON KNEES) - Rev. 19:10; 22:8
·
THE
ABILITY TO STAND - Rev. 13:1
·
THE
ABILITY TO WORSHIP - Rev. 19:10; 22:8
·
THE
ABILITY TO PERFORM TASKS - Rev. 11:1
God has promised in 1 Thess 4:16 and 1
Cor. 15:52,53 that one day, we shall be reunited with Him in body and will be
transformed and conformed to Him - in the twinkling of an eye. We are also told
in Scripture that we shall see Him face to face- see the Lamb that was slain
for you and me. We know by His Word, that we will Praise Him, Worship Him and
Rule with Him.
One thing in the study that I found extremely fascinating was the
difference in treatment between Lazarus and the non-believing rich man.
Scripture says that Lazarus was escorted to Heaven by an Angel, but there is no
indication in Scripture about how the rich man arrived at Hell. Could it be
that God had a specific purpose why He chose not to tell us in Scripture?
Finally, knowing that others may have varying interpretations of
these Scriptures, I strongly urge you to review the Scriptures yourselves to
determine what you find as the truth according to God’s Word.
WHAT’S IN
A NAME?
For those who
wish you had some other name because you don't like the name you were given,
you had better think twice. It is most
likely that the name your parents picked out for you was not their choice but
God's choice. Let’ s face it, the word
of the Lord is true. That's why in Eph.
1:4, God proclaimed that He had chosen us from before the very beginning of the
world.
If you follow
the Genealogy of Adam in Genesis, Chapter 5 (*) you will receive an insight
into what importance God put in names - It's an exciting message:
Genealogy Meaning
Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrow
Mahalalel The blessed God
Jared Shall
come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His Death shall bring
Lamech The
Despairing
Noah Rest,
Comfort
Now let us look
at God’s Plan for Redemption:
"Man (is) appointed
mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death
shall bring (the) despairing rest."
Let us now look
at the Genealogy of Abraham (*):
Genealogy Meaning
Abraham Predestination
Isaac Called
Jacob Justified
Joseph Glorified
(*) Source:
Chuck Missler’s Briefing package: “A Walk Thru the
Bible”
WELL YOU SAY!
BUT THAT WAS ALL OLD TESTAMENT AND WOULDN'T BE APPLICABLE FOR TODAY - WOULD IT?
Well, let us see.................. As a Christian, did God not choose you by name at the same time he chose Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph - before the very foundation of the world? If God had a purpose for their name, would you expect anything less for your name since He chose you at the same time?
As a Christian,
You ought to thank God daily that you, by your given name, was written in the
Lamb's book of life before the very foundation of the world and that you will
be a partaker in all the promises of Rev 21:27.
Within the last
couple of years, researchers have found many startling discoveries through the
use of super computers, specifically, hidden codes that God supernaturally
placed within the Hebrew text of the Bible.
Over 2000 years ago, the names of historical and current leader’s names
were placed in the Bible. Such names as Adolph Hitler, Eichmann, Arafat, Peres,
Rabin, Rabin's murderer Amir, Ben-Zion Netanyahu, Saddan
Hussein, George Bush, Schwarzkoph, Peter Arnet (CNN), Timithy McVeigh,
Bill Clinton.
Do you think
that God would limit His calling out to just those who had a highly visible
historical impact on this world? There
is no doubt that He had a purpose in doing this, if nothing else, just to get
your attention that He is the Creator; that He alone knows the beginning from
the end.
It is my firm
belief that as we advance further with our computer technology and peel back
the layers of the Hebrew text of the scriptures, we will make many more
startling and exciting discoveries. One
being that God has written each and every one of our names in His Word.
HERE IS WHAT GOD
SAID: Isaiah 66:22 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will
make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name
remain."
BOOK REVIEW by D. E. Davis (September 1997)
BOB
PIERCE -"THIS ONE THING I DO"
By Franklin Graham with Jeanette Lockerbie
It is amazing the worlds that open up to an individual, once the
Power of the Holy Spirit comes upon him. Just three years ago, where once I was
blind to Missions, to all the inspired men and women God has called to service
and the multitude of people all over the world who have been saved, new worlds
are ever opening to me to see how awesome the power of God is in our Christian
lives.
Such was the power and strength of faith Bob Pierce had in our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is
difficult for me to even attempt to assess where God has put Bob along
with other past great men of the faith, but from what I read about his life
with Christ, he certainly had his eyes focused on Jesus! I personally feel inadequate and humbled to
even put in words, my thoughts about this man.
Bob was a man Blessed by God. I
feel sad that I never had an opportunity to know him, but look forward to
meeting him one day in heaven.
If ever there was a verse of scripture that represented Bob Pierce,
it had to be the title of this book as taken from Philippians 3:13,14
".......this one thing I do,....I press toward the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in Jesus Christ."
Bob was raised in Los Angeles and at the age of 12, gave his life
to Christ and was baptized in the Nazarene Church. "God simply called me
to give my heart to Jesus, and I followed Him." He died in 1978 of leukemia but lived his
life for Christ in between in between those dates as if Christ was coming
tomorrow and he still had to witness to the whole world before dawn broke. Throughout his career, he dedicated his life
mainly to Missions and over the years was responsible for founding such World
re-noun programs as "World Vision", an organization dedicated to
meeting the emergency needs in crisis areas such as Korea after the Korean
war. During that time of need, he established a Korean
Orphanage, serving over 30 thousand Korean war orphans. Bob was also responsible for starting the
World re-noun Korean Orphan's Choir. As
an outgrowth of "World Vision" he founded "World Medical
Mission" which covered all emergency medical needs in countries all over
the world which had no medical facilities.
He was also founder of "Samaritan's Purse" and organization
dedicated to funding World emergency need, no matter where they were. These organizations are still meeting the
needs of those in crisis today.
If his work through these organizations was not enough, he became a
United Nations War Correspondent during World War II; was Co-founder for
"Youth for Christ"; and became a Motion Picture producer/Radio
program host, author and a lecturer, but first and last, he always considered
himself an evangelist! Even though Bob knew that he was "extraordinarily
gifted by God, he was never impressed with himself - he considered himself just
an earthly vessel, available at all times for the exclusive use of the
Lord".
In his own words, he had "many flaws, failings but had
abundant faith in God who lives and cares about people."
If I had to pick four areas of the Christian life that I feel truly
represented Bob Pierce, they would be 1) Unwavering Faith, 2) Compassion for
others, 3) Obedience to God and 4) Commitment to accomplish the Will of God in
his life.
From the Beginning, Bob knew his calling was for Missions to the
Asian Countries. His first mission led
him through Hawaii to Hong Kong and eventually to China. Getting to China was his first big test of
faith - he had no money, even for the first leg to Hawaii. Bob held the opinion that God knows ones
needs already and if He has called you to a task, He will provide and enable
you - just move out! He did just that and went to the L.A. airport that day
without any money in his pocket. His
faith paid off as God provided the funding for each leg of his trip just at the
moment he needed it.
This was the norm rather than the exception throughout his
career as an evangelist. What ever it was, where ever
it was, if God called, Bob would act no matter what the circumstance......he
knew that God would always provide.....and He did!
Bob had a compassion for the spiritually and physically suffering
of the world. "He was the friend of
the little people, the forgotten, the hurting, the maimed, the unheard and the
unsung". Bob's theme was "Let
my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God". It was
Bob's personal belief that "wherever you find men and women who really
love Jesus Christ, you find the compassion of Christ spilling out of them to
meet human need." Over the years World Vision, Samaritan's Purse and other
organizations like them; one in particular, Mission Aviation Fellowship Pilots
(MAF), who flew Missionaries around the world in crisis situations, helped so
many helpless and needy men, women and children. They knew first
hand the healing power of God.
Bob dared it all to be obedient to the Lord's call. Once he had in focus the mission that God
wanted him to accomplish, he followed in Faith to bring the unsaved to
Christ. It was his opinion that "
If you are an ambassador, act like one!"- no matter where you are. Bob
would bring to memory how other great men of Faith were obedient even in the
face of death. During World War II, a
young South Korean Pastor, Mr. Im was mistaken for a
North Korean Communist and imprisoned.
During his internment, he would go around camp singing "Jesus Loves
Me" and other Christian songs. He
not only uplifted and inspired other fellow Christian prisoners to come
together, he brought many more to Christ.
Together he and another prisoner, Chaplain Voelkel,
established a Bible Study where over 6,000 prisoners finished a six month Bible Study.
Six Hundred (600) of those finishing the Bible Study became pastors and came back to Korea
to preach the Gospel. In another
instance, he related how a Korean school teacher was put to death in front of
his students because of his faith and obedience to the Lord.
To be an ambassador for the Lord "is one of the greatest
things that could ever have happened to anyone - to let God put a fish hook
into you so deep that there is no way of ever getting off the hook."
"Bob did one thing all
of his life, and that was to lead people to the foot of the Cross where they
would put their faith in a risen Lord Jesus Christ. He lived every minute completely amazed that
God could use him. No matter how much he
was able to do in how many places, it was never enough." This was the kind of commitment Bob made to
Jesus; "to commit yourself, give yourself away
to God irrevocably, forever. Say to Him,
go ahead and burn me up. Spend me. Eat me up.
Use me for you Glory." And that's exactly what he did.
Being a man of God was not always easy for Bob and he paid a high
price. In one measure or another he had
to forsake his wife, his family, his Mother and Father, his brothers and
sisters and other worldly possessions to follow Jesus. He not only lost his health, he lost his
Daughter, Sharon, to death.
Committing your life to Christ in a Godless society is never easy;
many times you feel like you may be the only one
putting your life, your self image, your social
acceptance on the line. As Bob came to
realize, ". Someone has to go and
pay that humiliating price of literally letting your ego be stomped on- not
just pushed in and suppressed, but laid out there for people to stomp on. We need to do this by the grace of God with
love and patience: sow the seed on rocky soil, nurture it, and maybe never be
applauded."
Committing your life to Christ really comes down to this; What
really matters
to you in Life?
On his death bed in the City of Hope, Bob left us this one message
- "I don't care what you have attempted. What you have succeeded at, or
what has been your work in Christ's name while you are here on earth - only one
thing matters when you have reached the last step before you go to stand before
Christ:
- Did you tell men and women who Jesus is?
- Did you bring them to some comprehension of His redeeming love?
- Did you make it plain to them that He alone can pay their way to
heaven throughout His atoning death on the cross?"
Such was the life of a man of God, Bob Pierce.
HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACT 17:11 - Exhorts you to daily review the scriptures
to see if what is being said is true
References: Grant
R. Jeffrey - "The Signature of God"- RECOMMENDED READING
Other reading: "The Hebrew Factor" by Yacov
Rambsel
Prepared
by D. E. Davis
Daniel 12: 4 - "But thou, O Daniel, shut
up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to
and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
Here is undeniable proof, the third in the
series, that every word, every letter and every punctuation in Bible text was
put their by the inspiration
of God. It gives new meaning to the
words "increase knowledge".
It's just one of the many signs, and without a doubt, the most exciting
revelation that God said he would reveal to man in the "end
time". As you will see, God has
put his signature throughout the Bible, has revealed History before it ever
happened, all through hidden codes that were supernaturally placed into text
which was written over 2,000 years ago; which could only be found with today's
computer technological advances. The
codes are found in what scholars call
"Equidistant Letter Sequences" or ESL. That is, each sequential letter in an encoded
word or phrase was found the same distance apart numerically; The exact
interval designed by God.
Actually, the discovery of hidden codes in
scripture dates back to before WWI and it was not until 1988 that the use of
computers were able to detect a significant amount of
coding in scripture. Since then, the
research that Grant Jeffrey and others have done has just exploded and new
discoveries are happening every day.
Here is a summary of what has been found and outlined
in Grant's book, referenced above. It is
my understanding that he is in the process of writing another book to tell what
he has found subsequent to "The Signature of God".
Luke 21:15 - " For I will give you a
mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay
(refute) nor resist."
Proverbs 25:2 - "It is the glory of God
to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter."
What follows is what most of the human race
would find hard to believe. It
unfathomable to think that the Hebrew Bible, containing 304,805 Hebrew letters,
written by 40 individuals could contain hidden messages that if one letter was
taken out of the text, one word was removed, the hidden message could not be
revealed......yet the message has been sustained for over 2,000 years and has
been revealed to man just as Jesus said it would be. Jesus has actually placed His name and other
messages about Himself into text which proves he is the creator of all; King of
Kings and Lord of Lords.
GOD'S
SIGNATURE
God has personally signed scriptures
throughout the Old and New Testaments in various ways. For example in the
Old Testament, he has encoded his name, Jesus, in the following scripture:
God has also encoded unbelievable detail
about many of the things we read about and which touch our lives daily. For example, he outlines:
PLACES
AND THINGS
·
Gen. 2: 4-10 - The key word "Eden" was
spelled out sixteen (16) times in the span of 379 Hebrew letters. The letters were all equidistant from each
other.
·
Gen. 2
- In this chapter which deals with the garden of Eden, scientists
found encoded in the Hebrew text, Twenty-five (25) names of trees that were in
the
Garden of Eden.
·
Gen. 1:1 - Starting with the first appearance of the
Hebrew letter "Tav", the word
"Torah" was found every 50th letter.
·
Ex. 1: 1 - Again, starting with the first appearance of
the letter "Tav" and counting every 50th
letter, the word "Torah" was spelled. Num./Deut. - In the book of Numbers the word "Torah" was found spelled
backwards every 50th letter. In the book
of Deuteronomy, "Torah" was found again spelled backwards, but this
time every forty-ninth (49) letter.
NAMES
AND EVENTS
·
Holocaust
·
Deut. 10: 17-22 - Beginning with the second to last
appearance of the Hebrew letter "bet" in this passage, they found
every Thirteenth (13) letter, the phrase "b'yam marah Auschwitz" which means "in the bitter sea
of Auschwitz." Also encoded in
this passage were the names of the other Nazi Concentration camp, "Belsen".
·
Deut. 33:21 - Beginning with the letter (resh) that appeared in the Hebrew word "Yisreal," and counting every twenty-second (22) letter
from the left to right they found the phrase "re'tzach
alm" discribing the
Holocaust, which when translated, means "a people cry murder,
slaughter."
·
Adolph Hitler
·
Deut. 10: 17-22 - The word "Hitler" spelled
out in Hebrew was found every twenty-second (22) letter.
·
Deut. 33:16 - Beginning with the first appearance of the
Hebrew letter "mem" and every two hundred and forty-sixth (246)
letter from left to right you find that the coded letters spelled out the
phrase, "Melek Natzim,"
which translates as the "king of the Nazis."
·
Eichmann
·
Deut. 32:52 - Beginning with the appearance of the first
letter (aleph) and counting from left to right every six hundred and seventy
(670) letters, the name "Aik'man" is
spelled, which is the Hebrew form of the name "Eichmann."
·
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
·
"Sadat occurred together with the name of the
leader of the Moslem
Brotherhood assassinating team that killed him.......it contained
the year of his assassination, 1981, and
the words "president," "gunfire," "shot'" and
'Murder".
·
Desert Storm
·
Beginning in Gen. 1:7 and continuing through the rest of
Genesis, Grant Jeffrey indicated at the Prophesy Conference in Irvine,Ca.
on 27 Sept. 1996 that they had recently found information in hidden code in
scripture relating to Desert Storm. I
believe more details will be available in Grant's next book.
·
The French Revolution
·
Gen. 39,41 - "Another passage in the Book of
Genesis revealed a cluster of encoded words that deals with the French
Revolution. The following words are
clustered ogether" "Mapecha
HaSarfatit" which spells "the French
Revolution" in Hebrew, "Louis," the name of the French king, and
the word "Beit (house of Bourbon,") his royal dynasty. In the same cluster were the following
words: "Hamarseilles"
(the name of the French anthem) and the word "Bastillia"
(the infamous French prison for political prisoners........"
OTHER
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
·
Word pairs - "In their initial experiment,
.......the scientists arbitrarily chose three hundred (300) Hebrew word-pairs
that were logically related in meaning, such as hammer and anvil, or tree and
leaf, or man and woman." ".....the
researchers were astonished to find that every single word-pair had been
located in Genesis in close proximity to each other."
·
King David's Ancestors
·
Gen. 28 - " Every one of the five Hebrew names of
these ancestor of King
David (Pharez, Zerah, Boaz, Obed, Jesse) were
found encoded at forty-nine (49) letter intervals, hidden within the text of
Genesis 38".
·
Famous Jewish Rabbi - "The Jewish people celebrate the
memory of their famous sages by commemorating their date of death. Incredibly, the computer program found every
single one of the sixty-six names of these famous rabbis embedded in the text
of Genesis paired at significantly close proximity with their actual date of
birth or their date of death."
IS
THE HEBREW BIBLE UNIQUE TO GOD' S INSPIRED EMBEDDED CODES?
Grant points out that "The researchers
attempted to reproduce these results by running the computer program on other
religious Hebrew texts outside the Bible, including the Samaritan Pentateuch.
.......the researchers could not detect word pairs in the Samaritan Pentateuch
or any other Hebrew text outside the Bible.
In fact, an exhaustive analysis reveals that no other Hebrew text
outside the Old testament contains these mysterious codes, not even the Hebrew
apocryphal books written during the four hundred years before the birth of
Christ"
A
WORD OF CAUTION
"No one can search the Torah using these
codes to foretell future events. The
reason is that it is impossible to extract the encoded information unless you
already know what the future facts are."
"The prophet Isaiah warned against false prophets and declared that
only God can Prophesy
future events accurately
(Isa. 46: 9,10).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Computer tapes are now available so
that anyone with a computer can personally verify the existence of these codes
beneath the text of the Scriptures.
As Christians, we can stand firm in the word and shout for joy. God has given us "the words and the wisdom that none of our adversaries will be able to refute or contradict", no matter how much they try!
PRAISE
THE LORD!
SIGNS OF THE TIME
References: Grant
R. Jeffrey - "The Signature of God"- RECOMMENDED READING
Prepared by D. E. Davis
June 10, 1997
Prelude
How do we know that Jesus is the one true God when there
are so many religions, cultures and cults that claim that they serve the one
true god? How about Buddha, Allah?
Scripture says that God alone knows the beginning from the
end. The way that God establishes His
authority is through Biblical Prophesy. There are over 500 prophesies that were
prophesied over 2,000 years ago that have all come to pass. There are still some Old Testament that have
yet have to be fulfilled (Daniel Ezekiel), but there has never been an event
prophesied that has not come to pass in it’s
time. 100% accuracy tells us that the God of the Bible is the only true
God. No one else in the history of the
world, living or dead, can make this claim.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Matthew 24:3, just before Jesus' ascension
into heaven, the disciples of Jesus ask Him what would be the sign of His
second coming. Over the centuries
various groups have attempted to guess when Christ would return to the earth to
claim His inheritance as promised throughout scripture. As we know, no one has been right yet!. God clearly
states in Matthew 24:36 that no man, not even the angels, know the day or the
time when Christ will return. Only God the Father knows.
This summary is
clearly not another attempt to forecast this event. This summary does, however, attempt to
provide an awareness of what is happening around you so that you will not be
caught unaware. (Ref. Luke 21:34 and Matthew. 24:42).
ACT
17:11- Exhorts you to daily review the scriptures to see if what is being said
is true.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------THE
SIGNS OF THE TIME-------------------
Grant Jeffrey has done a wonderful job of
providing critical information about events that are happening in this
generation that all Christians need to know; Events that were prophesied over 2,500
years ago. Approximately 90% of the
material contained herein was extracted and summarized from Grant's book. I highly recommend reading this book as it
contains so much more that you will want to know.
THE
REBIRTH OF ISRAEL
The rebirth of Israel was prophesied in
several scriptures throughout the Bible.
Isaiah 66: 8 predicted that Israel would be born again in
"one" day. Ezekiel 4:3-6 and Levitcus
26:18 foretold the exact number of days that it would take Israel to
re-establish themselves as a nation in the last days. ( The
exact calculation can be found in Grant Jeffrey's book referenced above). On
May 14, 1948, the Jews proclaimed their independence of the reborn state of
Israel.....The exact day that was predicted over twenty-five (25) centuries
ago.......No other ancient nation ever ceased to exist for a period of
centuries and then returned to take its place on the stage of world
history."
PRESENT
ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT
In Psalms 83:2-8, God inspired King David to
predict that upon Israel's rebirth as a nation it would be immediately
surrounded by their enemies. The modern
names of those nations named in scripture include Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia
and Syria....the nations that have now joined the Palestinians in their attempt
to destroy Israel.
In Gen. 12: 3, God has promised to punish those
nations that come against Israel.
"I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth
be blessed."
RESTORATION
OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
When Israel was captured by Nebuchadnezzar in
approx. 562 B.C., Israel was no longer allowed to speak the Hebrew language,
but had to learn the language of the Chaldeans.
The Lord predicted, however, through Zephaniah 3:9, that he would
restore a pure language to Israel so that they may "serve him with one
consent". It was in the early part
of this Century that the Hebrew language was revived from the dead
language. Today, Hebrew is a living
language to over 5 million Israelis.
THE
FERTILITY OF ISRAEL
In Isaiah 27:6; 35:7 and Joel 2:23, the Lord
prophesied through these prophets that the deserted, unproductive, barren land
of Israel would once again become productive in the last days and that Israel
would experience tremendous increases of rain.
Ever since Israel has returned to the land, they have flourished in the
land and now supply over 90 percent of the citrus fruit consumed in
Europe. Rainfall has increased by more
than "10 percent every decade for the last century and Israel has planted
in excess of two hundred (200) million trees and transformed the complete environment
of the Promised Land." According to
the United Nations, Israel is now "the most agriculturally efficient land
on earth."
THE
UNWALLED CITY
Ezekiel 38:11 speaks of the future invasion
of Gog and Magog (Russia) saying "And thou shalt say, I will go up to the
land of un-walled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell
safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor
gates". Grant explains that "even army bases and Israel's settlements
in the West Bank and Gaza have no walls today.........How could Ezekiel have
known twenty-five centuries ago that the development of modern weapons such as
bombs, airplanes and missiles, would have made walls and gates irrelevant for
defensive purposes in the last days. In
the ancient past even small villages as well as cities depended on walls for
defense against invading armies."
PLANS
FOR REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE
Revelations 11:1, 2 foretells of Israel
rebuilding the Temple in the last days.
There is much controversy between the Israelis and the Muslim's because
the Dome of the Rock (Al-Aqsa Mosque) it is believed, sits on the very spot
where the Temple is suppose to
be built. In recent years, however,
aerial Infra-red photography shows that this may not be the case. Ezekiel 44:14-18, tell about the sacred
vessels and linen robes that must be used in the Temple. "The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has
already prepared over 75 of the objects, vessels, and linen garments required
for future Temple service.......over 500 men from the tribe of Levi have
already been trained to fulfill the duties of Temple worship and
sacrifice."
Update:
Just recently in the Washington Post on May
28, 1997, it was reported that a 10 month old heifer named "Melody" is the
first red heifer to be born in Israel in over 2,000 years. "In ancient times, the ashes of a red
heifer were mixed with spring water to purify high priests before they entered
the Temple."
THE
REBUILDING OF BABYLON
We know that the old city of Babylon (now
called Iraq) will be built again in the end times because Isaiah 13:6, 19
foretells of its destruction. In Isaiah
34:8-10 it is prophesied that the rebuilt City of Babylon will burn for ever.
"As unlikely as it seems, the Iraqi
government of Saddam Hussein has spent over one billion dollars rebuilding the
ancient city of Babylon and intends that it will become the center of their
future renewed Babylonian Empire.
Interestingly, the whole city of Babylon was built over an underground
lake of asphalt and oil."
THE
ANOINTING OIL
The prophet Daniel prophesied in Dan. 9:24 that
the when Jesus returns, that the most Holy of Holies will be anointed with the
anointing oil. "One of the five
ingredients, afars' mon, was thought lost forever,
when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and the only two groves of afars'mon trees in existence were burned
to the ground. Incredibly, several years ago, archeologists
in Israel found a clay flask buried near the Dead Sea caves filled with the
ancient oil of anointing. Scientists confirmed
that the oil is two thousand years old and is composed of the precise
ingredients described in Exodus 30:25,26."
PESTILENCE/FAMINES/EARTHQUAKES
Matthew 24:7 prophesied that in the last days
"For nation shall rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom: and
there shall be famines, and pestilence, and earthquakes, in divers (various)
places." Grand Jeffrey writes
regarding these matters:
·
Pestilence - In 1991, the Central Intelligence Agency
produced a report which "concluded that up to 75% of the population of
Africa living in the area south of the Sahara Desert may become infected with
AIDS over the next 12 years. This will
mean the death by AIDS of over three hundred million people in Africa alone. In July 1991, the South African Medical
Journal reported that a staggering 47% of black male and female blood donors
tested positive for AIDS during 1989."
In Nov. 1996, the
Associated Press reported that "Sexually transmitted diseases are
diagnosed 12 million times a year in the United States - including a staggering
3 million cases among teen-agers".
·
Famine - The
United Nations today "claim that over thirty million in Africa are now at
risk of dying from the most devastating famine in this century. The UN estimates that one billion people are
in danger of starvation while another billion lack proper nutrition. North American food reserves (grain and corn)
are at the lowest level in sixty years."
·
Major killer earthquakes – “Major Killer earthquakes
(7.2 or greater on the Richter scale) occurred
only once per decade throughout history until our century. However, since A. D. 1900, the growth in
major earthquakes has been
relentless. From 1900 to
1949 it averaged three major quakes per decade.
From 1949 the increase became awesome with 9 killer quakes in the
1950's; 13 in the 1960's; 56 in the 1970's and an amazing 74 major quakes in
the 1980's. Finally, in the 1990's, at
the present rate, we will experience 125 major killer quakes in this
decade."
WORLD
WIDE COMMUNICATION
In Revelation 11:9,10, it is prophesied that
during the tribulation period, the antichrist will have the two witnesses that
God sent killed and their bodies will lay in the street for three and a half
days while the whole world watches.
Did not the whole world watch Desert Storm on
CNN television? With all the technological
advances in telecommunications, including the recent opening of the World Wide
Net to our computer industry, any event happening in any part of the world can
now be viewed while it is happening. The
prophesy of the two
witnesses could literally be fulfilled today. This could not have happened just 10 or 15
years ago.
INCREASED
KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL
Daniel 12:4 prophesies how much knowledge and
travel will increase in the end time. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the
words, and seal the Book, even to the time of the end: Many shall run to and fro
and knowledge shall be increased."
Today, it is estimated that "Human
knowledge is growing so quickly that it literally doubles every twenty-four
months." With the discovery
through the use of modern "Super" computers by Grant Jeffrey and
other researchers of the hidden codes that God supernaturally designed into the
original Hebrew text of the Torah describing not only the history of the world
in advance, but also verifying his Authority through His personal signature
throughout his scripture, we realize that God chose this generation to reveal
this unique aspect about himself.
It is also amazing that in this century, we
have gone from horses to cars, from cars to supersonic spacecraft; not only can
we now travel the world in a matter of hours, but in the case of the U.S. Space
Shuttle Discovery, we can now travel at speeds in excess of eighteen thousand
miles per hour.
REVIVAL
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Daniel 2:40-44 predicts that the old Roman
Empire will be revived in the end times into a ten Nation alliance. We currently see the foundation being laid
today through the European Economic Community. "In 1957, six (6) Countries
signed the Treaty of Rome laying the foundation for the future United States of
Europe.............Since then the Maastricht Treaty consolidated the fifteen
(15) Nations of the European Union into the worlds
first superstate." All it will take is the re-shuffling and/or
the consolidation of Nations to bring this prophesy to a literal fulfillment.
ODDS
THAT THESE PROPHECIES WERE FULFILLED BY CHANCE IN THIS GENERATION
"In the Bible there are several types of
generations. One generation is defined
as the length of life of the average person - seventy or eighty years. However, a generation of governing is usually
defined as forty years,...........During the last two
thousand years since the days of Christ, there were fifty such forty-year
generations. Therefore, the odds are one
chance in fifty that any one of these specific prophecies happened by chance in
our generation rather than some other generation."
"The odds that more than one event
happening in our life time are:
"Another way of looking at this is that
the chance that the prophets of the Bible correctly guessed these prophecies is
also one in 97,500 trillion............in other words, it is simply impossible
that men alone could
have written the Bible without the
supernatural assistance and inspiration of God."
Matthew 24:32-35 - "Now learn a parable
of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise
ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the
doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be
fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but my words shall not pass away."
Luke 21:28 - "And when these things
begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh."
ANTI-CHRIST
TO BE REVEALED
As of today, no one knows who the Anti-Christ
is, but we do know what God has told us about him:
Many people try to spiritualize or say the
events prophesied in the Bible are just symbolic. Any doubt about how God handles these
prophetic events should have been erased on May 14,1948. God is literally fulfilling scriptural
prophesy before our very eyes. Can we
expect anything less for those few remaining prophesies for which He has promised
the world; 1) the removal of the one who restrains the man of lawlessness/Sin
(the rapture of the Church), 2) His second coming to take possession of His
inheritance, 3) The millennial kingdom
and 4) the new heaven and new earth.
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Ezekiel 33:6 - "But if the watchman see
the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the
sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."
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