2 of 3: devilish plot to pre-empt the Bible’s ‘endgame’

Posted on Thursday, 26 March, 2015 by Richard Barker

Thank you to this week’s visitors and subscribers in helping me with this post, which has been in preparation as and when possible throughout this month. Your interest in one of last year’s posts enabled me to a draw it to a specific conclusion, as you’ll read below.

UPDATE 5/5/15: Tony Puccio has reminded me of a dream in July 2013 of a spinning top in connection with the Devil speeding up events – Vision of a Spinning Top.

Continued from 1 of 3: the ‘End-game’ gets ramped up another level

In that post’s History cycles around I covered events in 2009 directly relating to today’s ‘hot potatoes’: US appeasement of Iran on nuclear energy and president Obama making Israeli PM Netanyahu the ‘bogeyman’ against discussions, as well as other nations dismay with USA. (See previous post for latest developments.)

That part summarised a reason for the increase in worldwide troubles lying in tactics to delay, or better still, to prevent the return of Jesus Christ to reign and rule on earth. This way, maybe Satan avoids his fate of not only being defeated but also being thrown into the lake of fire, as prophesied in The Book of Revelation. I gave evidence for this strategy by way of events; or ‘pieces’ that had popped to mind as though being placed into the Lord’s invisible jigsaw

In fact, the week of 16 -21 February was unusual. It was as though a physical cycle of events intertwined with the non-physical, or spiritual, one I was sensing. ‘Bells were ringing’ and I was ‘buzzing’ and aspects of the cycle are still bubbling away, as will be explained in Part 3.

My attention had been re-directed and thoughts unfurled to point to a possible counter-strategy to the Bible’s End-times scenario! Menacing events are not only escalating but also accelerating rapidly! (And I’m now reminded of the urgent word Neville Johnson brought last year about Yom Kippur 2014 being ‘a cut-off in God’s timeline’.)

In mulling over all that I was ‘prompted’ to dig into my first emails on End-time events and found items relevant to what’s happening these days, as well as to what another blogger posted that same week. (It’s related to what kick-started my interest in End-times! And last week I noticed another relevance!)

The first draft of this post had become too bulky so it got split into two parts. In closing part 1 of 3 on history repeating itself, I said a forgotten idea kicked around in an old email had just popped up in the previous fortnight.

That idea is the subject of this second part.:

Pre-empting End-times prophecies

Snippets of detail and other’s disclosures about today’s Sunni vs Shiite (ISIL vs Iran) war in Iraq reminded me of an aspect of Biblical events that’s been unfolding for years.

August 2010

Asking Could This Weekend Change The World? I referred to Iranian leaders’ plans to hasten the appearance of their ‘Hidden Imam’ (aka ‘Mahdi’) by bringing nuclear conflict to the Middle-East. I quoted security analyst Ryan Mauro and Israeli PM Netanyahu on “an apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs”.

At that time Russia was about to get Iran’s first nuclear reactor at Bushehr operational ahead of the internationally agreed schedule. In the above email I commented,

Once that happens the balance of power in the region tilts completely as all Sunni Muslim States in Persian Gulf will have to turn away from a weak USA and kowtow to an extremist Shiite regime – ONE THAT HAS THREATENED TO ANNIHILATE ISRAEL and will have the ability to carry out its intentions and achieve Hitler’s goal far more efficiently and effectively. Both Iran’s President and supreme spiritual leader anticipate an apocalyptic war heralding the appearance of their crescent-moon god’s Mahdi (accompanied by Jesus!) and bringing peace to a world that’s come into the ‘house of submission’ [ie Islam].

The good thing about this is that all the rational Sunni Arab leaders are wanting America and/or Israel to take out the facilities (as they did with Iraq’s and Syria’s reactors). But Israel would have to go it alone as Obama wouldn’t commit to action. Debka’s sources report an Iranian phantom fighter and unidentified drones crashing nearby and into the reactor buildings.

[Since assuming office president Obama forced US Middle-Eastern policy into a U-turn. And so strategic US influence in the region has all but vanished: see last footer below and latest on Egyptian navy defending Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. Also apropos the email, early this month a rumour surfaced about him having ordered the shooting down of Israeli jets over-flying Iraq to attack Iran’s reactor, as here.

The Middle-East nuclear race is now under way. Last week BBC interviewed Saudi Prince al-Faisal on their deep unease (since Obama took office) over Iran being allowed to have nuclear energy and develop weaponry. Consequently, Saudi Arabia is planning to build its own nuclear power plants. Also, this week Reuters reports Jordan has signed a contract for Russia to build them a nuclear power plant.]

In view of my preceding remarks I wanted to ‘bounce’ the following off my contacts,

I recall a speaker saying satan is attempting to bring forward End-Time events in order to nullify God’s schedule and thereby wrong-foot God. His logic, perhaps, is to avoid his demise in the Lake of Fire? The revelation Jesus received from God and which He gave to John states that will happen after He returns and defeats Satan. Prophecy points to this being centred on Jerusalem and the Jews will at last recognise Jesus as their true messiah.

The latter part served as a scriptural reminder and, I shared my thoughts on how such a pre-emptive aim could be achieved. Only lately have I since revisited this notion:

The obvious way out of this [scriptural] scenario is to ensure there are no Jews whatsoever left alive for Jesus to come back for and, if Jerusalem is still standing, then its population should be followers of a false god. Indeed, Hasan Nasrallah, head of Hezbollah (Party of God!), wants all Jews to come to Israel because that makes it so much easier to despatch them in one fell swoop!!

[As al-Qaeda activity had died down and was mainly active in central Asia, persecution and removal of Christians from the Middle-East didn’t figure in my conjectures.]

The world is now faced with precisely the above scenario – many others recognise it and are now warning in-depth about it!

Reluctantly, I mused upon those possible tactics in the latest Paws 4 thought. Within days the appalling martyrdom of Egyptian Copts in Libya supported my ideas. As said before, had it not been for that week being half-term, thus delaying Nina’s surgery, I would have overlooked all these things. Their cyclical relevance would have gone unnoticed too.

My covering note to Joel Rosenberg’s re-blog about this butchery led into a two-part outline of historical evidence for our enemy’s tactics. However, the heart of the matter is directly relevant to this theme and had to be addressed later – as herein.

Kindly forgive and bear with me in the following vile quotations, which are included only as an informative necessity. Also, the Lord loves these people and weeps over their wicked actions. They need our prayers – read Canon J.John on how. Also, remember apostle Paul had been the first to hunt down Christians. Let’s pray these murderers will have just as thorough and an awesome conversion experience as did Paul.

Revelation 13

Courtesy Victor Books, The Bible Reader’s Companion by Lawrence O. Richards (1991)

1st Account

Joel’s report of the Libyan atrocity refers to one murderer’s videoed remarks, as reported by AP in Cairo. It reminded me of Revelation chapter 13’s prophecy of a demonic beast rising out of the sea, and the above modern illustration, because the villain declared:

“All crusaders: safety for you will be only wishes, especially if you are fighting us all together. Therefore we will fight you all together,” he says. “The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood.”

It’s another example of Islamists brainwashed by ‘the myth’. Moreover, we see Satanic control of their irrational beliefs. The reference to ‘sea’ and a dead leader’s body and believers’ blood is redolent of Rev 13:1-10 (credit BibleGateway).:

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. ²Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. ³And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

⁵And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

⁹If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

I submit this is strongly suggestive of today’s re-emergence of Islam’s original spirit that directed its founder and followers to attack, conquer and subjugate neighbouring territory and peoples. (He personally led 27 battles and planned 39 others. No wonder his disciples squabbled madly over succession! Compare this with Jesus and his disciples!)

The beast from the sea has a direct similitude to the third of the four beasts in prophet Daniel’s dream-vision (Dan 7:6). On page 658 of Unlocking the Bible David Pawson speculates this ‘leopard’ represents the Arab world – not in Daniel’s days but today.

In Daniel Revisited also, Mark Davidson considers the description links the beast from the sea to those of Daniel 7, which has a four-winged leopard. He makes a most pertinent observation about the symbolism of leopard on page 215:

“The lion will give chase to its prey but the leopard will stealthily wait and watch until it finally pounces…the prey is totally surprised”.

This describes exactly how Islamic terrorists operate.

2nd Account

Raymond Ibrahim’s background and qualifications in writing The Al-Qaeda Reader give him a unique advantage in discussing Islamist terrorism. In Libya’s War on Christians he reveals another eschatological implication, as reported in Coptic Solidarity’s account of the lead executioner boasting of savagery and hatred of the cross of Christ:

“Oh people, recently you have seen us on the hills of as-Sham and Dabiq’s plain [Syrian regions], chopping off the heads that have been carrying the cross for a long time. And today, we are on the south of Rome, on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message.”

Their other account quotes: “We will fight you until Christ descends, breaks the cross and kills the pig” (all eschatological actions ascribed to the Muslim “Christ,” Isa).

As the instruments through which his authority over mankind was broken, Satan hates the Cross and Blood of Jesus Christ. Recent events nearer to home gives an example of this, as in my covering note about Wales in re-blogging Justin Abraham’s tribute to John Paul Jackson.

The area of the Preseli Mountains has a reputation for witchcraft and the occult. Such practitioners have objected to the presence of a large cross and requested its removal. The objection is that it nullifies their powers. The cross’ location in solid rock astride the shoulder of ‘The Hill of Angels’ displays the Lord’s direction in furnishing and installing it in the consecrated grounds of the prayer and retreat centre at Ffald-y-Brenin.

Therefore, the absolute hatred of the Cross of Christ and Christians is entirely spiritual and demonstrates their god definitely is not the same as the Lord Almighty, Father of Jesus Christ – and ours too! As apostle John warns in his first letter:

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3 NKJV, per BibleGateway)

Analysis

Joel Rosenberg summarises this apocalyptic pre-emptive plot in his abridged version of What does ISIS want? To usher in the End of Days by Graeme Wood (click here for his in-depth article). Some of Joel’s points are as follows:

ISIS and its supreme leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is consumed by a Radical Sunni Islamic version of eschatology, or End-Times theology.
US president and senior team do not see this, and this is one of the most serious mistakes they are making. We cannot defeat an enemy we refuse to define. I realize eschatology is a topic foreign — even bizarre — to most political, military and intelligence officials.
But to truly understand what ISIS wants, and how far they are willing to go to get it, our leaders absolutely must study and understand it.
One of the most intriguing and disturbing developments of our times is that we now have two nation states — the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic State — driven by adherents to apocalyptic, genocidal forms of End-Times theology.
The Iranian leaders hold to a Shia brand. ISIS leaders hold to a Sunni brand. But both are driven by a belief that their messiah is coming and judgment with him.
The Iranians believe they must lay the groundwork for the messiah (Mahdi) to come and build his caliphate or kingdom. ISIS isn’t waiting. They have launched a jihadist rampage to build the caliphate now, so that the Mahdi will come soon.

A Vision

About 2007-8, two friends living on opposite sides of the globe – Paul Keith Davis and Neville Johnson – had the same vision on the same weekend as the other did of all hell being let loose. (Teaching series In the Days of Noah, disc 1.)

Happily, the vision did not end with darkness for, according to Paul Keith, the Lord said,

“I am sending messengers of My Face” and He told me there are angels that have stood in the Presence of Almighty God from the beginning of time that have waited for this generation. There is a holy heavenly host that has been waiting for this generation for this hour for this confrontation. They have been especially prepared… I looked up and I saw a door being opened in Heaven and I saw a flood of angels from heaven who had stood in the Presence of God since the beginning of time. I saw them coming and teaching people in their bedrooms. We have to respond to the level of darkness and evil coming to this generation ‘in like fashion’.” (Courtesy Justin Abraham)

A Prophecy

In the middle of preaching, English evangelist Nathan Morris prophesied from the Lord for 2012: Setting the stage for the End-Times. He opens very notably with,

“For lawlessness will abound as nations and their leaders meet together to try and make alliances and make allegiances seeking peace. They shall seek peace, but shall not find it – they shall seek peace, but shall not find it! This will cause many to cry out for resolution but it shall still elude them for a time for further unrest will be their reward.

“For even in 2012 there shall be great events that will change the course of this world, as you know it! For as many pour out their resources to find solutions of peace, another crisis will drain them of knowledge and resolution.

“For I would know that My people would hear My voice, that I am setting the stage for that which I have foretold in My Word and it will quickly and swiftly come to pass. For the days are coming when the lawless one shall be revealed and the son of perdition shall take his stand.

Conclusion

There’s indisputable evidence for the Islamist impetus to bring worldwide calamity and to eradicate Christianity, thereby preventing fulfillment of the prophetic timetable, as outlined in the Bible.

Those above accounts show the falsehood of Islam’s belief in recognising Jesus, but as the Muslim Mahdi’s underling! Pew Research Centre stated in 2012 that well over half, and over 2/3 in some countries, the Muslim world expects the return of Jesus within their own lifetime. Their 2010 results for the number of American Christians expecting Jesus’ return was much lower and very mixed!

Now, as for the would-be usurper of the Almighty’s throne trying to pre-empt His plan and timetable for the End-times, it’s worth noting something that happened whilst polishing off this post’s latest draft. AND, it’s thanks to you my readers and visitors for pointing me towards the conclusion the Lord may want me to draw…

Some old posts keep showing up in the Popular Posts listing. One was ‘top of the pops’ over Mon-Wed and I thought of reminding myself of its content. It’s Neville Johnson’s urgent word brought last August about a cut-off date in God’s timeline. The Lord told him,

“Neville, it is over – there is no more extension of time!”

This prophetic declaration and decree, as well as holy scripture, supersedes anything the father of lies is scheming and doing. In no way could he possibly pre-empt the Lord’s end-game! The Almighty – not the creature – calls the shots!

This timing is completely the Father’s prerogative. Neither Jesus (when He was on earth) or the angels know the schedule for His return. (Mathew 24:36 and Acts 1:7 refer.)

Although this may not be the definitive or final word on this issue, most importantly, we know we’re on the winning side – thank and praise you Jesus!

You may be interested to read about the difficulties in publishing this post, as reported in What’s weird about writing about Iran.

In Part 3 we will look at the Lord’s use of American leaders for his End-times purposes.

Outrageous! Judge decides what parts of Bible can and can’t be preached

Posted on Wednesday, 25 March, 2015 by Richard Barker

APPALLING, GROSS INJUSTICE METED OUT TO STREET PREACHER

This morning Christian Concern issued the following news update:

In an extraordinary judgment, Taunton street preacher Mike Overd has been convicted of a Public Order offence for using the wrong Bible verse in a public conversation with a man who identifies as homosexual.

However, Mike was acquitted of two other Public Order charges relating to the critique of Muhammed.

District Judge Shamim Ahmed Qureshi said that Mike shouldn’t have referred to Leviticus 20:13 to make his point about homosexual practice but indicated that he could have used Leviticus 18:22.

The Judge said that Leviticus 20:13 was inappropriate because it mentions the death penalty, although Mike didn’t even use this part of the verse. “I am being punished for words that never passed my lips,” he said. (Emphasis added)

“The Judge is effectively censoring the Bible and deciding which parts are acceptable to use in different situations. Today it’s preaching on the streets that’s threatened. Tomorrow it could be the pulpit” Andrea Williams (CEO Christian Concern).

Mike has been ordered to pay compensation for causing “emotional pain” to the man, even though it was the man who approached Mike aggressively.

‘Love for Christ’

Mike commented: “I have been ordered to pay compensation for causing ’emotional pain’ to someone who approached me aggressively demanding to debate the issue. There was no harm, injury or theft, just a simple disagreement over theology which I have now been fined for.
“My motivation for preaching the gospel is my love for Jesus Christ and my deep concern for people who do not know His great love and are heading towards an eternity separated from God.”

‘Flimsy evidence’

A number of the witnesses interviewed in connection with Mike’s case said they couldn’t remember what was said or when it was said. One of them said that he was “unable to recall exactly what phrases he was using, but it was clear to me that it was homophobic.”

Even though the evidence was so flimsy, Mike has to pay a fine of £200 and a total of £1,200 in costs and compensation.

‘Offensive’

Mike has already faced significant injustice and opposition. In a Somerset newspaper, police accused him of “being hostile” and asked people to record him if they felt he was making “offensive remarks”. Despite this, no substantial evidence has ever been produced.

Legal support: Christian Concern are not charging Mike for legal services, but if you’d like to support them in this and their continued defence of gospel freedoms please donate here.

Cranmer’s in-depth report

‘His Grace’ (Archbishop Cranmer blog) provides a more thorough and ‘disinterested’ analysis, To preach Leviticus 20:13 now constitutes a Public Order Offence. He offers this opinion:

…As the Judge notes, “As far as (Mr Overd) is concerned, he is preaching the Gospel.” He adds later: “He has clearly not studied religion deeply enough to comprehend it fully but has accepted whatever others taught him about his religion.. He is clearly selective in his arguments and is blind to any negative points in his own religion.” And there is much evidence of this in Mr Overd’s sometimes painfully injudicious and inconsistent responses to cross examination by the prosecution.

But biblical ignorance and theological superficiality are not crimes. Nor is proclaiming that ignorance or superficiality in the public square.

Yet Judge Qureshi insists that if Mr Overd wishes to preach against homosexuality, he may use Leviticus 18:22 (which is identical to the first sentence of Leviticus 20:13), but he may not use Leviticus 20:13 even if he omits the second sentence (ie Leviticus 18:22). This is a bizarre ruling (emphasis added). It seems that the omission of the second sentence does not mitigate the allegation of ‘threatening’ language, because, the Judge says, “the words he did use have to be put into context with his behaviour which the prosecution allege is threatening”.…“Informing people of their fate in the Hereafter is not a criminal offence but threatening them in this world is,” he says. The fact that Leviticus 20:13 has additional ‘context’, and that context is threatening “in this world”, appears to transgress the acceptable boundaries of freedom of speech.

Cranmer quotes case law on people being free to express such views as Mike Overd, but which this Judge is challenging:

Mr Overd was not inciting anyone to violence, and yet Judge Qureshi has challenged Lord Justice Sedley’s ruling head-on by effectively finding Mr Overd guilty of using threatening words despite the contextual earthly judgment never having passed his lips.

Read Cranmer’s 2-page exposition and commentators’ discussion here. Also, it will be interesting to read any fuller opinion messrs Frank Cranmer & David Pocklington in Law & Religion UK may offer in due course.

Honouring the life of John Paul Jackson

Posted on Tuesday, 17 March, 2015 by Richard Barker

Thank you for such a deeply personal tribute Justin.
Regarding Wales, a friend at Ffald-y-Brenin reported this weekend that their site is seriously affecting ungodly activity in the Preseli mountains. They’ve received a ‘thank you’ card requesting removal of their large outdoor cross! It is strategically postioned on a shoulder of Carn Ingli (Hill of the Angels) overlooking the lovely Gwaun valley. So ‘Amen’ to your prayer Justin!
(Interesting I’m having difficulty reblogging this! Third attempt successful)

On a new revival of prayer in US and elsewhere!

Posted on Tuesday, 3 March, 2015 by Richard Barker

In view of its significance, the prophetic declaration accompanying yesterday’s Lion Bites: Watchmen Arise! merits this separate posting, with a couple of additions.

Both words were published together to draw attention to their concord, but now I’d draw your attention to their appearing on opposite sides of the Atlantic within hours of one another. Hence, my tagging both posts as ‘Bridge Over The Pond’.

Lion Bites is published 6am weekdays in Glasgow. Yesterday’s (Monday) closely harmonises with a declaration delivered way beyond the other side of ‘the Pond’ 12 hours earlier in the Sunday morning service at Church of His Presence in Daphne, Alabama. (Time difference of 6 hours.)

Halfway into the usual half-hour or so of opening praise, Rev John Kilpatrick interrupted to introduce prayers for ALL Christians being slaughtered around the world, as well as to bless, per Gen 12:3, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit today to address the US Congress on the danger of Iran.

As a result of the congregation’s ardent prayers, the Holy Spirit’s presence came upon them and the pastor ditched his well-prepared sermon. Also, a spirit of generosity came upon them, as witnessed by the congregation giving offerings without any direction from John.

Over a hour later, intercessor Lila Terhune made the following declaration:

“Not only over Church of His Presence but over all nations that are watching right now; that the coming revival will be a revival of prayer – that will be the face of the new revival; is the revival of prayer.

“And so Lord, we declare according to Your word, according to Your purposes Oh God,

“That You would awaken the Church,

“Awaken the Church to her Calling,

“Awaken the Church to her Purpose,

“Lord, and we declare – Alleluia! – that it will begin not only in the United States but all around – every nation that we’re engaged with today – let the spirit of prayer begin to surface – Oh Lord, and out of the prayer will come The Presence, out of the Presence will come souls and deliverance and healing: in the name of Yeshua, in the name of Jesus! Amen!”

Watch this pastor and congregation yield to Holy Spirit’s presence and allow Him to have His way in this archive of Service March 1st. (The declaration is at 1hr 33min.) Note the Lord has used this pastor to host two revivals; one of repentance and one of healing – Brownsville (Pensacola) and The Bay of the Holy Spirit (Daphne/Mobile).

CHP’s services are watched live by thousands across North America and the world.

Relevant posts published this year 2015:

Wave of Revival heading for the UK
Prophecies fulfilled 3 – Revivals in the USA
Prophecies fulfilled 3 cont’d – Revival to Re-visit USA
An Arizona subscriber’s Couple of Visions about Revival in USA

Credits:

Endless Bridge by Evgeni Denev, courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net
photo of Rev Kilpatrick courtesy John Kilpatrick Ministries

Lion Bites: Watchmen Arise!

Posted on Monday, 2 March, 2015 by Richard Barker

This word for today is published with the kind permission of the Glasgow Prophetic Centre. (Click on graphic for archive and link to a daily morsel of Lion Bites):

“I heard the Holy Spirit ask, “Where are my watchmen?”

“I am calling my watchmen and watchwomen to arise. I am calling to my intercessors, to those who stand in the gap, to come out of hiding. I am gathering you and I am deploying you this year. Watchmen, would you come out of your hiding and see that I am making a space for you on the earth?

“The work you do is hidden in the natural but seen in the spiritual. I am not calling you into visibility by man but into acceptance and welcoming by my body. The numbers of my watchmen have been few but I seek to add to you. I will add to you those who have previously been fearful and intimidated by this call and I will add to you even those who ran from the duty in times past. I will multiply your numbers because you are a necessary battalion in my army for these days.”

Those who feel the stirring as you read this – the Lord is anointing you to be a prayerful, Spirit-filled watchman and intercessor for the days ahead. Hear the call of God, follow his direction for He has much to show you and much to do through you!”

Ezekiel 3:17
Son of man. I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me.

NB: The above word complements a prophetic declaration on a new revival of prayer given only 12 hours earlier, as reported in the next post.

The Shepherd, the Shadow and the ‘Spread’

Posted on Saturday, 28 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

“The Lord is our shepherd…” asserted the psalmist David; and his descendant Jesus of Nazareth, who came as the Messiah, God’s anointed leader whom Israel long awaited, described himself as “The Good Shepherd”.

Even when we go through the dire depths of the Valley of the Shadow to struggle with sickness, loss of well-being and even of life itself, the Good Shepherd’s ‘rod and staff’ guide, encourage and ensure we keep on the right track, albeit hidden and thus raising thoughts that maybe we’ve gone astray. So, the Lord definitely does comfort us.

And beyond that dark vale He opens the veil to bring about our personal good – because we love Him and are called according to His purposes. There, He spreads a banqueting table before us – and not only for us to be blessed at His celebratory, festive spread but also for our personal earthly and spiritual opposition, the hosts of wickedness, to see and witness our reward and blessing at His hands!

For the last five months we’ve been through a deepening trial over Nina’s health, which came to a climax six weeks ago in severely painful and crippling loss of mobility. Hence my personal note of mid-January.

The faithful intercessory support of dozens of brothers and sisters in the Lord were a strong and sure support. Answers to our prayers started manifesting this week with the successful outcome of precision, albeit very dicey, non-invasive surgical procedure on her damaged spine. Thank and praise you Lord.

The scheduling of this surgery brought an unusual, coincidental effect upon this blog. The operation would have been performed last week had it not been for the half-term holidays. That is, a full surgical team wasn’t available because some staff needed to be absent for their school children.

Therefore, it enabled me to be on-hand to watch a situation develop. It would have been missed had the surgery been performed a week earlier!

All will be revealed next week…

Meanwhile, be blessed by reading Carol Good’s meditative blog on The 23rd Psalm, and to whom this post’s illustration is accredited.

An insight into global satanic strategy – part 2

Posted on Saturday, 21 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

Timing in publishing this follow-on, 700th post is exceptionally fascinating not only for its confirmation in directly related news from Washington but also in other details. I will explain in next post; meanwhile, may you too be blessed with insights as you read:

Continuing from Part 1 let’s consider further the revelatory ‘jigsaw piece’ found whilst musing upon satan’s strategy to avoid the Lake of Fire. It came whilst reading specialist historian Paul Crawford’s Four Myths About The Crusades. His solid, illuminating essay on president Bill Clinton’s unsound premise to his remarks on the 9/11 attack also apply to Barack Obama’s recently equating Christianity to Islamist butchery of Christians. Paul’s paper exposes falsehoods behind and adroitly disposes of the following:

Myth #1: The Crusades represented an unprovoked attack by Western Christians on the Muslim world.
Myth #2: Western Christians went on crusade because their greed led them to plunder Muslims in order to get rich.
Myth #3: Crusaders were a cynical lot who did not really believe their own religious propaganda; rather, they had ulterior, materialistic motives.
Myth #4: The Crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians.

Part 1 of this post briefly summarised Myth #3 and I concluded:

“The period of the Enlightenment with its liberal intellectual and philosophical attitudes nourished a growing rejection of religion, agnosticism and atheism. So a jaundiced view of Christian scripture and history developed. Thus, the Western intelligentsia began to put a twist upon the Crusades.”

His paper deserves to be studied in full and in view of its importance in this part I shall quote more extensively, adding emphases where appropriate:

The Muslim Attitude to the Crusades

Dr Crawford begins answering Myth #4 by stating part of the answer lies in that for Myth #1 – ie. Muslims had attacked Christians for centuries ever since the inception of Islam. His answer to the first myth succinctly summarises what was happening, as itemised on 7 pages by Dr Bill Warner on Political Islam, and which show that ‘jihadic’ attacks and strategic advances occurred on average every 5 years for 460 years!

Paul continues by stating Muslims “needed no further incentive to continue (jihad). But there’s a more complicated answer here…”.

“…until quite recently, Muslims remembered the crusades as an instance in which they had beaten back a puny western Christian attack…(One) of Lawrence of Arabia’s letters (describes) a confrontation during post-World War I negotiations (over) a case for French interest in Syria going back to the crusades, which Faisal (later Faisal I of Iraq). dismissed with a cutting remark: “But, pardon me, which of us won the crusades?”

He goes on to state that before WW1 most Muslims had a similar, if any, attitude to the Crusades,

“…that is, when Muslims bothered to remember them at all, which was not often. Most of the Arabic-language historical writing on the crusades before the mid-19th century was produced by Arab Christians, not Muslims, and most of that was positive…There was no Arabic word for “crusades” until that period, either…It had not seemed important to Muslims to distinguish the crusades from other conflicts between Christianity and Islam…As Carole Hillenbrand has noted, “The Muslim response to the coming of the Crusades was initially one of apathy, compromise and preoccupation with internal problems”.

“The first Muslim crusade history did not appear until 1899. By that time, the Muslim world was rediscovering the crusades — but it was rediscovering them with a twist learned from Westerners.”

At this point our author has introduced a new angle: the influence of modern European schools of thought. This was covered in Part 1 of this post for the purpose of leading into an appreciation of how Muslims’ attitudes towards the Crusades changed radically in the early decades of the 20th Century. As Crawford explains:

“At the same time, nationalism began to take root in the Muslim world. Arab nationalists borrowed the idea of a long-standing European campaign against them from the former European school of thought – missing the fact this was a serious mischaracterization of the crusades and using this distorted understanding as a way to generate support for their own agendas.

“This remained the case until the mid-20th century, when, in Riley-Smith’s words, “a renewed and militant Pan-Islamism” applied the more narrow goals of the Arab nationalists to a worldwide revival of what was then called Islamic fundamentalism and is now sometimes referred to, a bit clumsily, as jihadism.

“This led rather seamlessly to the rise of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, offering a view of the crusades so bizarre as to allow bin Laden to consider all Jews to be crusaders and the crusades to be a permanent and continuous feature of the West’s response to Islam.

“Bin Laden…is no more accurate in his view about the crusades than he is about the supposed perfect Islamic unity which he thinks Islam enjoyed before the baleful influence of Christianity intruded. But the irony is that he, and those millions of Muslims who accept his message, received that message originally from their perceived enemies: the West.

“So it was not the crusades that taught Islam to attack and hate Christians. Far from it. Those activities had preceded the crusades by a very long time, and stretch back to the inception of Islam. Rather, it was the West which taught Islam to hate the crusades. The irony is rich.”

Conclusion

The last leads Paul Crawford ‘back to the present’ in asking how much of president Bill Clinton’s Georgetown speech of 2001 was accurate, especially his emphatic assertion that the story of the Crusades was “still being told today in the Middle East and we are still paying for it!”.

“This is the most serious misstatement of the whole passage. What we are paying for is not the First Crusade, but western distortions of the crusades in the nineteenth century which were taught to, and taken up by, an insufficiently critical Muslim world.

In drawing everything together, this specialist in the history of the Crusades offers his opinion:

“The problems with Mr Clinton’s remarks indicate the pitfalls that await those who would attempt to explicate ancient or medieval texts without adequate historical awareness, and they illustrate very well what happens when one sets out to pick through the historical record for bits—distorted or merely selectively presented—which support one’s current political agenda. This sort of abuse of history has been distressingly familiar where the crusades are concerned.

Thank you Paul Crawford for such an excellent examination and clarification of a crucial current issue. (Paul is an Associate Professor at California University of Pennsylvania – also see his bio at Queen Mary University of London, and The Intercollegiate Review.)

The Diabolical Spin

Clearly, as shown above, the “Father of Lies” has been spinning his worldwide web of deceit, to which a surprising confirmation has been given this week and will be revealed in the next post.

Out of the post-Reformation intellectual freedom that eventually led to the rejection of most Judeo-Christian values, was born an anti-Christian mind-set that deliberately warps any spiritual understanding. It eventually affected not only traditional Christian beliefs but also associated historical facts.

Into his engineered ungodliness Satan could sow seeds of disbelief to twist and poison intellectual integrity. This serves his strategy to disunite and weaken Christianity further by falsified history harnessed to intellectual dishonesty and arrogance to belittle, blame and persecute the church of Jesus Christ.

“But Jesus…”

UPDATE: current security concerns led to a relevant development upon this thesis, as revealed in Anti-terrorism summit confirms this week’s insight.

MORE: this theme develops further in 1 of 3: the ‘End-game’ gets ramped up a level.

[‘Hand Holding Puzzle Piece’ by Ponsulak, courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net]

An insight into a global satanic strategy – part 1

Posted on Thursday, 19 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

A nuance new to me of our enemy’s tactics has come to light which seriously affects politicians’ and public’s perceptions. As in the caveat to Paws 4 thought, it’s a topic I’d much rather not blog about, but current events require this information to be shared. It should help you to understand the huge, beguiling deception blinding national leaders.

An “aha!” moment instigated continuation of those musings. Long-standing readers may recall, like my friend and fellow End-times teacher-author ‘Neil Mac’, that ‘jigsaw pieces’ occasionally bring revelation ‘out-of-the-blue’.

After popping a small ‘piece’, the last link, into my brief comment to the re-blog of Joel Rosenberg’s post on the war against Christianity, it struck me that link is part of an ‘invisible’ jigsaw. Not exactly as depicted in this photo by Ponsulak, it seemed like I’d inserted a ‘piece’ into a large puzzle, part of which covers Islamist actions.

To the first ‘puzzle pieces’, or links to comments on US National Prayer Breakfast, I added two more on the Crusades. It was upon later reading the last of these four at leisure that I was struck by it’s being like a piece connecting one area to another (rather like Salvatore Vuono’s picture here).

That ‘piece’ connects the modern revival of Islam in all its original barbarity that overflowed from Arabia 1,500 years ago with my musings on the Devil’s plot to avoid the Lake of Fire. Now, it’s not the fact that this phenomena is part (5) of my historical evidence, but more the facts emerging from further analysis that brought a better perspective.

Historical Evidence cont’d

In those musings we considered just a few events to support my thesis that satan is the source of anti-Semitism and Christian disunity. There’s a ‘rationale’ to such a strategy. Nowadays,we’re brainwashed into ignoring the historical facts behind Christianity’s massive reaction 920 years ago to 460 years of jihad – widespread strategic attacks and invasions. That is, it all started 1,380 years ago – and ISIS/ISIL want the whole world to regress not improve! (Hence, my re-blog’s link to Dr Warner’s itemised listing.)

Also, militant Muslims, backed by mendacious academics in Western universities, use that twisting of historical facts to pretend they’re victims of the Crusades: but in actual fact, Muslims came out as the winners!!

What is deeply disturbing is the fact that presidents Clinton and Obama were duped, or else wallowed in self-imposed ignorance, about the Crusades – and displayed this in public! My readers in the States will be aware of the outcry following Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on 5th February when Mr Obama said, and I underscore the cause of the issue:

“…we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it. We see ISIL, a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion, carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism…and claiming the mantle of religious authority for such actions…[examples of sectarian wars] a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe, so often perpetrated in the name of religion

“So how do we, as people of faith, reconcile these realities…operating alongside those who seek to hijack religious for their own murderous ends?

“Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ…”

To his credit the President didn’t refer to deep anti-Semitism that had riddled European churches since the ‘early Church fathers’ and led up to the Holocaust. (Reformer Martin Luther was renowned for his strident, ungodly dislike of Jews!)

Even so, cluelessness masks deep disingenuity over the recent anti-Semitic murders of French and Danish Jews, as Elliot Abrams (Senior Fellow at the CFR and just one among myriad experts) pointedly questions and explains, Why can’t the White House see Terrorism and anti-Semitism? (see his linked lead-in post too).

Franklin Graham, outspoken son of Billy Graham, took issue with Obama’s comments, as emphasised above. On his Facebook page the evangelist sought to correct them:

“Today at the National Prayer Breakfast, the President implied that what ISIS is doing is equivalent to what happened over 1000 years ago during the Crusades and the Inquisition. Mr. President–Many people in history have used the name of Jesus Christ to accomplish evil things for their own desires. But Jesus taught peace, love and forgiveness. He came to give His life for the sins of mankind, not to take life. Mohammad on the contrary was a warrior and killed many innocent people. True followers of Christ emulate Christ—true followers of Mohammed emulate Mohammed.”

A fortnight later Franklin asks about the butchery in Libya,

“…In a statement the White House even called the 21 Christians who were beheaded “Egyptian citizens,” refusing to identify them as Christians. The truth is–their barbaric murderers openly said they killed them because they were “people of the cross.” Why is the President seemingly continuing to protect Islam and refusing to open his eyes to the truth?” (emphasis added)

The essential point, as in several earlier posts, is to compare the founders of both faiths – that of Islam just doesn’t, and cannot, bare comparison with Jesus.

William Koenig’s perspective on this as an accredited journalist at the White House and editor-in-chief of World Watch Daily is worth noting too:

“An important point to remember is that President Obama’s speeches have a specific audience or audiences in mind. At the National Prayer Breakfast…he equated the Christian (ie. Catholic) Crusades with radical Islam’s brutality. Moreover, he neglected to contrast the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, who came as the Savior to the world, with the brutality of Mohammed, who attempted to dominate and terrorize the world…

“What did Muslims hear? A Muslim apologist who happens to be the President of the United States, and who calls himself a Christian, lectured Christians not to be on a “high horse”. He equated horrific Muslim violence with Christians who resorted to violence in two specific periods in history.”

This furore comes as no surprise. I questioned the President’s claims to be “a student of history” in his 2009 Cairo speech, which benefitted the Muslim Brotherhood. To the very deep disquiet and legitimate suspicion of many Americans, the MB since infiltrated and became too influential within the US administration, as lawyer and author Joseph Klein recently maintained in Obama Bolsters the Brotherhood.

Also refer to Tuesday’s article by Ephraim Karsh, professor emeritus of Kings College London, on White House Delusions, Islamist Realities, wherein he tells what happened after Cairo. UK readers will find relevant material by searching on ‘Cordoba foundation’ and ‘UK islam and democracy conference’ by Global MB Watch.

‘Four Myths About The Crusades’

Historian Paul Crawford’s above-titled article is the revelatory ‘jigsaw piece’ referred to above. It was first published by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in 2011, but I found it through the Catholic News Agency. It gave me a new perspective into another tactic used by the Devil against Christianity. This scholarly paper should be recommended reading for every serious student of history; click to read in full.

The author, a specialist teacher of medieval history, opens by referring to Bill Clinton’s speech in 2001 where he, like Obama, excused the perpetrators of 9/11 by comparing them to medieval crusaders!

Crawford’s well-reasoned and illuminating essay exposes the falsehoods behind and adroitly disposes of:

Myth #1: The crusades represented an unprovoked attack by Western Christians on the Muslim world.
Myth #2: Western Christians went on crusade because their greed led them to plunder Muslims in order to get rich.
Myth #3: Crusaders were a cynical lot who did not really believe their own religious propaganda; rather, they had ulterior, materialistic motives.
Myth #4: The crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians.

What opened my eyes to a nuance in the devilish scheme to avoid the fiery lake was a scenario cloaked within the facts underlying Myths #3 and #4, for which the scholar’s opening gambit to the first (#3) reads:

“This has been a very popular argument, at least from Voltaire on. It seems credible and even compelling to modern people, steeped as they are in materialist worldviews. And certainly there were cynics and hypocrites in the Middle Ages…

“In the modern period, there were two main European schools of thought about the crusades. One school, epitomized by people like Voltaire, Gibbon, and Sir Walter Scott, and in the twentieth century Sir Steven Runciman, saw the crusaders as crude, greedy, aggressive barbarians who attacked civilized, peace-loving Muslims to improve their own lot. The other school, more romantic…saw the crusades as a glorious episode in a long-standing struggle in which Christian chivalry had driven back Muslim hordes. In addition, Western imperialists began to view the crusaders as predecessors, adapting their activities in a secularized way that the original crusaders would not have recognized or found very congenial…”

Free from church controls, the Enlightenment’s intellectual and philosophical liberality nourished a growing rejection of religion, agnosticism and atheism. So a jaundiced view of Christian scripture and history developed. Consequently, Western intelligentsia put their own twist upon the Crusades.

Part 2 will look at how this diabolical spin generated Myth #4; that the Crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians – and the implicit activity of the “Father of Lies” in avoiding his ultimate demise.

[‘Hand Holding Puzzle Piece’ and ‘Puzzle’ courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net]

Coming Wave of the Holy Spirit to the US

Posted on Saturday, 7 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

This is most intriguing because I posted today what was intended for last week but which got delayed by material relating to the prophet Daniel. Having done that, Tony reminded me of relevant visions and his concluding reference in this one to rising demonic reactions reflects my own thoughts on anti-Semitism’s apparent presence in proposed prayers for Lent in the UK. Thank you Lord for confirming my thoughts.

My Dreams and Visions

I had a vision on the morning of 9/3/2010 , I kept hearing the word, “wave”, and wondered as to its meaning. I was then shown a wave the size of a tsunami and I was on a surf board riding the wave. The Tsunami was heading for the United States, and, as you know, A Tsunami is caused by an earthquake in the sea which indicates to me a shaking, a great shaking. This tsunami is a move of the Holy Spirit of gigantic proportions that is coming to the United States. It is my belief that it will impact the west coast first as this is where surfing is popular. In order to be a part of this you have to swim out into the deep in order to catch the wave and be able to ride the wave. In shallow water, you call the shots and can…

View original post 141 more words

Wave of revival heading for UK

Posted on Saturday, 7 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

At the School of the Prophetic held in Leicester on 25th January Simon Braker brought the following:

In a dream last night I saw a giant green wave approaching the entire borders of the UK. As it hit the beaches it swept through the whole of the UK touching every town village and city. Not one street was left untouched.

In its wake thousands of fires began to light up all over the UK, in houses, church buildings, office buildings everywhere!

I asked the Lord, “What is this Lord?” He answered and said,

“A great prayer awakening is about to hit the UK, this new passion and burden for my presence in prayer will be the John the Baptist of this day, every place where this fresh voice of prayer is heard my presence shall flood into.

“This next move of my Spirit will show no regard for denominational lines and steams or styles of ministry. The only defining factor is hunger,

“In this season those who truly thirst shall be filled, some places that appear to be alive shall be shown to be dead and other places that appear to be dead shall break out into vibrant life,

“This is a season that many of my hidden ones shall be revealed, I have had many hidden who are called for such a time as this.”

Thank you Suzanne Payne for this transcript, the content of which reminds me of Rev. Norman James’ reaction upon receiving a similar ineffable vision to that of his prayer-partner Smith Wigglesworth of a holy visitation to Britain. (For details click here.) Also, the lighting of fires is similar to Jean Darnall’s vision in 1967.

Also, as Tony Puccio reminds me below, there’s a vision he received for England last May and which was re-blogged here and further commented upon here. I particularly note the above reference to ‘hidden ones’, which may relate to the theme of dreams he has been having recently on the prophet Daniel’s ‘time of the end’ visions, as here.

See also, On a new revival of prayer in US and elsewhere posted 3rd March.

[Image credit : aurora-uk, published in Telegraph]

World leaders respond to persecution of Christians

Posted on Thursday, 5 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

Historic Jewish-Christian Collaboration

“Just as Christians defend Jews against anti-Semitism, just as Christians support Israel, we Jews have an obligation to speak out against the growing persecution of Christians in many parts of the world.

“Islamist extremists have launched a full-fledged assault upon our Western values, and Jews and Christians must work hand-in-hand to defeat this threat.”

So announced the President of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, at the Feast of Tabernacles 2014 ceremonies held last Autumn. As head of the main umbrella organisation representing Jews throughout the world, he was taking part in a historic initiative with the leaders of two global Christian bodies, one of which was the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ). They sent a joint letter to 120 world leaders demanding their urgent action to halt the brutal persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

ICEJ has reported further upon this as follows:

“This joint letter challenged the leaders of 95 democratic countries over the worsening situation for Christian minorities across the Middle East. Besides the Western-led air campaign to roll back the advances of the Islamic State terror militia in Iraq and Syria, democratic countries have responded so far by providing relief aid in refugee camps and opening the door to more Christian refugees from the Middle East. Otherwise, the international community has been ineffective in confronting this on-going tragedy, and the ICEJ felt compelled to sound the alarm.

“The joint letter was co-signed by ICEJ Executive Director Dr. Jürgen Bühler, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder, and Dr. William M. Wilson, President and Co-chairman of the Empowered21 Global Council. Dr. Bühler noted that the participation of Lauder as head of the main umbrella organisation representing world Jewry made this an historic initiative.

“Over recent months, the Christian Embassy has been receiving official replies from various heads of state and foreign ministries. All express concern regarding the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, but the level of commitment to affect change varies. Many offer to continue to raise awareness of Christian persecution in international forums, as well as to sponsor groups which promote religious liberties. Some also note that they have eased the way in recent months for more persecuted Christians to enter their countries as refugees…”

Some of the responses received by early January have been published. Those from Britain, Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Macedonia and South Korea may be read here.

Incredible timing of ‘unsealing’ and ‘keys’ re. Daniel’s visions

Posted on Monday, 2 February, 2015 by Richard Barker

Extraordinary!

“By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established”. (Deut 19:15 NKJV)

This must rank as one of the most amazing examples of ‘God-incidence’ I’ve ever come across. And it’s Invisible Jigsaw and Bridge over the ‘Pond’ tags all rolled into one! (Not to mention anything to do with ‘Time’, as blogged a year ago.)

Just in case readers didn’t notice a brief but significant contribution to the last post, On unsealing Daniel’s prophetic visions, I’m repeating it below. Also, a huge “Thank you” to all who liked that post. My post was published on Saturday morning (31 Jan 2015). Tony Puccio commented later in the day: “It’s amazing you post this Richard. Look at the vision the Lord showed me.”…. Continue reading →

On unsealing Daniel’s prophetic visions

Posted on Saturday, 31 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

The ‘sealed up’ prophecies within the Book of Daniel are coming under increasing scrutiny. This blog has relayed news of a couple of nuggets dropped into our hands, and we’ll consider a third in this post.

The first nugget from Freedom ARC serves as a useful introduction to the ‘sealed up’ words. It also grounds us in the vital centrality of Jesus Christ and letting Him remove every obstacle so we’re prepared for new things God is about to reveal and do.

Next, we considered the historical details of how the prophet Daniel’s visions remained sealed and their relevance to current and likely events, as in the ‘Four Signposts’ theory of Mark Davidson.

Now, let’s dig deeper into those scriptures with Nelson Walters’ introductory thoughts from Why Is No One Talking?. His insights warrant re-posting in full:

THE UNSEALING OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL

“In my opinion the root cause of most of the arguments in the church about end times stems from a little realized fact: God has prevented us from understanding the book of Daniel in the Old Testament where most of our end-time prophecies originate. If you read Daniel, it won’t be obvious. It appears to be like any other book of the Bible.

“The story of the Daniel in the lion’s den and all the other words Daniel wrote are exactly the same as they were nearly 2,500 years ago in ancient Babylon. But God has supernaturally placed a “clay seal” with his holy imprint on them and kept their full meaning secret until the “time of the end.”

But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:4 NRSV)

As for you, seal up the vision. (Dan. 8:26 NRSV)

He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:9 NRSV)

“I realize this may seem a bit strange. It has always been strange.

“Although we should have known better, throughout the ages Christian expositors have ignored the sealing of Daniel and guessed at its meaning. This is where the problem started. Many of these men were intelligent and led by the Holy Spirit. Although they were able to rightly interpret most of the Bible, their guesses based on sealed scripture were completely off track. God limited their understanding and this has caused division and argument throughout the entire church era. I would dare to say that the biggest reason why the modern church avoids preaching on the end times is this division caused by the sealing of Daniel.

“If that is true, why did God do this? I don’t know. I have suspicions but they are only my opinions. My first guess is we didn’t need to know until now. People who would not live to see the end times had no need of unsealed verses. For 2,500 years these prophecies have been a moot point. Winning souls for the kingdom is what mattered to John Wesley or D. L. Moody. They obviously died prior to the end times and their God-given call had no need of the sealed prophecies.

“Secondly, in my opinion, God sealed the prophecy of future events so that we would walk by faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6 NASB). If we know every detail of every step along God’s Roadmap we will be walking by sight not faith. In the next post EAT THIS SCROLL! we will learn there are seven seals on the Book of Daniel. God will break the seals sequentially allowing us only the information we need to take our next step of faith. God repeatedly commands us to keep watch during the end times. Without these seals on Daniel we would not be required to be watchful. We would understand God’s entire plan.

“My final opinion on this topic is that God sealed Daniel so the wise could know what will happen and be saved, and the foolish would not know and be given over to their unrighteousness.

“The wise among the people shall give understanding to many … None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand” (Dan. 11:33, 12:10 NRSV)

“With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: “You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.” (Matt. 13:14-15 NRSV)

“These verses have the same message as the parable of the ten virgins we saw in “IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GOSPEL.” The foolish virgins have the scriptures; they have their lamps, but without the oil of the Holy Spirit they can’t interpret the sealed scripture. They will be taken by surprise by the events of the end times and caught unaware. The end times will come like a thief in the night and like the virgins, these churchgoers will be unprepared.

“Although these are just my opinions, what is known is Daniel will be unsealed in the time of the end. God will give his church understanding of the sealed verses and prophecies when they have need of them. I believe the time of the end is already upon us.”

Readers who wish to study this in-depth are directed to Nelson’s website The Gospel in the End Times, especially:

Studies from the Book of Daniel and the latest parts:
Did Satan fear this prophecy and try to keep it secret?
Precise Historic Fulfilment of Daniel 11

Learn about an unusual coincidence to this post’s publication in the next post.

Image credits

From ‘Eagle-eyed’ courtesy John Mark Long: www.propheticartists.
Bible seal courtesy Nelson Walters’ The Gospel In The End-Times

Uncap the ancient wells

Posted on Friday, 30 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

Thank you to Suzanne Payne for this transcript from the Secret Place Conference at Revival Fires UK in Dudley.

On 22nd January David Herzog brought the following word:

“I was laying on the floor worshipping, I was taken up in the spirit and I saw the map of England and I saw all these little wells that God wanted to re-uncap and that you don’t have to re-dig the well, you don’t have to create a new well, all you had to do was re-dig the ancient wells and start there, you already have a head start, the great moves of God that England already had, they’re all over, they’ve just been dammed up.

“The Lord said just uncap them, uncap them and it’ll be able to spring up again, and that’s one of your best defences against what’s happening in Europe and in England is (to) uncap the ancient wells, and let the King of Glory enter in.”

For the location of these wells see Michael Marcel’s interactive website UK Wells, as well as his UK Awakening revival site.

Route to Reality

Posted on Wednesday, 28 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

A most welcome reference to God as a mathematician! When I referred to such a possibility at a Christian Union many years ago I got a horrified reaction! Therefore, this post lends credence to my musing upon the maths of coincidence, and of music (see In the right place at the right time). So thank you doctors Ruth and Jennifer.

Science and Belief

I have blogged a number of times on imagination, but what do working scientists think about this subject? Dr Jennifer Siggers is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, where she works on medical applications of fluid dynamics. Having met her at a Christians in Scienceconference a couple of years before, I wanted to find out how imagination is relevant to her own life in the lab.

Imagination is highly valued in Western culture but not always recognised as an essential part of science. So Jennifer initially protested that she wasn’t sure she had anything to say about imagination, but eventually was able to speak with me at some length about how important it is in her work. Mental pictures, analogies and thought experiments are all important for a scientist. For a Christian, learning to use imagination can also enhance

View original post 501 more words

Four ‘Signposts’ of the Books of Daniel and The Apocalypse

Posted on Monday, 26 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

The prime purpose of this blog is to inform the public and students of Bible prophecy about its relevance to contemporary world events. Recent research prompts a fresh look at long-cherished scholarly assumptions on scripture and history.

Thus, Mark Davidson’s analysis of the Book of Daniel enables us to keep an even more informed watch upon changes taking place in the Middle-East, especially those on the Gog-Magog alliance foretold in the Book of Ezekiel.

On holiday last year I was enthralled to read his latest book, Daniel Revisited, and want to give an overview of its fascinating thesis. Mark’s following summary of his findings will enhance readers’ understanding of the previous post on Roman history and Daniel’s ‘sealed visions’:

The Four Signposts: A Summary

“The Four Signposts are four sets of events which will occur, one after the other, prior to the Tribulation or Rapture. These events are derived from the Biblical prophecies of the four beasts in Daniel 7:1-27, the ram and goat in Daniel 8:1-26, and the four horsemen in Revelation 6:1-8. The fulfillment of these events identified in prophecy, have been, and will continue to be, reported as news stories in the Middle East.

“In my book, Daniel Revisited, I go into detail of why these three prophecies qualify as identifying the Four Signposts. These three prophecies all share three things in common:

They are all applicable to, and will be fulfilled in, modern-day end times just prior to the Tribulation (passages in Daniel 7 and 8 indicate this is so);
They all describe the nations involved in, the actions of these nations, and the societal conditions of the geographical areas involved, during the times just immediately prior to the appearance of Antichrist;
They all describe the same set of events, just from different perspectives.

“The First Signpost includes the lion with wings that is forced to stand upright and its heart replaced, and the first horseman that rides a white horse. The democratizing of the nation of Iraq and the career of its former leader Saddam Hussein, are the news events that fulfilled these prophecies.

“The Second Signpost includes the bear that is higher on one side, the ram with two long horns, and the second horseman that rides the red horse. The supreme leader of Iran is the first long horn on the ram; the leadership of Iran’s IRGC is the second horn coming up last and longer. Iran will invade many countries and cause chaos across much of the Middle East. They will most likely interrupt the Gulf oil supply and end America’s petrodollar causing economic chaos.

“The Third Signpost includes the four-headed leopard, the goat with the one great horn, and the third horseman who rides the black horse. The news events to fulfill this signpost are still completely in our future. It will include a four-nation Sunni confederacy taking back the conquests of Iran, and ending Iran in the form that it currently exists. Due to the probable cut-off of oil, food will be available but will be very expensive. We do see today some events setting up the Third Signpost. In addition to food price hikes we have seen in the last few years, the governments of Turkey, Egypt and Syria are becoming Islamist. This situation is required for fulfillment of the Third Signpost.

“Finally, the Fourth Signpost includes the terrible ten-horned beast, the little horn on one of the four horns of the goat, and the fourth horseman who rides the green horse. The news events to fulfill this signpost are even further in our future. It starts at the end of the Third Signpost where the great new nation that covers much of the Middle East fragments into four pieces. The man who is to be Antichrist will arise out of one of these four new nations, take it over, conquer two others, and have the fourth submit to him. The remainder of the Islamic realm then will also submit to him. At this point, a pre-Trib Rapture and the seven-year Tribulation are imminent.

“These Four Signposts are warnings to God’s Church. By watching these Signposts, we may know – as our world goes through each week, month, and year – what season of God’s plan we are in during these end times prior to the Tribulation. These news events will be truly terrible due to their causing economic and mental anguish among the populations of the world due to the cutoff of oil. Islam may be seen as gaining the upper hand and western civilization as being on the decline. But these events, instead of being continual bad news, can be seen instead as fulfillment of detailed and absolute prophecy that must be fulfilled in order for God’s promises to come to fruition.

“Those of us who are His must prepare. Those on the fence in the churches will have their last chance to repent and follow Christ wholeheartedly. The unbelievers can be witnessed to and shown that the Bible is the living and breathing word of God and is telling all of us what is playing out right before our eyes.”

[Illustrations courtesy of Mark Davidson.]

The man most used by God to seal Daniel?

Posted on Monday, 26 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

This by Mark Davidson is not only a helpful follow-on to Sealed up until the End of Time but it also introduces his well-researched book Daniel Revisited and website The Four Signposts. Mark’s thesis reveals that scholars and theologians failed to recognise how the Bible foretold the rise of Islam and its geo-strategic End-time role in the Middle-East. (Also note the subsequent comments.) When I tried to re-blog this on Saturday a Word-Press glitch prevented logged-on interaction between our blogs – intriguing!

THE FOUR SIGNPOSTS

Meet Trajan, Emperor of Rome from AD 98 to AD 117. That’s his marble bust below. Known as one of the Five Good Emperors, historians even after nineteen centuries know him as the Roman emperor who ruled with public welfare programs, building programs, philanthropy, and military expansion of the Empire. Every emperor that followed Trajan was honored by the Roman Senate with the wish: “be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan.”

Trajan, 13th Emperor of Rome, 98-117 AD

So why would this man be tied to the sealing of the book of Daniel which was written 650 years earlier?

“The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.” (Daniel 8:26)

“But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here…

View original post 1,211 more words

Sealed up until the End of Time

Posted on Tuesday, 20 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

Essential reading. Also, its closing song plugs into the Lord’s answer to my personal query upon closing the post about the river running through the nation. Be blessed as you read…

Sons of Issachar

Mike Parsons
with Jeremy Westcott –

Information or revelation?

The enemy does not want the church to know about supernatural things, and through the centuries there has been a battle for truth. At the Constantinople council in 553 there was a lot of argument about what should and should not be included in the canon of scripture. Many books were removed at that time, and some wanted to throw out even the books of James, Peter, and Jude (all with a lot of the supernatural in them). Centuries later, even Martin Luther was unhappy with Hebrews, James and Peter.

During the dark ages, when people could not read the Bible, a lot of truth was lost. God has been restoring that truth over the last 1000 years, and there is ongoing revelation of truth. Please do not just accept everything I say, do not be satisfied with just information but go…

View original post 1,026 more words

Dale Mast: There’s a river running through this nation

Posted on Thursday, 15 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

The following prophetic impression was given by Dale Mast whilst speaking on Jesus and the throne of David. In closing 2015 ‘The Year of Promise’ with a personal note I was reminded of that mentoring day last September and dug out my jottings.

As Dale stepped onto a low platform at the invitation of Dr Sharon Stone, I had an open vision of a high wall of flame stretching across the front of the hall and through which he passed. During his message he spoke of having seen a huge flame under the south pole, as told in Holy fire from southern to northern hemispheres. So I could not but pay him very close attention. I hung on every word…

Now however, I recalled not having published his prophetic impression of being in the UK. Here’s what he said:

“I felt like I saw this river flowing through the middle of this gathering (and) there’s a river running through this nation and the Lord says, “And the river of God is getting ready to run through the land again”, and the Lord says, “This is going to be a time to come and think and come and drink”.

“And the Lord says, “I’m refreshing the anointing that has been dormant”, and the Lord says, “There’s an authority that’s rising in the land”, and the Lord says,

“And I’m starting with you!”…and the Lord says…

“Would you become my friend? Would you enter into the Holy of Holies? Would you walk in to receive a new mantle for the next season? Would you allow me to shift your identity?

“Do not expect me to shift the nation until I shift you!“

“And I just saw God’s hand – like people were going uphill where they couldn’t go – and I saw God’s hand go and push them right in. And Lord I thank you that, literally, that you are advancing people.

“And I felt like – sir, you have hand up, right there. Stand up [he means me!]…

Dale delivered a prophetic word from the Lord about Joshua and Caleb’s faith outlasting 40 years of doubt, to see what it was they’d believed come to pass. This relates to a dream that God delayed but which will come to pass for me. That’s really intriguing because another 15 years would pass before I became a believer – but 40 years ago my ‘dream’ was to find the real truth. (See this part of my personal story.) Yet even older was a passing childhood fancy of how marvellous it must have been to see Jesus teach and heal people.

NB: see similar vision as recounted in Comments below.

Image credits:

Dale Mast by Branchmill Photography Gallery
‘World on Fire’ by Danilo Rizzuti courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net

Aliss Cresswell: 2015 ‘The Year of Promise’ – a new map for the New Season

Posted on Tuesday, 13 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

In my humble opinion this is extraordinary for the reasons given in my appended Notes. And there are lots I’d like to underscore!

Thank you again Suzanne Payne for transcribing another prophetic word and preparing introductory material. (It is, therefore, most helpful in view of our present situation.) This word was brought on 7th January and I concur with her opinion,

“This is an excellent word from Aliss Cresswell…It is in line with much of what God (is) saying through others”.

Aliss and husband Rob Creswell head up GloryFires, MorningStar Europe in Chester, UK. There, they are witnessing hundreds of miraculous healings and salvations in their shop, café, in their churches and on the streets. MorningStar Europe is the European arm of MorningStar Ministries representing Rick Joyner and the MorningStar Ministries team in the UK and relating to other ministries all over Europe.

“The Lord’s given me a prophetic Word for 2015, and I’m excited to share it with you.

2015 ‘The Year of Promise’

“The beginning of 2015 marks the end of preparation, the end of wandering in the wilderness and the beginning of a new season of possessing the land of your inheritance. Everything is changing. Have you not been aware of it? The transition from one existence to another. Just like the Israelites, the wilderness was a place where you simply survived to get to the next test. You fought battles in order to get by. Miracles of provision or healing were to get you through. In the wilderness Israel was continually passing through, and the whole point of the wilderness was preparation and training.

“I believe that the Body of Christ has been in the wilderness for a long time. You may have become discouraged as the months of patiently waiting and battling have turned into years. But I want to tell you, the season of waiting is over. Hallelujah! As this year opens up, you have an invitation to enter the promised land, and possess those promises, to occupy the land of your inheritance from the Lord. The wilderness time has come to an end and you are now poised to inherit your promises, just as the Israelites were invited by God to take the promised land. All that the Lord has been doing in your life so far has been in preparation for this day. It is time to take possession of the riches that are in Christ Jesus. All that Jesus accomplished on the cross for you and for me is ours for the taking.

“But a choice lies before you. Life in the promised land will be very different from how you existed in the wilderness. Church will not look the same. What worked up til now is not necessarily going to bear fruit in this next season. Mindsets and wineskins need to change. As the Israelites entered the promised land, God declared that Moses My servant is dead. (You can read that in Joshua ch 1 v 2). The old style of leadership that led us through years in the wilderness is over. Leaders need to stay closely in step with the Holy Spirit at this time, as the old style of leadership is not going to be adequate to advance and occupy the territory the Lord is giving us.

“Don’t worry that previous streams of provision are changing or drying up. The manna that has sustained you is ceasing, and you’ll begin to live off the fruit of the land the Lord is giving you. The Lord will teach you how to cultivate the land in this new season. New streams of revenue and blessing. No more living just to get by. The Lord desires to give you the ability to produce wealth. New creative ideas and businesses, downloads from heaven, new streams of income.

“This is a time for receiving strategy. A time for the Apostolic mandate to be embraced. For being on the offensive not the defensive. It’s a time to advance. Keep gaining ground. Remain humble and reliant on the Lord, and give generously. Be obedient to His voice and worship Him. (You’ll find more in Deuteronomy chapter 8)

“Do not be like the 10 spies who declared the enemy too powerful to overcome when Moses sent them to check out the promised land. (That was in Numbers 13 you can read more about that). They instilled fear in the rest of the people, and because they believed the lie, that whole generation had to die out in the wilderness.

“This is a crucial time you are in. Do not give fear a place in your life but boldly proclaim the Word of the Lord, and you will overcome, for the Lord is with you mighty warrior. It is only you that can now hold you back.

“Yes there are giants in the land, giants will manifest, in fact many are now facing the greatest opposition they’ve ever faced in their lives. However, it is not a time to come into agreement with the enemy, but it’s time to stand your ground. Don’t back down, but step out in faith and move forward as you follow the Holy Spirit’s instructions. The enemy manifests when he’s threatened. But take courage, it is he whose afraid not you.

“This is a time for some big decisions. Make them in line with the Holy Spirit, not in line with your circumstances or your human emotions.

“Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross into the land the Lord has promised you. The cloud of witnesses and the host of heaven are cheering you on. It is your time to extend the Kingdom of God in love and power such as you’ve never imagined before.

“Like Jesus, it is time to only do what you see the Father doing in heaven, and speak only what you hear the Lord speaking to you. Your spiritual senses are awakening. Encounters with the angelic realm and supernatural occurrences are increasing, and it is imperative you pay attention to heaven at this time. Just as Joshua ordered the men circling Jericho not to utter a sound until they were told to, so you are to learn to speak and declare at the right time, in accordance with the Lord’s direction, and you will see strongholds of the enemy fall.

“Work alongside angels as you step out in faith and do exploits miracles signs and wonders like never before. You are now standing in unchartered territory. New opportunities, new realms of the Spirit and new adventures open up before you. Like Joshua, you have not been this way before.

“The old has gone, so let it go. It’s time for freedom, for liberty. No more boundaries. You have stepped off the map of the old. It is time to write a new map, the possibilities are endless.

“This is great, this is from Joshua ch 5 v 9. It says (this is the Lord speaking to you) : Today, I have rolled away the shame of your slavery from you, it is a time of freedom. This is radical, and it will take a radical, liberated, fearless and bold generation to occupy this territory, but it is glorious. So wonderful and full of liberty, love, joy and peace. My presence shall go with you says the Lord, and I will give you rest. (That’s from Exodus ch 33 v 14)

“This is a time to bear much fruit, as you abide in Him. The fruit is huge, the harvest is unprecedented. It has begun. Jesus said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go – you go. He says I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28 verses 18 – 20).

“So, this is your time, this is your day. We have just entered into the promised land, so go!”

Personal Notes:

This was the 1st of 3 instances on two consecutive days that the Lord gave the word, “Go!”. The three individuals who are involved are unknown to one another. I just happen to be the ‘news-boy’ on the wall. This in addition to His similar urging through Heidi Baker in October (as here) wherein identical “Go!” phrases had also been given to Ginny Cryer (Culture Changers UK) the night before she read Heidi.
The reference to Numbers 13 and the Israelites sent to spy out the Promised Land connects into a prophetic word about a 40 years-old promise, as given to me from the front by Dale Mast at September’s mentoring day.
The above references to Joshua directly plug into the theme of an imaginary train journey published almost two years ago (see Abiding in God’s Word).

	Sid Cordle on Best video of the year –…
	Richard Barker on Prophetic signs in the Strait…
	kittypinkad4b2ad340 on Prophetic signs in the Strait…
	Paul Morris on ‘God-incidental’ I…
	Richard Barker on Clarification on Bible prophec…
	Richard Barker on The Rowboat Prophecy – M…
	Tony on The Rowboat Prophecy – M…
	Tony on The Rowboat Prophecy – M…
	MARY K. DULLFORCE on Clarification on Bible prophec…
	MARY K. DULLFORCE on Clarification on Bible prophec…

Richard's Watch

Looking for the signs of Jesus' return

Category Archives: Christianity

2 of 3: devilish plot to pre-empt the Bible’s ‘endgame’

Outrageous! Judge decides what parts of Bible can and can’t be preached

Honouring the life of John Paul Jackson

On a new revival of prayer in US and elsewhere!

Lion Bites: Watchmen Arise!

The Shepherd, the Shadow and the ‘Spread’

An insight into global satanic strategy – part 2

An insight into a global satanic strategy – part 1

Coming Wave of the Holy Spirit to the US

Wave of revival heading for UK

World leaders respond to persecution of Christians

Incredible timing of ‘unsealing’ and ‘keys’ re. Daniel’s visions

On unsealing Daniel’s prophetic visions

Uncap the ancient wells

Route to Reality

Four ‘Signposts’ of the Books of Daniel and The Apocalypse

The man most used by God to seal Daniel?

Sealed up until the End of Time

Dale Mast: There’s a river running through this nation

Aliss Cresswell: 2015 ‘The Year of Promise’ – a new map for the New Season

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: