Month: January 2018

Prophecy Update: Friday Jan.26, 2018

Two things are concerning me this week. First, is the move by the world to condemn Israel over the status of Jerusalem? Second, is the move by Turkey into Syria to attack the Kurds and Americans who are supporting them?

“Key European body to vote on condemning Trump’s Jerusalem recognition: The leading European human rights assembly on Tuesday was set to discuss a resolution that would condemn the American decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and call for an increased European role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, an Israeli official told the Times of Israel.”

EU promises to back Abbas’ demand for Jerusalem: One day the antichrist will rise and make a false peace deal, much like Abbas is asking the EU and the UN to do. This move by Abbas is setting up a conflict between the EU and the United States.

“EU foreign affairs chief ‘reassures’ Abbas that EU committed to establishing Palestinian state – with Jerusalem as its capital. On Monday, PA chairman Abbas met with European Union Foreign Affairs High Representative Federica Mogherini in the EU capital in Brussels, in a bid by the PA leader to win recognition for Palestinian statehood from the 28-member European body. During his meeting with Mogherini, Abbas urged the EU to back his plans for Palestinian statehood, and efforts to make eastern Jerusalem the capital of the new state. Abbas also hinted at his desire for renewed negotiations – led by the EU.”

I cannot understand how Abbas thinks that Israel will ever enter into negotiations with someone who vows the destruction of the state of Israel. The actions of Donald Trump have exposed Abbas as a fraud and a liar. He has lied for many years regarding peace with Israel. When Israel offered up east Jerusalem and 90% of the West Bank to the Palestinians they turned it down.
Israel has a history of offering peace to Palestinians and then being rejected. “Israelis voted in Labor’s Ehud Barak to the premiership in 1999 specifically because he promised to make peace with the Palestinians; in 2000, he met with then-PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat at Camp David and offered the Palestinians 92% of the West Bank, all of the Gaza Strip, and eastern Jerusalem as its capital. Israel even proposed that a maximum of 100,000 refugees would be allowed to return to Israel on the basis of humanitarian considerations or family reunification, and an international fund would be created to compensate the Palestinians. Arafat rejected the offer. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, only for that territory to be taken over by Hamas in a Palestinian civil war in 2007. Since then, Hamas has started war after war with Israel and vow to destroy all Jews in the world. In fact, a senior Al-Qaeda leader has called on Muslims “everywhere” to rise up and kill Jews and Americans in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In 2008, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas 93.7% of the West Bank; the remaining 6.3% would be made up with land swaps. He also offered to take in 5,000 refugees over five years; an international committee to oversee Jerusalem’s holy sites; and an international fund consisting of billions of dollars, administered by Norwegians, to compensate Palestinian refugees. They said no again! The Palestinians have never recognized Israel as a Jewish state!” Therefore they will never agree to a peace deal!

The Palestinian government is committed to the destruction of Israel. “It is a tripartite unity government under the control of the terrorist group Hamas, the terrorist group Fatah, and the terrorist group Islamic Jihad. Not one of these groups recognizes Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. All teach, fund, and promote terrorism against Jews. Every concession by Israel has been met with violence.” I cannot see how Abbas ever gets what he wants without war. The Bible is very clear though, no war with Israel will succeed.

The EU voted on Abbas recommendation and here is what happened:
“In agreeing that the EU should be more prominently represented in the peace process, the union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, nevertheless stated that “no effort will ever bring the two sides to the table if the international multilateral framework does not include the United States. In other words, no Trump, no deal.” This will infuriate the Palestinians who have the ear of the UN and the EU but they have not secured the destruction of Israel from these groups. All they have left is war.

While Abbas was in Europe cursing Israel, Vice President Pence was in Israel blessing Israel! In a speech to the Knesset, Pence said this: “We stand with Israel, because we believe in right over wrong, in good over evil, and in liberty over tyranny,” Pence said in his address. “The people of the US have always held a special affection and admiration for the People of the Book.” “The USA is proud to stand with Israel and her people, as allies and cherished friends. And so we will pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that those who love you be secure, that there be peace within your walls and security in your citadels.” Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com Thank God that we support the nation of Israel, this will cause the enemies of Israel to hate America even more.

Three of those enemies are Turkey, Iran, and Russia. These three nations have made it clear that they stand against Israel and America over two issues, the status of Jerusalem and the Iran deal. Further complicating the relationship is the move by Turkey to threaten America with war because of our support of the Kurds in northern Syria. This headline from the BBC says it all: Syria offensive: Turkey warns US over Kurdish militia group. Turkey is incensed by American support for the YPG Kurdish group that Turkey calls a terrorist group. The Turks invaded the Afrin area of Syria to drive out the YPG. The YPG are well funded by the USA and have American made arms. The biggest problem facing the Turks is that Syria does not want Turkey invading, Russia has moved anti-missile batteries into Afrin and America warned Turkey not to do it. Russia loves this because it further weakens NATO. AS everything goes in Syria, it is confusing and many people are going to die.
Russia is moving massive forces toward the Middle East. The Bible states that Turkey and Russia will invade Israel in the future so Turkey has really put themselves in a pickle. They claim that they are allies of NATO, America, and Russia. You cannot be all of them at the same time. They will have to choose someday soon and they will side with whoever attacks Israel—that means Russia will be their ally! We have the largest concentration of Russian forces in Syria in history, just north of Israel. With Turkey coming into Syria, there is reason for concern. The conflict in Syria the past 7 years serves to set the table for the eventual invasion of Israel.
The Kurds are supported by Israel and the USA. When the Americans declared on Dec.22nd to set up a security zone with the Kurds in Syria it brought a lot of bad blood between Turkey and the USA. Erdogan of Turkey opposed Trump on the Jerusalem announcement and threatened war with Israel over Jerusalem. Now Erdogan is threatening war with the USA—wow! This guy has an inflated ego or he is very deceived. On Jan.13th the Pentagon announced that there will be a force of 30,000 soldiers enforcing the security zone in Syria. Turkey said that America lied to them and they oppose any American presence on the border of Turkey, especially with Kurds. Turkey has been warring with the Kurds for over 100 years. Turkey attacked Afrin because there are less American forces there, they are mostly in the northeast part of Syria. Turkey says they will kill all of the Kurds—ethnic cleansing. The rift between Turkey and the USA is huge!
The prophecy regarding Damascus in Isaiah 17 can be fulfilled because there is so much fire power in Syria. The armies include, Russia, Iran, Turkey, America, Syrian army, Hezbollah, and even Chinese forces are there! With the Israeli army attacking Damascus every month to prevent weapons getting into the hands of her enemies, Damascus is going to fall soon.
In Revelation 12:17 it says, “So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Satan is clearly making war on Israel and her children, Christians. The USA passed legislation to protect Christians: Trump refocused the priority of the refugee program from receiving Muslims from Muslim countries to receiving Christians who are being persecuted in Muslim countries.” As Trump supports Israel and Christians, he will receive the greatest hatred from Satan! For instance consider this headline: “Atheist Organization Targets White House Bible Study. The Freedom From Religion Foundation and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is suing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over information about a weekly cabinet bible study.”
One more verse that I think bears on today. It is the 70th year anniversary of Israel on May 14th and at the end of 70 years will God rebuild the Temple? I think it is highly likely. God is opposing the nations who resist His will over Jerusalem, He will force them to rebuild His house! Zech.1:14-16, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, I am very angry with the nations who are at ease—I will return to Jerusalem with compassion, My House Will Be Built In It.” The most logical step after declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel is to rebuild the Temple. Go God! In Israel today they had this headline: “Rabbis urge Trump, Putin to Help rebuild the Temple.” Of the Quartet (since 2002) trying to bring peace to the Middle east, UN, EU, USA, and Russia—it is only the USA that supports Israel and the status of Jerusalem. God will judge the nations who stand against His wishes—war is coming. The super blood moon on Jan.31 may be a harbinger of war coming. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

I am teaching a five week course at church on the Old Testament. The course is designed to help our people understand the Old Testament. Because the OT is the least read among Christians, they misunderstand those of us who teach prophecy. The Bible is one book more than it is 66 books. Recently author Bill Koenig said, “We are living in the most significant and important time in Bible-prophecy history – with the least amount of interest in the Church.” I think that the interest in the church is lacking for two important reasons: One, Christians have an inadequate view of the OT and two, many in the church think that prophecy is unimportant.

The most important prophetic event of the 20th century was the reestablishment of the nation Israel. It is the key to understanding what God is doing on the earth at this moment. Israel is at the heart of the OT and the promises regarding her future are the center of prophecy. Why is this so? Because God determined to save the world thru Israel. For two thousand years we in the church have been doing our job outlined for us in Matt.28:18-20 and Acts 1:8. Israel’s Messiah Jesus has sent us out to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant when God promised to use the descendants of Abraham to bless the Gentile world. The One person who would come from Abraham and David was tasked with fulfilling the sacrificial law so that we could have our sins forgiven (Romans 8:1-4). Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves and has blessed the Gentile nations with salvation. Jesus said that salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22). He did it by applying the New Covenant to Gentiles outlined for us in Jer.31 and several other places. It is those same passages that promise that God will use the New Covenant for the nation Israel!

“Koenig told the founder of Olive Tree Ministries over the weekend that still only a small percentage of church-goers understand the biblical significance behind the events that the Trump administration has ushered in, such as recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and possibly approaching the peace deal as described in Daniel 9:27. The fact that Jerusalem is God’s time-clock, the nations that we know to watch, the leaders that we know to watch; We are so blessed that we fully understand it,” said Koenig, “The Bible is playing out right before our eyes. The Jewish prophets of the [Bible] spoke of these days. And we are honored and privileged and blessed to be living in this day.”
There was an interesting give and take between a pastor and a reporter over the Trump decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem. Recently, Cardoza-Moore (who represents the World Council of Independent Christian Churches at the UN and is president of the Evangelical organization Proclaiming Justice to the Nations) spoke with a French paper about an interview with a pastor of a mega-church in Houston. The journalist said that the pastor condemned President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem. “[The pastor] stated, ‘for Christians to take an ancient book and apply their own interpretation is a stretch.’ I said to the reporter, ‘Excuse me, sir, did that ancient book to which that pastor was referring happen to be the Bible?’ And the reporter laughed. I said, ‘that pastor needs to get his Bible off the shelf, dust it off and start reading from the beginning again.’”

The pastor is tasked with teaching the Bible, but many mega churches have made the decision that the Bible is an impediment to reaching people for their churches. What an apostate church and pastor! Oh yeah, that was also prophesied, we would have an apostate church in the end times.

Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority made a speech this weekend that was defiant of Trump and the Saudi’s. The Times of Israel reported, Bitter Abbas to Trump: We reject your peace ‘deal of the century’! “We told Trump we will not accept his project, the ‘deal of the century,’ which has become the ‘slap of the century,’” said Abbas, expressing Palestinian anger over the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. “But we will slap back.” Abbas also said he “completely rejects” any attempt to change Ramallah’s policy of paying salaries to Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails and to the families of terrorists who died killing Israelis.”
You don’t need any more of a reason to cut off funds to the Palestinians than this. They pay their people to go kill Jews and then pay their families until death as a reward. Why should Americans pay for people to kill Jews? “The US Congress recently passed legislation that would see a vast portion of US financial aid to the Palestinians frozen until the payments to terrorist’s families cease.” In December, a number of reports said that when Abbas had visited Saudi Arabia in September, the Saudis informed him of the outlines of a peace plan being drawn up by the Trump administration.

“Among the elements of the Saudi proposal outlined in the reports was the establishment of the capital of a future Palestinian state in Abu Dis, a suburb of Jerusalem in the West Bank, east of Israel’s security barrier.” Abbas has totally rejected this and demands that all of Jerusalem is his and is Muslim! This is the battle today and Abbas made the blunder of admitting what he really believes. He said, “Jerusalem is Mecca. Jerusalem is Mecca,” Abbas declared, comparing Jerusalem to Islam’s holiest site. This is stunning but it is Biblical prophecy!

When God said that Jerusalem would become a burdensome stone for all of the nations, He was speaking about today. This is where we find the nations! Consider this headline about Turkey: Erdogan to meet pope for talks said to focus on Jerusalem (Times of Israel Jan.16th) “The Turkish leader and head of the Roman Catholic Church both strongly opposed the move announced by US President Donald Trump at the end of last year.” The Bible is clear that the moves regarding Jerusalem by God Himself will lead to war. I think many wars will take place before the Great War Armageddon! This move by Israel and the USA is leading to war and possibly the building of the next temple.
Tensions between the US and Turkey are at an all-time high! As Erdogan seeks to be the leader of the Muslim world and protect Jerusalem from Jews, God has upped the pressure on them. The USA has planned a 30,000 strong force in Syria as the US backs the Kurdish fighters. The US is calling it a border force to defend territory held by US backed Kurdish led fighters in Northern Syria. According to Reuters, Erdogan said “we will strangle US backed force in Syria before it is born.” Both Russia and Syria also expressed dismay at the decision. The Kurdish people live in Syria, Iraq, and Iran and they want independence so they can start a new nation called Kurdistan. Turkey has been fighting the Kurds for many years because they live in southern Turkey and oppose Erdogan. Some say that there are 40 million Kurds. Saddam Hussien used chemical weapons on the Kurds, one of the many ways he attacked the Kurds. The Kurds consider themselves as descendant from the Medes from Iran.
“The US is supplying N. Syrian Kurds with man-portable air defense weapons MANPADs to counter Turkish war threats. Tensions around northern Syria hit a new high on Tuesday, Jan. 16, when Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan threatened his army would invade the Kurdish region of Afrin – and then Kurdish-held Manbij – both of which abut on the Turkish border.” Unfortunately, this battle between the Kurds and Turkey has been going on for 100 years.

An interesting event happened last weekend: Hawaii was scared to death by a false report of an incoming ballistic missile. Then it happened again in Japan on Tuesday. For this to happen in Hawaii does not make sense because there are five fail safe tests before a false report could be sent. Saying it was one guy who pushed the wrong button is asking us to believe something that would be very hard to pull off. My first thought was that this false test was testing to see how we would react. In Japan they faced a similar false report that a missile was launched by North Korea at Japan. Then the government said, oops mistake. Is this a coincidence? People who write on this type of thing call them false flags. As I listened to interviews with people from Hawaii and how they reacted, there was a lot of fear. On TV the warning said, “Emergency Alert Ballistic Missile Threat Inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.” One dad said he grabbed his son, the sirens went off on the military bases but not for the civilians. He immediately got in his truck to drive away from Pearl Harbor and get behind the mountain. His son was crying and he told his son to be his little helper. The radio newscaster said, this is Trumps fault. The dad said, what is the guy talking about, how about cry out to God for protection he said. The next day the headline in the Hawaii newspaper was, “False Alarm Adds to Real Alarm about Trump’s Nuclear Risk.” (Sunday Review Editorial) Listening to the alarm recorded by some people was surreal. We live in very interesting times, people have a lot of fear. Jesus told us to fear not because He was with us.
There is a plan—God is working out His plan for the end times. I believe that the Lord wants Christians to long for His coming and pray for the people who will be left behind. The rapture of the church is going to happen so Gods plan for the earth can be accomplished! The Epicenter, Jerusalem is rumbling and God is asking us to prepare. Prepare your heart and meditate on Psalm 123:1-2, “To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us.”

Ezekiel 38-39 records the future war between Israel and the coalition of forces comprised of Russia, Iran and a host of others. We live in a unique day when the smallest details of Bible prophecy are beginning to take shape. The promises God made regarding Jerusalem are filled with tension and lead to wars like the war of Ezekiel 38-39 and Zech.12. Today, the tension over Jerusalem has the world in turmoil. A false peace deal will come from antichrist in the aftermath of war. The Ezekiel war is tied to what is happening with Jerusalem. What are the evidences that these prophecies are in play today?

Israel is surrounded by enemies who communicate what the Bible says they would say in the end times. Groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, ISIS, and Al Nusra pronounce the same thing regarding Israel. They say, “Come let us wipe them out as a nation that the name of Israel will be remembered no more.” (Psalm 83:4) The groups funded by Iran are carrying out the wishes of the leaders of Iran who want Israel destroyed. The Arab nations were united on several occasions to wipe out Israel, 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973. Since 1973 they changed tactics and started using terrorism instead of State sponsored wars. The Islamic world however is divided into two groups vying for control. On one side, the Shiite Muslims are led by the Iranians and the Sunni Muslims are led by different groups such as the Wahhabi in Saudi Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, or by a man such as Erdogan in Turkey. All are in agreement about the eventual destruction of Israel, but all are not in agreement over the timing and severity of that destruction.

The Saudis are fighting a proxy war with the Iranians and want the Israelis to help them. The division between Muslims is raging in the Middle East. God does have a habit of causing His enemies to fight among themselves. It is a tragic story of death and destruction as every day hundreds die as Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims kill each other. As they kill each other, Israel prepares for war and tries to prevent it by launching raids into Gaza and Syria preventing these Jihadi groups from getting more sophisticated weapons. General Oliver North had a report on Fox and said, “because ISIS is falling Iran is reestablishing a land route that goes from Iran to Lebanon (thru Syria) and is in the Becca valley to support Hezbollah. This is a clear line of logistic support providing weapons and convoys and we need to help the Israelis deal with it.” Because the heat is turning up on the northern border of Israel, the USA gave a green light to Israel to take out the number one General of Iran, the head of the Al Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

The words Al-Quds mean the city of Jerusalem literally meaning the “Holy One.” So lets get this straight, the name of the army from Iran is the Jerusalem Force? Yes, that’s right folks, the Iranians believe that they need an army to liberate Jerusalem from the Jews and drive them into the sea. Their leader the Ayatollah Khamenei wrote a book on how he would destroy Israel and kill all Jews. Doesn’t that sound like another nut case named Hitler? The major players in the Ezekiel war are Iran and Russia and Iran calls its army the Jerusalem Force! So you see the two prophecies are related. In fact, three miles from Israel is the 313 Battalion from Iran. This is significant because 313 is the number of fighters who Muslims believe will arrive with the Muslim savior, the Mahdi to kill all of us Christians and Jews. This Battalion 313 is named after an Islamic prophecy, this is a religious war.

As the Iranians have fought and won these battles in Iraq and Syria, they call the army the army of the Messiah, meaning the Muslim messiah. They are recruiting people to join their Shiite army to help them kill all of the Jews. They are very excited because they have beat the Sunni army called ISIS, they are confident that they can now fight against Israel. This confidence is part of the details of the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy.

As a Christian I believe that God chose Jerusalem as His eternal capital! 2 Chronicles 6:5-6 says, “Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city in all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, and I chose no man as prince over my people Israel; but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.” The world has rejected this truth and Satan is attacking the very idea that God has chosen Jerusalem. This is why armies are coming against Israel.

The Jerusalem Post reported, “The political-security cabinet has met many times in recent weeks and discussed Iran’s presence in Syria and Lebanon, and especially how Israel should deal with the changes taking place on the border with Syria. A recent ceasefire agreement between the U.S., Russia, and Jordan left Iranian-backed militias just three miles from the Israeli border. Israel has promised in recent weeks that they would strike any Iranian military presence within 40 miles of the border.” The likelihood of direct military conflict between Israel and Iran is a matter of days away. Iran is there to stop Israel and America from declaring and moving on Jerusalem being the capital. One Christian commentator said, “As far as God is concerned, Jerusalem has been the eternal, undivided capital since the reign of David,” said Laurie Cardoza-Moore, whose television program, Focus on Israel, is aimed primarily at evangelical Christians like herself who see the Bible as “true and historically accurate.” God, she said, “established the boundaries of all the nations, and he chose the city of Jerusalem for himself.”

The increase in tension was felt this week in other ways. From Israel Today on Jan.7th, Trump Follows Through on Threat, Slashes Aid to Palestinians: “For decades, Middle East despots and warlords were conditioned to shrug off American pressure, knowing full well that the White House didn’t have the guts to follow through. Well, those days are done under Trump, and the Palestinians just learned that lesson the hard way. Last Thursday, Trump tweeted that he was questioning the usefulness of massive American financial aid to the Palestinian Authority when it continues to incite against Israel and won’t come to the negotiating table. Just days later, it was revealed that Trump had significantly slashed US contributions to UNRWA, the special UN body set up to cater solely to so-called Palestinian “refugees.” Three Western diplomats confirmed to Israel’s Channel 10 News over the weekend that Trump had frozen $125 million in annual aid to UNRWA, about one-third of the annual US contribution. The sources added that Trump could increase the cut to $180 million if the Palestinian Authority fails to get the message and rejoin the peace process.”

This is having a negative effect on the Palestinians as they see it as another reason to attack Israel and America, as if they needed another one. Peace deals have never worked with them and they never will! They are not interested in peace, they are only interested in destroying Israel! This comes on the heels of the US withdrawing from the Iranian Nuke deal!

The Times of Israel had this report on Jan.8th, “Iran warns world to prepare for US nuke deal withdrawal, Tehran says Washington will face ‘appropriate and heavy response’ if Trump administration walks away from 2015 accord. “The international community must be prepared for the US possibly pulling out of the JCPOA,” said deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, using the technical name for the nuclear deal.” I always saw the deal as a step towards war, giving Iran an advantage against Israel. Pray for the president as he has a big decision regarding this deal in the next few weeks.

The tension raised in the last few weeks has also hit the USA. Mosques are being taken to task for sermons advocating violence against Jews. Algemeiner Report had an article that included this: Imam Abdullah Khadra of Raleigh, NC cited a well-known hadith (a maxim attributed to the Prophet Muhammad) which holds that “at the End of Time, we will fight those Jews until the rocks and the trees will speak: ‘Oh Muslim, this is a Jew behind me’.” The Syrian-born Khadra’s sermon was brought to light by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which has recently uncovered examples of similarly provocative sermons delivered on the same Friday in New Jersey and Houston, Texas. “It is not acceptable to the Muslim world that Jews, or Israel, have any control of Jerusalem, and many Muslims do not accept that there is really a religious connection between Jews and Jerusalem, because they believe that it belongs to Muslims.” What this Imam said is the general consensus among Muslims it is covered up by our press and denied by most of our politicians.
As I am putting the final touches on this update, this came across the news: US President Donald Trump signed a waiver on Friday keeping the Iran nuclear deal alive, at least for now, saying this would be the last time unless Congress and European countries heed his call to strengthen the deal. “Today, I am waiving the application of certain nuclear sanctions, but only in order to secure our European allies’ agreement to fix the terrible flaws of the Iran nuclear deal,” Trump said in a statement. “This is a last chance.” The President is keeping the Iran deal alive for now, putting pressure on congress and the Europeans to put something else together or he will cut the deal. This will embolden Iran and they will see it as a green light—when it is a warning to back off. Pray for revival and that Christians in the Middle East will be protected. A revival is happening in Iran, many are coming to Christ. The reports are so thrilling—God is in control! Let me leave you with this verse as a prayer: Psalm 119:17, “Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word.” Pray that God will cause you to have power so that you can live and keep His Word this week!

Prophecy Update: January 5, 2018

Did the election of Donald Trump delay the judgment of God on America? Has the nation repented of the 4 I sins (immorality, idolatry, killing Innocents, and Israel) to delay judgment? Have we passed the point of no return?

I want to explore these questions in this update. The first question is warranted because so many born again Christians supported the president. In an article from July 27th 2017 asked, ‘HOW CAN CHRISTIANS SUPPORT DONALD TRUMP?’ IS THE WRONG QUESTION. By Zach Hunt. The answer of this writer from “Ministry Matters” casts a shadow over what divides Christians in America. He said, “On November 8, 2016, eighty-one percent of white evangelical Americans who cast their ballot for President of the United States voted for Donald Trump, an unrepentent, thrice-divorced, self-professed sexual predator and gambling mogul with a penchant for pathological lying who ran a campaign of unbridled hate, fear mongering, bigotry, racism…and more lying. Some may argue (and indeed many have) that white evangelical support for Donald Trump stems at least in part from the never-ending culture wars. With his promises of everything from anti-abortion Supreme Court justices to forcing Target to say “Merry Christmas” during the holidays, Trump stands as a conquering hero, if not a new Messiah, in the eyes of some who believe Christianity is under attack in the United States.” The writer of this article is from the so called evangelical left—pro socialistic if not communist. He wrote an article called, If Donald Trump has been raised up by God, then Jesus isn’t our Savior, He’s the enemy. Obviously, does not believe in the sovereignty of God!
The Gospel Coalition, an evangelical group said of this issue: “While almost all evangelicals would describe themselves as “born-again,” not all who identify as a born-again Christian would say they are evangelical. For example, some Mormons even consider themselves to be “born again Christians,” yet no evangelicals (that I’ve ever known) would consider Mormonism a branch of evangelicalism.” The problem in the church is that many who claim to be Born Again, are not even Christians. The evangelical church has been identified as left and right. The problem with that observation is that it does not zero in on what a Christian believes.
A true Christian is one who believes in absolute truth and the Bible as the sole authority of our lives. Christians are those who have been changed with a new nature from God through Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The many articles that I read do not make these distinctions.
In his new book, Choosing Donald Trump: God, Anger, Hope, and Why Christian Conservatives Supported Him, Stephen Mansfield seeks to answer that question. “They did it mainly because they felt traumatized in the wake of the Obama years and terrified by the possibility of a Hillary Clinton presidency. You have to realize that, if you were a religious conservative in America, coming out of the Obama years you felt like the administration had bombarded your faith. There was a strident LGBT agenda, a strident pro-choice agenda, lawsuits against—for instance—the Green family of Hobby Lobby for not wanting to fund abortifacients in their employee insurance, and even small orders of nuns were sued.* In the culture of conservative evangelicalism, there was a feeling that there had been a war declared upon their tradition. And Clinton would be more of the same.”

I really resonate with what this author says. Most of my friends at the University, including some strong Christians did not vote for Trump. The reason was Trumps sins. The reason I voted for him was because he promised to oppose two of the 4I sins, killing innocents and cursing Israel. I also perceived that God was raising him up to complete prophecy. President Trump has delivered on the prolife stance that he took and acted on. He nominated a pro-life Supreme Court judge Neil Gorsuch, he signed legislation that allows states to remove Title X funding of Planned Parenthood, the Justice Department announced that it is formally investigating the abortion group for selling fetal tissue, and he reinstated the Mexico City policy which denies US aid to any international group that funds or promotes abortion. He also stood for Israel like no other President in my life! He declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and has attacked the lies of the Palestinians and the UN. Nikki Haley is the best representative at the UN as she consistently stands against the anti-Semitism of the UN! Donald Trump is the only President who went and prayed at the Wailing Wall, and actually declared it part of Israel.

Have these actions delayed the judgment of God? I do not think so. Here is my reasoning. The nation has not repented but has actually attacked the President over his support of the unborn and Israel. The State department is full of anti-Israel people and they hate what the President has done. They refuse to change their anti-Jerusalem stance. The Jerusalem Post reported: STATE DEPARTMENT: JERUSALEM IS ISRAEL’S CAPITAL, BUT NOT IN PASSPORTS YET BY MICHAEL WILNER DECEMBER 10, 2017 18:59
WASHINGTON – “After United States President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last week, US consular services planned no change to their protocol listing Jerusalem as unaffiliated with any country in American passports. A State Department official told reporters on Friday that while the US recognizes the Israeli capital, the decision would not spell any changes to consular practices or visa issuances, and does not necessarily mean that Jerusalem is seen as being within the Jewish state. A 2015 Supreme Court case ruled against Jerusalem-born Americans petitioning to list Israel in their passports, claiming that only the president – not Congress – had the power to make such a recognition, and noting that consecutive presidents had chosen not to do so.” The State department has been and still is very anti-Israel!

My second question is, has the nation repented? The answer is no. Our nation is divided against itself. The Supreme Court has not overturned the pro immorality decisions and the schools are still teaching pro immorality views. The press still paints this as a culture war when it is not. It is a truth war. Christians do not fight these battles because of culture, we fight them because there is a right and wrong way of living life before God. The Ten Commandments are still in effect by God—those laws are still the best rules for any nation on the earth! The curse of Numbers 35:33-34 is in effect in America. “So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. ‘You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’” Planned Parenthood boasted a few days ago that they performed 321,384 murders of babies this year. That is a lot of shedding of blood. God still judges nations over the shedding of innocent blood and America is no exception.
America is unlike any other nation. We were founded on Christian truth and we have run away from it in law and culture. We live in the end times and we are witnessing history marching towards what the Bible predicted rapidly. The Bible is clear that all nations will come against Jerusalem and yet, our leader has stood up for Jerusalem and the truth. Will the nation? So far, I do not see it happening. I see some Christians rejoicing at the decision regarding Jerusalem but most do not care. Most of the news outlets are against what the president did and hate what he did at the UN. You know who was happy—Israel. This should be a huge sign to the world but it is not. This leads me to my third question, have we passed the point of no return.
My answer is yes. Here is my reasoning. The prophecies concerning Israel, the nations, and the Gog-Magog prophecy are being systematically moved towards their fulfillment. Many minute details can be cited. Here are a few—The nations of the world united against the Jerusalem decision. Iran, Turkey, and Russia are united in the Syrian war on the border of Israel. Israel is bombing and attacking every week in Gaza and Syria because of some provocation. (bombed Gaza last night) Hezbollah in Lebanon is preparing to attack Israel. Israel is prepared for this war and has moved many assets to confront this threat. The world is committed to a two state solution and God is committed to a one state solution! Iran is committed to the destruction of Israel and the USA and is now blaming them for the uprisings in the country. The distress of nations is at an all-time high—North Korea declares they are going to nuke the USA, Japan, and South Korea. China moves a massive amount of troops to the North Korean border. Putin told Assad of Syria that Russia will defend Syrian sovereignty including Syrian Golan Heights. An American General said, prepare for war! There were 9 earthquakes this week over 5.0 and 12 volcano eruptions! The UN’s Guterres issues a year end red-alert for the world divided! He said that 2018 will be the worst humanitarian crises since World War 2. Here is a sign that went up in Ramallah at a shoe store: “To all British and American Citizens: Before entering this store you should offer your apologies and hold responsibility for the Balfour’s Declaration (1917) and Trumps dirty decision (2017) which has caused all the pain and suffering for the Palestinians since its declaration till this very moment.”
The Palestinians and the Arab League made it a goal in 2017 to make the western nations apologize for the Balfour Declaration and what they got was the Trump Declaration. God once again has intervened in human history to move history closer to what He said would happen. One day Jesus will sit on a throne in Jerusalem and all of the nations of the earth will stream to Him! Is.2:1-4 In fact Zech.14:9 tells us about Jesus sitting on His throne in Jerusalem, “And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.”
Pray that revival will happen before the rapture of the church! We are running out of time!
It is clear in several scriptures that for a nation to repent, it has to uphold righteous laws. In Israel, they had the righteous laws and disobeyed them. In the Gentile nations, they made unrighteous laws that supported child sacrifice, idolatry, and immorality. Our nation has passed laws that support these sins and have not changed those laws. The Supreme Court has upheld that we have the right to kill children in the womb, to commit adultery and a host of other immoral sins, and the right to defy the creator God. The Supreme Court ruled that anyone born in Jerusalem is not born in Israel. That is a slap at God, every Christian, every Jew, and the truth of the Word of God. They have set themselves up as the arbiters of truth and put themselves in the place of God. They have been deceived by Satan. The congress on the other hand passed the Jerusalem Act in 1995 stating that the embassy should be moved to the capital of Israel. Every President since then has set himself up against the Lord and refused to obey the law by delaying it. When President Trump made the right decision to obey the law and move the embassy, we started in the right direction. The Supremes and the State Department refuse to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. We are a nation divided and we come under the judgment of Jesus who said, “a nation divided against itself cannot stand.” Please pray, pray for repentance and the moving of the Holy Spirit. Pray for the third great awakening!