What the Bible says about light and seed
The True Light "In him, (the Lord Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world,…the world didn’t recognize him." John 1:4,9.
The Good Seed and the Weeds “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seeds in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.” Matthew 13:24,25.
The Good Seed and the Weeds “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seeds in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.” Matthew 13:24,25.
Monday, August 31, 2020
Friday, August 21, 2020
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Monday, August 17, 2020
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Monday, June 29, 2020
2020 Economic Predictions: This Series of Unfortunate Events Guarantees the Epocalypse
2020 Economic Predictions: This Series of Unfortunate Events Guarantees the Epocalypse
The troubles listed here in my 2020 economic predictions are so severe and
so likely to get even worse that it’s more difficult to imagine they won’t get worse than to believe they will. Just a few of these misfortunes would be enough to plunge us into an abyss of social and financial catastrophes.
I think most readers will agree with the likelihood of most
predictions on this list. The point of the list, then, is to show by the
aggregate of calamities that will wash over us how close to certain is a
deep economic depression. (Most are problems central banks have zero
capacity to resolve.)
This depression is something many people may not perceive until they
widen their field of vision to see the full ocean of likely troubles
that are nearly certain to pound the entire world in wave after wave for
months or even years to come.
(Though I focus on the US, the same economics predictions are likely
to apply all over the world with their own variations of local color.)
Many people are living right now in the delusional hope of a V-shaped recovery from the recent Coronacrisis lockdown. The list below shows why that is the most unlikely possibility imaginable.
During this time of economic crisis, most of the predictions listed
below are current events that are almost certain to continue as the
major trends of 2020 and are likely to even worsen, plunging us into the
chaos of a deep economic collapse, worse than 2008:
– The social unrest of BLM will become even more widespread and intense.
I invite you to offer your own social or economic predictions for 2020 (whether as additions or subtractions to
the list above) that you see as highly likely to develop (good or bad)
in the comments below so that we benefit from each others’ observations
and insights.
Reprinted with author’s permission from The Great Recession Blog
2020 Economic Predictions: This Series of Unfortunate Events Guarantees the Epocalypse: Additional social unrest over forced social distancing will reappear around the nation as distancing measures return.
so likely to get even worse that it’s more difficult to imagine they won’t get worse than to believe they will. Just a few of these misfortunes would be enough to plunge us into an abyss of social and financial catastrophes.
Here are my economic predictions for the remainder of 2020
This list of economic predictions is not hard to come up with. It is, however, the fact that it is so easy to predict these things this year that makes this year’s list so important.I think most readers will agree with the likelihood of most
predictions on this list. The point of the list, then, is to show by the
aggregate of calamities that will wash over us how close to certain is a
deep economic depression. (Most are problems central banks have zero
capacity to resolve.)
This depression is something many people may not perceive until they
widen their field of vision to see the full ocean of likely troubles
that are nearly certain to pound the entire world in wave after wave for
months or even years to come.
(Though I focus on the US, the same economics predictions are likely
to apply all over the world with their own variations of local color.)
Many people are living right now in the delusional hope of a V-shaped recovery from the recent Coronacrisis lockdown. The list below shows why that is the most unlikely possibility imaginable.
During this time of economic crisis, most of the predictions listed
below are current events that are almost certain to continue as the
major trends of 2020 and are likely to even worsen, plunging us into the
chaos of a deep economic collapse, worse than 2008:
– The social unrest of BLM will become even more widespread and intense.
- – Additional social unrest over forced social distancing will reappear around the nation as distancing measures return.
- – Social unrest over corporate bailouts is
likely to begin as the Federal Reserve and government stack up mega
bailouts for the rich (or as bailouts already given become known) via
the insanely rich BlackRock, which has been given a monopoly on
administering handouts for which only the wealthiest qualify. - – Tearing down of monuments and other acts of violence will certainly create backlash against BLM from those who value the monuments or just want the history of both sides preserved.
- – So, social unrest will beget more social unrest.
- – All the turmoil of a likely-to-be contested election with
all the accusations of Russian tampering and other hacking (like what
just happened to Trump’s Tulsa rally) will cause even more social
unrest. - – All those social conflicts will negatively impact some local businesses already hurting badly from the COVID-19 lockdown because
they will be unable to reopen due to the protests at a time when we
cannot afford anything that causes further damage to business. - – Social distancing being ignored entirely by BLM protestors, will increase the spread of COVID-19 as
will reopening, ending the stock market’s fantasy of a V-shaped
recovery. (Even if the Coronacrisis is a trumped-up hoax as some say,
the same scenario will give the hoax all kinds of new (and news) stories
to grow on.) - – Travel and hospitality will certainly remain in deep depression as COVID-19 stages resurgences.
- – Lack of travel assures a continued rise in bankruptcies in the oil and gas industry.
- – Shutdowns of major summer events will depress local
business and government revenue as will shutdowns of sports events and
concerts. - – Local governments will be forced to downsize staffing
quickly and cut back projects of all kinds due to hugely diminished tax
revenue caused by all the troubles listed here, causing a new wave of
job losses, not just in government but in companies that contract for
government projects. - – Diminished policing will result in a huge crime wave across America. Some
of that will result from police department defunding; some will be
required in other ways by liberal governments seeking to placate
protestors; and a lot will happen because police officers resign and no
new people want to become police in the present atmosphere. This will be
as damaging to Black communities as to White and will have a
suppressive effect on economic activity.
- – Business uncertainty due to the continuing trade wars and to additional COVID-19 border lockdowns, as well as inability of businesses to get parts across borders even for products produced and sold within the nation, will act like gravity on the hope of economic lift. (What a time to be doubling down on trade wars, but here we go already!)
- – We all know the federal debt will keep growing at an exponential rate because of reduced taxes that were supposed to be paid for by a rise to 4%
or better GDP growth. That’s now a distant dream when the best we will
see is -10% GDP growth. Compounding the retreat in GDP and the resulting
drop in tax revenues, we have increased government spending due to
COVID-19 stimulus efforts. All of that will require the Federal
Reserve to monetize the debt to the moon and back. At some point that
will call into question the current US credit rating. - – So many bonds sliding toward junk because the weak business economy will force all kinds of already risky credit to become riskier and become downgraded.
- – Forced offloading of that debt by institutions that are not allowed to carry junk bonds, will cause huge bond market problems and defaults by
those who can no longer refinance by issuing new bonds. That will force
the Fed to continue to soak up ever larger amounts of junkier debt,
moving further down the junk spectrum, even as it also has to fund the
federal government’s exploding debt plus the new exploding debts of
local governments via new “special vehicles.” - – The stock market, being utterly dependent on the Fed continuing to print money while also utterly dependent on COVID-19 keeping its head down, will go down hard again, likely this summer and probably again in the fourth quarter. I predict it will ultimately fall lower than its nadir in March.
- That will cause more wealth evaporation, leading to more natural economic tightening across the financial and business spectrum.
- – The second wave of COVID-19 will be worse than the first when
the fall flu season hits or maybe even this summer, given that the
hottest rise in cases is happening in our hottest states. That makes it
obvious that climate temperature does nothing to slow the spread. - – Some major banks and other financial institutions in Europe, such as Deutsche Bank, and in other nations will crash. US institutions will get pulled down by their associations.
- – Many businesses will never reopen even though the economy has been reopened legally. Many others that do re-open
will close for good before long because partial reopening is not enough
to sustain them and, in some cases, may even cause them to lose more
money than if they stayed closed. (Already, as I predicted prior to the
opening would happen all across America, I see restaurants in my own
area that did not reopen, and I’ve talked to people in restaurants that
did reopen who say they are not even able to fill their reduced 50%
capacity under social distancing rules because they can’t get enough
customers to return. Restaurants are slim-margin business, so many will
fail.) And that is even if the Coronacrisis doesn’t have a resurgence. - – More shopping malls that were already marginal will close forever after reopening because of the number of businesses that do not return or that fail during the partial reopening.
- – That, in turn, will have a knock-on effect for other surrounding businesses that now experience less traffic.
- – Due to the continuing sweep of all the problems listed above, we are in for a deep, longterm jobs depression.
- – That means housing and commercial real-estate will crash again as longterm unemployment and business losses result in mortgage defaults.
- – The resulting deep slowdown in construction will mean even more job losses.
- – That means some US banks will crash (or
have to be bailed out by the Fed) (though maybe not until 2021) due to
all the loan problems caused by all of the above, resulting in even more
job losses. - – Add to all of these near certainties, the growing possibilities of more international wars that
we already see rising in risk — North Korea v. South Korea, North Korea
v. the US, Israel v. Iran, Israel v. the Palestinians over annexation
of parts of the West Bank, Saudi Arabia v. Yemen, China v. Taiwan, China
v. Nepal, China v. the US, India v. Pakistan. Many of these conflicts
seem to have intensified over the past year, and that’s just a short
list of currently rising or continuing international conflicts. - – Civil wars within various nations are more likely
because of the rising economic troubles and social strife listed here
as well as continued growing strife due to immigration pressures that
developed under globalization. - – I won’t predict the US dollar will collapse, BUT … this is the FIRST year in which I’ve ever said that is a reasonable possibility. Until
now, it lay dimly in the future. Nations are angry over how the dollar
has been repeatedly weaponized by the US via sanctions. So, I am certain
the indomitable dollar will finally start to experience struggles of
its own due to all the problems listed here, which will result in the
Federal Reserve being less able to manage the financial chaos nationally
and internationally, and due to competition from new central bank
digital currencies this year, maybe, but especially next. - – Add to all of that the normal economic crises from major exogenous events, such as earthquakes, volcanism, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, pestilence, wildfires, and, oh, an asteroid or two. The
difference this year is that those big catastrophes will be hitting
badly crippled economies and stressed societies wherever they hit in
this world. (We cannot know what will hit or whether the
number of such events will be lighter or heavier than other years
because these are black-swan events — things we know CAN happen but have
no knowledge of the specific likelihood of any particular event in a
particular area in any given year. What we do know is that nations
struggling under an economic crisis and an emergency health crisis will
be less able to manage those events when they hit. Organizations like
FEMA will be stretched way beyond their capacities.)
I invite you to offer your own social or economic predictions for 2020 (whether as additions or subtractions to
the list above) that you see as highly likely to develop (good or bad)
in the comments below so that we benefit from each others’ observations
and insights.
Reprinted with author’s permission from The Great Recession Blog
2020 Economic Predictions: This Series of Unfortunate Events Guarantees the Epocalypse: Additional social unrest over forced social distancing will reappear around the nation as distancing measures return.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Dragonflies, by Design: Only an Intelligence can Account for these Remarkable Insects - by Andy McIntosh
Dragonflies and damselflies are some of the most impressive fliers in
the insect world and, with four wings individually controlled, fly
rather like helicopters.
Dragonflies are agile, fast fliers, and can reach speeds of 10 to 15 metres per second or 40 to 55kmh. Damselflies, though also very agile, have a different mode of flying and will more often move from one hovering motion to another, somewhat like humming birds.
Dragonflies and damselflies have a life span of more than a year. There are three stages of the life cycle: They begin their lives as eggs which hatch in water and these then quickly become nymphs. Most of the life cycle of a dragonfly is lived in the nymph stage and one rarely sees these. Finally, they become the adult dragonfly or damselfly.
Once the eggs hatch, the larva becomes a nymph in water. Its wings are present but not grown and they are within the casing of what looks like a crusty hump hanging onto its back. This part of the life cycle can take up to four years to complete under the water. The nymphs live in ponds or marshy areas of a stream or the calmer backwaters of rivers and they are voracious feeders using a unique lower lip that they project to hook their prey. They may eat creatures as big as tadpoles or small fish and they have been observed to eat smaller dragonfly nymphs. They can even become cannibals and eat nymphs of their own species!
When the nymph reaches adult size, it comes out of the water, never to return, and sheds its last moult. Remarkably, the nymph which was breathing underwater using gills, now changes to breathing in air through spiracles as all land insects do. This is more than simply a hole in the thorax of the dragonfly or damselfly; it has a special valve so that air is sucked into the trachea behind the opening. To make sure that this valve only begins to operate once the dragonfly or damselfly nymph has left the water, a set of thin white threads is woven through these tubes and trachea in the new thorax, so that only when they are finally coming out of their old casing, are these threads pulled out of the spiracles.
The new dragonfly inhales initially with its mouth, but full respiration is achieved once the spiracles are operational. At the same time, blood is pumped through the veins of its powerful wings that then become stiffened aerodynamic surfaces. The whole process is remarkable, since not only is it effectively a new creature from the old, but it is particularly astonishing since the breathing which used gills in water is now changed skillfully to breathing in air.
The fast flight of dragonflies with a top speed of 15 metres per second (35 mph) is achieved primarily because of the individual muscle arrangement for controlling the four wings. As a consequence, there is a power stroke in both directions that makes for very strong flight.
The flight muscles of dragonflies can adjust the wing beat frequency, the amplitude (that is the extent of wing beat), the phase difference between forewings and hindwings, and also angle of attack of each of the four wings independently. This means that dragonflies can out-manoeuvre most other insects and are the king of hunters in the insect world. They will catch smaller insects at speed on the wing, but sometimes smaller dragonflies themselves become the meal for larger species of dragonflies. However, dragonflies themselves are not without predators. There are birds such as kites, hobbies, wagtails and swifts that, with keen eyesight and agile flight, can actually catch this top insect sky hunter in mid flight!
Typically dragonfly wings beat in the range of 30 to 50 cycles per second. But at the end of each wing and on its leading edge there are dark spots called pterostigma, which are heavier than the rest of the wing. During flight, as they reach maximum forward flight speed, light wings (without pterostigma) would start to flutter uncontrollably –this is due to the natural vibration frequency of the wing being excited by aerodynamic forces, and these forces depend on the speed of the dragonfly.
This is called the “resonant frequency”, which depends on the mass distribution of the wing. With pterostigma, the wings stay balanced because the mass distribution of the wing is greater at the tip, and the threshold speed – where the natural frequency for uncontrolled vibration occurs – is raised outside the range of dragonflies. So the pterostigma are precisely placed stabilisers!
Each wing has the capacity to twist upwards (supination) and downwards (pronation). This is also a very important feature for gaining extra lift for each wing beat. It is similar to the humming bird wing motion, and enables the dragonfly or damselfly to manipulate the vortices (spinning air) shed from each wing. When the pair of forward wings are out of phase with the rear pair, the hind wings pick up some of the vortices shed from the forewings, so that on the downstroke of the hind wing, it senses the updraft from these vortices. This greatly reduces the induced drag (that is drag due to lift) of the individual wing, and therefore the wings together are more efficient than acting separately.
There is a significant issue that these three features (muscles, pterostigma and wing interaction) raise. It is actually the detailed knowledge of aerodynamic engineering which uncovers the intricate design features in nature’s flyers.
Precision engineering requires design, and no engineer looking at odonata wings could come to another conclusion. Wings do not make themselves. The design of muscles to operate the wings, the design of pterostigma all in exactly the right place, the design of the four wings with a different shape for the fore wings to the hindwings – all these illustrate the principle of irreducible complexity. By this is meant only when the whole system is operating together is the design apparent. A wing without the right muscle arrangement is useless and a dragonfly without pterostigma is also useless. Intricate design speaks of the Lord of Creation who loves detail.
Dragonflies are agile, fast fliers, and can reach speeds of 10 to 15 metres per second or 40 to 55kmh. Damselflies, though also very agile, have a different mode of flying and will more often move from one hovering motion to another, somewhat like humming birds.
Dragonflies and damselflies have a life span of more than a year. There are three stages of the life cycle: They begin their lives as eggs which hatch in water and these then quickly become nymphs. Most of the life cycle of a dragonfly is lived in the nymph stage and one rarely sees these. Finally, they become the adult dragonfly or damselfly.
Once the eggs hatch, the larva becomes a nymph in water. Its wings are present but not grown and they are within the casing of what looks like a crusty hump hanging onto its back. This part of the life cycle can take up to four years to complete under the water. The nymphs live in ponds or marshy areas of a stream or the calmer backwaters of rivers and they are voracious feeders using a unique lower lip that they project to hook their prey. They may eat creatures as big as tadpoles or small fish and they have been observed to eat smaller dragonfly nymphs. They can even become cannibals and eat nymphs of their own species!
When the nymph reaches adult size, it comes out of the water, never to return, and sheds its last moult. Remarkably, the nymph which was breathing underwater using gills, now changes to breathing in air through spiracles as all land insects do. This is more than simply a hole in the thorax of the dragonfly or damselfly; it has a special valve so that air is sucked into the trachea behind the opening. To make sure that this valve only begins to operate once the dragonfly or damselfly nymph has left the water, a set of thin white threads is woven through these tubes and trachea in the new thorax, so that only when they are finally coming out of their old casing, are these threads pulled out of the spiracles.
The new dragonfly inhales initially with its mouth, but full respiration is achieved once the spiracles are operational. At the same time, blood is pumped through the veins of its powerful wings that then become stiffened aerodynamic surfaces. The whole process is remarkable, since not only is it effectively a new creature from the old, but it is particularly astonishing since the breathing which used gills in water is now changed skillfully to breathing in air.
The fast flight of dragonflies with a top speed of 15 metres per second (35 mph) is achieved primarily because of the individual muscle arrangement for controlling the four wings. As a consequence, there is a power stroke in both directions that makes for very strong flight.
The flight muscles of dragonflies can adjust the wing beat frequency, the amplitude (that is the extent of wing beat), the phase difference between forewings and hindwings, and also angle of attack of each of the four wings independently. This means that dragonflies can out-manoeuvre most other insects and are the king of hunters in the insect world. They will catch smaller insects at speed on the wing, but sometimes smaller dragonflies themselves become the meal for larger species of dragonflies. However, dragonflies themselves are not without predators. There are birds such as kites, hobbies, wagtails and swifts that, with keen eyesight and agile flight, can actually catch this top insect sky hunter in mid flight!
Typically dragonfly wings beat in the range of 30 to 50 cycles per second. But at the end of each wing and on its leading edge there are dark spots called pterostigma, which are heavier than the rest of the wing. During flight, as they reach maximum forward flight speed, light wings (without pterostigma) would start to flutter uncontrollably –this is due to the natural vibration frequency of the wing being excited by aerodynamic forces, and these forces depend on the speed of the dragonfly.
This is called the “resonant frequency”, which depends on the mass distribution of the wing. With pterostigma, the wings stay balanced because the mass distribution of the wing is greater at the tip, and the threshold speed – where the natural frequency for uncontrolled vibration occurs – is raised outside the range of dragonflies. So the pterostigma are precisely placed stabilisers!
Each wing has the capacity to twist upwards (supination) and downwards (pronation). This is also a very important feature for gaining extra lift for each wing beat. It is similar to the humming bird wing motion, and enables the dragonfly or damselfly to manipulate the vortices (spinning air) shed from each wing. When the pair of forward wings are out of phase with the rear pair, the hind wings pick up some of the vortices shed from the forewings, so that on the downstroke of the hind wing, it senses the updraft from these vortices. This greatly reduces the induced drag (that is drag due to lift) of the individual wing, and therefore the wings together are more efficient than acting separately.
There is a significant issue that these three features (muscles, pterostigma and wing interaction) raise. It is actually the detailed knowledge of aerodynamic engineering which uncovers the intricate design features in nature’s flyers.
Precision engineering requires design, and no engineer looking at odonata wings could come to another conclusion. Wings do not make themselves. The design of muscles to operate the wings, the design of pterostigma all in exactly the right place, the design of the four wings with a different shape for the fore wings to the hindwings – all these illustrate the principle of irreducible complexity. By this is meant only when the whole system is operating together is the design apparent. A wing without the right muscle arrangement is useless and a dragonfly without pterostigma is also useless. Intricate design speaks of the Lord of Creation who loves detail.
Saturday, June 27, 2020
I Thought I Saw It Coming :: By Jack Kinsella
by RRadmin7 Category:General Articles
But as the day approaches, it becomes less an abstract notion and more a crushingly painful reality. It has made that transition from theoretical possibility to actual fact.
We always knew, in theory that, one day Christians would be marginalized to the point of insignificance.
We always knew that one day, some new religion having two horns like a lamb but speaking as a dragon would overspread Planet Earth. For decades we’ve made a guessing game out of what it would look like and who would be its leader.
As we see the hard-and-fast answers crowding out our best guesses, the game isn’t as much fun as it used to be. In fact, it isn’t any fun at all, any more.
This IS what we’ve been expecting. It is what the Bible forecast for the last days. Jesus said the Tribulation Period would be a time so terrible that if He didn’t return to put a stop to it, there would be no flesh saved out of it.
So it is entirely reasonable to expect that the period leading up to it would be, ah, unpleasant, to say the least. Jesus prophesied that the time will come when those who kill you will think they do God service.
He reminded us that the world MUST hate us because it hates Him – but that doesn’t make it any easier when it happens.
There are two competing sets of values here and it is out of that conflict that all the angst arises. If we are where I believe that we are on Bible prophecy’s timeline, then America’s (and the West’s) days are numbered.
If we are where I believe we are, then the decline we are experiencing is both inevitable and unstoppable. This is only part of the Big Picture – there are other, bigger and scarier parts yet to come.
Why are they scarier today than they were, say, ten years ago? It isn’t as if Bible prophecy changed in the last ten years. What we are experiencing is the realization of our expectations.
Did anybody really think that witnessing the unfolding of last days’ prophecy would be fun?
If you did, now you know.
You also know why you were but one of only a tiny handful of ‘prophecy nuts’ in your church. I say ‘were’ because as we move forward on the Bible timeline, prophecy doesn’t seem so nuts anymore.
In the grand scheme of things, very few Christians in these last days have been called as watchmen. Even fewer have responded to the calling. It’s not for everybody — for some it is too much. That is why we are necessary – to give the warning.
God has set each of us in the place He wants us to be for this time and place in human history. That doesn’t mean it is a pleasant place – we had our pleasant time. But God in His wisdom, and for reasons known only to Him, has called us – you and me and others like us – as witnesses.
He promises a special crown for us at the Bema Seat. There are only FIVE crowns and this is one of them. So what made you think that earning it would be easy? It is supposed to be hard
.
Out of all the living Christians on this planet, God called YOU to bear witness for all those too afraid to look.
Yes, it is frustrating. Yes, it is infuriating. Yes, it is frightening. And YES – it is unfair. Why can’t YOU be one of those Christians just strolling through life, tra-la-la-la-la, in blissful ignorance?
I dunno. Because you can’t. God called you and you answered the phone. Sorry. This is a bell that you can’t unring. Read through your assignment again — note in particular the parts in italics.
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” (2nd Timothy 4:1-5)Somebody has to watch in all things, do the work of an evangelist and make full proof of the ministry to which God called them. That’s the charge. You accepted it — or you wouldn’t be reading these words now.
Now the evil days are upon us and somehow, we are surprised to find we don’t like it. I am not saying that sarcastically – I am as surprised as anybody at how surprised I am, if you can follow my drift.
I thought I was made of sterner stuff than that.
So, what are we to do as Christians? Our job. Be witnesses. Watch and observe and give the warning. You know, the Bible says that Noah preached for one hundred and twenty years and never made a single convert.
But when the rains came down, Noah still got to ride out the storm in the ark.
It is easy to become discouraged, frustrated and even angry. It’s natural. But it is part of a plan that the God of the Universe has not only let you in on, He has included you as a necessary part.
“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25)He can keep you from falling. He will present you faultless before the Throne with exceeding joy. He knows what He is doing, and He has let you in on some of the details.
Here’s what we know — and we know it for sure. There is lots to be scared of. But nothing to be worried about. Because He is able. And He loves you more than you know.
Maranatha!
http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=7203
The Ascendancy of Evil - by Jack Kelly
"For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way" (2 Thess. 2:7).
The number of emails I receive from people who are discouraged, frustrated, even despondent, is steadily increasing. They point to current conditions in the world and wonder how much worse things can get.
You no longer have to be an astute observer to notice how rapidly our world is changing. It wasn’t that long ago when the standard measure was a comparison between what was acceptable to people in their time with what was acceptable in their grandparents’ time. Now we only have to compare what’s currently acceptable with what was acceptable just a few years ago to see measurable change. Not only are things changing, but the rate of change is accelerating.
A person with discernment can’t help but see a supernatural component in all this. It’s true that the heart of man is incurably wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) but these days society seems to be under a compulsion to see just how wicked they can become.
All around us we see God’s laws being conspicuously broken, His word being stifled, and His people, both Jewish and Christian, being persecuted. It’s like it doesn’t matter how twisted something is, as long as it’s a slap in God’s face, it’s bound to catch on.
This obviously couldn’t be happening without man's active participation, but I'm becoming convinced there's more to it than a natural progression of things. I think there's growing evidence of a malevolent power accelerating this and to me that means the time during which the restrainer holds back the secret power of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7) is rapidly drawing to a close.
That Day Should Not Surprise You
If you keep up with Christian or even conservative news instead of just relying on the main stream media, none of what I’m describing is new to you. You’ve already seen the increase in frequency and intensity of the things Jesus called “birth pangs” in Matt. 24:4-8. And you’re aware of the same kind of destructive changes taking place in society.
As one example among many, our country was founded primarily on principles of religious freedom, but today, of all the religions practiced in America, only Christians are seeing their freedom of expression restricted. Laws have already been passed that limit our right to adhere to Biblical principles and more are coming.
These laws began with prohibiting school prayer, then municipalities were made to stop erecting Christmas displays. These laws have gotten progressively more restrictive until now individual Christians risk being prosecuted simply for living according to their beliefs.
The Bible tells us we can expect these trends to continue. Speaking of the time before the Rapture, Jesus had this to say to the Church:
“I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Rev. 3:8).
At the end of the Age the commendation Jesus will have for the Church (although we have little strength), we will have kept His word and not denied His name. The Greek word translated “strength” also means “power or ability.” As the end of our time here approaches we will no longer have much influence in the world, but we will have kept His word and not denied His name. For that He promised us two blessings.
“I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars-I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you” (Rev. 3:9).
A large component of Christianity believes that when Israel rejected the Messiah they gave up any right to the future promises God had made to them, and those promises were transferred to the Church. This belief is called supersessionism or replacement theology, and is the reason why many Christians believe the Church is now spiritual Israel, heirs to Israel’s destiny. Supersessionists believe the very existence of Israel in our time is in defiance of God’s Word.
But Jesus said these people are liars and He would make them bow down at our feet and admit that He loves us.
“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Rev. 3:10).
The Lord also promised that because we’ve kept His command to endure patiently, He will keep us from the hour of trial that’s coming upon the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
The hour of trial refers to the end times judgments of Daniel’s 70th Week, the only time since the Great Flood when the Lord will subject the whole world to a judgment. And right now is the only time since He said that when all the signs we’ve been given to alert us to this coming judgment are in some stage of fulfillment.
The Greek word translated “from” in Rev. 3:10 means “out of the time, place, or cause” of the end times judgments. We won’t be here when they happen and we won’t be here where they happen, because we’re not the reason they’ll be happening.
This Too Shall Pass?
Many people see the times in which we live as a temporary situation. They think if we just humble ourselves and pray, the Lord will preserve us through them and then everything will go back to being okay again.
But the Bible speaks of a time when that won’t be the case. At the end of the age the world will be subject to a series of judgments unlike any other and if the Lord didn’t return at the appointed time not a single human would survive it (Matt. 24:22). All indications are that we aren’t approaching one of the temporary periods of hard times that we’re used to, but literally the end of the world as we know it.
One of the signs that this is true is that the world will suddenly become more rebellious toward God and the love of people toward one another will turn cold. Paul said:
“There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:1-5)
This alone tells us that evil is on the ascendancy and we’re not just going through a temporary rough patch but are headed straight for the time of judgment.
And that means two things; 1) Born-again Christians are going to become less and less comfortable here, and 2) the time of our departure is drawing near.
Jesus said His Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36) and that means we who are part of His kingdom are not of this world either. Paul said our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20). When Jesus comes for us, He won’t be coming to be with us here where we are, He will be coming to take us to be with Him in His Father’s house where He is (John 14:2-3).
I believe one purpose of this ascendancy of evil is to divest us of all our misguided notions that this world is our home. It never has been our home, and it never will be. If it has been a pleasant place for us, that's just a measure of God’s grace. And if it’s steadily becoming less so, that's an indication that our stay here is just about over.
In the meantime our prayer should not be that God will make this world more comfortable for us, but that He would hasten to take us to our real home, where we will enjoy every conceivable comfort forever.
One of the Lord’s great promises to us is that when we see all these signs of the end times judgments begin to happen we should stand up and lift up our heads because our redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28). That means every advance of evil in the world brings the day of our departure that much closer.
I’m not saying that we should celebrate the ascendancy of evil in the world. But I am saying that it shouldn’t come as a surprise to us that all this is happening (1 Thess. 5:4). It’s something the Bible has warned us about and its arrival is one more sign that our time here is drawing to a close, and we’ll be going home soon. Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:18). You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.
RaptureReady.com
by Jack Kelley
Friday, June 26, 2020
Soros: Now is a ‘Revolutionary Moment’ where the ‘Inconceivable’ is ‘Necessary’
“This sentence is decreed by the Watchers; This verdict is commanded by the Holy Ones So that all creatures may know That the Most High is sovereign over the realm of man, And He gives it to whom He wishes And He may set over it even the lowest of men.’” Daniel 4:14 (The Israel Bible™)
George
Soros, Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundation gives a
speech during Economic Forum in Brussels, Belgium on June 1, 2017
(courtesy: Shutterstock) In an interview on May 11 with Project Syndicate titled “The Crisis of a Lifetime”, billionaire George Soros spoke openly about current events. Soros opened the interview by noting that the COVID-19 pandemic represented an obstacle, albeit surmountable, for his larger plans to change the world.
It should be noted that Soros lived through the Holocaust in Hungary, surviving as a courier for the Jewish council that identified and kept track of the Jews for the Nazi occupiers. He later assumed a fake name, and his father paid a Christian government official to take the boy in as his “godson.”
“And then came COVID-19, which has totally disrupted people’s lives and required very different behavior,” Soros said in the interview. “It is an unprecedented event that probably has never occurred in this combination. And it really endangers the survival of our civilization.”
“The continuing conflict between the US and China complicates matters because we ought to work together on climate change and on developing a vaccine against COVID-19. But, apparently, we cannot work together because we are already competing over who will develop – and use – the vaccine.”
It should be noted that documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2011 show Soros Fund Management LLC invested heavily into WUXI Pharmatech Caymen, Inc., a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that operated a research facility in Wuhan.
In the interview, Soros was highly critical of President Trump.
‘Donald Trump would like to be a dictator,” Soros said. “But he cannot be one because there is a constitution in the United States that people still respect. And it will prevent him from doing certain things. That does not mean that he will not try, because he is literally fighting for his life. I will also say that I have put my faith in Trump to destroy himself, and he has exceeded my wildest expectations.”
As of February 2018, he had a net worth of $8 billion, having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations. Domestically, the OSF is a strong supporter of the left-wing and the Democratic Party, especially through its support of Priorities USA Action, the Democratic Party’s largest super PAC.
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