Bible Prophecy: The Fifth Seal Opened?

Back in 2010 I had a prophetic dream, which I described in one of my previous blog post titled: "The Face of Jesus and the Crown of thorns,"in which I believed that it was revealed to me that the increase in martyrdom of

Christians was coming.

Sure enough, in 2011 what was called an "Arab Spring" began and the rise of vicious Islamist terrorist groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram and an unprecedented slaughter of Christians began.  According to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary research group nearly 1 million Christians died for their faith during the last decade.

This is just my personal theory, but could it mean that we are living in the period of time prophesied by Apostle John in the fith seal ?

 "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given. They cried out with a loud voice: “Lord, the one who is holy and true,how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”  So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been."  (Revelation 6:9-11)

Now, we are not told is this passage how long this time period would be, only that it will be marked by unprecedented number of Christians martyred for their faith, and it is certainly is the most intense time of Christian persecution worldwide in modern times.

Even in Western countries where Christians enjoyed an unprecedented freedom for more than 100 years, Christianity is being verbally attacked more and more often and Christians are being restricted, even challenged in the courts of law for adhering to their Christian beliefs.

if I am right, and this is indeed where we are on the prophetic clock, then indeed we might be closer to the rapture of the saints, which I believe will happen  right after then opening of the sixth seal, than we might have thought. Let us remember those who are persecuted in our prayers and get ready to face it ourselves, for it will only continue to increase as the end times unfold.

How Reformation Affected Your Life

It doesn't matter if you are Christian, atheist, or agnostic. Reformation affected your life. It is 500

years to the day since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, a modern equivalent of a Facebook post ( yes you can thank Martin Luther for Facebook), which began the Reformation.

And though Roman Catholic Church still mourns this historic event as a  tragedy that brought division to their Church, and a wave of violence to Europe, it also brought the Western world civil liberties, freedom of conscience, science, modern democratic values, and a sharp increase in both knowledge and the standards of living among ordinary people. All the things you enjoy everyday and take for granted.

In standing up to the papacy in matters of faith and conscience and encouraging people to know God and the Bible for themselves by translating the sacred texts into German, Luther began a spiritual and literary revolution in Germany, and the rest of Europe. People wanted to learn to read, so they could read the Bible and the writings of Luther, as well as other reformers. Soon political leaders also began to stand up to the papacy since people stopped believing in their ability to condemn them to hell for any act  of disobedience which eventually led to separation of church and state, which we so value today. The Catholic Church could not control people like they used to since the priests were no longer the only ones who could read and interpret the Scriptures, so they began to enjoy not only freedom of faith, but also became free to discover the world around them and how it worked as their expression of faith thus beginning the scientific revolution, which makes it quite ironic today for some atheist scientists to accuse Christians of being anti-science when it was them who laid the foundations for it.

There was also initially a big wave of violence against the Church and state, but it was not as much a result of Reformation ( Luther never incited anyone to violence) as the result of  spiritual, economic, and political oppression the common people endured under the Roman Catholic Church and Aristocracy controlled by it. Many people sought revenge. It was like taking the lid off od the pressure cooker, but once it ebbed away Europe was on a path to much more prosperity and advancements in every area of life.

You might even say that Luther began the first social media revolution comparable to invention of the Internet. His writing written in common German circulated all over Germany  thus unifying German language, and the same happened in other countries and their languages. Puritans took the ideals of Reformation to America, which made it into  the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. I dare say that America would never become what it is today if Reformation never happened, so whether you knew it or not Reformation affected your very life in countless ways. What changes did one man bring into the world! It is amazing when you think about it. One lowly unknown priest in a little unknown university town changed the world.

But then, so did Jesus. He also came into this world as a lowly carpenter  from very little esteemed Jewish village of Nazareth. Didn't He say that whoever believes and follows Him will do great things? Do likewise. Be the light to this world. Your words and actions have more impact on the world around you than you know.

Author's Note: Photo of the Martin Luther statue by John Rallison

A Car in Niagara Draws Attention of Residents And Provokes Online Discussion

A car shown in the photo above was sighted at Costco parking lot in St. Catharines, Ontario recently. Someone just laughed and shared it online as something funny, but the discussions I saw below the post also revealed some negative attitudes that many people have towards religion and Christianity in particular and made me think a lot.

One person stated that the messages on the car are an example of very poor taste and an example unwelcome religious zeal, accusing the owner of hypocrisy for spending money on the car and those messages that would be spent better on helping the poor by donating them to the food bank.

I remarked in reply to that person that we don't even know who the owner is and suggested the possibility that this person might be spending a lot more money on helping the poor than they spent on this car, and pointed out the fact that before we begin criticizing someone else for something we should first check if we ourselves are not guilty of the very same thing.

And it is true that often people who judge others for spending money on unnecessary things instead of giving are the ones who are not very giving themselves, though it might not have been the case as I do not know the person who left that comment either.

But what I see in Canadian society in particular is a big entitlement attitude among "the poor", who think  of themselves as victims and that everyone owes them while they are poor because they refuse to take any responsibility for themselves while looking down on those who did and who experience financial success as a result of working hard and taking advantage of the opportunities that they are given.

Those people often spend many years studying or working on their business before they can even have an opportunity to have higher incomes and when they have them as much as 50% of that income is automatically taken by the government to help the "poor," but they still donate to charitable causes even on top of that while so many of the so called poor live on assistance in order to feed their destructive habits.

But there is also some legitimate resentment and criticism towards people who are well off, especially those of Christian faith because of  the financial abuse that some of the Christian leaders  engage in by living in luxury off of the donations often given by the poor members of their churches.

I remember one prosperity preaching pastor who saw an old clunker car on the road one day with "Jesus is coming soon," sticker on it. That pastor started making fun of the owner of the car whom he did not even know, saying that he should buy a fancier car and then put such sticker on it so, he/she would be a "better testimony". I could not help, but think that perhaps this person does not have a fancy car because they donate the money they could have spent on a better car to such people as that pastor! In fact I was one of such people at the time. I thought, "Here we sacrifice and drive an old beaten up car, so that we could donate to this man's ministry thinking it is for a good cause and he is making fun of me and others like me right into our faces while he himself drives a fancy car bought with those very donations. Needless to say we left that church, as did many others and it does not exist anymore.

So, I acknowledge that there is a hypocrisy in the church, but that does not mean that  all Christians are hypocrites. In our Western society we are very quick to scream at people who legitimately criticize us, "Don't judge me!" While we are all too eager to judge people whom we even don't know at all for the very things we are guilty of ourselves.

I guess it is best that we all first take the plank out of our own eyes before we try to take out the specks from the eyes of others. Whatever the motivation of the person who owns that car. He or She succeeded in making people think. God bless them.

Study: What Is The Great Tribulation?

The Great Tribulation is mentioned four times in the New Testament. One of these mentions

is by Jesus Himself found  in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24 in which He linked this period to the time of  "trouble" such as never happened  since there was a nation prophesied of by Daniel ( Daniel 12:1). Both Hebrew and Greek words used in these passages for "trouble" and "tribulation" mean adversity, suffering, and persecution.

There were of course many times in history, including, even now when God's people were being persecuted and suffered greatly because of it, but it is evident from Scripture that during the time of Great Tribulation it will be worse than ever before, and that there will not be another time like this after.

Jesus placed this period after the "abomination of desolation" is set up in the Holy place. Many Bible scholars concluded that this event will be the Antichrist proclaiming himself God in the rebuilt Third Temple in Jerusalem, which is very plausible since the description of his global reign in the Book of Revelation 13:7-10 includes great persecution against both Israel and the gentile believers in Jesus:

"And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

If anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints."

 

The reason why Bible scholars think  that the reign of the Beast ( Antichrist) and the Great Tribulation are one and the same is that both last for 42 months, but the good news is that this period will be shortened by God Himself when He returns to Judge the earth and throw the Beast and his false prophet into the lake of fire before His 1000 year reign.

 

It is not clear from the Scripture exactly when in this chain of events the Rapture of The Saints will take place, whether before the Great Tribulation, during, or after it, but nowhere it these passages do we see Great Tribulation described as the wrath of God. Furthermore, Jesus told us Himself that in this world we will have tribulation, so I think it is wise that we prepare ourselves spiritually and physically for it just in case.

 

There is also a description of the great assembly of the saints who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb who according to Scripture " came out of the Great Tribulation." It is found in the Book of Revelation chapter 7:9-17:

 

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

So, we know for sure that there will be believers in Jesus living during this terrible time. though we don't know whether it will be the Church or the people who will come to faith in Jesus after the Rapture, one thing is certain, God will deliver them out of it in one way or another, and those who die during Great Tribulation for their faith will share  the victory of Christ over the Beast:

 

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Great Tribulation therefore is the reign of the Beast ( Antichrist) and a short lived wrath of the devil, and not of God.

Author's Note: Image courtesy of pintrest.com

One Year To Jerusalem 2018

All eyes again begin to turn towards Israel as we enter one last year to its 70th anniversary of rebirth as a nation, and as I explained exactly 9 years ago when I first published the "Countdown to Jerusalem 2018," the number 70 is very significant in Israel's history, therefore we expect something historically significant to happen in Israel between now and May-September 2018. 

Already there are news coming out that some landmark treaty is about to be signed by the Palestinians as a result of Donald Trump's efforts in mediating peace between the two nations, the holy grail of every new American administration.

But of course this game was played before by Mahmoud Abbas and Yasser Arafat before him with every new American President, only for the agreement to be broken by another wave of Palestinian violence, so everyone is wondering why this one should be any different?

I guess we will believe it when we see it, but if indeed this agreement will be successful in creating even some temporary peace and stability in the region, then it could lead to more work of restoration in Israel, perhaps even the rebuilding of the Third Temple in Jerusalem or if it falls apart it could lead to another war against Israel that the Jewish people will yet again win.

Either way, be prepared to hear more and more in the news about Israel as this year unfolds, and to see more intense upheaval in the world as the birth pangs of Messiah's Kingdom continue to intensify. Europe will continue to deal with the refugee crisis that wars in the Middle East have caused, and so  will United States and Canada as greater number of refugees from Central America and Africa continue to pour in because of the continued conflicts, famine, and economic instability there.

The British spat with European Union over its exit from it will cause in turn economic fears in the euro zone, which may lead to the fall in the value of euro, and if our late brother John Paul Jackson heard from the Lord right, this in turn will cause the crash of the U.S. dollar, which may send a shock wave through the Canadian economy and cause the long overdue housing and credit bubble to burst. And there is also a possibility of a cyber attack on U.S. financial institutions and/ or the electrical grid for which the current "ransom" cyber attacks might well be a test run.

But will all that is going on for all those of us who know the Lord there are reasons for hope and we don't have to fear these things as many of us are being prepared for theses things. The Lord has been speaking to many of us personally about this for decades now and He warned us about it through the Bible thousands of years ago. If we put our trust in Him instead of the system of this world, we will be fine, especially if we have not entangled ourselves in it, if we live content owing nothing to no one except love, but if some of you don't, if you are in financial debt then it is the last minute to get your house in order.

There is plenty of sound advice on how to do that out there, so do not delay and begin to learn to live within or even below your means. Pay off all those credit cards as fast as you can, even if it means to live on rice and beans for a year, sell the stuff that don't really need and store some non perishable foods and other essentials, even if no crush happens, you will be better off this way anyways.  "Contentment with godliness is a great gain." ( 1 Timothy 6:6)

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.

Revelation 12 : Mystery of The Woman, Child, and The Dragon

Revelation 12 is a very interesting chapter in Bible prophecy. In the beginning of the Book of

Revelation itself, apostle John receives the information that what is being revealed to him in this book pertains to the events of his own time and to what will happen after this all the way to Jesus' glorious return, His 1000 year reign on earth, the last Judgement, and the creation of New Heavens and the New Earth.


This chapter begins with two signs in the heavens. First of the Woman clothed with the sun, with moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of 12 stars. She appears to be in labour pains and is about to deliver a male Child whom the Dragon ( another sign in heavens) waits to devour as soon as He is born.


That reminds all of us of the story of Jesus' birth and how the enemy induced  king Herod to try to kill baby Jesus, but an Angel of God warned Joseph in a dream and Mary, Joseph, and Jesus managed to escape to Egypt. The only thing is that it is talked of as a future event and by that time Jesus was no longer on earth and it was Jesus reveling to John this very thing, so what was Jesus talking about? Who is the woman, and the Child?


We must look to the symbolism used in prophetic Scriptures of the Old Testament to find the answer. There we find out that repeatedly the nation of Israel is being called the Woman, and God the Father calls Himself her Husband, so the Woman must be Israel.


Israel as the nation gave birth to the Messiah for which the Dragon ( Devil) hates her and tried to destroy her multiple times throughout the history, now she is reborn and being restored. Along with the Messiah, Israel also gave birth to the Church ( true followers of Jesus) and we are being called His body and His representatives on earth, so could it be possible that we are the Child? As the extension of the Messiah?


With this possibility in mind, let us look at what Revelation 12 predicts will happen. It says that after she bore the Child, her Child was caught up to heaven to the throne of God. We know that this is what happened to Jesus after His death and resurrection, so if the Child of the end times is an end time Church, it would follow that the same will happen to the Church. We call the rapture of the Saints. Before Jesus ascended back to Heaven, he told His disciples that He is going to prepare a place for them, so that when the time comes, they would be where He is also. apostle Paul predicted the same thing in his letters to the churches.


Then it describes the war that happened in heaven between the archangel Michael ( who protects Israel-Daniel) and the Dragon and his fallen angels. About Jesus during His earthly ministry talked about in the past tense, could a similar war, this time in second heaven take place in the future?


As the result of this war Satan and his angels were cast to earth and the saints of God overcame him by the blood of the lamb ( Jesus), by the word of their testimony, and did not love their lives even unto death.


It also predicts that right after he has been cast down to earth, the Dragon began persecuting the Woman, sending a flood against her, but the earth helped the Woman and swallowed the flood. Could this be describing and increase of demonic power on earth, and the persecution and armed conflict against Israel in the end times?


it follows that the Dragon began to be now enraged with the Woman after failed attempt to destroy her and went after her offspring who hold the testimony of Jesus,  that would be the Church. Perhaps after failed attacks against Israel the Devil would incite people whom he uses on earth to persecute the Church for standing with Israel.


Now many speculate that the coming arrangement of stars and planets in the constellation of Virgo that will appear on September 23, of this year is the very sign in the heavens spoken of by John in  Revelation 12:1.


If they are correct, it would mean that the events described here are going to begin to be fulfilled after this. There will be a spiritual outpouring of evil on the earth, followed by the attack on Israel, then on the Church before the rapture shortly before or even at Jesus' return. We don't know how long this period of time would be, but if it is about to begin this September, then we must get spiritually ready for it.

The Call To 30 Days of Prayer Coinciding with Purim 2017 Celebrations

There are a lot of things happening in both the physical and spiritual realms right now. During a prophetic prayer meeting last Thursday a friend shared with me that she feels that The Lord is calling her and other believers who have desire to seek the Lord to more intensified time of prayer beginning today and ending on March 11, which coincides with the time Purim begins this year ( The Feast of Esther) thought it is not a coincidence at all.

She said that she senses that The Lord wants all of us to prepare spiritually for what is coming in the near future. That The Lord desires to empower His Church and pour out His glory, but He can do that only with those who are ready. She feels that it will begin around March 11th.

And being a type of person always hungry for everything that The Lord has for me and not wanting to miss out on anything, I accepted the call and decided to share it with all of you as well. As I began to pray today and to repent on my own behalf and that of my nations, I also asked  for more understanding about the times in which I am living as well as the signs of the times.

As I prayed, I began thinking about what is special about Purim and why The Lord called us to pray and intercede before Him at this time. Well, as most of you know from the biblical Book of Esther, Queen Esther after whom the name of the book was called, was faced with conspiracy created by then Prime Minister of Persia (modern day Iran) to destroy al Jews in one day. Sounds familiar?

Today's Islamic Republic of Iran's Government repeatedly made promises to do just that one day, to "wipe Israel of the map." Perhaps he Lord is calling us to prayer to intercede before Him on behalf of His people both Israel and the Church who are going to come under attack. Now, Esther's intercession did not reverse the edict calling for genocide of the Jews, but it gave the right and power to defend themselves.

One of Purim's traditions is to hold a fast three days before the beginning of the feast in memory of Queen Esther's fast, which falls on March 9th. I plan to do so as well and invite al of those who can to join in as well.

I believe that as we pray, repent, fast and intercede before our King if Kings Yeshua ( Jesus), He is going to spiritually empower us to face our enemy, so that we will gain victory, and so will Israel. We are all Esther called to the kingdom of God for such a time as this. In following pots, I will share my growing understanding of how the coming conflict between Iran and Israel will tie in with the sign of the Virgin that will appear in September of this year, and the coming War of Gog and Magog.

How Alt Right Violence Helps The Cause Of Islamic Terrorism

It is quite ironic, but the ideology and actions of alt right terrorists such as Anders Breivik of Norway,  who claim to be concerned about Islamisation of Western societies, actually only helps the cause of those radical Muslims who wish to eventually impose Islamic laws on Western societies   and here is how.

When alt right terrorist come and kill Muslims in the Masques such as it was the case recently in Quebec, Canada or immigrants like in the case of Breivik, then Muslim terrorists use it even more as a tool to radicalize Muslim youth because it "proves" their narrative that Muslims and Islam are under attack and marginalized by white "Christian Crusaders" since to them all white people living in the West are "Christian" even though they might actually be atheists espousing alt right ideology like  Alexandre Bissonnette. Sadly even the Western main stream  media such as CBC also described him as a "white Christian"( proof: CBC: Candian Mass Murderers Usually White and Christian ) despite the fact that he liked among other things atheist's pages on Facebook, but they reported only that he liked Donald Trump and Marie Le Pen of France trying very unfairly in my opinion, to tie those two political leaders to alt right ideology and terrorism, thus helping to fuel more Islamic terrorism by confirming the radical Islamic narrative.

Furthermore, such violent attacks on Islamic communities will make it impossible to have an open discussion in Western societies about the limits to accommodation of Islam, which radical Islamic elements will exploit by accusing anyone voicing an opposition to establishment of Sharia law in Muslim communities in Canada, or U.S. of fueling hate that leads to violence.

The rise of nationalist sentiments both in Europe and America is a direct reaction to radical Islam, its ideology, and violence. The people who simply want to preserve their own culture, want safety from Islamic terrorism, and want  full sovereignty for their countries are not driven by the alt right ideology even though alt right activists agree with them on some points.

We have to remember that just because two groups of people agree with each other on couple of points, it does not mean that they are one and the same or that they agree with everything. If Western civilization is to survive and not descend into the chaos that we observe now taking place in the Middle East, we have to find a way to foster true tolerance, which is accepting one another's differences without allowing any one group in society to have a privileged status or impose their political, social, or religious ideology on everyone else. We cannot be calling every Muslim a terrorist, but we have to acknowledge the problem of Islamic terrorism head on. And we cannot call every one criticizing Islam and islamophobe, but we must condemn any type of violence against Muslims in the strongest terms.

Violence always breeds violence and must be condemned. That is why Jesus taught us Christians to love our enemies and not to return evil for evil, but to overcome evil with good. This is what real Christianity is about and that is why no alt right terrorist should ever be called a Christian, because to be a Christian means to be like Christ, and He never killed anyone, but instead He sacrificed His life for the sake of those who hated Him.

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.

Discerning Between True and False Apostles and Prophets

There is no doubt that we are living in the end times. The Lord Jesus warned us that during this time period, especially the closer we get to His glorious return, we will see the emergence of false

prophets, and His apostles warned us on the pages of The New Testament against false apostles and teachers as well.

So, how do we know if someone is a false apostle, teacher, or prophet? Well, we just need to carefully study the Bible as it spells out very clear criteria for those individuals, though we have to be also careful not to give anyone a label of  a false prophet, teacher, or apostle rashly. Too often people these days call someone a false prophet just because they do not agree with their message or do not believe in the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in modern day Church. The Bible teaches us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so His Words and works do not change from one era to another. The New Testament encourages us to receive and to operate in the  gifts of The Holy Spirit, so calling people whom we do not know without biblical basis for it a "false prophet" is slander and it is very dangerous to denounce men and women who truly serve God as such because it can bring you under judgement. We are to discern and judge  teachings, dreams, or visions that we come to contact with, but unless we know someone very well and clearly see that their fruit is bad, we should not give anyone such label.

That is why I am not going to give any particular names or people as examples here, but  I am going to share with you instead biblical principles that will help you to discern between true servants of God and impostors, so that you can stay away from the latter.

God is in the process of restoring to the Church the true apostolic and prophetic ministries and it is a great blessing to all of us. Apostle Paul taught us in his first letter to Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 20, not to despise prophetic utterances and Apostle John in the Book of Revelation states that, "...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." ( Rev.19:10)

But whenever there is a fresh move of the Holy Spirit on the earth, there is also a counterfeit from the enemy, so we must judge and discern prophecies without rejecting the prophetic altogether. I encourage all of you to read the Bible from cover to cover ( you could do it by reading 3-4 chapters a day in one year) paying special attention to the way in which God communicated through the ages with humanity. You will notice that He often spoke to people  and revealed things to them through dreams and various visions. Studying those biblical dreams and visions will teach you the symbols God uses to communicate with us as well as His heart.

Right now I am studying the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, which clearly states what is the difference between true and false prophets. It boils down to one major difference. True prophets call people to repentance when people of God go astray, while false prophets prophesy only what the people would like to hear. God's heart is to bless His people, but when they begin to walk away from Him and engage in sinful activities, He will call them to repentance and if they refuse, He will discipline them, by removing His hedge of protection from them in hope that they will repent and return with their hearts to Him.

Moreover false prophets and apostles promote and elevate themselves  instead of being humble and seeking to give glory to God. They use their God given spiritual gifts for selfish gain. The Bible teaches that gifts and calling of God are irrevocable, so it is possible for someone to operate in them while living in sin. That is why accuracy of prophecies,  healings, deliverances, or miracles themselves are not a sign that someone is truly serving God those these are still the works of the Holy Spirit, because He will always honor the name of Jesus. This explains why Jesus said that in the future some will come to Him and say that they did all these things in His name, but He will still call them the "workers of iniquity" and reject them saying that He never knew them. (Gospel of Matthew 7:23)

It means that it is possible to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and not have a personal relationship with Jesus anymore. That is why we should not fellowship or sit under the ministry of those who claim to His followers, but live in sin such as greed, adultery, fornication, or idolatry and not wanting to repent of it. it can sometimes happen to people of God to fall into a time of backsliding for a time, or to commit a sin because of temporarily walking in the flesh, and they can be restored if they truly repent, but if you see that someone is just sorry that they have been caught or begin to excuse their sins because they are "under grace and not the law." Keep away from such people. True servants of God have repentant hearts, they are also not stuck au on titles.

You know an apple tree or banana tree does not need to proclaim that they are an "Apple Tree" or "Banana Tree" because everyone can see that they bear apples and bananas. In the same way and apostle or prophet do not need to use their offices as titles and demand that people call them that, people will simply know them by their fruits.

So, if you are called to prophetic ministry refrain from calling yourself a prophet, especially during your training. Do not say "The Lord told me" if you did not actually hear His voice telling you that because it is a presumption. That is why I never call myself a prophetess even though I do operate in prophetic gifts. I also avoid saying , "The Lord told me" or "Thus says The Lord" unless I clearly heard Him say that. Instead, I just share my dreams, visions, and what I see in the spiritual realm and let you judge it. Judge it against the Bible and also ask the Holy Spirit to show you if something is true or not, He always confirms that which truly comes from Him.

Two Years To Jerusalem 2018

Back in May 2008, I published an article titled "The Countdown To Jerusalem 2018," in which I

shared the pattern that my husband and I noticed in Scriptures. That pattern links number 70 to very important events in the history of the Jewish people culminating in the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70 , which fulfilled the prophecy given by Jesus Christ nearly 30 years earlier.

In the same prophecy recorded in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke; Jesus predicted that the destruction of the temple will not be the end of this age, but only the "beginning of sorrows." We reasoned that if that pattern holds, then something very significant for Israel should take place in the year 2018 because it will be the year in which Israel will celebrate 70th anniversary of its rebirth, which itself was part of Jesus' prophecy about the end times in which we are now living.

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." ( Mark 13: 24-31)

The fig tree always symbolises the nation of Israel. When Jesus cursed a fig tree that did not bring its fruit when He was hungry, He was showing that God the Father in like manner will judge the nation for not repenting at the preaching and ministry of His Son, but He was also saying in the above passage that after judgement has passed there will come the time of mercy and rebirth, which is signified by the budding of the fig tree.

From the context of this passage we also inferred that this rebirth was the sign that the Second Coming of the Son of God was nearing, and just like in A.D. 70 came judgement, so 70 years from the time of rebirth will come the redemption or the beginning of the season of redemption in Israel.

We predicted that as the time of 2018 will come closer other signs that Jesus spoke of will be intensifying. There will be more wars, revolutions, more social unrest,  more epidemics, natural disasters including more mega earthquakes, and economic shaking or even a collapse.

All of these we are witnessing year after year, since 2008, the year of the so called "Great Recession," from which global economy hasn't really recovered. Then came the "Arab Spring", out of which a barbaric blood thirsty group called ISIS emerged wreaking havoc not only in Middle East, but all over the world. There were couple of pandemics, several mega earthquakes such as in Japan ( 2011) or more recently in Nepal (2015). It is a quite a decade to say the least.

Then there were also "signs in the heavens" such as the four blood moons each one of them falling on a Jewish holiday, and following that  is the year of Jubilee, which many are saying begins the last 70th Jubilee cycle during which the Messiah is believed to return.

Orthodox Jewish groups in Israel are preparing to rebuild the temple, which will be The Third Temple, they even revived the practice of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb on the replica of the altar as a sign of their faith that soon the temple will be in fact rebuilt, and perhaps in 2018 something will happen that will bring it closer to reality. I guess we will still have to wait and see for couple of more years. One thing is certain, whether they will rebuild the temple or not, Jesus will return just as He said he would and we might have anywhere from 2 -50 years until that Day if our biblically educated guesses are correct. No one can know the exact Day and hour, but we sure can know the season and are commanded by God to watch the signs and to be ready.

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.

The Long Term Consequences of Syrian Refugee Crisis

As Elul 29, which is today, also known as the last day of Shemitah draws to its end, the world is railing amid the Syrian refugee crisis, the greatest migration of displaced people since the second world war.

And I am sorry to say, but it will not get better. The world leaders are not dealing with the root cause of it, which is the rampage of so called Islamic State through Middle East and to be fair there isn't really that much that they can do as military options are limited due to the nature of this enemy.

ISIS militants are not any conventional army that can be fought out right and defeated by sheer military power, though western troops who are helping the Kurdish army in Iraq are keeping it from taking over all of Iraq, but it is not enough to defeat it.

The equally ruthless army of Syria's government under dictatorial regime of Bashar Assad despite of all the help they are getting from Iran and Russia are not succeeding either, barely keeping ISIS from taking over all of Syria and the fight is now that much harder since those terrorist fighters are also using chemical weapons that they either are making themselves or have stolen  from Syria.

Now enter Europe that was even before that facing economical challenges with EU countries such as Greece, Spain, and Italy being on a verge of economic collapse which were kept from the catastrophe thanks to the money flowing to them from Germany, who is now dealing with a flood of mainly Muslim refugees from the region, the number of which will probably reach close to one million by the end of this year as they are arriving at the rate of 2,000 persons a day in Greece and Turkey.

This will have huge economical and social implications because Germany alone simply does not have the money to take care of all the basic needs of these people. It will cost a lot to find them shelter, provide their food, clothing, and medical care.

Most of the refugees do not know any language other than Arabic, so it will take some time until they learn German and will be able to work and take care of themselves, and even then the jobs will not be easy to find.

And what happens when ISIS will get even stronger, with no one there to fight them? Many of those fleeing are able bodied men who could have been trained to fight, now there will be no one left to train.

What happens when countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia get attacked, and God forbid, their governments fall? Who will then take care of the next flood of millions of more refugees?

Then, there are social implications as well, as many Europeans are wary of accepting more Muslims into their country because of social unrest some of those who came as immigrants during the past decade or so are still causing, creating Sharia zones within European cities and harassing native nationals, sometimes even raping unveiled women and committing terrorist acts such as London subway bombing in England or Charlie Hebodo shooting in France, openly saying during public demonstrations that their aim is to take over Europe for Islam and subjugate all who live there under Islamic law.

We have already seen far right nationalists in Germany attacking refugee shelters and I am afraid there will be more violence, eventually from both sides. God only knows how it will all end, we do not know all the details, but we know from the Scripture that eventually Israel will be puled into it all and will be forced to confront the ISIS forces, especially if they attack Jordan with whom Israel has peaceful relations, which is the very reason that the terrorists want to attack Jordan, seeing its King as a traitor and if Palestinians decide to join ISIS fighters against the king of Jordan and Israel, then God will have to intervene and we know that He will win and defeat Islamic forces both as an army and as an ideology.

On the other hand, there are thousands of Muslims who are coming to Christ in Germany, Turkey, and other places where Christians reach out to them with the love of Jesus even as Christians who could not get away are being martyred daily, so amongst all this evil there is always much good that is happening. We need to pray for wisdom for our political leaders, for salvation of the Muslims even the fanatical ones, and for strength of faith for those who are laying down their lives for their faith in Jesus.

There were also clashes today between the Palestinian youth and Israeli police on the Temple Mount, which might be the beginning of a larger conflict over this holy site.

Author's note: Photo courtesy of  www.ibitimes.co.uk