Fulfilled prophecy #3 cont’d – Revival to re-visit USA

Posted on Tuesday, 6 January, 2015 by Richard Barker

The prophet Habakkuk had a burden and complained of current events to the Lord, who answered him at Hab 1. The prophet asked another question and wrote:

I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.

²Then the Lord answered me and said:

“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
³For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry…” (Habakkuk 2:2-3 NKJV)

New Year’s Day 2015 brought an insight that confirmed my extending and splitting this post in two – one part for the Old Year, this for the New Year – was indeed correct.

During December, however, my intention had been to share thoughts on the Incarnation and In the Beginning. But it wasn’t to be. Events in the USA on that first weekend were still simmering in my mind. Let’s recap briefly:

In Holy lightning beyond ‘The Pond’… I reported what happened upon hearing Lindell Cooley leading worship at the first Sunday morning service for Church of His Presence (CHP). They’d just moved into a brand-new building near Daphne, Alabama (location).

Then, the first part of this post referred to two prophecies which accurately foretold the Brownsville and Bay of the Holy Spirit Revivals, also to inspired remarks before that church’s move out of Mobile Convention Centre.

Judgment

That first part also gave an introduction to revival, but some readers may think America is long overdue for divine judgement. This is a deep topic which I cannot hope to cover in a short blog. My present purpose is to make some observations only. Many teachers and commentators in the US regularly refer to it; eg. Anne Graham-Lotz, John McTernan and William Koenig to name a few, and with whom I’m familiar.

In his book As America Has Done To Israel, John McTernan tells how his grandfather’s account of how a large enclave of the German-American Alliance on Long Island was devastated by the Great Hurricane of 1938, just days after the largest Nazi rally outside Europe. This gave him an understanding of how dealing with Israel in an un-Godly way brings catastrophic consequences, usually within days. His blog continues to cover this in-depth and often refers to his expectation of a much greater judgement coming to the USA.

In What Time Is It? the guest preacher at CHP, Dotty Schmitt, gave a superb message on prophecy on 16 May last. She spoke about the modern Sons of Issachar being able to discern the times and what’s happening in the heavenlies. A ‘new sound’, she said, is coming from every nation and she learned from Scotland what God is doing in this new season of revival. God is telling us to “Wake up to what is happening in the earth!” and to be saturated in His Word.

What caught my attention was her reference to what I’d already devoted many posts to: an ‘invisible jigsaw’. She told about waiting in God’s presence and having a vision of a big picture puzzle and seeing different pieces – very like my post of 20 March. The Lord explained it to her,

“You have begun to see how the End-times pieces of Biblical prophecy, history, current events, various situations, are fitting together – and it’s opened up within you a River of Life.”

(Proverbs 16:22 ‘In understanding there’s a fountain of life’.)

She asked the Lord, “How does it all fit together?” and Luke 24 spoke to her: “Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said ‘Now wait until you are endued with power from on high’.”

One sign of the End-times is deception, which has moved across the land and caused the nation to make wrong choices and decisions that have opened a door to the enemy and will bring troubles. Dotty quoted Anne Graham-Lotz’s remark at the National Day of Prayer that all the warning bells are going off.

Like McTernan, accredited Christian journalist at The White House, William Koenig, has kept close tabs on the events that bring about judgment upon a nation. The ones that have definitely been triggered are all those relating to the treatment of Israel. His Inside the White House report of 26 December categorises ‘evil endorsed from the highest political office in the land’ but expresses candid surprise as follows:

The only surprising thing to me has been the delay in the consequences — but when they do happen, they will be even more earth-shaking. (Emphasis RB)

Perhaps that delay may be explained by what’s in the Lord’s pipeline for America? So let’s check out another prophecy for America by re-visiting the Brownsville Revival:

Toronto and Pensacola

As the Friday and Saturday meetings of CHP’s dedication weekend 5-7 December were in the evenings we had to wait for them to be archived before watching. (As mentioned above, we saw Sunday’s live ahead of those preceding meetings.) The speaker for the second evening was, most unusually!, unable to attend at the last minute and so pastor Rev John Kilpatrick had only the afternoon to prepare a message.

Nevertheless, the Lord gave John a download about how culture gets changed for good or evil. So he opened his message on ‘Power Shifters’ by referring to the undesirable effects of ungodly cultural attitudes upon society, eg. the establishment of casinos by criminals, introduction of immorality and rebellion at the Woodstock festivals, as well as Martin Luther King’s godly campaign against racial segregation. All provoked or enabled demonic principalities to react and even manifest in those areas.

After that background, John told of his deep desire in the 1980s for revival and starting prayers for the Lord to send one to the Assemblies of God church he led in Brownsville, Pensacola, in the panhandle of Florida. Intercessors prayed yet, as demonic opposition was reacting, people in church and the media turned against plans for revival.

This pastor spoke in-depth on those days and how the Lord answered their prayers 20 years ago, for the Lord had told him in 1986,

“Son, the heavens are clouding over from New Orleans to this way…towards Pensacola.” He said, “The heavens are brassing over. Disobedience and rebellion is causing the heavens that were once yielding to begin to brass over.

“If you preach what I give you and you will preach it unafraid, and un-intimidated on television, I will hold that brass heaven back and I will open the heavens from the I10 (Interstate 10) all along this Gulf coast.”

In about 1993 the Lord reminded John of those words and said,

“I’m about to open the heavens over Pensacola. I’m about to pour out My Spirit in this place, but first you must make it a house of prayer.”

He recounted the difficulty experienced introducing a new way of praying and the need for prayer warfare because of spiritual opposition. They included communion and kept going for over two years. Consequently, the church grew by over 20%. Eventually he and Lindell Cooley began to sense a quickening in their bodies and spirit.

His wife Brenda went to check out a revival and very different way of conducting church at the end of a runway of Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada. On January 20th 1994 a Vineyard preacher named Randy Clark, who’d been invited by pastor John Arnott, delivered a message and invited folk forward fro prayer. But the Lord made His presence felt in the house and disrupted the scheduled programme! So the preacher had to stay on for several weeks. Daily services were convened and the presence of the Lord remained for over 10 years.

News spread rapidly world-wide of what became known as The Toronto Blessing, which was principally marked by believers being filled with, and even overwhelmed by, the joy of the Holy Spirit. It was so strong that most would appear ‘drunk’ in deep merriment. Coming from God, however, this ‘supernatural drink’ has no ‘toxic limit’ and is free from any hangover effects!

When Brenda Kilpatrick went there she stood in the sanctuary for prayer. The Toronto Airport Church Fellowship’s way of ministering prayer to hundreds of people was for them to stand on lines several feet apart as many would fall down as though ‘slain’ as the Holy Spirit came upon them when the ministry team worked their way along them. (In my case I ‘sparked’ well beforehand!) A lady approached Brenda and John tells what happened next:

“Before she could lay a hand on her, fhfhfhfhfhhh, it was like a torch was lit over her head and fire came down over her head, her ears, down to her collar-bone and worked its way back up”.

This was in the first years of The Toronto Blessing and before the repentance revival was to break out in a Brownsville church on Father’s Day 1995. Brenda was powerfully set on fire by Holy Spirit in Toronto and John described the radical, joyous effect of the Lord’s presence that he noticed upon her return.

“When I saw her, her face glowed like an angel, her hair glistened like gold and silver, and I ran to her and said, “Brenda, what’s happened to you?” And she said, “I’ve been with the Lord!”

At a prayer meeting led by Brenda upon her return, a lady who rarely spoke told John that, whilst in Seattle, she’d heard about a prophetic word from a visiting pastor from South Korea. John told the gathering what she’d said to him,

“I was in a meeting where Dr Yonggi Cho was and he told of when he was in a hotel room in Seattle getting ready to preach that night. He then asked the Lord if He’s reserved America for judgment or, “Are You going to pour out Your Spirit on America?” and the Lord said,

“I’m not going to judge, I’m not going to bring My judgment on America – I’m going to pour out My Spirit. Get your atlas out of your attaché case!”

“He opened up the atlas and opened up the map of the United States and the Holy Spirit said, “Point!” His finger landed right on the dot for Pensacola, and the Holy Spirit said to Dr Cho,

“I’m going to pour out My Spirit first in Pensacola – it will burn like a match-head, fiery, there and it will go west along the I10 to the Mississippi river, (which the Spanish called the ‘River of The Holy Spirit’). Then it will back up along the Gulf coast, go down the peninsular of Florida, go up the Eastern seaboard and come down into the Mid-West and South-West and shoot out through the North-West; and before My Coming ALL of America will be ablaze with The glory of God!”

John says that night the Spirit of God fell upon the leaders of that Pensacola church and he saw God do great things. John attested that his dear wife was obviously instrumental in bringing this about.

“I didn’t know how close we were to Revival but God sent us Steve Hill, a passionate revivalist, a simple evangelist with a simple message – like Reinhard [as last night]…

“I said all that about [ungodly/demonic areas] for one reason. There’s a lot of places in America that you can go back to and test the DNA of certain cities, and test the DNA of certain places, and there’s things there that remain to this day after decades – sometimes 100s of years – but what happened on Father’s Day of 1995 <clap!> (John clapped his hands loudly)…a SHIFT happened…in America. Things shifted.

“Steve Hill was ‘the match’ – ‘the fumes’ were in the room because we’d prayed for two and a half years – ‘fumes’ were in the room – Steve Hill was ‘the match’ <CLAP>, Lindell Cooley was ‘the psalmist’, I was the pastor that had ‘headship’ over it all.

“God put together a pastor, an evangelist and a psalmist together …and Revival broke out! And things shifted in America and the religious world, it changed denominations, it changed Pensacola, it changed the whole Gulf coast – and that’s what we’re all doing here tonight!…Things shifted – God used one man, Steve Hill, to shift things.”

Furthermore, pastor Kilpatrick referred to a much older prophetic word from the historic Pentecostal Revival over 100 years ago:

“There was a prophecy in California years ago that God was going to pour out His Spirit at Azuza Street, and the Lord said it will start at Azuza Street and wind up at Zee Street on the East coast…and Brownsville was located at Desoto and Zee Street (Pensacola).

“So God used one man – Steve Hill – as a power shifter and things changed…When Lindell came before the Revival broke out you could feel right at the end of praise and prayer you could feel the atmosphere thinning out and every Sunday another layer could be peeled off like an onion – it even began to feel like there was no ceiling over .. you could literally feel the heavens opening over Brownsville…I promise you that is the truth…and on Father’s Day <CLAP> the match was lit and it was like there was no roof at all and the heavens opened!”

John then quoted the vision of the river from the Throne of God seen by Ezekiel, about which I’d been struck when someone spoke on 9th November about the church’s return to Daphne (as in part 1):

“Let me tell you where I think we’re heading – into waters over our head! I believe it…This place isn’t going to bring Revival, it’s going to be a place where God’s going to send revival”. He went on to speak quietly about what he believes is going to happen in Alabama.

The Gulf coast

Nina briefly popped out of the room but upon return she was hit by another ‘holy lightning bolt’ because what John was saying. She had to lean against the wall and transfixed there as a surge Holy Spirit’s power went right through her, as with Lindell Cooley’s praise song “We Will Ride”.

This is what John was saying,

“I believe there’s going to come a powerful shift that will begin in Alabama, and the shift that takes place here (CHP’s location) – among other places – is going to begin to shift this nation back to where it should be – amen!

“Now don’t make this mistake – don’t make this mistake, don’t make the mistake that whatever God does next He’s done before, because it’s not!

“There’s a new sound that’s coming! There’s a new level of worship that’s coming! There’s a new level of revelation preaching that’s coming!

“AND there’s a NEW LEVEL and a NEW BREED of Millennials that God is raising up and what Martin Luther King was to the movement that helped bring the blacks to emancipation, what Abraham Lincoln was to the Emancipation Proclamation. God’s about to touch some Millennials that are prophetic, they’re evangelistic, they’re anointed – and there’s a vacuum – they’re going to rise up under a fresh anointing and God’s going to use them in a POWERFUL WAY – and don’t you doubt it!…

“The Bible plainly says that in the Last Days, “I shall pour out My Spirit on all flesh, on all your sons and all your daughters (etc)…As we know things tonight you may think you know who God’s going to raise up and touch and how things are going to be, but I tell you, you’re going to be totally surprised by what the Lord’s going to do! It’s going to catch you off-guard because you’re going to be thinking and looking in one direction and God’s going to come around from another direction and catch you.

“So be open to whatever God’s doing…you know I’m so excited about the possibility of God beginning to pour out His glory in these Last Days that I’m looking for it appearing as an actual, visible sign, just like He did for Israel in the wilderness of a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. The Bible says that in the last days the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

“You’re going to begin to see signs of the glory of the Lord that will confound the nations!…And the glory of the Lord shall be for your defence…

“Here’s what I’m saying to you as a mouthpiece tonight of the Lord, I’m saying this prophetically to you: even in America to those churches that will turn to God with all their heart, God’s about to give them a revelation of the glory of God where protection will be so powerful (detailed promises to those assembled)…the glory of the Lord is going to be our rear-guard…”.

Amen!

Conclusion

Thus we may soon see a fresh move of revival in the USA, as prophesied not only by Bob Jones, Paul Keith Davis and Dr Paul Yonggi Cho but also by an intercessor for America, Dutch Sheets (at 2 below).

It is particularly noteworthy that the Lord has graciously used John Kilpatrick to host two revivals, so he has a good track record as a leading revivalist. No doubt he’s also well aware of Steve Hill’s warnings on the need to deal with these hindrances:

neglect of God’s work of atonement
disobedience
daily denial of God’s presence in our lives.

Pastor Kilpatrick’s first series of teaching in the new building is based upon the radical revelation Jesus gave his first disciples – that God is ‘Father’. So John is teaching about and ministering into effects of dysfunctional fathering upon believers. This will enable them to come closer to heavenly Father and move fully into their adoption as children of God.

One of the enduring and renowned benefits of the Toronto outpouring over its several years is a better understanding within the Body of Christ of the Father Heart of God. So John Arnott refers to that revival as ‘The Fathers Blessing’. [See my wife’s account of how she no longer remained officially registered as ‘permanently disabled” when John visited Bath and decided not to preach after hearing the Lord say He wanted to heal.]

Could it be that a repetition of such deeply practical teaching will be foundational for a full revival to re-visit the USA and thus be far more empowered than previously?

I pray so…

CONTINUE reading at next post, A couple of visions about Revival in the USA >>

UPDATE 2nd March: see “Revival of Prayer” in Lion Bite: Watchmen Arise!

Sources:

CHP’s archived message Power Shifters will prove useful to all students of the history of Revival. Pastor Kilpatrick commences speaking as above at 1:26:00.
Dutch Sheets (within) 46,000 churches called to prayer for Great Awakening.
John Peters: ‘Great Revivalists’ (CWR 2008); see brief review here.
John Peters: ‘The Story of Toronto through the lives of John & Carol Arnott’.

Credit:

‘Puzzle Globe & Book’ by Thanukorn, courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net

Does a spiritual yet political trend link USA to Britain?

Posted on Tuesday, 11 November, 2014 by Richard Barker

Are subtle changes in the British and American political scene afoot, and is there a spiritual link between them?

Could a positive trend relating to revival come from the ‘mother’ nation to its ‘adult child’? A trend that includes a rebellious, corrective ‘fight-back’ from Christians!

Reading a few remarks on the US mid-term election results, comments upon our fuel prices and on the Labour party leader’s about-face, a provocative notion popped into mind. Just like one of my loaves it began to rise, and my premise is submitted for what it may be worth. Now it’s out of the ‘oven’ and not half-baked, I’d value your tasting and opinion, so kindly bear with me.

Let’s bite and chew upon these facts as they emerged over weekend 7-9th November:

1. Rick Joyner’s prophetic bulletin arrived whilst I was drafting POTUS’ party pummelled and, although I’d only skimmed it, his careful consideration of the results was evident. He’s of the opinion the GOP now has a mandate from the people – but not necessarily so, because turn-out was low with Democrat supporters staying away in droves. One could, however, argue they couldn’t care less, or that their own president’s policies are so chronic his voters are against him. Moreover, the mandate comes from many who are sufficiently concerned about state of the Union to express this by their vote.

Rick suggests two main questions need answering very quickly with the new Congress:

Will Republican leaders lead with the resolution needed to fulfill their mandate?
Will President Obama now work with Congress to make the mandated changes or will he become an obstructionist President? (Do leopards change spots? RB)

He refers to Bill Clinton’s wise course of action after a mid-term rebuke as shown in his working with Republicans and their ‘Contract with America’. Incumbent Obama has the same choice but, “If he doesn’t get the message and act accordingly, it will get very ugly, and impeachment will not be off the table for the abundance of crimes committed by his Administration”. (Now where did I blog about that? – ah yes, on 4th June 2013.)

Rick comments upon voters’ main concerns as revealed in exit polls and I noted nearly half (45%) saw the American economy as an issue. In recommending how GOP should proceed, he refers to Joshua’s defeat at the battle of Ai and how he learned to prevail and concludes:

To effectively deal with the threats to our existence that are still gathering against us, it is imperative that we throw off the extreme devotion to political correctness that has blinded us from seeing or confronting some of the biggest threats…

After elections that seemed to go in our favor, Christians and conservatives have often relaxed. Some would just go back to sleep. If that happens now, it can prove fatal…

“This election was a great victory, but it is just the beginning of getting America back on course. This is no time to let up, and this is no time to become arrogant.

[FYI: Rick Joyner is a founder of ‘a grassroots movement to unite, mobilize, equip, and activate Christians to be the salt and light they are called to be by engaging in the great issues of our time from a sound biblical worldview’ known as The Oak Initiative. Its rise was rapid across all 50 states and over 50 nations worldwide, as well as attracting over 300 Christian leaders.]

2. Friday’s Eye View From The White House from William Koenig connected right into Rick’s remarks about Clinton. He opens from his personal, frontline coverage with header; Defiant Obama Completely Misses the Point of His Political Party’s Shellacking (transl: ‘thrashing’)

I was at President Obama’s White House press conference Wednesday afternoon. As I listened to him explain what happened in the 2014 mid-term election, I thought, “Does he really not understand that this election was a shellacking about him and his failed agenda? Is he that far removed from reality or in total denial?” This was one of the largest political defeats in modern election history at all levels of government, both national and state.

But Obama refuses to take responsibility despite the fact that his political party did not invite him to do any national or local political campaigning, which he said he loves to do…

As Obama’s yet to learn from the 2010 fiasco, as in this from BBC on ‘shellacking’, the chances of his now changing attitude seem negligible!

Bill’s review continues with quotations from leading left- and right-wing journalists who hammer Obama’s denial and defiance of sweeping GOP gains in the Senate, House and governorships. He also quotes National Review’s article on the Democrats in States Legislature sinking to levels only known prior to the Great Depression!!

3. The most surprising element of Bill Koenig’s ‘Eye View’ is on Christians’ decisive role in the Democrats’ demise! Political involvement by churches in the US is regarded by Brits as an American peculiarity, probably because of our centuries of politico-religious conflicts and state-established Anglican church presided over by the monarch. Yet we need to be aware and appreciate what’s happened…

The Faith & Foundation Coalition report upon a post-election survey showing, ‘Self-Identified Conservative Christians Comprised Record Share of the Electorate, Backed GOP Candidates by 8 to 1 Margin’. Bill quotes FFC founder Ralph Reed,

Their share of the electorate exceeded that of the African-American vote, Hispanic vote, and union vote combined. Religious conservative voters and the issues they care about are here to stay. They will be equally vital in 2016. Politicians of both parties ignore this constituency at their peril.

It’s instructive to note the Christian share of the vote was almost 1 in 3 and that those who identified themselves as believers voted as follows:

conservative – 82%:12% GOP:Dem (approx 52.4% GOP vote-share)
evangelical – 82%:18% GOP:Dem (constitute 23% electorate)
Catholic – 70%:30% GOP:Dem (constitute 9% electorate)

4. On Saturday I read about the reasons UK motorists are being ripped off and this cast doubt on claims about the state of the US economy being a major factor in the election results.

In his Business Comment, Allister Heath explains horrendous tax rates are the real reason why petrol is still so expensive and that international oil prices are directly connected to the petro-dollar. This is only one reason why falling prices are not quickly reflected in pump prices. A drop in price can be cancelled out by weak value of sterling against US dollar, as is happening today. “The value of the pound has slumped to a 14-month low against the dollar, partly as a result of strong employment figures from the US.”

Costs at the pump are hiked up by fuel duty and value-added tax totalling 63.4% of retail price. [At 1.60 £/$, petrol at just under £1.25/litre = $2.00. So 1 gallon here costs £5.68 = $9.10 : that is, $7.60/gallon (US).]

So, I thought this commentator’s remark ran contrary to US exit-poll reasons. Of course what really counts is voters’ personal perception and experience of economic realities. It is another thing for economists to look at leading indicators showing the US economy is now strengthening (eg. Guardian’s Trevor Williams, Calm down financial markets; the message on UK and US growth is good).

5. Then in the same paper I espied an op-ed’s strap-line ‘Sooner or later a line has to be drawn – and anti-Semitism is surely a good place to start’. Dan Hodges’ Politics has become detached from morality opens on Tory strategists’ ideas to counter UKIP’s poaching conservative voters. Apparently, UKIP Leader Farage did a deal with a notorious extremist leader of a far-right Polish party who admires Hitler and denies his involvement in the Holocaust. But the author changes tack, as follows…

After the week’s reports of challenges to Ed Miliband’s leadership of the Labour party, it is noteworthy that Dan writes, “This week a voice was raised against anti-Semitism. It was that of Ed Milibrand…on his Facebook page (he said) ‘We need a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism in the UK and reaffirm our revulsion to it in all its forms’…”

Not so laudable as it seems, because its belies his 3-line whip preventing Labour MPs’ free vote in the motion favouring a Palestinian state (see MPs ignore Koranic scholar’s warning). Miliband’s ardent support for Palestinian goals seems mutually exclusive to any concerns over anti-Semitism and, by inference over anti-Israel sentiment.

Dan exposes the hypocrisy of Milband’s insistence upon a ‘zero-approach’:

A clear and principled statement. Except, it wasn’t a clear and principled statement, but a statement born of political calculation.

A week earlier, Miliband had received a high-profile rebuke from Labour supporter Maureen Lipman. “Just when the anti-Semitism in France, Denmark, Norway, Hungary is mounting savagely, just when our cemeteries and synagogues and shops are once again under threat”, she wrote in Standpoint magazine, “in steps Mr Miliband to demand that the government recognise the state of Palestine”.

Lipman’s comments, in particular her concern about the Labour leader’s silence over anti-Semitic attacks, were quickly echoed by other senior members of the Jewish community.

So 24 hours later that silence was suddenly broken. Reporters at the Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News were phoned with quotes condemning a recent attack on Luciana Berger, the Jewish Labour MP. And a couple of days later, Miliband’s Facebook article appeared.

H O L D O N – wot woz zat?

Suddenly, I sense an invisible jigsaw again taking shape…

A corrective trend?

I’d closed my previous post by quoting Apostle Paul on the futility of our mocking God’s ways and precepts, as in the earliest document of the New Testament. Also, I related it to the acceleration in applying that law as recently taught by Neville Johnson.

So now I’m suddenly struck, not by the Labour’s leader’s expedient about-turn, but by the fact of his leadership being challenged that week – see How Labour rebels turned on their leader. This isn’t at all surprising as a consequence of the party’s deep decline in Scotland.

But there may be another dimension to all this…a provocative notion springs to mind: I’m struck by the possibility he may be reaping what he’s sown against Israel.

Now, where did I note a similar party political upheaval before? Answer: Alex Salmond and his failed personal ambition to persuade Scotland to vote for leaving the UK! As a result, he stood down from leadership of the Scottish Nationalist Party.

Moreover, in blogging on Salmond’s possible Islamist stance, I noted he’s vociferously anti-Israel. Perhaps the Lord ensured he reaped his reward for what he’d sown against His people? And perhaps the most appropriate time was an election/referendum?

After the ground was shaken from under the Scottish First Minister, the notion popped into mind that this may the reason it’s starting to shake under Ed Miliband’s feet too?

And it’s happened in the very same week for POTUS and the Democrats! Obama mocked the Lord God throughout his tenure, has been against Israel and displays personal animosity towards its Prime Minister (click image to read why). As the renowned investigative journalist Daniel Greenfield now blogs at ‘Sultan Knish’, The Democratic Party’s Civil War is Here.

Also, lest we forget, two Christian leaders prophesied about Benjamin Netanyahu being elected into office for more than a single term, one as far back as 1980 (as told here). Therefore, he is the Lord’s man for this time in Israel’s history.

To summarise:

the above political leaders have made declarations and decisions in varying measure inimical to the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and have then come a cropper. It’s quite possible the Lord is now taking them to task for that.

That this Galatians 6:7-8 action has started in the UK before the USA, where the sowing of defective seed has been extensive, may be related to the fulfilment of prophecies for the British Isles and what the Lord is already doing here.

That is, it’s necessary to correct UK’s ungodly situation first – or because the spiritual atmosphere is opening – in order for the harvest to ripen as people awaken to the Lord.

Whereas in the States, an enormous spiritual schism had opened up across the nation (as seen by Chuck Pierce in 2008) which will need extensive repair with repentance, or face an increase of the judgement that’s already come upon it. Comparatively, the USA may therefore be further down the line for revival than the UK yet be blessed by what he Lord will do here.

Hence, the mid-term elections and the possible consequential actions could be a vital corrective action for the sake of America’s spiritual well-being. Perhaps that trend has already started here in the UK and will come to affect the USA too?

That concept was voiced in March by Charles Shamp about the British Isles,

“Whether we are discussing the First and Second Great Awakenings…God has always seemed to release the fresh movement of the Holy Spirit on these Islands that has gone on to affect the entire earth.

“My love for Church history and the moves of the Spirit caused me to recognize that what took place within these nations directly affected America and the move of the Spirit in my nation.

“Although we are an ocean away, we are connected in the realm of the Spirit, and as the song of Heaven would arise over the UK, it would carry all the way to the shores of America and revival would begin to come forth in these United States….” (read full word here)

[Hand Pressing News Icon by Watcharakun and Puzzle in Sky by Idea Go are courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

POTUS’ party pummelled – a Jerusalem connection

Posted on Thursday, 6 November, 2014 by Richard Barker

Political pundits over the ‘pond’ earned their pay on Tuesday and yesterday! (Potus = President Of The United States)

President Obama’s party – the Democrats – were trounced in mid-term elections by the Republicans (aka GOP, ‘Grand Old Party’). The GOP decisively won majority of seats to seize the Senate and gain full control of both chambers of Congress. CNN reports this empowers the GOP to pin down President Barack Obama during his last two years in office.

However, such swings with a low turn-out of voters aren’t unusual for mid-terms, as had happened for Republican GW Bush’s second term. It makes for a ‘lame-duck’ leader, but I leave it for my American readers to debate over whether that’s new for Obama.

Now I won’t pretend to know anything about USA’s governance, but want to point out later a coincidence of Biblical relevance. (Anyone like me needing to learn more will find this BBC briefing, or a fuller Wikipedia article, are helpful – as well as fictional The West Wing TV series!)

According to The Telegraph’s Washington reporter Raf Sanchez,

“Voters vented their frustration with Mr Obama’s six years in office on his Democrat political allies, giving the Republicans a majority in the Senate for the first time since 2006…In a particular snub to the President, voters in his home state of Illinois cast out their Democrat governor and replaced him with a Republican, despite Mr Obama campaigning on his behalf…

“Although Democrats had been braced for a bad night, the results were even worse than many had feared. The President’s party lost key races in North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa – all states that first propelled Mr Obama to the White House in 2008…”

I’d like to draw your attention to Rick Joyner’s assessment in his Prophetic Bulletin – Hope & Change.

A Jerusalem connection

Students of prophecy are only too aware of the significance of Jerusalem and its pivotal importance in international affairs and events, as in my recent post on William Koenig’s alert, Nations set on collision course with God.

William and John McTernan have followed developments since the mid-1990’s and 1986 respectively. In 1996, William published his work as Koenigs’ International News (now at Watch.org) and in 2001 he became an accredited White House correspondent. With John that year, he co-authored Israel: The Blessing or the Curse. They’ve written other works and their monitoring and correlating of events related to the US governments’ policies toward Israel and its biblical land have empirically tagged causative actions against Israel directly to consequential effects upon America. There’s so many instances I suspect they’d make a scientifically proven case!

Yesterday, John blogged the following observations with links to sources,

“Obama was humiliated as he was totally rejected by the American people at the very time of the statements about Jerusalem before the Supreme Court!” (…New political dynamic)

“The American people repudiate Obama at the very time he is attacking Jerusalem!” (…Smackdown to stop Obama)

He refers to Adam Kredo’s article, Solicitor General: Israel has no claim to Jerusalem, just as Russia has no claim to Crimea, in connecting the voting debacle with the Obama administration’s failure to recognise Jerusalem’s true status…

“…This is the most outrageous article that I ever read about a US president dealing with Israel. I was shocked, and it takes a real lot to shock me!
“God used this Supreme Court case to expose what is in the heart of this man for all to see…”

Adam’s account of both sides of the argument is well written and even-handed. It makes fascinating reading. John quotes Adam’s opening remarks,

“Lawyers for the Obama administration compared Israel’s control of Jerusalem to Russian claims over the Ukrainian territory of Crimea during oral arguments this week before the Supreme Court in a case concerning the rights of U.S. citizens to list Jerusalem as part of Israel on their passports. U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who is rumored to be in the running to replace outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, drew the comparison on Monday while he attempted to convince the Supreme Court that Jerusalem is not officially part of Israel.”

This historic case demonstrates the quandary produced by political ineptness and lack of Godly direction upon a nation.

Parents of a child born in Jerusalem wish to have the birthplace officially stated on the US passport as being in “Israel”. This has been denied because the administration’s policy is to disregard the city as a part of Israel.

Consequently, the appointed Supreme Justice seemed to argue several times it would be a “lie” for the US government to acknowledge on a passport that Jerusalem is in Israel. That is, the executive branch does not believe it to be true as a matter of policy. Therefore, the parents are asking the government to lie. [SEE PS comment below]

What is amusingly fatuous are contentions about POTUS’ foreign policy, viz:

“Obama administration lawyers argue that the case infringes on the president’s executive right to conduct foreign policy. By acknowledging Jerusalem as Israeli territory, the White House would lose its credibility in the peace process, as well as its jurisdiction to manage foreign affairs, the government maintains…”.

To the claim that adding ‘Israel’ to the passport isn’t official recognition and thus doesn’t breach policy announcement, the administration, “countered that such a declaration would harm President Obama’s “credibility” in global affairs. Foreign governments, foreign peoples will not be able to have complete confidence that the position that the president announces on behalf of the United States is, in fact, the position of the United States,”.

Credibility? LOL…Derisory!

Is the Solicitor General and legal team living in cloud-cuckoo land?

POTUS’ popularity has not only plummeted at home but he’s also lost any credibility he had, not only in the supposed ‘peace process’ but also in global affairs! (My blog done in August about attempts to bring a peace deal for the Gaza war was only one of many commentaries on this issue from more expert observers over recent years: eg. see the ‘Sultan Knish’ on Why Obama hates Netanyahu.)

This leader’s defiance of the Lord’s heart toward Jerusalem and intentions thereto have led to his humiliation – he’s only to look to himself!

Also, it may be an example what Neville Johnson said of the Lord shortening the time-lapse between sowing and reaping – see point 3 in Urgent prophetic words about a cut-off time in God’s timeline.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Galatians 6:7-8 NKJV courtesy BibleGateway.com)

PostScript (10.11.14):

Dr Mike Evans writes as follows upon reading the Supreme Court transcript of Justice Sotomayor’s words:

“They’re asking the government to lie,” Sotomayor said. “How could you tell me it’s not a lie?” Sotomayor asked Alyza Lewin, the lawyer representing the Zivotofsky family. “You, the United States, are being asked to put on the passport that you believe the place of birth of this individual is Israel, and the government—and the executive has said, no, we don’t think it was Israel, we think it was Jerusalem.” (emphasis added)

You will never see a better example of the folly of men contrasted with the wisdom of God!!

[US Capitol building by Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee; courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net]

If Palestine becomes a state, will Christians return to Bethlehem? Part 1

Posted on Thursday, 23 October, 2014 by Richard Barker

“In 1992 Bethlehem was 92% Christian, now it is only 8% Christian.” (Mordechai Ben-Menachem 14 October 2014)

That surprising claim led to the header’s question. I’d put the lid down on blogging about the possibility of Palestinian statehood, but both new points need addressing after they cropped up over the weekend.

And another’s important: what’s the proper Christian perspective? This will cover some essential theology which, with my earlier post on the 1967 war, could give my readers, believer or not, some fresh insights.

The Church of the Nativity at Manger Square, the oldest standing church in the Holy Land ; courtesy Obethlehem.com

Bethlehem is, after all, the birth-place of Jesus Christ. His yet-again dispersed followers would need a special reason to take the immense trouble of returning home. Perhaps after a period of complete cessation of hostilities? That would need miraculous changes in human nature – not impossible – plus dismantling of extensive demonic strongholds.

Personal visitations of Jesus to individual Jews and Muslims continue and many more are becoming secret believers since this email of November 2010 about them, for God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh in these latter days.

My answer to my question is, “No, I think not; not until Jesus returns!” – as He himself promised He will do. But as He’s already putting in private supra-natural appearances then one could suggest that, after a fashion, He’s already ‘returning’ (eg. the Emmaus road encounter of Jesus in ‘another form’ – Mark 16.12 and Luke 24:13-35).

I offer no apology for temporarily continuing with the Palestinian issue because it’s closely connected with ‘the apple’ of the Lord’s eye – Jerusalem – as revealed in His Word (see Zecharia 2:8) Also, major events over recent years point inescapably and unequivocally to prophetical scriptures foretelling what’s happening, or soon about to, in this ancient city sacred to three major faiths.

The Christian exodus

The opening quotation is from an in-depth interview with William Koenig, accredited Christian journalist at The White House and published in last week’s ‘Eye-View’ report.

As a scientist technologist, former researcher/lecturer at Ben-Gurion University who is professionally engaged in systems/software engineering, and prolific author of books and professional papers in various areas, Mordechai should be a well-informed person. His reference to Bethlehem was only one point in a wide-ranging conversation covering such topics as 1,400 years of Arab colonisation, ethnicity, Egypt, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Islam.

Nevertheless, his claim needs checking.

Wikipedia refers to 1948 and 1967 censuses showing Christian/Muslim demographic ratios as 85%:13% and dropping to 46%:54%. The Palestinian Authority’s 1997 census doesn’t distinguish between the religions but in 2005 and 2009 the Christian percentage falls to 40% and then 15% (sources uncited).

Referring also to Daniel Pipes’ wealth of knowledge, I found he started a report in 2001 with a specific reference to Bethlehem, viz:

“The ‘Middle East Quarterly’ begins its eighth year with its first issue devoted to a single topic—that of disappearing Christians in the Middle East.

“The transfer of power of Bethlehem from Israel to the Palestinian Authority just before Christmas 1995 inspired a spate of articles on Bethlehem’s diminishing Christian presence. They noted that a place not long ago 80 percent Christian is now but one-third Christian. For the first time in nearly two millennia, the most identifiably Christian town on earth has lost its Christian majority. The same changes have taken place in two other famously Christian towns, Nazareth and Jerusalem….”

His article has several updates to 2012, but perhaps the increasingly frequent news of persecution has made it difficult to incorporate subsequent events. Some posts on this blog tagged ‘persecution’ indicate the enormity of this issue.

On the other hand, last month in Christian Arab presence in Bethlehem in Crisis, Arab Daily News reported as follows:

“Today, according to Christian activists who are struggling to survive in Bethlehem, the Christian population there has been eclipsed by a growth of both Muslim refugees who are relocating to avoid the persecution by Israel in Hebron and by the increasing number of Israeli Jews who are taking Christian lands to build exclusively jewish-only settlements.”

After remarking about the hostility of Muslim Arabs and their activists and then quoting a Christian activist’s email, the reporter Ray Hanania writes,

“As both Israeli and Muslim activist groups grow, the Christian voice has remained stagnant and almost insignificant. Christian speakers are invited to speak at Muslim and Jewish organization events more as a political statement. Jews invite Christians to their conferences in order to use the Christians as a criticism against Islam while Muslims also invite Christians to their conferences in order to use the Christians as a criticism against Israel and Zionism.”

Ray’s well-balanced article is worth taking the time to read. He examines the issues in some depth, noting that the Christians are manipulated and muted by both Islamist and Jewish factions against their opponents. Also, the troubles and their significant effect upon tourism have made it very hard to sustain a living.

Consequently, he admires the campaign by George Sleibi to encourage support for the Christian community in the Holy Land, “in response to the growing regional Israeli-Palestinian conflict and decline of the Christian minority”. He is affiliated with a group of denominations’ informative website OBethlehem.com, which covers the challenges facing Christians. Ray quotes him as saying,

“The Christian presence in the Holy Land is declining daily. Currently, the Holy Land’s Christians comprise only 2% of the population. The continued emigration of Christians as a result of ongoing instability is having a negative impact on their presence in the land where Jesus was born, crucified and resurrected. Should this trend continue, an important spiritual destination, shared by billions throughout the world, will become nothing more than a museum, as the indigenous Christian community who represent the Christian presence in the Holy Land cease to exist.”

Alarming, yet in the light of a just-published study we appreciate the possibility of Ray being cautiously circumspect (see Study: self-censorship rife among Palestinian reporters).

Here’s one instance of the effect the Israeli-Palestinian troubles had upon the birth-place of Jesus Christ.

Bethlehem hostage crisis

Canon Andrew White was called by Yasser Arafat, and later by the Israeli government, to act as intermediary for the 39-day siege of The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, during April-May 2002. It was the result of homes in the predominantly Christian town of Beit Jala having been forcibly taken by Palestinians for firing rockets and mortars the short distance down and across a valley into the Jewish new town of Gilo.

“As expected”, writes Canon White, “The Israelis responded by sending in helicopters to destroy the homes (the militants’ positions) from which the missiles were fired. Once again Christians were caught in the middle“ (emphasis RB).

The militants then retreated to Manger Square, took control of the Church of the Nativity and took hostage of clergy and worshippers. PM Ariel Sharon and Arafat refused to climb down and international diplomacy was brought to bear in finding countries which would accept 13 leaders into permanent exile and 26 others for trial. (As they went to Gaza no trial was held.)

Again in that November 2010, I referred to this event and quoted Canon Andrew on the difficulties in the three faiths agreeing on the historic Alexandria Declaration, as coming from

“…the Christians who often feel they have to be even more Palestinian than the Muslims, to show they are committed to the cause.”

This declaration was one of the first initiatives to bring together Christians, Jews and Muslims in pursuit of peace in the region and the first major event of 2002 in which Andrew took a leading and pivotal role.

Andrew had no wish to be ordained because he’d qualified and was practising as an anaesthetist, yet felt God was calling him into the Church of England – and it was later confirmed by a prophetic word, as below!

He became very interested in Judaism and rabbinical studies during his theological education. This gave him the opportunity to take further his interest in international affairs, especially in the Middle-East. So he travelled around those parts and became acquainted with various leaders, as well as in Cambridge.

Although ordination in 1990 involved London parish work, his involvement in Jewish-Christian relations continued along with a new interest in Islam. To the surprise of his vicar, Andrew even had regular audiences with the Pope to brief him on his work and contacts in the political and diplomatic areas soon developed.

An aside: I was going to describe Andrew White as Archbishop of Canterbury Carey’s emissary in the Middle-East. But upon checking his biographical The Vicar of Baghdad, I was surprised to find a mutual connection with one of our church leader’s mentors.:

“On a second visit to Jerusalem, between graduation from Cambridge and my ordination, I was instructed by an ultra-Orthodox rabbi to go and see a woman known as Sister Ruth Heflin, who ran a very charismatic and rather American church called the Mount Zion fellowship. She proved to be the most forceful person I have ever met. Indeed I was scared of her. At the end of the first meeting I attended, at her house in East Jerusalem, she came up to me and started to prophesy over me.

“She had never met me before and knew nothing about me, but she declared that my calling in life was, “to seek the peace of Jerusalem and the Middle East”.

“At that stage, I couldn’t make any sense of this (and I certainly had no idea that ‘the Middle East’ might include Iraq) but what I did understand was that her home was filled with the glory of God as I had never experienced before.” (As our local sister can verify!)

To be continued in Part 2 with interesting references to several Palestinian Christians.

The real reason for the Israel-Palestine issue and anti-Semitism

Posted on Thursday, 16 October, 2014 by Richard Barker

Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east. (Zecharia 14:3-4 NKJV)

Only 12 MPs were wise enough to vote in the House of Commons against an opposing 274 (not a full House). As recorded in the Hansard transcript, they voted just before 10pm on 13th October 2014,

“That this House believes that the Government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel, as a contribution to securing a negotiated two state solution”.

That’s fine and all well and good on the face of it BUT it’s utterly farcical. As with many thousands elsewhere, these 274 have been well and truly fooled.

The factual evidence follows below.

This blog’s totally unplanned focus this week is on what’s, in essence, a critical issue.

Few in my opinion know why it’s critical, or the real reason for the prolonged hostility over Israel’s existence and complete lack of a solution to the territorial disputes.

The real reason is; it’s Satan’s objective to thwart God’s purpose, as stated in His above Word given to Zecharia 2,500 years ago. That is, Satan seeks his own self-preservation!

In Zecharia’s prophecy the Lord is to appear in that Middle-Eastern location and thereby bring about the next phase of Satan’s downfall. (The first was when Jesus died and rose from the dead, thereby redeeming humanity from Satan’s authority and thus enabling us to be reconciled to God, our Father.)

The foretold scenario is ‘The Day of The Lord’; the start of which is described in the 12th chapter of the book of Zecharia, as mentioned in Exactly as prophesied….

The Lord foretells in verse 10,

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

In A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days, Messianic rabbi Jonathan Bernis explains how the feast of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) relates to Jesus’ return and then exclaims,

The clarity of this prophecy is astounding! It declares in detail the day when Jewish people, and specifically the inhabitants of a Jerusalem under Jewish control, recognise that Jesus, whom they previously understood to be the God of the Christians and whom they denied since the days of their ancestors two thousand years ago, is in fact Yeshua, the promised Messiah of Israel. (Page 215)

That is, the Jewish people will have to have returned to live in as well as have control of Jerusalem and thus be in place for Jesus to visit. Chapter 14 answers any question that this event may be just a supra-natural, spiritual or subjective vision by referring explicitly to an objective, tangible presence. That is, Jesus will have physically descended onto the Mount of Olives.

To avoid this happening Satan must therefore ensure there are no Jews in Jerusalem, or its vicinity. In the absence of Jews, Jesus’ return would be pointless and thus not happen. So Satan could possibly avoid his decreed fate, remain ‘safe and sound’ on earth and not imprisoned to be eventually thrown into the ‘lake of fire’. As Jonathan states,

I cannot reiterate enough that anti-Semitism is nothing more or less than Satan’s attempt at self-preservation.

So, Satan is the source of all Jew-hatred, whether it comes from any biblical or modern nation; or from historic Christian churches, as it has for centuries; or from ancient Islam and its modern terrorists. All have been duped and used by the enemy of mankind.

To show the validity of my thesis we need only to look at the history of anti-Semitism and global hatred of the modern state of Israel; especially the disingenuous tactics of the Palestinian leadership, as indicated in Nick Gray and Joel Rosenberg’s reports here and here. But there’s even more tangible evidence for my claim.:

Map of Palestine

Three years ago, in blogging on PM Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly, I referred to Palestinian leader Abbas’ visit to the UN seeking recognition of Palestine as an observer state to the UN. That post shows the model of the land of Palestine Abbas brought to them. I wrote,

When the PLO were permitted to open up diplomatic missions the map displayed on their flags and literature depicts their proposed state as being the whole territory between the Mediterranean, Lebanon, Egypt and the river Jordan – ie. excluding Israel… (emphasis added)

Now they have official Observer Mission status, its website’s ‘About Palestine’ displays a Declaration of Independence which claims Jerusalem as their capital. Deeper down that menu is the ‘PLO’ entry which shows the map of Palestine and Israel as Palestinian territory.

A few days ago I cited Michel Gurfinkiel’s statement that the Oslo Accords and ‘Road Map’ of 2003 explicitly requested the Palestinian Authority to direct its public education towards a pro-peace attitude. Abbas has never complied with that requirement.

Here’s the latest evidence that Palestinians have not – and will never – change what they teach about their supposed state:

Thank you to Palestine Media Watch for publishing this item from Fatah Facebook that shows children learning “Palestine cannot be divided”. It heads a page of documented examples, PA depicts a world without Israel, and explains this one as follows:

‘The text was accompanied by a photo of a teacher pointing to a map of “Palestine” replacing all of Israel drawn on the blackboard, with the explanatory text rejecting Israeli jurisdiction over Israeli cities: “Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Ramle, Safed, Beit Shean, were and will remain Palestinian cities”.’

So how can any two-state solution ever be negotiated? Parliament’s motion, therefore, is rendered meaningless and needs flushing down the pan, where it belongs!

France

On Tuesday French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was reported as saying that Paris would recognize a Palestinian state if negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel fail. However, French MP Meir Habib responded by stating France is making a grave mistake,

“Europe and France specifically refuse to recognize the reality and think that if they recognize a Palestinian state, the conflict will end. When will they wake up? The free world must unite and realize that recognizing a Palestinian state without negotiations at this time is a grave mistake that will be costly for Europe”.

Israel

A priest has appealed to the UN and told them to ‘end the witch hunt’ against Israel, as reported by religio-political blogger Archbishop Cranmer,

‘Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Greek Orthodox Priest in Yafia, near Nazareth, appealed to the UN Human Rights Council last month, urging them to end their “witch hunt” on Israel: “In the Middle East today, there is one country where Christianity is not only not persecuted, but affectionately granted freedom of expression, freedom of worship and security,” he testified. “It is Israel, the Jewish state. Israel is the only place where Christians in the Middle East are safe.”

‘And he testified further, confirming that some 120,000 Christians have been killed in the Middle East every year for the past decade: “That means that every five minutes a Christian is killed because of his faith,” he said. “Those who can escape persecution at the hands of Muslim extremists have fled. Those who remain, exist as second – if not third-class citizens to their Muslim rulers.” And he warned: “It is time the world woke up to the fact that those who want to destroy the Jewish state are signing the death warrant on the last free Christians in the Holy Land”. (Emphasis added)

Anti-Semitism in Church

Hold onto your seat here. I’ll be brief and assume you are aware of the Church’s stance against Jewry, especially since the time of Constantine and the Council of Nicea in 4th Century. This was soon followed by the false doctrine of Replacement Theology which originated in Augustine’s seminal work ‘City of God’. This doctrine assumes the Church has replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people and that He’s turned His back on them. This teaching opened the door for over 1,500 years of harsh persecution from so-called Christians.

Proper recognition of the Jews special relationship with God came from Puritans and Non-conformists of Cromwell’s time in 17th Century. They recognised the importance of the Jews returning to their home land and eventual acceptance of Jesus as Messiah, as foretold in Zecharia.

Today, however, anti-Semitism is continued by the World Council of Churches. It also has a key role in mobilizing the BDS (Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions) movement in churches. The WCC promotes and works closely with Palestinian Liberation Theology, and it founded the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).

William Koenig’s Eye View From The White House dated 20 June 2016 gives a wealth of detail on this deeply disturbing anti-Semitism within so-called churches:

“By claiming that the Jewish people “occupied” Judea, Samaria, and East Jerusalem the global Christian organizations have sided with the Islamic worldview”.

Of many indictments, he cites:

EAPPI frequently uses inflammatory and demonizing rhetoric against Israel and engages in (BDS) campaigns. It presents a one-sided Palestinian narrative, promotes the “right of return,” ignores terror attacks against Israelis, and blames Israel entirely for the conflict.
EAPPI is an important resource for pro-Palestinian activists in various denominations worldwide as “sending organizations (several US/UK examples!!)
A number of European governments, plus the US and Canada, provide funds for these church-based efforts to delegitimize Israel. These tax-payer funds are disbursed as grants to church-based humanitarian NGOs, which then transfer these funds to highly politicized pro-Palestinian NGOs — including Christian groups that promote BDS, the one-state solution and, in many cases, anti-Semitic supercessionist, or replacement, theologies within mainline churches worldwide.
The WCC, an ecumenical body, which claims to represent 590 million Christians worldwide and based in Switzerland, sponsored an event supporting the partition and Islamization of Jerusalem. The “World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel” [began] 22 Sept 2013. (See EXPOSE: Christian Fatwa Against Israel).

Thank the Lord that His shaking and sifting of churches will deal with this falsehood.

[Awaken Your Might – credit; James Nesbit www.jamesnart.com]

Exactly as prophesied: nations set on collision course with God

Posted on Tuesday, 14 October, 2014 by Richard Barker

After yesterday’s vote in Parliament recognising Palestine, as in The Independent, it’s time to recall the Lord’s opinion about the heart of that land. Then we’ll consider a news round-up indicative of our whereabouts on His prophetic timetable.

First, here’s what the prophet Zecharia was told about the future ‘Day of the Lord’ – ie. a specific period in which the Lord deals with humanity’s rejection of and rebellion against Him, and its focal locality in and around Jerusalem:

Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day”, says the LORD, “I shall strike…

“It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” (Zecharia 12:1-3, 12, NKJV courtesy Blue Letter Bible)

Let me quote examples of relevant current events so we can check this out.

First, the header to Bill Koenig’s World Watch Daily this morning:

The nations of the world are on a collision course with the God of Israel.

Bill’s website provides the following subheads with brief covering comments, followed by some on the conflict with ISIS:

Koenig’s fellow watcher and past co-author, John McTernan, reports on these Biblical issues and unequivocally states his opinion in yesterday’s posting. Under the header The Battle for Jerusalem Has Begun, he quotes Zechariah 14:2 “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle…” and comments:

“The world is now gearing up to force a Palestinian state upon Israel with Jerusalem as its capital. November 16, 2016, is the target date set for this.

“Based on this, there is NO doubt, in my mind, that awesome wars are upon us, and God is about to unleash incredible judgments upon the earth. Look how this threat to Israel is taking place at the exact time Ebola is loose amongst the nations! (Emphasis RB)

“The judgments will match the pressure and attack on Israel. This is not off in the future it is here NOW. The time to judge the nations is about to begin.”

John covers the latest material under As the Nations Have Done to Israel and refers to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call to scrap settlements, plus his claim that the ‘occupation’ of territories led to the recent Gaza war!

He also blogs As the EU Has Done to Israel stating,

“The European Union is aggressive against Israel as Jew hating seems to be in most of the Europeans’ DNA. They are now following the path of the Nazis in the 1930s while this time it is the Hard Left united with the Muslims.

“Europe right now is on the verge of an economic meltdown at the very time the EU is trying to economically destroy Israel.” (Emphasis RB)

To back-up his claims John cites:

Readers keeping abreast of these matters will recall I often quote Elliott Abrams’ take on the Middle-East. He’d supervised US policy there under the Bush administration and served as the president’s deputy advisor on the region.

Elliott’s latest blog, A word from Mr Erekat, ably demonstrates that the top Palestinian negotiator with Israel, Saeb Ereket, cannot get his facts straight – not the first time his integrity has been called into question.

The Independent’s report upon yesterday’s parliamentary vote is well-balanced and covers some important points, but the completely clueless naivety of UK politicians is mind-boggling. It is utter folly!

Sweden

There again, as Michel Gurfinkiel taunts in an article on Sweden’s vote, maybe it’s, “far-fetched to expect most political leaders to be thoroughly knowledgeable of the issues… of international affairs; or to expect them to be particularly rational and ethical”.

Michel is founder and president of a French think-tank, the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute, and his paper came to my attention through the same source as yesterday’s post on Phyllis Chesler’s interview with Ibn Waaraq – Middle-East Forum.

He makes valid points about the nature of this ‘state’ that all parliamentarians should have born in mind (emphases added):

To be recognized, a state needs a clearly defined population, a clearly defined territory, and an effective government that can maintain law and order. None of the above is true of “Palestine,” whatever the current meaning of that word.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) — an autonomous authority established in 1994 according to a Declaration of Principles between the state of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (the Oslo Accords), and the closest thing to a “state of Palestine” – does not effectively rule the West Bank and Gaza, the two distinct territories that pass as “Palestinian territory.” As an effective government, the PA should be able to maintain law and order there. Everybody knows this is not the case in Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas and Islamic Jihad since 2007. Yet this is hardly the case in the West Bank, either.
One must ask how the two-state solution can work if one of the considered states – the Palestinian state-to-be — is openly opposed to it. Hamas and Islamic Jihad clearly say they will never recognize Israel. The nominal PA government and Fatah say they will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state – implying their strategy is to turn Israel into a bi-national state.
Abbas’ PA has never directed education towards a pro-peace attitude. The PA was explicitly requested to do so by the Oslo Accords and the subsequent road map to peace in 2003.

His short paper also looks at the pivotal effects of an increasing Muslim population in Sweden and he concludes,

“Doubtlessly, similar situations will arise in more EU countries, including major countries like France, bringing about further confusion and further political and geopolitical nonsense.”

The United States

The once world-leading nation has sown its own undoing through the anti-Israel stance of its president Barack Obama. With her adroit analysis Caroline Glick surgically dissects Netanyahu’s statements and policies. After extracting and revealing Obama’s game-plan with Iran as inimical to Israel’s best interests, she looks at Secretary-of-State John Kerry’s continuing treachery.

Machiavellian Kerry, as ever dangerously incompetent, ignores and seeks to scuttle the new Middle-Eastern alliance of Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other anti-jihadist Sunni states established to protect themselves. Deaf to what Netanyahu repeatedly stressed at the UN General Assembly (as here), according to ‘ne-plus ultra’ analyst Caroline,

“…by bringing Qatar, Hamas’s principal Sunni state-sponsor, into the mix. Kerry is reportedly trying to organize a regional peace conference that would coerce Israel into accepting the so-called Saudi Peace Initiative from 2002. That initiative would require Israel to surrender to all the PLO’s territorial demands and accept millions of foreign, hostile Arabs into its shrunken, indefensible territory.

“In light of Obama’s absolute commitment to the anti-Israel, PLO-centric policy model for dealing with the Palestinian rejection of Israel, for the next two years there will be no change in US policy on the issue.”

Readers who are particularly interested in the finer nuances of the Israel-Palestinian issues will find her article is well worth reading.

It will be interesting to see how USA’s plans for the ‘peace process’ will unravel – even so far as the US falling away and being excluded as its authority and power vanishes – for I believe the Lord will bless and encourage the new regional alliance as a means not only of protection from ISIS, but also of peacefully resolving the Palestinian situation.

These events get even more interesting in the light of scripture and the urgency of the words given to Neville Johnson about changes for this new Jewish year over 2014 to 2015 (see point 7 here).

Indubitably, we’re living in Biblical days as they accelerate to fulfil holy prophecy.

What did Netanyahu discuss with Obama in the Oval Office? Here’s the latest.

Posted on Thursday, 2 October, 2014 by Richard Barker

Bill Koenig of World Watch Daily writes: “Netanyahu had a 2-hour visit at the White House today, which I attended. It was originally scheduled only for an hour and a quarter. He likely had some intelligence on the Islamic State (IS) that he shared… Netanyahu is a true statesman, who once again warned the world about the threats from Iran and now IS. He also re-emphasized the danger posed to the entire world by Hamas. Sadly, I really sense the world is not responding to his warnings. Every year he has to come up with a different approach to warn about the seriousness of the threats. It is as if his warnings are playing to deaf ears”.

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

President Obama talks to Israeli PM Netanyahu during an Oval Office meeting on October 1st. (Credit: YouTube/The White House)

Many issues have complicated the U.S.-Israeli relationship — and particularly the personal relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu — in recent years. The Palestinian issue. The future of Jerusalem. Settlements. Hamas and Gaza. But none have divided the two leaders more than how to deal with Iran.

Obama and Netanyahu have deeply divergent views of the urgency of the nuclear threat, and how best to stop Iran from building nuclear warheads and the missiles to deliver them. Now we are rapidly approaching the end game with the P5+1 talks with Iran. It is crunch time, and Netanyahu is worried that Obama is not worried enough. The Israeli premier is concerned that the President is too willing to make too many concessions to Iran, concessions that could make it easier for Iran to quickly…

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Wall St considers Biblical basis of economic crashes

Posted on Saturday, 6 September, 2014 by Richard Barker

Soon after launching this blog I referred to the Biblical basis of economic cycles, as examined by accredited White House journalist William Koenig (see Points to ponder: 2011-2012).

Now, according to Discerning the Times, it’s reported in Washington that Wall Street analysts have pondered the mystery of what appears to be seven-year economic cycles. They’ve also wondered why crashes seem to come in September.

Jonathan Cahn, author of the mega-bestselling book “The Harbinger,” thinks he has figured it out.

For full story read Holy Shemitah Bible Cycle Unlocks US Future.

Urgent prayer request for the United States

Posted on Thursday, 26 June, 2014 by Richard Barker

Everyone whose heart is concerned about the spiritual darkness in which the United States is immersed will be interested in a call for intercession starting on Monday week, from Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Graham-Lotz. It is published as received earlier this week from Bill Koenig:

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FROM ANNE GRAHAM-LOTZ

Dear Richard,

We have received this from our dear friend, Anne and are forwarding it to you for your prayer consideration.

From Anne Graham-Lotz:

Blow the trumpet…sound the alarm…for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand — Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God… Joel 2:1, 13

As you may know, my husband is in declining health. I am no longer traveling and speaking as much as I have for the last 26 years since I am staying home to care for him. As a result, I have had time to be quiet and listen more to the whispers of the Spirit. He has revealed things to me in the stillness that I’m not sure I would have heard in my former busyness.

One of the things He has impressed on me is that we are living at the end of human history as we know it. In light of this, He has given me some practical assignments. One was to be the Honorary Chair for the National Day of Prayer 2014 this past May. He gave me the message I was to deliver, which was from Joel 1…the Day of the Lord is at hand. It was a message warning that judgment is coming.

Just recently, He has given me another assignment, which is to call His people in our nation to prayer. This assignment came indirectly from a Syrian pastor through a National Day of Prayer attendee. In obedience, I am blowing the trumpet…sounding the alarm…issuing a national prayer initiative entitled 7 7 7: An Urgent Call to Prayer. The Call is for God’s people to pray for each of the first seven days in the seventh month-July 1-7. Then on the 7th day, July 7, we are to pray and fast for 7 hours. The purpose is…

For God the Father to restrain, protect, and deliver His people from the evil that has come into our world.
For God the Son to be exalted, magnified, and glorified in His church, in our nation, and in our lives.
For God the Holy Spirit to fall on us in a fresh way, compelling the church to repent of sin and our nation to return to faith in the living God, resulting in a great national spiritual awakening.

I’m asking you to partner with me, and send out the word to everyone on your email address list, or who follows you on facebook or twitter. I will be sending out an eBlast this week and next, which you can access at this url (or else by clicking image below); http://www.annegrahamlotz.com/events/urgent-call-to-prayer/. Please feel free to use it, and place your name in the paragraph that includes mine to make it more personal for your constituents. Feel free also to forward this letter.

I will provide a prayer I have written for each of the 7 days to help unite us in one spirit and one voice as we cry out to God. Those who receive the eBlast are invited to sign up for the daily email prayers. Please be assured there is no other agenda in this initiative. This is not about promoting anything or anyone. This is all about calling God’s people together to pray, before it’s too late, and judgment falls on our nation.

Urgently,
Anne Graham-Lotz

500th post: brief review and ‘blood moons’ cont’d

Posted on Thursday, 17 April, 2014 by Richard Barker

A very special ‘Thank you’ to all my several friends who kindly put up with my first reports and thoughts in early 2009 along with subsequent emails, and then subscribed to my blog after its launch in November 2011.

As those who’ve read Why I’m Writing will know, a book was inside me – it wanted out! And I found that blogging was like watching a book develop and grow. So email updates on Biblically related events in the Middle East got translated from the domain of a few dozen friends and contacts into the realm of cyber-space and a larger circle of public readers.

Also, blogging has the advantage over a book in being able to target topics at liberty rather than being constrained by a books’ title and themes. And blogs are published and ready for worldwide reading right away!

So, my thanks also go to every single visitor as well as to regular subscribers.

Brief Personal Review

In the 2nd anniversary post I recalled the reason for being driven to write regularly. In February 2009 I checked the parable of the wheat and tares but, upon opening my Bible, an excitement exploded within as I heard, “This is ALL about to be fulfilled!”

So I circulated a two-part email The End-Game is now in play, and followed up with occasional brief reports on current events seemingly connected to Biblical prophecies.

Some unusual dreams in Autumn 2011 proved to be ‘game-changers’. The first plugged directly into what I was later to learn of Bill Johnson’s prophetical sensing, on the same date, of a Kingdom change in the UK. So I circulated an email about the Acceleration in Kingdom activity. It was becoming clear such news and related developments needed to be circulated more widely, and that I was being directed towards blogging.

By then, contemporary prophecies were being regularly included. Although the Biblical kind is canonical and sacrosanct, and words brought by today’s prophets secondary to and to be weighed with Holy Writ, both forms of prophecy do seem related – as though they are ‘two witnesses’ to what the Lord is doing today.

The increasing coverage of current prophetic words generated a larger readership and was complied into a Library. This resource now holds over 100 prophetic words and is regularly viewed by visitors.

The blog was launched with brief reasons for watching events and with my personal testimony, the timing of which was soon confirmed. Thus, I was assured that moving from private to public writing was right. In considering those changes from old into new year I introduced readers to the predictive aspect of time cycles, as outlined by William Koenig.

Very soon, and unexpectedly, I challenged politically motivated action against praying in public, as undertaken by Healing On The Streets. Thus another collection was created as a hub of healing testimonials and augmented by regular posts on The Bay Revival. Also in 2012, a long trail of ‘God-incidences’ brought me to focus upon the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations as well as many prophetic words about a ‘New Season’, or new era for the Church, all enhanced the blog’s content.

Also over these past 5 years we’ve seen significant development proving the relevance of the Bible today in the establishment of the Middle-Eastern coalition, as foreseen by Ezekiel. The term I first used for this was ‘Ezekiel 38 Alliance’ but it’s now taken its Biblical description of ‘Gog-Magog’. Events on this are now proceeding so rapidly there’s no time for me to keep up with them! Readers who are particularly interested, however, can keep up to date with the sources quoted in most articles or by using links listed down the Home Page, which has expanded upon their introduction in Not on The 10 o’clock News.

My focus so far this year has been on prophecy and time, as may be evident in timings of inspiration and the immense vista beyond the ‘Open Door’ – can we see the invisible becoming tangible?

It’s fascinating that, 5 years later, the original name for the blog of Invisible Jigsaw is coming into play and how, along with this 500th post, it’s coinciding with the back-to-back sequence of blood moons.

Blood Moons and Israel

‘Blood moon’ is a recently coined term for a prophetic description made over 2,800 years ago. Only when the moon is totally eclipsed by the cone of the earth’s shadow (umbra) does it become red. This is because any light arriving has been refracted through the earth’s atmosphere, rather like why sunsets are red.

[EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd provides a graphic explanation here and reports upon the new terminology of ‘tetrad’ and ‘blood moon’ here. Image credit Joshua Valcarcel, Wikimedia Commons.]

In Passover and blood-red moons I considered a couple of objections to citing previous tetrads of blood moons on Jewish major feast days. We need to be clear about what we’re talking about, the facts and their statistical implications. In view of the huge frequency of lunar eclipses as shown on NASA’s data their occurrence on festivals specifically set on dates of, or close to, full moons is not surprising. Therefore, we should expect them on several Passovers.

But the importance of a tetrad is upon this happening upon two consecutive Passovers and the associated Sukkot (Tabernacles); ie, on one year’s first and last feast and then the same in the next year – and not occurring on any in-between dates. Total eclipses on four sequential occasions have been termed ‘a tetrad’. Bill Koenig let his friend Mark Biltz see his investigations done in 2007 and reported as follows (my emphases):

‘Mark said he had found my blood-red moon work and website postings in 2007 interesting and began looking into possible connection to past and future Jewish Feasts at which time he found very significant connections. I provided blood-red moon information, and information on the coming total solar eclipses of 2008, 2009 and 2010—which all fall on the 1st of Av.

‘Seven back-to-back, blood-red moons have fallen on the first day of Passover and Sukkot, with the eighth time coming in 2014 and 2015

‘Mark found that we have had blood-red moons on the first day of Passover and the first day of Sukkot on back-to-back years seven times since 1 A.D. Three of these occurrences were connected to 1492 (the final year of the Spanish Inquisition), 1948 (statehood for Israel and the War of Independence), and 1967 (the Six-Day War) — some of the most significant days in Jewish history.

‘The others were in 162/163 A.D., 795/796 A.D., 842/843 A.D. and 860/861 A.D. We don’t have any historical connections for these years at this time, but we do know of significant Jewish persecution during the eighth and ninth centuries.

‘In all eight examples, the eclipses have fallen or will fall on the first day of Passover and Sukkot. The eighth occurrence of back-to-back, blood-red moons will be in 2014–2015. So what does the period of time from 2013 to 2015 portend for Israel and the world?’

Oh that a mathematician would calculate the odds for such events happening. But do we need one to comprehend that, although eclipses may happen variably, this ‘tetrad’ sequence cannot possibly be by chance? For two eclipses to fall on consecutive feast dates, if astro-dynamically possible, there would be reasonable odds – but for dates at each end of a 5-6 month period, and not on any other feast date between them, there’d be a very much smaller chance. Yet for that to happen again in the next year then the odds are astronomical – no/yes?

It’s as though the Maker of heaven and earth is pointing His finger and saying, “LOOK!”

Do the Tetrads Point to Jerusalem?

In Passover and blood-red moons I questioned a critic’s assumption that tetrads did not relate to the Spanish Inquisition or to the birth of the state of Israel and its immediate War of Independence. His claim was that the ominous warning attributed to the blood moons came after those facts – I answered with other facts, “It ain’t necessarily so”.

Also, Koenig and Biltz were not contriving to twist the facts but simply stating there were events that seem directly related to the Talmudic teaching about blood moons. Yet one could argue that all pre-20th Century blood moon tetrads may actually be irrelevant!

That is, any meaning attributable to earlier tetrads may not be applicable because the Jewish state of Israel had not been created. And when it was, the Jews were fighting for their survival against all surrounding nations. Hence the notion of these tetrads applying only after 1948. We can check this out with three lots of tetrads:

1. The first point of the 1949-50 tetrad (Passover 13 April 1949) occurred during the 15 month War of Independence, AND its was only 10 days after the signing of the Israel-Jordan Armistice affecting Jerusalem. Thus, that tetrad may indicate a warning that the Lord is specifically watching out for Jerusalem, on the grounds of Zecharia 2:8.:

‘…he who touches you (Zion) touches the apple of His eye.’

2. Also why does that critic ignore the existence of the tetrad covering the Six-Day War of June 1967! (Click for Background & Overview.) Then, Jerusalem was liberated and came fully into Israeli hands, supporting my contention about the city being relevant to the theory of blood moon prophecy.

3. The present tetrad is well-timed about Jerusalem. Months of useless, protracted US-led ‘peace talks’ between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed last week. One of the last days’ issues was over dividing Jerusalem, as though both future states could share the same city as capital. Also, preparations continue for setting up the Third Temple in Jerusalem. So a great deal continues to happen of significance in Israel…

Therefore, perhaps the four lunar eclipses schedule for Passover and Sukkot 15 April and 8 October 2014, and next year’s Passover and Sukkot on 4 April and 28 September 2015 will cover some extremely critical developments on Jerusalem?

After all, the principal unfulfilled Biblical prophecies are about ‘the apple of G-d’s eye’!

UPDATES:

Click images to parts 1 (L) and 2 (R) of John Kilpatrick’s teaching on Blood Moons (ignoring brief introductory blurb).

Passover and blood-red moons

Posted on Tuesday, 15 April, 2014 by Richard Barker

Credit Fred Espenak; click image for Mr Eclipse website

Today is Passover 5774, which commenced at sundown yesterday. This is a rare occasion when Hebrew and Gregorian calendars coincide for this feast on 15th day of Nissan and 15th April. Their general lack of synchronisation arises from being based upon lunar and solar cycles respectively, as well as their different ways of accounting for cyclic gaps, or leap years in our solar calendar.

I want to give an overview to this topic in view of many references to the ‘tetrad’ of four consecutive lunar eclipses happening on the major Jewish feast days. I’ll also close with some personal observations. Also, out of respect for this holy week I will abbreviate references to G-d in the Hebrew fashion.

Not unlike the secular world, Jews use two kinds of calendars. The civil New Year is counted from Rosh Hashanah in Sept-Oct. The sacred year, from which festivals are computed, starts this month with the slim sliver of a new moon. Their seasonal festivals were started when the Hebrew slaves were set free to leave Egypt and were celebrated annually according to the Lord’s detailed instructions given to Moses. This is given in part below with emphases added to show these are not to be regarded as being Jewish alone but were ordained because they belong to the Lord Himself.:

“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts…which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD ; seven days you must eat unleavened bread…” (Leviticus 23:2 & 5,6 NKJV per BibleGateway)

The Hebrew of ‘appointed time’ is mo ‘ed, the root of which ya’ad, means to ‘set’ or ‘fix’. The first occurrence is in Genesis 1:14 where the stars and heavenly bodies are created to serve as ‘seasons’ (mo’adim) and as ‘signs’ – hence the significance to a consideration of Passover and last night’s lunar eclipse, and upcoming ones.

Passover commemorates the freedom gained by the ancient Israelites when they were saved from death by having daubed lamb’s blood upon the door-posts of their homes. As a result of Pharaoh’s steadfast refusal to release them to go with Moses to worship G-d, the ‘angel of death’ visited all Egypt’s first-born of man and beast but ‘passed over’ homes where the blood appeared. It was the culminating plague that befell the major power in the Middle East as a result of a clash between its god, Pharoah, and the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who had revealed Himself to Moses (Exodus 1-11 refers).

The book of Exodus continues with very specific instructions Moses and his brother Aaron were given as to what to do that dreadful night, and that the people were to commemorate it as a feast of observation throughout all generations. Thus, it’s an everlasting occasion instituted and recognised by G-d and is the first of several annual festivals.

The Lord’s Feasts (Leviticus 23)

Feast of Passover
Feast of Unleavened Bread
Feast of First Fruits
Feast of Weeks (Shavu’ot or Pentecost)
Feast of Trumpets (at Rosh Hashanah)
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

In the 1970s Rev John Kilpatrick, pastor of Church of His Presence, recognised the importance and value of these festivals for Christians. The first three occur over eight consecutive days and, with the fourth, occur in the Spring. Their main focus is upon entering G-d’s rest. The others occur in the Autumn/Fall and focus upon entering G-d’s protection.

The first four feasts were also foundational in establishing the Church, or Ecclesia, the body of believers in Messiah Jesus. The next three will relate to the resurrection of the dead ‘at the last trump’ and return of Christ in person to reign and rule.

Despite the flexibility of the Hebrew calendar in adjusting for ‘leap years’, the period between first and last major annual festivals, Passover and Tabernacles, remains constant.

Jesus and the first and a future Passover

Jesus’ ‘last supper’ was a private celebration with His apostles within hours of Him giving up His own life. The bread and wine they shared were those of the Passover Seder, or meal, as recorded by that diligent commentator Luke:

“With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:15-16 NKJV)

And similarly for an associated cup of wine which, with the bread, Jesus said are to be regarded as His body and blood: thus specifically identifying Him as the Passover Lamb.

Jesus was not only keen to celebrate Passover – He will do so once again! This will presumably be upon His return – or am I misreading that straightforward text?

Luke also recorded that, after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus taught the disciples in depth about the kingdom and promised their baptism in the Holy Spirit. So they logically asked Him how soon it will be before the kingdom is set up and restored to Israel.

However, He told them (not upbraided them, as some think!) it’s not for them to know because that’s all in the Father’s hands but there’s a far more important mission for them – being empowered as witnesses of His Good News in taking it to the ends of the earth. Anyway, Jesus already knew His prophecy about Jerusalem being surrounded, the holy Temple demolished and the city trampled upon by Gentile armies was less than four decades away. Therefore, His Kingdom wouldn’t be based in Jerusalem.

Blood-red lunar eclipses

First, it’s important to note that the fact the first Jewish month of the agricultural and sacred calendar starts at new moon and the Passover follows 14 days later, means a full moon always features at Passover. Yet lunar eclipses are infrequent because the moon’s orbit is slightly tilted to the plane of the earth’s orbit around the sun – the ecliptic.

Only total eclipses are red because the only light has been refracted through the earth’s atmosphere, rather like why sunsets are red. (See images at link 3 below.)

As noted in Why I’m Watching, Jesus instructed all believers to watch for signs that would indicate His return is getting very close. Luke noted Jesus’ words, (shown in part only):

“…For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken…” (Luke 21 NKJV)

This reiterated and thereby endorsed what OT prophet Joel had written 9 centuries earlier about the Day of the Lord. And it was repeated to astonished witnesses of the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the Lord’s following feast of Pentecost, as stated by Apostle Peter,

…The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord… (Joel 2:31)

Therefore, we can understand why many are excited about such signs not only happening on a dedicated Jewish feast day but also when a tetrad of lunar eclipses, together with a solar eclipse, occur in sequence one after the other – it’s astonishing!

FURTHERMORE, somehow the oscillating plane of the moon’s orbit around us just so happens to wobble into the same plane as the earth and the sun (the ecliptic), thereby enabling the moon to enter the earth’s shadow on a few selected and special days. That implies an intelligent designer has synchronised those movements to occur on specific and exceptionally rare days only!

But if the hand of G-d is involved then we do need to take serious note. William Koenig comments and provides a timeline of events:

There has been a tremendous amount of discussion about this phenomenon by Pastor Mark Biltz (and others)…The fact that these events have occurred on the first day of Passover and Sukkoth in back-to-back years only seven previous times combined with the challenges the Jewish people were facing during those times is noteworthy and significant.

April 15, 2014 – Blood-red moon – First day of Passover (visible: Australia, Pacific, Americas).

Sept. 25, 2014 — The sabbatical year in the seven-year cycle (2008 to 2015) begins on Rosh Hashanah, and ends on Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 13-14, 2015 — the day of a partial solar eclipse.

Oct. 8, 2014 – Blood-red moon – First day of Sukkot (visible: Asia, Australia, Pacific, Americas).

April 4, 2015 – Blood-red moon – First day of Passover (visible: Asia, Australia, Pacific, Americas)

Sept. 13-14, 2015 — A seven-year cycle that began on Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 30, 2008, ends on Rosh Hashanah. The sabbatical year from 2014 ends here, too.

Sept. 13, 2015 (Elul 29, 5776) – Rosh Hashanah starts with partial solar eclipse.

Sept. 23, 2015 (Tishrei 10, 5777) – Year of Jubilee proclaimed on Yom Kippur.

Sept. 28, 2015 – Blood-red moon – First Day of Sukkot (visible: Eastern Pacific, Americas, Europe, Africa, Western Asia). This moon will be a super “blood-red” moon. It will look enormous and will shine over Jerusalem. My wife and I were driving into Jerusalem last June during a similar super-moon. It was enormous, breathtaking and appeared over half of Jerusalem. I can only imagine what an enormous super blood-red moon will look like over the city.

[In that newsletter William also refers to the historically significant ‘days of infamy’ for the USA of 19-20 April, as well as globally. See Further Reading #7 below. Jewish dates updated 6 Aug 2015 per Aish.com]

For a good, concise summary of John Kilpatrick’s and John Hagee’s claims check out Aimee Herd’s summary Watching God’s Heavens – what is He saying through blood moon tetrads and solar eclipses? As a regular listener to the first, I noted that pastor Kilpatrick doesn’t claim any prophetical mandate for teaching upon this matter but stresses, “I’m just a watcher, which is what Jesus told us to do” – like me!

Objections

One may easily object that only one of these eclipses will be visible from Israel and so the notion of a tetrad of influentially significant ‘blood moons’ is nonsense.

But that fact may mean only the last eclipse is applicable to Israel, and the others may be relevant to whichever countries will see them. Remember, these feasts aren’t just for Israel but for everyone because they are G-d’s own feast days.

As regards the past tetrads, some suppose there’s ‘confirmation bias’ in picking them. Or else, were ‘prophecies after the fact’ and not warnings because of a time lapse between lunar eclipse and supposedly associated calamitous event in Jewish history. Let’s look, for example, at what William Koenig wrote after discussion with his friend Mark Biltz:

‘Three previous back-to-back “blood-red” total lunar eclipses occurred on the first day of Passover and Sukkot right after the 1492 Spanish Inquisition (ie. in 1493-1494), the 1948 War of independence (ie. in 1949-1950), and the 1967 Six-Day War (in 1967-1968). This pattern points to a very challenging time for Israel and possible war.

‘The Jewish Talmud says, “When the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel … If its face is as red as blood, [it is a sign that] the sword is coming to the world …” The sages in the Talmud understood that a red lunar eclipse means that God will be bringing judgment to His people, Israel.’

Observations

1. The Spanish Expulsion was the most infamous in Jewish history. Catholic Inquisitor Torquemada’s anti-Semitic project became official policy in July 1492 after the defeat of Muslims at Grenada and thus enabling Spain to return to Catholicism. It would have taken many months to arrest and forcibly convert tens of thousands of Jews. So blood moons of 1493’s first and last feasts were truly ominous in attesting to what was happening and not just retrospective as ‘prophecies after the fact’.

2. It is incorrect to consider the 1949-50 tetrad as applying only to the previous year’s War of Independence. It could indicate decades of strife and wars were to follow. In fact that 15 month War lasted until August 1949 and in my opinion it could be applied specifically to Jerusalem. On 3rd April 1949 the Israel-Jordan Armistice was signed which affected Jews’ access to Jerusalem and their holy places such as the Wailing Wall, which was the only proximity permitted to the Temple Mount.

3. Today’s blood moon on Passover may apply to those Jews who are not in Israel but where it was actually seen – the USA. Let me quote perspicacious Caroline Glick’s analysis of her fellow Jews:

In Israel, where our freedom is physically threatened, most Jews understand and live by the lessons of Passover. But something is happening to the Jews in America. More and more, every day we see American Jews embracing intellectual bondage…

When the leaders of the Jewish American community – like their fellow leftists – side with forces of intolerance and discrimination and against Israel’s stalwart defenders and opponents of the oppression endemic in Islamic societies, it does not bode well for the future.

The red planet

The 76-m Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Credit: M. Peel, University of Manchester

Last Tuesday provided a ‘rare cosmic event’ when Mars formed a straight line with earth and the sun (ie. ‘in opposition’). But last night, the same night as the total lunar eclipse, the red planet was at its closest since Jan 2008.

In the UK we couldn’t observe the eclipse but I did notice Mars a few degrees above the bright moon but, as it was so bright, thought it was the brightest star, Sirius. Yet upon checking link 12 below I confirmed it was indeed Mars.

So, in effect we could be having a ‘double-red’ alarm being given from our satellite and nearby planet – exciting times, in a week holy to both Jews and Christians!

Carry on reading in 500th post: blood moons cont’d >>

RESTORATION – today’s stunning Word from the Lord

Posted on Saturday, 8 February, 2014 by Richard Barker

Restoration per ICEJ – VG

To follow rabbi, Sharon, Gabriel on Jesus as Ko’Jews

NB: this post got published as above days in advance of eventual full publication. So please ignore that brief title and ‘garbled’ text. Those were prompts in draft to remind me what/when I was to write – but as I slept it got published and emailed to subscribers as shown above! (Apologies if you’ve already seen it and were unable to access before this rewrite.)

Yet Daryl Stewart of Rio Vista liked it just as that single ‘coded’ sentence!

But his ‘Like’ completely upset plans for my Saturday! My following note left on his blog may explain – AND ONLY NOW in getting that inserted link have I noticed what already heads his blog for today and how it directly relates to what’s happened in the last 4 hours. (That is, it was totally unknown to me – what an awesome way our Lord works.)

This is my note inserted on his blog:

Hi Daryl and this is to thank you…especially for your prophetic appreciation of an item for publication – ie. IN ADVANCE 🙂 BUT it should NOT have been seen!

I don’t know how a quick draft done with abbreviated title and short text of names got on the blog. (I rarely edit by phone but WP’s been upgraded.) It was to remind me to follow up thoughts on the passing of PM Sharon and a couple of prophecies with an excellent piece from Jerusalem on restoration. Yet nothing surprises me any longer…

I was just about to continue with ‘…in my blogging and where the Lord’s pointing me.’ and close by giving you a link to the original item WHEN the doorbell rang downstairs. Postman Tony had a small packet that wouldn’t go through our letterbox, and with it was an envelope from ICEJ.

I knew I had to open it rather than go back to the study/den and finish off this note – IT HAS THE SAME TITLE AND IMAGE AS WHAT I INTENDED BLOGGING ABOUT LATE NEXT WEEK. I just couldn’t stop laughing and as my wife’s at weekend retreat I phoned an elder to relate what’s happened and how it fits into other events of the last 12 hours on my last item and what’s to follow.

My plans were to publish 4 other things in the pipeline first but I guess this matter now comes first – what God has to say has put my plans for the day in total disarray – fantastic, praise you Lord.

Trust this doesn’t ‘blow your mind’ my friend! As it must be for you too, you deserve an advance ‘peep’ at this excellent item > http://int.icej.org/content/word-jerusalem-city-peace-episode-2?

Click on link to ‘More about Restoration’ (for excellent article I was going to re-post).

Now it’s 10am I’d better get on with my late breakfast and shower, which is normally done at 9am on Sat, BEFORE getting Koenig’s Eye View from White House and scanning emails – yours was at the top and has totally changed my day!!!

Just thought you’d like to know – what an immense laugh, and hope it all makes some sort of sense 🙂

Be mightily blessed and many thanks once again…

Here’s a copy of the magazine’s cover that the postman brought. It should facilitate an appreciation of the extraordinary connection with my intended post on Restoration, the note to Daryl and the ICEJ video link.

Therefore, it must certainly be something the Lord wishes us to read and comprehend of His restorative plans for the world, the Middle East and the New Season for the Church.

To read the full text of ICEJ leader Dr Jurgen Buhler’s excellent article, click Restoration. For ICEJ website click on this image >>

So, what God has to say put my plans for the day in total disarray!

I’m reminded of 2 Chronicles 16:9…

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

Selah

On the significance of Turkey’s turn-around

Posted on Thursday, 30 January, 2014 by Richard Barker

Yesterday’s news and announcement on this blog merits a brief explanation. As an ‘alert’, it was dashed off because I was about to close down for dinner but decided to quickly check ‘before-the-media’ news.

In fact, my short window on-line yesterday went in congratulating a friend on his political blog’s news. I mentioned that prophetic material in Ezekiel 38 is increasingly relevant. (As already disclosed, that topic had cropped up in my afternoon meeting.) Hence, my astonishment at reading the news from Debka – I was amazed that what I’d spoken of and referred to in writing had become news on that day!!

Why is this news of Turkey’s prime minster turning against Washington important?

If not the first, Tayyip Erdogan was one of the foreign leaders whom Barack Obama called very soon after taking office. After attending the G20 Summit in London, then with NATO in Strasburg and with the EU in Prague, President Obama went to Istanbul and Ankara on 7th April 2009, “to send a message to the world” (per White House transcript). In making a major speech to the Turkish Parliament on the Middle East, Obama wooed Turkey as “a critical ally”. [Is it a coincidence that Turkey soon moved from being a military ally of Israel to exhibiting great hostility, doubtless encouraged by POTUS’ own inclinations? – see Rewind re. Turkey.]

Two Arabic stations carried Obama’s speech live and Associated Press reported:

Making his first visit to a Muslim nation as president and calling for a greater partnership with the Islamic world in an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an important U.S. ally in many areas, including the fight against terrorism. He devoted much of his speech to urging a greater bond between Americans and Muslims, portraying terrorist groups such as al Qaida as extremists who did not represent the vast majority of Muslims.

“Let me say this as clearly as I can,” Obama said. “The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical … in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.

[Emphases Koenig’s Eye View From The White House, April 9th 2009]

But Bill Koenig, White House journalist, made this prophetically accurate observation:

This will be an incentive for the enemies of the United States to keep going, believing the U.S. has no fortitude to fight, and that they are winning. [Bang on! Emphasis mine]

It was Obama’s opening salvo in moving the goal-posts and he developed his earlier claims during the tour that the US and Europe must change its attitude to the Muslim world. [From thence he went on to cause consternation in bowing to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.]

Two months later, the broadside fired in his Cairo speech made his lack of historical and political accuracy abundantly clear to informed observers. In encouraging a move towards principles of western democracy and welcoming the Muslim Brotherhood he sent an even clearer signal that American policy was now taking an about-turn.

The rest is history and confirms the bankruptcy of American foreign policy with the consequential geo-strategic re-alignment of the whole Middle-East. Iran has beaten the US hands down in nuclear negotiations and, after the fiasco over Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations can no longer trust Obama. Therefore, Russia is now taking advantage of the political vacuum in that region.

Therefore, after a close relationship with Prime Minister Erdogan from the outset of his presidency, the Turk’s turning away from Washington to Tehran is highly significant. This is especially so when we recall Turkey had major differences with Iran over Syria. [See Reuters’ article below for detailed update.]

OR, could Obama have instructed Erdogan to make it up with Iran? Or even to get in so POTUS could have a personal ‘take’ on the Iranians? I wonder…

As prophesied over 2,500 years ago, these peoples are coming together, not in any loose confederation, but in a political and military alliance under Russian dominance!!

EXCEEDINGLY INTERESTING TIMES! The words of the Lord given to His prophet Ezekiel accurately forecasted modern political developments in the region around the tiny state of Israel.

How say you, my reader?

UPDATED 31 Jan: Turkey & Iran – conflict of interest?

A weird mix-up resurrects this blog’s ‘Welcome’

Posted on Monday, 25 November, 2013 by Richard Barker

After publishing the 2nd Anniversary item on Wednesday I discovered I’d done it a day early!

Weirdly, I was convinced Wednesday was 21st Nov and had worked with that firmly in mind. In fact, hectic events had skewed my week. After that weekend I was aiming to follow-up on Muslim reaction to Christian persecution. However, a major issue arose that took up an hour on Monday and over an hour the next day to resolve. So my writing schedule for the week went ‘up the spout’. (I can only applaud the Halifax Bank for the most professional and courteous manner in which they handled my complaint, including an immediate compensation, including cost of calls!)

With 21st fast approaching and on Wednesday I’d be busy offline, my priorities changed with the ‘birthday blog’ getting drafted in short time-slots. (Evenings are always offline.) My fixation on the wrong date was soon explained: Our wall calendars start weeks on Sundays but I’d mentally mapped out last week by using a daily verse calendar in the bathroom. I didn’t realise its tiny page has weeks starting Mondays. So, glancing at these row of dates I could see 21st as being exactly mid-week, ie. Wednesday; so I presumed!

There may have been an ulterior and unseen reason behind this time-skew, however, as became clear at the close of the next day’s full blogging, when I realised it was the real 21st Nov. But I was left stunned by an extraordinary coincidence, which has yet to be recounted.

In trying to solve this puzzle I checked the date this blog went public, but found the very first post had disappeared from the sequential listing. I recalled trashing it after having copied it into the About hub for reference purposes. But then I found the original stored safely in the Posts’ Trash folder and its publication date retained, as here (click to see) >

The original ‘Welcome’ has now been resurrected and republished. In there I refer to a book read in the mid-1980s which plunged me into the deep-end of Biblical prophecy. (I wasn’t a Christian but the book had no direct influence in that regard.) That part of the resurrected post is reproduced below, but to which I’ve added an emphasis for you to note, as well as the Update from About/Welcome…:

Welcome….

…I was also well-informed on new-age spirituality and prophecies, as well as material behind the supposed Da Vinci code. As editor/publisher I was, therefore, well placed for a friend in mail-order books to give me a new publication on geopolitics, The Invisible Hand (Victor Dunstan, Megiddo Press, 1984).

This gift claimed the Bible held coded and plaintext details of prophecies concerning the British Mandate in Palestine, as well as giving historical details on the Mandate. Whilst watching a documentary on TV about the then current Iraq-Iran war, I flicked through the book and noticed there were lots of references to the significance of Jerusalem. I then heard the narrator refer to elite units from opposing forces rehearsing together an attack upon Jerusalem – despite their being at war with one another! Upon looking up, my jaw dropped! Wouldn’t yours? So, this was a book to take seriously; it grabbed my full attention.

Consequently, I became aware of Middle Eastern matters, and related events globally, which suggest things may not be as they seem at first glance. However, I was amazed to learn they’re of major Biblical significance. Bemused, therefore, I began to watch…

UPDATE: Dunstan estimated all the prophecies would come to a climax in 1992 with Russia being the lead villain against Israel. However, he didn’t foresee the collapse of communism in 1989! Yet that year proved pertinent because the ‘Middle East Peace Process’ had just got under way in October 1991 and led to the Oslo Accords of 1993. At the turn of the millennium, I discovered that John McTernan and William Koenig had been following prophetical developments since 1986 and the mid-1990’s respectively. In 1996 William published his work as Koenig’s International News (now Watch.org) and became an accredited White House correspondent in 2001, the year they co-authored Israel: The Blessing or the Curse. They’ve written other works and continue to monitor matters separately, as occasionally covered in this blog – see tags Koenig, McTernan.

> > Continue reading at > The Invisible Hand reappears!

Update on the ‘Ezekiel Alliance’

Posted on Thursday, 21 November, 2013 by Richard Barker

World Watch Daily has a couple of leading headlines that could have been taken from 38th chapter of the prophetical book of Ezekiel. Quoting from Jerusalem Post, the lead headline says it all:

Netanyahu, Putin sharply divided over Iran nuclear deal

The article opens: ‘Significant divisions over Iran were on clear display in the Kremlin on Wednesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued statements after nearly two hours of meetings…’ (Photo below June 2012)

The second headline from William Koenig’s team in The White House quotes The Tmes of Israel and opens as shown below:

France says Iran comments on Israel complicate nuke talks

‘Ayatollah calls Israel ‘rabid dog,’ drawing harsh response from Paris as new round of negotiations begin. The French government spokeswoman says President Francois Hollande believes comments by Iran’s supreme leader about Israel are “unacceptable” and complicate talks between world powers and the Islamic regime over its nuclear program…’

Developments

Further to last Thursday’s post about US appeasement of Iran in Geneva (here), the following links bring detailed news and opinion on developments:

Special Report Tuesday states four new Iranian conditions may block nuclear accord and reveals (emphases added),

…That the radicals are calling the shots in Tehran was obvious to every Iranian from the large blow-ups of the intransigent ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad adorning Tehran newspapers in the last couple of days. President Hassan Rouhani may be elected president, but his campaign of smiles to the West has been superseded by the radical nuclear line espoused by the man he defeated at the polls. Ahmadinejad is riding high again in Tehran.

According to Debkafile there’s, ‘a strange paradox of two leaders, Ayatollah Khamenei and Prime Minister Netanyahu, who are implacable adversaries in all else, maneuvering (sic) with all their might for the same object of taking the wind out of the sails of a potential nuclear deal between the six powers and Iran.
‘Khamenei is confident he can bring President Obama to heel and force him to live with key elements of Iran’s nuclear bomb program. Israel wants that program brought a lot closer to its dismantlement by tougher sanctions. He is seconded in this demand by France in public statements by its president Francois Hollande, and Saudi Arabia, which prefers not to admit to supporting the Israeli campaign….’

Their latest Exclusive Report claims that today,

The Iranian negotiators face the delegations of six world powers in Geneva Thursday, Nov. 21, with strict orders not to give ground on the two major sticking points holding up a first-step deal on their nuclear program: The heavy water reactor under construction at Arak for producing plutonium and Iran’s “right” to uranium enrichment. If Iran gains those two points, whatever concessions its negotiators may come up with are worthless, because they will leave Tehran in possession of two optional nuclear weaponizing tracks instead of one – plutonium as well as enriched uranium.

Debka states Tehran is fighting tooth and nail for Six-Power acknowledgement of its “right to enrich uranium” so Iran can come away with a “historic feat”. This will show the Iranian people that economic hardship suffered under economic sanctions was worth while.

BUT, existing infrastructure would enable Iran to top-up enriched uranium stockpiles to the amount needed for five nuclear bombs in less than 4 weeks! AND a second option of plutonium would also be available when the Arak reactor is finished! Can the Iranians be trusted? Debka then asks,

…what compromise can be expected when Washington failed to challenge Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s avowal on Day One of the Geneva talks that Iran will not step back “one iota” from its nuclear rights, and his grotesquely barbaric rant against Israel as “the roguish, filthy, rabid dog of the region,” whose regime is “doomed to extinction?”

This degraded language, not heard since the Nazi German era, informed the Obama administration in the harshest terms that for the sake of a deal, Iran will not give an inch under pressure, whether from economic sanctions or from Israel and parts of the American Jewish leadership.

Debka states, ‘Khamenei also blasted US government as unworthy of trust. If…Obama was serious in his often repeated commitment to Israel’s security, he ought to have protested in some way against Khamenei’s unspeakable rhetoric, possibly even delaying the proceedings before they started their second day in Geneva. But the Iranian leader apparently got away with it, judging from the Obama administration’s mild response…’

How peculiar that not only Iran’s tip leader, but also those of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt (and more) are all in agreement about the superpower that was, for decades, top-dog in the Middle East? What’s the reason for this change? Could it be because America’s leaders have rejected the God and Jesus Christ, as their president did in his first inauguration by declaring the USA has never been a Christian nation (as here).

I recommend my readers use the above links to learn the rationale behind these claims. It reminds me of the great heavenly conflict with the demonic ‘Prince of Persia’, of which the prophet Daniel was informed by angelic messenger during deep intercession. (See Daniel 10:12, courtesy BibleGateway.com)

Conclusion

These serious matters are simply one demonstration of the Bible’s complete relevance for today. That is, it accurately forewarns of this dangerous situation for the Middle East and world peace.

World leader tells other leaders Biblical prophecies are being fulfilled in our lifetime

Posted on Tuesday, 8 October, 2013 by Richard Barker

A warning to the world

His message to world leaders assembled at the United Nations General Assembly was a warning of deadly deception. Addressing the Assembly on 1st October, Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu drew their close attention not only to the track record of Iran’s modern regime but also to that of its ‘new’ President Rouhani’s personal activity in developing that nation’s nuclear weaponry.

Reporting from Jerusalem (not The White House) William Koenig’s perspective is that:

Netanyahu zeroed in on the danger Israel faces. Many of us were blessed to hear him speaking about Bible prophecies and quoting the book of Amos. The leftist media in Israel didn’t like the speech because they for some reason can’t process danger, whether it is a Syrian and/or Hezbollah threat or the dangers of a nuclear Iran. (Watch.org)

The full text of this speech, in my opinion, deserves careful consideration by all political and religious leaders at every level because this PM has been put into position for such a time as this. The Lord God is well aware of all the complexities of the Middle-East’s situation and has given prophetic words (as here) about Netanyahu’s service to Israel. One of those to receive that word, Dr Mike Evans, consequently recommended him to PM Begin for his first government post and has since remained a close Christian friend. In referring to this month’s address to the UN, Mike writes:

When I anointed him with oil more than 30 years ago and prophesied that he would one day be prime minister (he wasn’t involved in politics at all back then), I also declared that he would lead his nation during the most dangerous days Israel would ever see. Today, that prophecy has been fulfilled. [Find out more about this in The Bridge Builder]

After spelling out the historical facts about Israel’s ancient friendship with Persia and its modern regime’s opposite stance of hatred, this scripturally informed Prime Minister closed by referring to the prophetic nature of events.:

In our time the Biblical prophecies are being realized. As the prophet Amos said, they shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine. They shall till gardens and eat their fruit. And I will plant them upon their soil never to be uprooted again. (Emphasis added)

Joel Rosenberg remarks upon this.:

I don’t personally recall a single other Israeli leader in the modern era who has spoken so clearly of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Perhaps David Ben Gurion did, for the first Israeli premier had a great interest in the Scriptures. But Netanyahu’s own interest in the Scriptures has been growing significantly in recent years, as I have noted on the blog, and increasingly pronounced in his public statements…

Netanyahu also alluded in the speech to the Biblical prophecies of a Persian king named “Cyrus” would rise up one day and set the Jewish people free from captivity.

As ever, I recommend Joel’s consideration of these prophetic aspects in his blog.

10th Annual Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem

The Times of Israel reports upon Sunday’s international DPPJ, as seen in Israel:

“The scene would have been unimaginable throughout the vast majority of Jewish history. Row upon row of Christians shouting and swaying, fervently proclaiming their faith right in the heart of Jerusalem. But these Christians, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, were not denouncing the scattered Jews in the room, or preaching of a time when control of the holy city would be wrested from Jewish hands.

For an insight into evangelical Christian appreciation of the Jewish, and Arab, people read the Times’ interviews with organiser Robert Stearns, and others by clicking here. He is quoted as saying,

“God has a blessing not only for Israel but also for Ishmael”

Is Christianity supernatural? Is Jesus imperfect?

Posted on Tuesday, 17 September, 2013 by Richard Barker

We’re taking a break for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, readers may like to mull over some meaty morsels, and to ponder the possibility of a recent prophecy having been fulfilled in Egypt!

Is Christianity a supernatural religion?

One blessing from the prolonged problems with WordPress in July was contacting a couple living eastward along the coast from our favourite haunt, Chichester harbour. Keith Lannon writes with an unusual grasp of not only theology and history but also psychology. His in-depth articles about Apostle Paul’s ministry may be found under Management of the Miraculous.

I’ve always known Christianity is intrinsically a supernatural life yet, in my humble opinion, many believers have little comprehension of this fundamental fact. After outlining Holy Spirit’s activities in the Church’s first decades, Keith writes:

This whole historical trawl, that I have only half glanced at, is for no other reason than to make the point that the miraculous is the New Testament norm. Cryptically expressed, the supernatural should be natural to the Christian. Christianity is naturally supernatural.

Keith’s Christianity has the Supernatural in its DNA is a thoroughly good read and I can highly recommend it.

Was Jesus Christ Imperfect?

After being challenging by a Muslim, T.E. Hanna considers the above question. He ably digs into and unwraps this provocative paradox in Embracing An Imperfect Jesus. You may wish to reflect upon his brief, yet sound, consideration of the conundrum of Jesus’ humanity and divinity. It has generated interesting reader comments.

A prophecy causes pause for thought

Koenig’s Eye View from the White House reports upon last week’s International Institute of Counter-Terrorism Conference in Israel. It mainly covered Syria but included Egypt under its military leader Gen Al-Sissi. The first couple of points in Bill’s notes reminded me of what I’d heard from a delegate at Dr Stone’s Mentoring Day on 11 July (as under ‘Coffee break’).

According to that Institute, Egyptian President Morsi was imitating the Islamic template Turkey’s PM Erdogan had established to dismantle his secular military and arrest its generals. Egypt’s Al-Sissi beat Morsi to the draw in arresting him and ‘decapitated the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood…’ (emphasis mine).

That reminded me of Kim Clement’s prophetic song and word about Queen Esther, Mordecai and evil Haman, wherein he prophesied:

A head will roll during the summer; I said a head will roll during the summer! There will be a decapitation of a mind that is evil, a mind that is sinister. (Emphases mine: see link)

That was published on 22 June and Morsi was ousted less than a fortnight later on 3 July (details may be read in Guardian). In spite of US administration’s protestations and liberal media’s biased reporting, well-informed folk were aware of the great dangers Morsi and his MB posed to secular societies and Christians, not to mention Israel and Jordan. So it seems Kim Clement heard correctly from the Lord.

Events indicate the Bible’s relevance for today

Posted on Friday, 30 August, 2013 by Richard Barker

Recent tragic news from Syria and developments in the Middle East can, in fact, give Christians a deeper understanding of the holy scriptures.

I’ll share my opinion on how this may be so but, first, we’re instructed to pray for those in power, including their need for wisdom in handling crises. Jesus’ brother James wrote to those following ‘The Way’,

If anyone lacks wisdom we should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault…(James 1:5)

He cautions that in so doing we need to believe and not doubt because such a person will not receive anything from God. Political leaders would, therefore, show wisdom if they are able to believe and fully appreciate God’s Word, not only in living morally but also in dealing with international events such as those foreseen over 2,500 years ago about a specific Middle Eastern coalition. We note that, in the end, God’s stated goal for three major people groups is as follows;

²⁴In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, ²⁵whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” (Isaiah 19 NKJV, Biblegateway)

There’s a long way to go before that outcome is achieved, incredible as it seems at present. But current events do show the Holy Bible is not obsolete, or irrelevant for modern times. But this isn’t new! Many Old Testament verses were fulfilled in 20th Century with the amazing ‘overnight’ creation of a nation-state and the consequential return of dispersed tribes belonging to the ancient Hebraic people. Nearly 2,000 years ago, after having destroyed their capital Jerusalem and sacred Temple because of an armed revolt against Rome’s authority, Emperor Hadrian kicked them out of their homeland after another revolt (for details see Timeline).

Hundreds of years beforehand, however, prophets heard and recorded what the Living God declared about events in the far, far distant future. The fulfillment of His promises through the establishment of modern Israel is something deserving fuller examination. So, too, is Psalm 83’s warning to those people surrounding Israel who plot to ‘wipe it off the map’. (The ancient tribal names may no longer apply but their rage continues within their descendants, as broadcast ceaselessly abroad.)

However, my focus is upon the Biblical references to other peoples on the fringes of the then-known world, as centred around the ‘cradle of civilisation’. They were in lands now known as Persia, Syria, western Egypt or Libya, Turkey as well as southern Russia and central Asia.

Whatever any migratory, trading or hostile connections may have been between those folk, it is a most remarkable fact that the Lord foresaw an alliance forming between them that would become enemies of the Hebraic people living in territory established by King David. Ezekiel, a major OT prophet, received detailed oracles about this coalition led by ‘Gog’. The only other mention of this entity is in the apocalyptic vision Apostle John had of the revelation that God gave Jesus Christ, as recorded towards the end of the Book of Revelation (Rev 20:7-10).

This prophesied coalition known as ‘The Ezekiel Alliance’ and its attack upon Israel is recorded at chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of Ezekiel. A concise historical analysis from Koinonia House may be read at The Treacherous Trio of Ezekiel 38 – Part 1 and at Part 2, then Part 3. My previous coverage of this build-up may be found here and here.

The fact that Russia is now getting deeply involved and taking the lead in a strategic coalition that was identified millennia ago as a major player in the Middle-East, and furthermore which aligns itself against Israel, simply cannot be ignored. All political leaders would, therefore, be well advised to tread very carefully in dealing with this alliance.

For what it’s worth I’d like to add my ‘tuppence worth’ but it must of necessity be all too brief. Readers who like digging deeper than mainline media’s cursory overviews (eg. by visiting links suggested in an early blog Not on the 10 o’clock News), may be aware of the following.:

Israel

I’d ask that fellow believers consider their attitude toward modern Israel because some ministries are mistaken in this regard. For instance, a guest post on Cranmer’s blog has reported one ministry as strongly denouncing Israel at festivals over the Summer. I’m aware this may be a touchy topic, but Fran Waddam’s historical comments are helpful for those unfamiliar with the real, rather than revisionist, 20th Century history of Israel. It’s now followed by a CMEW item on Kairos Chaos in the Church, which I recommend. (NB: ignore any flash pop-up ads on Cranmer’s site.)

Syria & Iran

The outrageous chemical attack upon children could, in my opinion, be one way Iran’s leaders are testing President Obama’s resolve and poor credibility. (Iran’s active control of Syria was reported here.) There are increasing concerns over the reliability of claims that it was done by Assad’s forces, and which doesn’t exactly stack up with signals intel and is voiced by, among others, Jerome Corsi and Walid Shoebat (here).

Iran would seize upon any attack by America as a pretext to attack Israel in a greater measure than done in recent minor occasions (Farsnews). They see such a war as facilitating the appearance of the Shiites’ Mahdi (as here). Thus, it isn’t far-fetched to suppose Iran may attempt the final, threatened blow to eradicate Israel.

Saudi Arabia

Obama’s credibility is non-existent as a result of his polices and actions on Egypt and in Libya, not to mention ‘Benghazi-gate’. Following his 2009 Cairo speech, a deep rift opened between him and the Saudis over his deep humiliation of president Mubarak. Fully aware of the dangers Obama was blind to, they endorsed the Egyptian army’s removal of Morsi and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Also, as members of The Arab League who have denounced Syria, the Saudis met with Russian leaders to sway their support of Syria’s Assad by tempting them with favourable oil/gas deals, as herein.

Egypt

The above quotation from prophet Isaiah is an oracle from the Lord about Egypt. Those closing verses allude to His end-time redemptive plan for three peoples, but its second verse is once again apposite: not as for the Ethiopian takeover 2,800 years ago but for these times too:

“I will set Egyptians against Egyptians;
Everyone will fight against his brother,
And everyone against his neighbour,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom…”

How to be succinct with what’s on my mind about Egypt? In Cameron: A war against Al-Qaeda… I referred to Mark Gabriel’s experiences with the Muslim Brotherhood as an Egyptian professor of Islamic history. His exposure of Islam and Terrorism gave me grave reservations over Obama’s insistence upon the outlawed MB’s attendance at his 2009 Cairo speech. My initial points are as herein.

President Obama probably gambled upon the MB having become a peaceful democratic political party but his Muslim roots should have taught him to know better – much better. William Koenig in his Eye View from The White House, puts it this way:

The Egyptian apparent decapitation of the Muslim Brotherhood’s leadership could have enormous impact on the future of many countries and derail White House/ State Department Muslim Brotherhood plan in the Middle East.

McCarthy’s ‘Reds under the beds’ witch hunts of communists was a false alarm by comparison with the MB infiltration of US politics and government. Where the totalitarian system of communism failed, another succeeded beyond its wildest dreams – and even Barack Hussein Obama isn’t entirely to blame! The infiltration started 60 years ago in response to the CIA seeking help against communists. George Bush and many in USA and Western democracies were bamboozled into mistaking Islamist intentions.

The MB’s objectives are known to many well-informed analysts and journalists but largely ignored by politicians and public. I cannot, therefore, recommend highly enough that every reader take time to visit the following links, of which extracts are shown.

For further political developments see

Replay of Munich ’38 Missed – Only Just! (14 Nov 2013)
Update on the Ezekiel 38 Alliance – Turkey seeks to join Iran (29 Jan 2014)
On the significance of Turkey’s turn-around (30 Jan 2014)
Turkey and Iran – a conflict of interest? (31 Jan 2014)

Recommended Reading:

Resetting US Foreign Policy by ‘ne plus ultra’ Caroline Glick; cogent as ever > ‘Obama’s decision to outsource the US’s Syria policy owed to his twin goals of demonstrating that the US would no longer try to dictate international outcomes, and of allying the US with Islamic fundamentalists…from his earliest days in office Obama insisted that, since radical Islam is the most popular movement in the Islamic world, radical Islam is good’.
The Muslim Brotherhood: Origins, Efficacy and Reach by Raymond Ibrahim; a masterly paper from the well-connected author of The Al-Qaeda Reader covering the MB historically and throughout the Middle-East.
History of the Muslim Brotherhood Penetration of US Government by Clare Lopez, formerly CIA operations officer and senior fellow at the Centre for Security Policy presents an exceptionally well-researched and informative paper > It is important to recognize the sophistication of the Brotherhood’s international strategy and how the takedown of U.S. national security defenses from within was critical to the current Middle East-North Africa (MENA) campaign to re-establish the Caliphate and enforce Islamic Law (shariah)….The careful insinuation of Muslim Brothers into positions from which they can exercise influence on U.S. policy began long before the attacks of 9/11, although their success has accelerated dramatically under the administration of President Barack Obama. The massive Muslim Brotherhood organizational network in the U.S., so patiently built up over the decades since that first Oval Office meeting in 1953, eventually gave it a prominence and (false) reputation of credibility that was unmatched by any other Islamic groups, moderate or otherwise. Using a combination of taqiyya (deceit, dissimulation) and intimidation, the Muslim Brotherhood succeeded not only in making itself the “go-to” authority on all things related to Islam, but in suppressing those who would speak truth about Islam—again, often by persuading the U.S.’s own senior officials to do the job for them: “by their hands”.
The US State Department’s Islamist Plan by Dr Mordechai Kebar, Israeli scholar of Arabic and Islam covers MB’s plans for Sinai and Egypt and reveals the grave concerns of Jordan’s king > King Abdullah openly calls them “wolves in sheep’s clothing” and “the Freemasons cult” (there is no worse expression in Arabic that the king could have used towards his citizens, MK.) because they do not want to reform the regime of the Hashemite monarchy; rather, they want to replace it and turn it into a puppet after taking over the parliament and changing the state into a “constitutional monarchy” with an Islamic constitution written by the Brotherhood, of course. The king describes his battle with the Brotherhood with the expression “the most important battle confronting us in the entire region”, even more than Iran. He also does not hide his contempt for the American diplomats and officials who promote the Muslim Brotherhood out of naivety, as if the regime of the Brotherhood is a type of Islamic democracy.
Muslim Brotherhood: We’ve Got ‘Goods on Obama’ by Dr Jerome Corsi > In an interview with the News Agency Anatolia in Turkey, Saad Al-Shater, the son of imprisoned Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat Al-Shater, said his father “had in his hand” evidence that will put Obama in prison. In a thinly veiled threat, Saad Al-Shater said a US delegation was sent to Cairo by Obama to press for the release of the imprisoned Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including his father to prevent the release of explosive information. Arabic-speaking former PLO member Walid Shoebat has translated the report by the Turkish News Agency Anatolia as follows…
BREAKING NEWS – Corsi, “Egyptian government…intends to implicate Obama directly in series of financial transactions with the MB in Egypt” (video interview).

Something good in UK’s ‘marriage’ Act for Christians?

Posted on Tuesday, 30 July, 2013 by Richard Barker

The coffee-time conversation with Steve continues. Nina and Simone catch up with us on our way to the cafe’s bar for fresh, full mugs and hear Steve exclaim,

“What! What on earth’s good for believers about the ssm Bill?” The startled looks our wives dart at each other convey; “What on earth have our men been talking about?”

Back in our secluded corner, Steve summarises our conversation and he’s ‘champing at the bit’ to take charge. I want to steer it another way but Simone beats us to ‘the off’. As a solicitor she brings a fresh view.:

Legal eagles’ views

“How the Bill was rushed through and given royal assent clearly smacks of censorship in a totalitarian state. A barrister and senior lecturer at the University of London wrote a splendid professional paper quite relevant to this issue. David McIlroy explains why a democracy’s legal system can’t have a morally neutral playing field. I noted his opinion that,

A public square from which religious influences are excluded is not a neutral public square. It is a public square in which all influences bar the secularist ones have been censored. That is not a public square in which everyone’s voice is heard and everyone’s views are respected, it is a public square in which religious voices are silenced and anti-religious views are imposed. This is not a tolerant society, it is a tyrannous society.

“What he also says about the double-importance in a Christian society of how the Last Judgement affects the law is especially interesting…I recall bits like:

…It means today’s rulers are understood, and (should) understand themselves, to be answerable to a higher authority in their actions. They know they will be judged for how they exercised their power and this accountability is the foundation of accountability to the people.

…citizens know the ultimate judge isn’t the government but almighty God, and this contributes hugely to human freedom.

“It’s an exciting summary of how Christianity has provided a sound basis for secular law..”

“I know, Simone, I’ve got a copy thanks to a fellow blogger – an excellent document! And I wrote about examples of creeping tyranny back in 2009!” [See 1 & 14 below]

“Also Richard, contrary to what you said about Archbishop Welby and bishops being overwhelmed in the House of Lords, the barrister who founded Christian Legal Centre issued them a written challenge over his version of events and concluded:

I am surprised that the Church of England appears to be vacating the public square when it comes to the issue of marriage. Given the rich teaching of Scripture and strong tradition of marriage, this is something that the CofE should be able to comment on clearly, intelligently and winsomely. Marriage is something to be celebrated, promoted and, at this time, preserved. At a time when the nation needs to hear a prophetic voice on marriage, the CofE’s message is sadly mixed and, as a result, unclear.

“The account of her corresponding with him and CoE’s response laments their inability to copy the politicians’ action in ensuring full attendance for voting.” [2]

Raising my finger, “I like her bit on ‘prophetic voice’ as I was struck by the sharp contrast between the Telegraph’s report on Welby’s ‘cop-out’ and what Sharon Stone taught and did [3] – the first started my morning and the second closed it in a much Godlier way!

“Also, in one of many debates on that other blog I pointed out that wise leaders would wait and watch what happens to other countries before foisting it on the British public. It’s opening Pandora’s Box – next will come legal recognition of bigamy, bestiality and paedophilia, as in the customs that defiled ancient Canaan which God spoke against when Hebrews took it over as the land ‘vomited out its inhabitants’.”

“I’ve read John McTernan’s excellent teaching on those socially sanctioned practices,” . adds Simone. “I said to Stan to read too” nodding at her husband. [4]

Nina expresses her deep concern over Her Majesty giving assent to the Bill in view of her Coronation oath “to maintain the laws of God and profession of the Gospel”.

My long spoon lances a hole in the cappuccino’s thick froth as I respond, “Being a constitutional monarch, there was absolutely nothing she could have done about its passing into Law as the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act.

“But from my perspective as lookout on the walls – as it were – our national leader became much more motivated to introduce the Act – come hell or high water – by President Obama during his state visit. So it’s possibly a result of that influence…”

“I’ve read,” reports Simone, “Obama is a long-standing ‘gay pride evangelist’, as can be seen in his recent call to African nations to be ‘converted’. Their righteous leaders have repudiated his overtures…on fact they’re sparked a real backlash!” [5]

“That’s so,” I add. “I’ve followed it all closely through Bill Koenig, a Christian White House journalist. Cameron’s now copying Obama as an ‘evangelist’, which His Grace Cranmer scathingly lampoons [6]. He notes Cameron’s clearly stated intention [7]:

Only other thing I wanted to say is that I know that the job isn’t yet fully done. It is something to celebrate that Britain is now – and it’s official – the best place to be gay, lesbian or transgender anywhere in Europe. That is a great achievement. That’s not my measure; that is an inter-nationally recognised measure. But there’s still a lot more work to be done.

“God is not and will not be mocked and these national leaders are treating Him with the utmost of contempt. Unless they humble themselves, repent deeply and renounce their ways there is very little hope for their future – but God may have mercy.”

“But at least they’ve not committed the unpardonable sin,” interjects Nina, to which Steve asks, “What’s that?”

She replies, “That’s saying a work of the Holy Spirit is of Satan. In my opinion, many believers have unwittingly done that when attributing God’s presence and His work to the demonic! Some think so about a Canadian whom we know. Whilst at a church in Bath, he sensed God wanted to heal and that evening I was able to walk and dance again – I went from permanent disability to normal ability in an instant! As we all love Jesus, then that could not have been of the devil.” [8]

“Now,” I ask, “Do you want the good or the not-so-good news first? Let’s keep the best for last – after some opinions encountered in fellow believers.”

Not-so-good points

“I’ll try to be brief on what’s very unsettling to my spirit. As I don’t want to have a closed mind on this issue I’d monitored Gillan Scott’s several well-balanced posts on the topic, to which some readers gave a window upon the state of their souls.

“Whatever gay folk say and do they’re no different to any believer for we’ve fallen short of the glory of God and are deeply loved by Him, otherwise Jesus wouldn’t have died for them too. So we love them too as individuals but, as with all sin, we don’t like their sin but hate it for what it is and does in preventing their accessing the fullness of life in Christ.

“Some who claimed to be Christians, however, were not only very supportive of this anti-Biblical Bill but also muddled and confused about what scripture says – even twisting its meaning – as well as being ignorant of sin! One pastor to the gay community even tried to explain why I’m mistaken!

“One regular pundit couldn’t understand what’s wrong with redefining marriage! We got the measure of one another when I commented: if that were correct there was no need for me to have repented of having been in the occult.”

“Just an aside and reminder,” whispered Simone, “I’d like to check the dangers of yoga as its spirit may be messing around with me.”

I continued, “My remark met a haughty, incredulous retort, ‘Upon what basis do you equate same-sex relationships with occultism, Richard? Your logic is seriously skewed, to put it mildly…!’ It was both sad and amusing because the answer was simple…so very simple.

“I parried it by alluding to the oft-quoted legal totem of ‘equality’, as well as its proper mathematical meaning, and took precise aim: ‘Your own logic has missed the point, to put it bluntly…The basis of my equation is straightforward, namely ‘equality of sin’ (ie. ‘missing the mark’).’ We ended up agreeing to disagree.

“But there were lamentable tales of some dear folk engaged in unions they think the Lord has ok’d and then wonder why things went wrong. For example, the miscarriage of a child being carried by one of a female partnership – a terribly sad state brought about by sin to their detriment. It reminded me of sin crouching ‘by the door’ to take Cain and make him murder his brother Abel. (Genesis 4:6-7)

“The accounts and opinions come with a sense of despoiling. I recalled Nathan Morris’ strong preaching on Jesus’ admonition to the early churches infected by sexual sin of their needing to be cleansed from wearing defiled robes. No wonder many wise and anointed preachers sound the alarm bells.” [9] & [10]

THE GOOD POINTS

“From a Christian standpoint, the good things of this Act are not so much the adverse ones but more the scriptural ones. We can, for instance, be most positive about these facts.:

This Bill and Act were never in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto. Thus, in my opinion, the electorate as a whole can’t be held responsible for the revolt against God and traditional values and the consequences.
In requiring and enforcing the Queen’s compromising of her Coronation oath her Prime Minister actually took upon himself the full personal responsibility before God for having broken and contravened it – I wouldn’t like to be in his shoes for deliberately being ignorant in such a gravely foolish action.
David Cameron and everyone voting for the Bill is personal accountability to their Maker for going against His revealed and express will for all mankind – no matter whether they believe in God or not. I pray they’ll have personal revelation on this and take the opportunity to repent before they take up their post-mortem existence – as happened to me when I stood on the trapdoor down to hell [11 In Your wrath remember mercy, Lord.
The sweeping international attempts to redefine the meaning of marriage are so intensely orchestrated that even conspiracy theorists would be left dumbfounded. Therefore, it is and can only be a dark spiritual phenomenon – not one of God but from the one who’s always wanted to usurp His place. But its time on earth is now very short so it wants to take as many humans it can and prevent their salvation.
This so-called cultural change was announced well in advance, in fact 2,000 years ago by no less a person than Jesus Christ himself!”

“How do you make that out?” thrusts Steve with one of his bespectacled glares that reminds me of a hen pecking seed. I hear ‘tap-tap-tap’ and turn to see a solitary man at the next table tapping on his tablet. His face and sound mirrors my friend’s and I gently smile. But then I grin in self-deprecation over my natural tonsure as I reply:

“Off the top of my head…a couple of Jesus’ sayings spring to mind.:

“First of all, His teaching about persistent prayer (Luke 18:8) refers to a time like today; one lacking in not only personal but also corporate faith – as widely shown in ditching Christian values for purely hedonistic aims. This is what Jesus foresaw:

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

“Secondly, He instructed His disciples about the coming of the Kingdom of God and to expect exceptional consequences for socially sanctioned wickedness (Matt 24):

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. ³⁷But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ³⁸For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

“Dr Luke’s carefully collected account of Jesus’ life from witnesses adds (Luke 17):

Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; ²⁹but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

“Also, His apostle Paul confirmed that Jesus told him the same about a future ‘Last Days’ great apostasy or falling away from faith in God. One of his letters to the early Greek church in Salonika (2 Thessalonians 2) refers to it this way:

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ²not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. ³Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. [Emphasis RB]

“Paul carries on with extra details to the gospels, which you can check yourself.

“Moreover, rabbinical teaching is said to confirm the connection between Noah’s time and today’s. Five years ago two separate people on a radio show spoke about the ancient Babylonian Talmud’s interpretation of Genesis and the cause of the Flood. ‘America’s Rabbi’, Aryeh Spero, said the Talmud’s writings show, “before the Flood people started to write marriage contracts between men…which is more than homo-sexual activity…in other words, giving an official state stamp of approval, a sanctifica-tion of homosexual partnership.”

“Rabbi Spero went on to say, “Even in ancient Greece they did not write marriage contracts between men. There was homosexuality, and it was wrong, but there was not an official ‘blessed’ policy. … Marriage is ‘sanctification’ (not simply a partnership).” He said to confer the title of sanctification and holiness upon this behaviour is “probably one of the greatest sins of all that one does against God’s plan for this world.”

“Another source quotes from the Midrash Rabbah Genesis, a specific commentary upon the Torah, and from the Second Book of Enoch, both of which support the claim about the real events of the ‘days of Noah’, from which we may infer they’re the festivities of which Jesus knew and was referring to. I’ve not yet completely cross-checked those sources, but I can let you have them for checking. [12&13]

“Also the widespread persecution of Christians in Africa and Middle East connects into the Daniel 7 end-times prophecy!” [14] On top of that, the status of Jerusalem is being discussed in Washington. With three major aspects of prophecy now at the fore we’re definitely entering the End-Times, as stated at the outset of my writing four years ago – The End-Time Is Now In Play – maybe you’d like to check it out?” [15]

Nina adds, “What’s going on proves the Bible is absolutely true and correct!”

“We’re definitely entering into times foreseen by the Lord Jesus and His first apostles as well as Old Testament prophets. What’s happening across the world has been written about and we know the outcome – the return of King Jesus for His Bride. It can’t be much longer now…As Jesus said when teaching about signs of the end of the Age.:”

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28)

Sources:

Theos website article, Is Secular Law Possible?
Challenge issued to Archbishop of Canterbury.
Revd Dr Sharon Stone: Britain is at a crossroads.
Homosexuality vs Holiness – Ordinances of the Amorites.
US and British promotion of LGBT rights sparks backlash
Exporting gay marriage – the ‘gospel’ of St Dave.
Prime Minister thanks campaigners and workers .
From Disabled to Enabled – how Jesus healed Nina’ spine.
Are ‘Christians’ leading homosexuals to hell?
Steve Hill: Warning for this hour – stop spiritual avalanche.
Part 2 of From Death to Life.
WND Janet Porter: How SSM Points to the End of the World.
End-Times Prophecy Watch: Days of Noah:
Muslim Persecution of Christians.
The End Time is Now In Play.

On the evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses a matter shall be confirmed…

Posted on Thursday, 6 June, 2013 by Richard Barker

Thus states Deuteronomy 19:15 (NASB) about testifying at an inquiry, or any other situation. This principle was also used at the first church council in Jerusalem, whereof Dr Luke recorded the decision to allow Gentile (non-Jewish) believers in Jesus Christ to be in fellowship with Jewish believers:

²⁸It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: ²⁹You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. [Acts 15]

Are there times when the Lord draws your attention to certain scriptures and principles by their repetition, even through another person or something else? For me this can happen one day after another, or even during a church service. My latest should be shared but first, if you’ve not read the previous post’s comments, please let me explain.:

PS to previous post

After publishing that last post I had some reservations about its tone and how it had grown beyond a brief ‘roundup’ of the first two press sources, with my remarks of 2011, into a piece with more depth. I’d run off a hardcopy of the draft to check over lunch and the idea dropped into mind it would be better to start with scripture, specifically verses from the closing chapter of Paul’s earliest letter (to the church in Galatia).

Having done that I also included a bit from Bill Koenig before some of Walid Shoebat’s main piece. To clarify it all a conclusion was needed but, devoid of any earlier thought whatsoever, I found myself referring to Obama’s LGBT agenda. And this flowed straight into revisiting Galatians 6 with a pointer for this month as, ‘God is not mocked month’!

I wasn’t sure about it. Could I unwittingly have put a prophetical timing on this issue?

The next morning I read Beth’s contribution to that post and in which she referred to Dutch Sheets’ Reaction to the Election. I’ve quoted him occasionally but was unaware of this, which he concludes with Holy Spirit’s reply about unanswered prayers, as follows:

“Your prayers and worship did prevail…though not in the way you wanted. Because of them, however, I will now deal with this man who has mocked Me and My laws.”

Two more friends of mine had dreams in which Barack Obama was named Belshazzar (see Daniel 5). This was the ruler in Babylon who saw a hand writing on the wall of his palace—as he and his friends were mocking God. The ominous message written by the hand of God was, “You have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.” The writing went on to say Belshazzar’s reign would end.
I don’t know what form the judgment of the Lord will take, but I am quite confident that God has put up with all of the mocking He intends to from Barack Obama, and that Daniel 5 is now his passage. I say this without malice or ill will, but nonetheless, confidently.

Also in my email was advice of Gillan Scott’s latest on the voting for same-sex marriage in the House of Lords. I opened up his webpage to scan its full content and at the close was reader Hazel’s brief comment, which closes,

If you replace the word gay with sodomite, the Bible is quite clear about it. God is not mocked.

WOW – two sisters and myself witnessing independently to a specific theme that the renowned intercessor and prophetical prayer warrior had received of the Lord. Ancient scripture attests that this is one way a matter is confirmed, or as in some translations, ‘established’.

Therefore, I can only conclude He is about to move in a significant way, AND we were prophetically informed only last week of the “coming great clash between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light”, as reported herein. Most interesting times…

SO, WATCH OUT!

Let’s lift up our heads for our redemption draws nigh…the Lord bless you and keep you.

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Tag Archives: #Koenig

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On the evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses a matter shall be confirmed…

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