Are You Wicked?

Before the end of this year, I had a very interesting conversation in one of my dreams. I was talking to 

someone, I don't remember who it was, or the person's name because it wasn't that important. But I do clearly remember the conversation as this was what i was supposed to remember.

We were talking about Christians and debt, and how according to the Bible we should approach it. "Well," I said,"  borrowing money in itself is not a sin, but not repaying it is as the Bible teaches us that it is the wicked who borrow and do not pay back."

"Then, the large portion of Christians in the Western church are wicked." The other person answered. I woke up the next morning thinking about this conversation and its implications. Personally, me and my husband were convicted many years ago to pay of all our debts, even the ones that have been "forgiven" us by the credit card companies, which we were not really required by the human law to do, but which we felt we had to do to obey the Lord.

I believe that this act restored blessing of God on our finances, which improved dramatically since then. We continue to live by this principle. Before we were always struggling, never having enough sometimes even for our needs, and unable to help those in real need. Now, not only we don't worry about our finances, but we are better able to help those who really need our help too, which is exactly what the verse displayed here says, that the righteous give. They give because they can give, because they do not suffer  constant lack like the wicked do.

Even apart from spiritual side of this principle, the common sense and logic shows why not paying your debts back is in fact wicked. The economy works well only when debts are being repaid because if too many people borrow and do not pay it back into the system, that system will eventually collapse, so not paying your debts back is in a way a form of stealing because it forces someone else to pay from the money they work hard for for your  financial recklessness.

Imagine how great it would feel, if you did not owe anyone anything, if you did not had credit card and other bills with interest eating away all your resources. It is possible. Take the debt you have with the highest interest and begin paying it back with the highest amount you can. Look at what you spend your money on that you really do not need to spend on and use it to pay your debt, until eventually it is all paid off. Remember that after you do that, the money you used to have to pay for your debts will be yours to keep, for your needs and for helping others in need.

In the next few years, it is likely the that interest rates on debts will rise, and borrowing will become more and more expensive. If you put your financial house in order now, you will not be affected by it later, but if you will not, you might lose everything you have that you did not  fully pay for. I believe that the Lord wants us to be blessed and be a blessing to others, and not suffer lack with the wicked.

2019: The Year of Historic Events

The Lord often works in cycles and that is why history has a tendency to repeat or at least to rhyme.

The year 2019 is the last year of this decade and therefore will be a harbinger of things to come, and as such following the historic pattern of ushering in major changes on the world stage.

We can follow this pattern by looking back on previous decades. There was a global financial crisis in  2009, and the  Yugoslavia war in response to Serbian ethnic cleansing in 1999, also Euro currency was created that year. Further back we saw the fall of communism beginning in 1989, and the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. In 1969 humanity landed on the moon, in 1959 Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba,  in 1949 Soviet Union ended the blockade of Western Germany, Israel signed peace treaties with surrounding nations, and NATO was created. The WWII began in September of 1939, the Wall Street crashed in 1929 and the Great Depression began, and in 1919 the Treaty of Versailles began, which officially ended WWI and the League of Nations was created, also Great Britain received control over Palestine. The pattern seems to hold for the last 100 years.

I am not saying of course that there were no major historic events happening in other years, but the kinds of events described above would also set a tone for the next decade, and often what began in those last years would extend to next year and beyond, so we can expect some major trend setting events to happen this year that will extend to 2020 and beyond.

Let us hope and pray that whatever happens will be positive in nature. It might be the fall of Islamic Republic of Iran, which would end the 40 years of oppression for the Iranian people and dry up the funding for global terrorism, ushering in a decade of hope and  peace?  I pray that this will be the case. But I guess we will find out as the year unfolds. I also wish that it will be the year of blessing and drawing closer to the Lord for all of us. Whatever happens, we are always safe under the shadow of His wings. ( Psalm 17:8)

Why God Will Not Solve All Your Problems

Recently, I came across a very well meaning person trying to encourage others by telling them that God will solve all their problems. While it is true that God enables us to first see that we have  problems and gives us grace to face them, it is untrue that He solves them for us.

In my nearly 20 years of relationship with God through the faith in His Son Jesus, I found that He did just the opposite. He never solved any problems for me, but He always had given me wisdom to solve them myself.

But that does not mean that I do not depend on Him at all. As I mentioned above, it is He who is giving me the wisdom and grace to do it. Some Christians go into the extreme of trying to do everything in their own power alone and that leads to legalism, pride,  and failure. Others go into another extreme of waiting for God to solve all their problems and their lives are a mess as a result because they never get solved.

The best way is a narrow straight balanced way of trusting in God to help us, but at the same time using the wisdom He has given us to do all we can do ourselves and taking responsibility for our decisions. This is how we grow and mature.

Teaching people to expect God to solve all their problems is very harmful even though it is well meaning because it will keep them immature and always struggling with the same problems. It can even lead some to abandon their faith in God altogether when they see that God is not solving their problems for them as they were taught to expect.

If you are in the situation where you have the same types of problems over and over again, instead of asking God to solve them for you, ask Him to give you wisdom and ability to solve them yourself and your life, and the life of those around you will improve dramatically as you begin to face and solve them.

2018 : The Year of Hope And Anticipation

At the end of each year, we usually have a foretaste of what the New Year will bring. Last year, I felt

that the year will be filled with many changes and challenges. It was so, both in my personal life and in the world affairs.

What I sense for this New Year 2018 is hope and anticipation of what the Lord will bring about. It looks like the new wave of protests taking place in Iran right now will eventually finally bring down the oppressive regime that is holding Iranian people hostage for nearly four decades now, which will also bring an end to many terrorist activities around the world that this regime is funding, including Hamas.

I look forward to see if the biblical pattern of 70s for Israel will hold and what type of restoration will take place there as well. In the Church also there is a sense of renewed energy and joyful expectation as the movement of prayer and cooperation between different churches continues, there will be pouring out of God's blessings upon His people worldwide.

Last year, we saw how the materialist and postmodern philosophy that pushed people towards increased ungodliness began to crumble and an interest in the Bible began to grow in unexpected places. It does not cease to amaze me how a secular liberal Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson, is able to draw hundreds of thousands into listening of his series of lectures on the Bible stories and they cannot get enough of it. The spiritual hunger among the people, especially the young people is growing. There are therefore many reasons to hope.

It is often easy to focus on all the bad that is happening in the world, but we have to remember that God is always on the move and way ahead of the enemy and that where the darkness gets deeper, His light can shine the brighter. So, determine to notice all those good things and understand what The Lord is doing, and be encouraged by it. God bless everyone and have a blessed New Year 2018!

And The Shofar Begins To Blow: The Great American Eclipse

Today, people all over America will be looking to the sky at the total solar eclipse. A special

astronomical event that last time happened in 1979. Solar eclipses happen often in different parts of the world, but they are rare over land. But what is even more special about this eclipse is that it falls on Elul 1 on a Hebrew calendar.


According to the research done by pastor Mark Biltz, the same thing happened in Nineveh just before God sent Jonah to preach that it would be destroyed in 40 days if people there did not repent, but of course they did repent and the city wasn't destroyed then.


There was a total solar eclipse on Elul 1 over Europe and the territory of the Ottoman Empire just before WW I began. the people there did no repent and that war destroyed the Ottoman Empire.


Could it be that God is warning America through this sign about an impending judgement and is calling them to repentance? The Hebrew month of Elul is a month of repentance and is leading up to Roshashana, the Feast of Trumpets, and culminates with the The Day of Atonement. And  33 days after Elul 1, there will be the sign of the virgin in the sky over Israel, exactly 7 days before the Day of Atonement.


Is The Lord trying to tell us something here? I think it is very likely as we are living in crucial times. America is still in danger of falling into the chaos similar to the civil war and we need to pray for American Church to wake up and continue to intercede for their country.


I believe The Lord has raised up Jewish men of God who follow Jesus as the Messiah and who understand the Hebrew calendar, such as Jonathan Cahn and Mark Biltz to sound an alarm and to help the church to be prepared for what is coming. We are after all living in the end times and just as Lord Jesus predicted we are seeing signs in the heavens and on the earth that the time of His return is drawing near. Now, we do not have to fear, but we do need to be alert.


I encourage you to watch the presentation by pastor Mark Biltz on this very subject where he shares many more fascinating details. Below is the  link:


Eclipse 2017

Why I Am Not Worried About Rising Interest Rates

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada raised lending interest rates for the very first time in 7 years, and while there is a lot of concern about that among the financial experts and a lot of fear among those who have  high debt levels, people like myself are not worried at all right now because we do not have any debt.

We did what was right in that we learned how to live below our means, but we were continually being punished for it by low interest that was paid to us for our savings, and by high real estate prices.

So, the rising interest rates are bad news for people who are irresponsible and greedy, but very good news for those who are content. That is why truly contentment is a great gain in the long term.

But if you are the one who is in debt, don't panic. There is still time for you to bring your house in order, but that time gap is rapidly growing. The rise in interest rates was very small, but it will continue in the future. Being in debt is never good for you regardless of whether the credit is cheap or not. The borrower is always a slave to the lender. Don't be a slave.

The key to your freedom is contentment, because if you are content with what you have, you will not be greedy for more, and you will not be buying the things you don't need in order to impress the people you don't like. You will be free and you will not be wicked as only the wicked borrow and do not pay back. Cut down on your expenses now and pay your debts as soon as possible.

It feels truly great when you don't owe anything to anyone except love.  You are free from any financial anxiety.  And it is especially true if you are a Christian. You were bought at the great price to be free and not to be slave of people, especially of those who run the banks and you will be more free to give to causes that advance the kingdom of God instead of making the wicked system of this world that  is ruled by the devil rich. You cannot serve both God and mammon. Serve God. Pay your debts, give, and be blessed.

Author's Note: Image the courtesy of versaday.com

Is Great Tribulation The wrath of God?

This question is very important as it is the key to resolving a big debate among Christians today about the timing of an event predicted in the Bible called "Rapture of the Saints" or simply "The Rapture." There seems to be two or even three camps. 

The first camp claims that the period of time called in the Scripture "the great tribulation," is the time when God pours out His wrath on the earth and therefore the Church will be taken away before it begins, and everyone agrees that it will begin with the appearance of a man called "The Antichrist" on the world's stage.

The second camp believes that God's wrath will begin to be poured out in the second half of the great tribulation period and that the church will witness  appearance of the Antichrist, but will be snatched away before he shows his true face as all agree that he will be a very charismatic man, highly respected by the world community who will succeed in bringing peace to the world, especially Israel for a short time and will be even accepted as the Messiah  by Israel, but they will reject him when he desecrates the newly rebuilt third temple by proclaiming himself God, after which he will seek to destroy Israel and will be ultimately destroyed by the return of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth to earth.

And then there is a third camp that believes that Jesus will take up His Church to heaven very shortly before His physical return to earth at the end of the great tribulation period, and then He will judge the wicked of the earth for their wickedness, but all three positions depend on the timing of God's wrath and whether or not the great tribulation is indeed the judgement of God or not.

Personally, I take neither of those positions, but I choose to remain open to each one of these three possibilities. I would love it if the rapture happened before the great tribulation, but just in case it does not, I am preparing myself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to endure it by the grace of God by walking close with Him and listening to His Spirit.

In the parable of the foolish and wise virgins( Matthew 25), Jesus warned us against not being ready for His coming. All of them were virgins, which symbolizes the believers and all of them woke up when the call went out that the  bridegroom ( Jesus) is coming, but it took longer than they all thought it would and half of them did not have enough oil in their lamps to last until the end. I am putting  extra oil in my lamp by being open to the idea that the end time prophetic events written in the Bible might not come to pass in the order or the timing that I expect. I think it would be wise of all of us to be more flexible in this regard, and to focus more on  filling ourselves with the Word of God and His Holy Spirit, growing  spiritually stronger, and into greater maturity,  and on preaching of the gospel to this dark world instead of fighting amongst ourselves over eschatology.

The Bible admonishes us that we must endure until the end. Jesus told us that we will have tribulation in the world, especially the closer we will get to His return. That means that we are not immune from persecution, as a matter of fact there are more Christians being persecuted and killed for their faith right now than at any other time in the history. What makes the Western Christians who at the moment enjoy relative freedom to practice our faith think that somehow we are better than our brothers and sisters who live elsewhere? Jesus said that the time will come when the whole world will hate us because it hated Him first, so let us toughen up and not get offended at God when things are not easy for us and remember in our prayers those who have it even worse.

He is with us no matter what and  He gives us the power to overcome Satan himself and his hordes of hell by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony if we stay faithful to Him and do not love our lives even unto death. ( Revelation 12:11)

Why Early Churches Did Not Practice Tithing, but Joyful Giving

If you grew up in, or are part of the church who teaches tithing, it might come as a shock to you to find out that early Christian gentile church did not tithe.  For those of you who do not know, tithing was an Old Testament practice of honouring God with the first 10% of one's increase, so the rest would be blessed as well. It was to be given to the priests and used for their sustenance and for helping the poor. The earliest biblical example we have of it was when Abraham gave the tithe of the spoils of war to a priest called Melchizedek, and later it became part of the  temple system law.


It is interesting to note that Jesus never talked about tithing, but  He talked a lot about giving generously to those around us who are in need. As a matter of fact, the only time Jesus even mentioned the tithe was when he rebuked the Pharisees for paying so much attention to tithing and so little attention to more important tenets of the Law.


Perhaps many churches today are committing the same error. The leadership of way too many churches today is not bothered when their church members engage in sinful lifestyle, when they commit sins such as adultery, idolatry, fornication, or when they take financial advantage of the poor or refuse to pay back what they borrowed, as long as they tithe...


Early Christian church, on the other hand, especially the gentile one does not seem to have practiced it at all. There is not a single mention of tithing in Acts of the Apostles or in the letters of the Apostles to the churches, even in passages about giving and supporting financially the ministers of the gospel. Also the counsel of Jerusalem, when they were asked about what gentile churches should observe did not mention it either.  Have you ever wondered why?


I did wonder about that ever since a pastor in Poland whose church did not practice that either, pointed it out to me. And now I think,  I understand why.


You see, when Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead, he fulfilled the Law and restored those who accepted His gift of Salvation to the free fellowship with God. Before people get saved, they try to earn God's favour by doing as  many "good deeds" as they can in hopes of earning it, but when they get saved they do them because they are right things to do. They don't do what is right to get saved, but because they already are saved.


In the same way people in the time of Old Testament  gave tithes,  so they could get blessed, now in Jesus we are already blessed, so we give because we ARE blessed, not to get blessed. Though it is true that when we give, we get blessed even more, but it should not be the reason for giving. And the amount such as 10% is not specified in New Testament like it was in the old because we are expected to go way beyond it in our giving.


If you have conviction to give tithe, by all means give it, but understand that you are free to give any amount you like to give, according to your ability. Ten percent is a good place to start, but don't limit yourself just to that, and know that giving is not just about giving your money or things (originally tithe was never money but things), it is also about giving of your time, love, and care to others in the name of Jesus. Giving is about sharing joyfully with others what God has already blessed us with. So, don't allow people to manipulate you into giving by saying that if you will not ( give to them or their church), then God will Curse you( quoting Scriptures taken out of context of the entire Bible), or that you should give in order to receive as a some sort of get rich quick scheme. Don't give to such people, especially if you see that they are living a lavish lifestyle out of offerings. But listen to the Holy Spirit and give generously to the churches, ministries, or people in need that He wants you to give to and do it freely knowing that you are already richly blessed.


"H who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32 )

Most Iranians Are Persians, Not Arabs

It is a Persian New Year right now, an ancient celebration of Spring and new life that is celebrated until this day in countries that used to belong to the ancient Persian Empire and are still influenced by its culture, that is well and alive today in Iran.

Most westerners make the mistake of thinking about Iran as an Arab country, especially since the Islamist minority had taken over the power in Iran in 1978-1979 Islamic Revolution, but the culture, art, and language of Iran are distinctly Persian, predating Islam by thousands of years.

As a matter of fact, Persia under king Cyrus the Great produced the first human rights code in history.

This empire was very different from all the others in that it was multicultural and multifaith empire. Persian kings did not destroy the cultural and religious heritage of the people they conquered, but allowed them to flourish. For example, they paid for the rebuilding of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem after it was destroyed, robbed, and desecrated by the Babylonians. For that, Persia, and especially King Cyrus has a venerated place in the Hebrew history.

And what is even more amazing is that King Cyrus was mentioned by name by the Hebrew prophet Isaiah a 100 years before he( King Cyrus) was even born! ( Isaiah 45: 1-6)
I think that this alone blew his mind away and favourably disposed him towards the Hebrews and their God who had called him in those prophetic Scriptures His "anointed shepherd."

Anyway, this tolerant and multicultural mindset is still present among the people of Iran and because of its history, besides the dominant Persian majority, there are many other ethnic minorities that live in Iran and still maintain their ethnic identity and languages, though after the Islamist takeover of Iran they have much less freedom than they had for ages before.

It is a very harsh reality for the people who are modern and cosmopolitan in nature to have to live under Shariah law, which is very foreign to them. For that reason over 6 million Iranians left Iran following the Revolution even though they still dearly love their country.

But the majority of them have to suffer in silence back in Iran because they cannot  or do not want to leave. The good news though is that most Iranians ( 70 %) are under the age of 35 and do not agree with the system they were forced to live under since their birth, so once the older generation that brought it in dies, the Islamic Revolution will die with them. It is just a matter of time.

To all those interested in knowing more about what is really happening in Iran, I recommend  reading of the book written by an Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi, "Until We Are Free." In it, she describes the story of her fight for human rights in Iran under the current regime and the persecution she and others like her faced  and are still facing as a result, especially those who are unknown and have no one to stand up for them.

Despite of all this oppression, Iran is experiencing the greatest spiritual awakening in its history with thousands of people coming to know Jesus as their King of Kings, the righteous King they always longed for, which in itself is a fulfillment of another ancient prophecy, but I will write about that next time...

Author's Note: This is a new version of an article titled "Persians, Not Arabs," that I first published on Triond back in 2006, but because the site has been taken down recently, I decided to republish it again since it generated so much interest garnishing more than 20, 000 views. I hope that this one will be equally successful. Feel free to share it with others and to comment.

"...And The Love of Many Shall Grow Cold" : Is Facebook Making Your Relationships Superficial?

Facebook and other social networking platforms allow us to keep in contact with more people including family, friends, acquaintances, and people whom we never met in person.

And this is a great tool, especially if like me, you have family and friends who live very far away from you and you cannot see them face to face that often.

But I noticed a considerable downside to this. It seems that because we are almost constantly connected to Facebook via our phones, tablets, and other devices and we interact with those people daily often by liking their content, commenting on what they post, and occasionally exchanging a few words by a Facebook chat, that it gives us an illusion of continuing relationship with them and it often begins to replace other more comprehensive forms of communication with the people we care about.

It is only an illusion, because liking someone's content, commenting on their photos, and occasionally exchanging few words cannot really maintain  real relationships. Those activities DO NOT equal having a real conversation with them.

Now, I get the fact that not everyone on your friends list is your real friend and when you have several hundred people there, you really cannot maintain real relationships with them all, so it will be natural that you will have this superficial relationships with most of them, but what is most disturbing to me is the fact that Facebook can turn even those real close relationships we used to enjoy with  friends and even family to the very superficial relationships we have with acquaintances and  strangers.

Personally, I consciously try to prevent this from happening with my close relationships, but I sadly discovered that others do not always make the effort and because of that many of my close relationships became superficial soon after those friends and family joined me on Facebook.

I used to talk on the phone with them or face to face in person, or via Skype regularly, which allowed us to really share our life experiences with one another. Now with most of them it is only short Facebook messages and likes. They really don't know what is happening in my life beyond what I share on Facebook ( which is very little) , and I don't know what is really happening in their lives. But the sad thing is that when I try to find out, I get only short polite and very concise answers, and it is only me who is making the effort. If I don't write to them asking how they are doing, they will not write or talk to me for years on end. This is NOT a relationship anymore. Real relationships go both ways, not just one, and real relationships demand that we make time for real conversations.

I am very thankful for those few friends and family who do make time to talk to me, and I do anything possible to make time for them, but there were quite a few relationships that were important to me that Facebook killed.

Let's not allow this to happen, especially if we are Christians. You know, liking things on Facebook or sitting in the same Church building for an hour every Sunday is not really fellowship. The Lord Jesus warned us of this when He predicted that in the end times "the love of many will grow cold" because of the lawlessness. The greatest law binding us together is the Law of love. When we allow the relationships with people we care about to become superficial, our love for them grows cold and we begin to practice lawlessness.

Evaluate the relationships you have today and make sure that they do not become superficial. make it a point to have real conversations with people you care about, and if your relationships became superficial, do whatever in your power to change that.

An update: In 2020, I finally left Facebook for good. Before cancelling my account, I sent private messages to people I wanted to keep in touch with and told them the ways, we can stay in contact after I leave. Only a few responded. Some did not even acknowledge my message, but kept mindlessly sending me links. It really hurt, but at least now I know who my real friends are and I am happier for it. Facebook is a friendship killer. I don't miss it at all.

2017: The Year of Challenge, Change, and Restoration

There are many prophetically significant events to look forward to in this New Year 2017. The Bible verse we received for this year is Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

This is also a verse that I received in years 1999 and 2000, which were the years of great challenges, changes, and restoration for me. And now 17 years later, it happens again, but this time not only for me, but also for the nations, especially Israel and United States of America.

Seventeen itself is a number that stands for death and resurrection or challenge and restoration. It was on the 17th day that the judgment of worldwide flood came upon the world, and it was also on 17th day of the month that the flood ended and the new era of restoration began.

So, I believe we can expect the same things in the 17th year of this new millennium that also coincides with year 5777 on a Hebrew calendar,  with five being the number of grace and triple seven the number of completion.

We are already seeing early signs of it with the nations showing hostility towards Israel by declaring East Jerusalem off limits to the Jewish people and declaring building of settlements in the so called "occupied territories" illegal. Having a more friendly American president in the office from January 20, will for sure help, but it doesn't mean that things will be easy.

Many Rabbis in Israel believe that Donald Trump came to the office after overcoming so many obstacles by God's design as he will be exactly 70 years, 7 months, and 7 days old on the day of his inauguration, with 70 being the number of Israel and double seven again for divine intervention and completion of His plans. Personally I am pleasantly surprised by the change that this man is going through and the policies he is proposing, and how friendly he is towards God's people both Christians and Israel.


The world ruled by "the prince of the air" and "god of this world" will be throwing everything it has  against both Israel and America, so there will be great challenges, but also there will be great changes leading to restoration in both nations. But it will be a tough year for the nations that came against Israel as by this act they opened themselves up for Satan to wreak havoc among them, that is why we need to pray for those nations to turn away from those attitudes. The United Nations will become even more irrelevant and might even be dissolved if countries such as United States stop supporting it financially or even leave it over its hostility towards the only democracy in the Middle east while they give a free pass to murderous regimes such as Islamic Republic of Iran.

And for the Church of God worldwide,  we can expect spiritual challenges, but also many victories that is why I believe the Lord gave us this specific verse from the Book of Joshua as an encouragement to press on and face the giants, so that we can posses the land that He has promised us.

I will be delving deeper into the many mysteries such as that of the number 17 and other prophetically significant signs and events that will be happening this year.

The Lesson of Menorah

Since Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations overlapped this year, we decided to light the menorah we received as our wedding gift to celebrate both occasions and something special happened as we lit the first one of three candles on the third day. The window was opened and suddenly a  strong gust of wind blew on the candle. I thought it would blow it out, but to my amazement it lit a candle next to it,  and then  a moment later, another gust of wind blew and lit the third candle. I thought it was pretty cool and took a picture, which you see to the right of this post.

There were many times recorded in the Bible when God would use a natural occurrence as a spiritual lesson to his prophets and a prophetic picture of what He was planning to do in the future. I believe that the Holy Spirit is using this menorah incident to teach us a spiritual lesson as well. The menorah in the New Testament is a symbol of Jesus Christ and His Church as we se Him described by apostle John in the Book of Revelation 1:12-13 standing among the seven golden lampstands. The fire that lights each lampstand is  symbolic of the fire of the very presence of God and the wind is often symbolic of the Holy Spirit who manifested Himself on the day of Pentecost both as fire and the wind.  ( Acts 2:1-4)

 

 

So, the lesson of  menorah is that even if one member of the body of Christ gets on fire by spending time in the presence of The Lord and waiting on Him, the wind of the Holy Spirit will then blow that fire on the members in close fellowship with that member if he/she is receptive. I believe that this is both an invitation for us to spend time in His presence and a picture of what will happen when we do so, as well as an invitation to have a close fellowship with people who consecrate themselves and spend time in His presence. The fire will spread when the wind of the Holy Spirit blows, we just have to be ready and in position for this moment in history. There is a move of the Holy Spirit coming greater than any one before it.

 

Even as evil spreads  around the world, we should not be discouraged for The Lord is greater than that and He is always many steps ahead of the enemy. Remember that the light shines brighter in darkness, so do not mourn over the darkness, but get closer to the Light, so you will be able to become a light that shines in whatever darkness is around you. Happy Hanukkah to you all. Jesus is the Light of the world and the darkness cannot overcome it.

The Hour of Darkness : Paris Attacks Open New Chapter In War With ISIS

We were all rocked to our core by the recent terror attacks that killed more than 100 people in Paris last week. The question on most people's minds is, "Where will they hit next?"

Others are wondering why God is allowing this madness and how can people do such things in the name of God. Those were the very questions on the minds of Jesus' disciples when they witnessed Him being arrested like some criminal in the garden of Gethsemane over 2000 years ago.

He explained this by saying to those who were arresting Him, "When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched not forth your hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness."(Luke 22:53)

It looked like the evil was having an upper hand when Jesus was arrested, brought to false trials, tortured, and executed. And so it does today when we see people, most of them innocent civilians including women and children being tortured, raped, and killed in the name of Islam by ISIS fighters.

Even though it is easier for us to identify with the victims of Paris attacks, we still realize that much greater carnage is going on everyday in Middle East with no end in sight.

The conflict is intensifying with more world powers being drawn into it and more fanatics, as many as 30, 000 fighters recently, are being recruited by ISIS militants from around the world. It is the hour  and  power of darkness.

But we know the end from the beginning already. We know from the Bible that this hour will not last. There will be those who will resist and who are already resisting and overcoming this evil by the blood of the lamb ( Jesus), by the word of their testimony, and by laying down their lives  for their faith if they have to.

It is midnight on the prophetic clock. It is dark, but there is a call going out for all the virgins ( Christians) to wake up because the bridegroom is coming. So, it is time for us to trim our lamps, fill them with oil and shine in the midst of this darkness.

It is not right to hate or worse to attack the Muslims now because majority of them are not fanatics at all. We have the opportunity now to reach them with the Gospel, which now contrasts more than ever with the hate of the fanatics.

We are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. While we condemn the violence of ISIS and expose Islam for what it really is, we must still share the love of God with Muslims, we must reach them with the Gospel before the fanatics reach them with their message of violence and hate. And we must pray against more of those attacks and pray for our political leaders to be wise, vigilant, and not to underestimate the enemy.

After Paris attacks, we know that the new chapter in war with ISIS had just opened. It is no more  a far away Middle East problem. It could happen anywhere, but we cannot give in to fear. It is time to shine  our light forth brighter than ever before.

Radical Islam vs. Radical Christianity

 
 












Many people around the world, including the Muslim people are horrified today when they are learning about the atrocities that radical Islamists are perpetrating on Jews, Christians, and even fellow Muslims who are not as radical as they are. It filled many people with disgust, horror, and some even with fear.

But we must remember that these people are doing all this because they are taking the teachings of their religion, especially their holy book Koran, and the commandments of their founder literally.

But what radical Christianity would really look like? What would happen if billions of followers of Jesus took His teaching, His commandments, and His life example literally and actually practiced them in their everyday lives?

In my view, it would literally turn the world up side down, in a good way. Below are excerpts from the Koran of what the Islamists were being taught by their founder:

" Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued... O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that when you are asked to march forth in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad) you cling heavily to the earth? Are you pleased with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But little is the enjoyment of the life of this world as compared with the Hereafter.
 If you march not forth, He will punish you with a painful torment and will replace you by another people." ( Surah 9:29, 38-39)

Now contrast this with what Jesus had taught us as His followers:

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:32-36)

So, they were taught even threatened by their god to fight against, kill, and subdue those who are disobedient to him and this is what they are doing with unimaginable cruelty, but we were commanded to love our enemies and do good to those who hate and persecute us.

They are being guided by hatred, we must be guided by divine love, which is the only antidote to the hatred and our most powerful weapon. Radical Christianity is following the commandments of Jesus and His example of  not only not killing anyone, but being even willing to sacrifice His own life for all of us while we were still sinners.

What it would look like if we all did that? I believe that it would transform our families, communities, even entire countries For all those who wonder what it would look like in practice I recommend watching a very inspiring movie recently made by Pureflix titled, "Do you Believe?"

You can buy it on Amazon or rent it from your local movie rental store. Watch it with your family, friends, and church family and think of ways that you can all individually and together put your faith in practice, so together we can transform this world and win the battle over the souls of unbelievers around us.

The Final Blood Moon

                                                                 

Weather permitting, tonight many people around the world will be able to watch the final total eclipse of the moon of the 2014-2015 tetrad, which will be the very last of its kind ever.

While there will be more tetrads happening in the near future, the next one beginning in 2032, this one is the LAST one that has all four of its eclipses coincide with the first days of Biblical feasts and that is why, many Christians and Jewish people around the world believe this tetrad to have a special significance.

This does NOT mean as many people in the media have wrongly reported that we believe that the “apocalypse” or “the end of the world” will take place immediately after tonight, but many of us do believe that it is indeed a sign from God who is letting us know that it is indeed the beginning of the end of this present age that will actually end with Jesus’ return and not the end of the world.

It has nothing to do with astrology, superstition, or omens as even some badly informed fellow Christians have accused us of believing in, but it could be exactly what The Lord Jesus Himself predicted will signal the beginning of the very end of the end times by stating the following in the Gospel of Luke chapter 21 verses 25 through 28.

“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Was Jesus superstitious? Obviously not and I don’t think that He was talking here about any ordinary eclipses of the moon and the sun either as so many of them do take place quite often and are really nothing extraordinary, but a tetrad of eclipses falling on the first days of The Lord’s feasts including the total eclipse of the sun that also falls on a Biblical feast day is something else entirely.

As a Christian , I believe in Jesus’ words because He is the Son of the living God and  He knew the future that is why it is foolish to dismiss such signs as “superstitious nonsense” and attack fellow Christians for believing in it.

I am also convinced that because of these and other signs that I discuss on this blog, we can expect the fulfillment of many Bible prophecies in the coming years and perhaps decades that will eventually culminate and the literal, physical return of Jesus to this earth to reign here for 1,000 years.

As you can see, “the end of the world” is still quite far off though quite turbulent times are ahead of us. That being said, those of us who belong to Jesus have nothing to fear. Yes, many of us will be persecuted, especially when the Antichrist shows up on the world’s scene and establishes his global dictatorship, but we have the promise that the gates of hell itself will not prevail against us.

We will overcome him by the blood of the lamb, and the word of our testimony even if many of us will have to and already do lay down their very lives for our faith. Still, we will have the power from on high to destroy the works of the evil one and shine ever brighter in this darkening world. There will be harvest of souls like never before with people by the billions turning to our Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit will be demonstrated even in a greater measure than in the days of Pentecost. The Lord always leaves the best wine for last.

Iran Deal And The Coming Ezekiel 38 War Against Israel

While President Obama tried to make this nuclear deal with Iran to prevent war, he simply paved the road for another one. But there is nothing anyone could do about it. The Bible is clear that this war will take place and therefore cannot be prevented, though it could have been delayed if Obama and his European partners have not chose the way of appeasement towards Iran.

But again perhaps they were blinded because it is supposed to happen at this juncture of world history? Either way, Iran got everything it wanted and some, but never changed its goals. Ayatollah Khamenei as well as President Rouhani saw this as a triumph of Islamic Republic over the West and told "brothers in Palestine and Lebanon" to rejoice. Now, why would Palestinians rejoice over this deal?

It is simply because it brought Iran this much closer to gaining nuclear weapon, so it could "liberate" Palestine by wiping Israel off the world's map. And they will do what they say that they will do and Israel for one knows this very well. That is why Israelis will try to stop Iran from getting the nukes on their own, if they have to.

This in turn will draw the military response not only from Iran, but also from its allies. Russia already declared that a strike on Iran is the same to them as a strike on Russia itself. Turkey under its current leadership also would join any coordinated attack against Israel and those three nations just happen to be listed in the Ezekiel 38 prophecy as part of the alliance of nations who in the last days will go to war against restored Israel.

It is very possible that we will see it unfolding very soon. Perhaps this is the war that the blood moons and the Jubilee cycle point to? I would not be surprised. If it is so, then we already know the end even before the beginning because the Scriptures clearly declare that this alliance will be supernaturally defeated by God Himself who will fight for His people like He did in the days of old.

There will be a mega earthquake and perhaps a volcanic eruption as well that will rain fiery hailstones on this army destroying it completely. The Al-Aqsa Masque will be destroyed too. God of the Bible will prove Allah a false god, thus destroying the problem of Islamic terrorism that plagues the world today and the Iranian people will take back their country that was hijacked by Islamic fanatics back in 1979.

We are living in truly amazing days!

Renewed Call To Prayer For ISIS Fighters

It is very easy to begin to resent or even hate ISIS fighters as well as their religion when we are being now daily bombarded with increasingly more revolting images of the atrocities that they commit.

Many well intentioned Christians post those pictures on their blogs and social media pages to bring awareness to how wrong it is what they are doing afraid that if Islam gains foothold in the West, then this kind of violence will reach them too, but we have way more powerful weapons at our disposal in this holy war and it is the authority that God had given us, the power of His Holy Spirit, the Blood of Jesus, the word of our testimony, the Love of God and the power of prayer.

Have you ever thought why Jesus told us to love our enemies? Why He commanded us to pray for those who hate, persecute, insult, spitefully use, rob or even kill us? Well, today it dawned on me even clearer than ever before. He did so because He wants to save them! Yes, you read right. He wants to save them because He died for them too.

We have to remember that these people as vicious as they might be are only tools in the hands of the real enemy, the demonic hordes of hell who drive them to do what they are doing and we were promised the authority over them.

Jesus said, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you...and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." ( Luke 10:19 ; Mat. 16:18)

We have the power, so let us use it! Since I issued the last call to prayer for ISIS fighters on this blog earlier this year, I have heard amazing stories of salvation of those who not only used to kill Christians and other innocent people, but even enjoyed doing it, how some of the had visitations from Jesus asking them why were they killing His people and revealing the truth about Himself to them.

This happened because of our prayers. These people are all deceived poor souls desperate for salvation. They cannot conquer their own sinful nature, so they go to Syria and Iraq to fight in the "holy war" because they are brainwashed into thinking that this will assure them eternal life. let us continue to storm the gates of hell by raising our prayer for their salvation daily to heaven. Every minute of prayer counts!

Six Years to Jerusalem 2018

An update to my first article in this series published on May 14, 2012 :

Today marks 64 years since Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948 and there is only 6 years left until the 70th anniversary of Israel’s rebirth in the year 2018. As I shared in my article, The Countdown to Jerusalem 2018, written back in 2008 a very significant historic event is bound to take place in Jerusalem that year.

In it, I also predicted that 2008 will mark the beginning of the countdown with a series of political, economic, as well as natural disaster events that will intensify with each year as we approach 2018. I wrote about coming global economic depression, which actually began with what the media dubbed “The Great Recession” later that same year. It never really ended. The so-called “recovery” was nothing more than just a short-term bubble created by stimulus money that most governments have thrown at it and we can clearly see now that it did not really change anything for the better.

United States is getting deeper in debt, their dollar is still losing value, and unemployment is still a growing problem, not to mention the political struggle over the direction the country should take as its next presidential election approaches. The European Union is in the middle of a very serious economical crisis as well as its major economies such as Italy and France face deep austerity measures to avoid near-default situations that Greece is facing.

The global economy also still feels the pain of devastation caused by the mega-earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis that devastated Japan in 2011. There is anxiety and uncertainty related to massive political upheavals taking place in the Middle East as well as a nuclear threat coming from Iran, which is closer than ever from becoming a nuclear power. And the fact that openly authoritarian China and Russia are backing Iran up does not help either. It seems that the world is more politically divided than ever, even within individual countries on the lines of left versus right, more spending versus austerity, and in the case of United States even along racial lines.

Even the sun is becoming more violent as it gets deeper into its solar maximum faze with more sunspots, solar flares, storms, and even solar tornadoes raging on its surface, which in turn affects the weather patterns and seismic activity on earth. We can only expect more mega earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, draughts, floods, crops failures, and deepening food crises to follow.

These are very difficult times for many, but not a reason to despair. Knowing what is to come can help us to prepare both physically and spiritually. We all must be alert against the deception as some will try to use crisis in order to bring the people who are still free into bondage. Do not believe everything that you see in the mainstream media. More than ever before pray and think for yourself. Do not follow blindly your religious leaders and politicians, but judge whether their words match their actions. There is no doubt that we are living in times predicted by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 24 and He specifically warned us not to be deceived.

Major religious and political leaders will begin to work together to convince all people that they must give up all their differences, and most of their freedoms in order to achieve world peace and save mankind form self destruction. It will sound very good to our human intellect and many will fall for it with disastrous consequences, but to quote the Scriptures, “Those who know their God will be strong and will carry out great exploits.”

Link to the original publication: http://socyberty.com/advice/six-years-to-jerusalem-2018/

The Countdown To Jerusalem 2018

There is a growing anxiety about the events that many are predicting will take place in 2012. From the shift of the poles and the end of our species to the shift in consciousness that will take us to the new age of sustainable world under one world government, but many ignore all that the Bible has to say about the end times.

The Bible is the ultimate book of prophecy that has a stunning accuracy. We continue to watch the fulfillment of its predictions. Israel is a biblical prophetic clock and just as predicted thousands of years ago it is a centre piece right now on the world stage. We see it on the news almost every single day.  Barack Obama said that there will be no world peace until Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved and he promised to deliver it as a part of  his politics of "Change".
While Israel and the rest of the world long for that very peace, the world's stage is set for a series of very dramatic events that will bring about peace, but of a very different nature from the one everyone is expecting.

I'm not prophesying the end of the world here; however, it will be the end of the present world order. The events I talk about have been written in advance in the Bible.
And before you dismiss me as some fundamentalist freak , I want to tell you that what will follow is not preached or shared by anyone else, so read it even if you don't consider the Bible credible.
It came to me and my husband as an observation of something in Scriptures that most if not all Bible students miss. We believe that the state of Israel is a prophetic clock and everything that happens to it has been foretold with incredible details.

We noticed that number seventy is a specific number assigned to Israel only. There were seventy members of Jacob's family who went to Egypt. Moses appointed seventy elders for Israel. The duration of Babylonian captivity was exactly seventy years. Daniel prophesied seventy prophetic weeks for Israel. It was in year seventy of present era that the Jewish temple was destroyed and Jewish people scattered all over the world for almost 2000 years.
It is  logical, then, to expect something very significant to happen seventy years from the time of Israel's rebirth. This year was marked by sixtieth anniversary of this event and this is the countdown I'm talking to you about.

 

What exactly will happen in 2018? I don't know, but I do know that whatever this event will be, it will bring about the second coming of Yeshua  the Messiah who will come down from heavens with great power and glory to establish His 1000 years reign on the earth from Jerusalem. He is the answer to the problems of humanity.

I'm not saying that He will for sure come in 2018, though He might, but what will take place seventy years from Israel's rebirth for sure will hasten His coming. Between now and that time, we can expect millions of people dying in more and more famines, natural disasters,  and wars. There will be economic depression and even cosmic disturbances along with the release of supernatural miracle working power of God, as well as demonic counterfeits of it.

If you never studied the Bible, this is good time to begin for we might not have the Bible available, at least legally, for very much longer. Jesus said to us 2000 years ago to watch the fig tree. The fig tree is Israel and it has been budding for the past sixty years. He said that the generation who will see it happen will not pass away until all the things He has predicted in the Gospel of Matthew chapter twenty four will come to pass.  Study this and make sure you belong to Him. When you see all of this happening, get ready for what is coming.

For it will not be easy for the followers of Jesus under the world government pictured in the book of Daniel as the ten toes. It will be the last world empire and it is set to begin to be established by the end of 2012. Eventually, it will be ruled by one man, the Antichrist , who will be worshipped as divine and all who  oppose him will be persecuted, but at the end Jesus will end his reign and He will save the world. Nobody else can do that.

Author's Note: originally published by me on May 15, 2008 on Triond.com
http://newsflavor.com/opinions/the-countdown-to-jerusalem-2018/