CHURCH NOT A BUILDING – FAITH TRIUMPHS

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“In the middle of this pandemic there is hope, that there’s strength, and that we will make it through this because He has risen – so will we,” said an emphatic Andre Chambers of Hampton Roads.

A dozen churches in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia put a unique twist on a traditional Easter message during these challenging times. Some directed traffic. Others lined up each car just right as members of 12 Virginia churches rolled up with masks on and maintaining strict social distancing guidelines, to send the world an Easter message.

People gather at the Mount Davidson Cross in San Francisco, Sunday, April 12, 2020. Mount Davidson’s annual Easter Sunrise Service was cancelled for San Francisco’s shelter in place orders over coronavirus concerns.

As Christians around the US and around the world are forced to practice social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pastors and believers are adapting to the loss of Sunday gatherings. These powerful photos prove that the Church of Jesus is not a building, it’s His people. And the God who offers salvation for each individual is still able to meet with you one-on-one, whether it’s the middle of a parking lot, or in your own living room.

EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES ARE NOW ERUPTING WORLDWIDE

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The waves of earthquakes are rocking the centre of the U.S. and the sudden awakening of several volcanoes around the world may be a sign of the pre-Messiah shake-up predicted by the prophets. At the same time, several far more mild earthquakes in Israel seem to embody the Biblical concept of God’s mercy being aroused by Man’s actions.

The earth seems to be waking up as seismic activity is being reported around the globe. Last month, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook Idaho, generating a multitude of avalanches. The quake was the largest in the region since a 6.9 quake hit in 1983. There have been 238 earthquakes in Idaho in the last week according to the U.S. Geological Survey website. Five of those have been substantial in size rating 4.0 to 6.5. Idaho isn’t new to experiencing earthquakes.

Two weeks before Idaho felt the earth move, Salt Lake City, Utah, approximately 340 miles away from the Idaho epicentre, was hit by a 5.7 magnitude earthquake. Since that earthquake, there have been 886 smaller earthquakes and aftershocks in the Salt Lake area. The belly of the country is clearly rumbling as the University of Utah Seismograph Station mapped a total of 980 tremors throughout Idaho, Utah and Wyoming since March 18

Earthquakes and Volcanoes Are Now Erupting Worldwide

An article in Discover explained the epidemic of earthquakes as being caused by the continent “stretching,” a process described in German as “horst and graben.”

“As North America continues to stretch across the Basin and Range, these faults can generate earthquakes as the valleys continue to drop,” the article explained. “Both of the earthquakes that happened in Nevada and Utah recently were on one of the normal faults that bounded a valley.

VOLCANOES AROUND THE WORLD

But it is not just the central U.S. that is experiencing a seismic awakening. Since January 21, the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland has experienced more than 8,000 earthquakes and about 10 centimetres of land uplift due to magma intrusions underground. Geologists believe the volcanic systems in the region become active about once every thousand years. The last time this region experienced volcanic activity was 800 years ago. Beginning in the tenth century, the volcanically volatile period lasted for 300 years.

The region is about 30 miles southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, but is only nine miles away from Iceland’s international airport. A major eruption could shut down travel for all of Iceland as well as endanger the nearby town of Grindavik as well as the Blue Lagoon, a popular tourist destination. There is also a nearby geothermal power-plant which could be endangered by volcanic activity.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia exploded on Friday. Though two relatively small eruptions were recorded, the volcano is a hotspot and cause for concern. In 188, a Krakatoa eruption had one of the highest death tolls of any volcanic eruption, killing more than 36,000 people. The most recent eruption at the site was in 2018, generating a tsunami and killing 437 people.

Volcanoes are explicitly mentioned in the Bible as one of the “end times” signs as God shakes all that can be shaken as a wake up call that He exists and that He judges unrighteous nations.. The following Scripture reveals how God refines His own people.

And I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on My name and I will answer them; I will say: ‘It is My people’ and they shall say: ‘Hashem is my God.’ Zechariah 13:9

BIBLE PROPHESIES “END TIMES” CATASTROPHES

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Even before this coronavirus outbreak, the global economy was really starting to slow down.  Economic numbers were absolutely dismal all over the world, and many experts were warning that we were right on the verge of the next global recession.

Now that this outbreak has erupted, we definitely have much more momentum in a downward direction. Very challenging times are ahead, although most people still don’t understand what is happening.

We are moving into a time when everything that can be shaken will be shaken.  The global financial system is on the precipice of utter disaster, we we witnessing great civil unrest and political shaking all over the world, the drumbeat of war grows louder and louder, weather patterns are going absolutely crazy and seismic activity is on the rise all over the planet. For born again, Bible believing saints, as events unfold exactly as predicted in God’s Word, it is confirmation that our Heavenly Father’s plan for Jesus to return and rule and reign on this planet for 1000 years is on track and not too far distant. Saints are you preparing to rule and reign with Jesus in the Millennium?

Japan’s biggest contraction in more than five years adds to escalating concerns among policymakers about the length of a likely recession in the world’s third-largest economy as the impact of the coronavirus and a plunge in oil prices causes markets to slide and the yen to gain.

Japan’s gross domestic product was already contracting badly in 2019. It had shrank at an annualised pace of 6.3 percent from the previous quarter in the three months through December, 2019. Economists surveyed had predicted a fall of 3.8 percent, flagging the adverse impact of a sales tax increase, weak global demand and typhoon disruption.

Consumer spending fell 11.1% after the national sales tax was raised in October to 10% from 8%. During the same month,Typhoon Hagibis ravaged a large swathe of the country.

Capital spending declined 14.1% and exports slipped 0.4% due to the fallout from the U.S.-China trade war.

“I’m getting ready for another contraction in Japan’s first quarter. There just aren’t any positive factors to build a positive growth forecast,” said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa Securities Co., flagging her view that the economy is likely falling into recession.

“There is a good chance of Japan’s economy falling into a recession,” Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, said before Monday’s data was released. He flagged the risks of supply chains being affected if the outbreak was prolonged.

The coronavirus is taking a toll on the number of Chinese tourists to Japan and manufacturing activity due to the economy’s close ties with China, prompting some economists to forecast a contraction lasting two quarters.

The following is how Zero Hedge summarised the recent economic data that we have seen come out of China…

While not perfect, and certainly not a comprehensive view of what is really taking place “on the ground”, the above data is a useful real-time indicator of how the people in China perceive the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, and one thing is abundantly clear: as the pandemic spreads further without containment, and as the charts above flatline, so will China’s economy, which means that while Goldman’s draconian view of what happens to Q1 GDP is spot on, the expectation for a V-shaped recovery in Q2 and onward will vaporise faster than a vial of ultra-biohazardaous viruses in a Wuhan virology lab.

As far as the coronavirus is concerned, the key will be what happens to the number of confirmed cases outside of China.  Over the past week that number has roughly doubled, and if that keeps happening every week we will soon have a full-blown global pandemic on our hands.

END TIMES PESTILENCES AND FAMINE

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Four plagues are marching across Asia simultaneously: Coronavirus, African Swine Fever, H5N1 Bird Flu And H1N1 Swine Flu and as well the locust plague sweeping Africa and the Middle East is not abating.  Weeks before the coronavirus spread through much of the world, parts of Africa were already threatened by another kind of plague, the biggest locust outbreak some countries had seen in 70 years. Now the second wave of the voracious insects, some 20 times the size of the first, is arriving.

Reports coming out of South Carolina are indicating that an infectious and fatal strain of bird flu has been confirmed in a commercial turkey flock. The report from News Channel 9 is stating that this is the first case of this serious of a strain of the in the United States since 2017 and a worrisome development for an industry that was devastated by previous outbreaks.

Deadly bird flu found in South Carolina commercial turkey flock

As well as the Coronavirus which has been getting all the news coverage, three other plagues have also been marching across Asia, and most people in the western world don’t even realise that this is happening. Long before we ever heard of this new coronavirus, African Swine Fever was devastating pork farms from one end of China to the other. There is no vaccine for “pig ebola”, there is no cure, and once it hits a farm the only thing that can be done is to kill every single pig so that it won’t spread anywhere else. But even though draconian measures have been implemented, it has just kept spreading, and at this point “about two-thirds of China’s swine herd has been lost.”

Brett Stuart, president of the market research and analysis firm Global AgriTrends, estimates that about two-thirds of China’s swine herd has been lost to the disease and contrary to official government reports of recovery, more pigs are dying every day as ASF continues to spread.

Prior to this crisis, approximately half of all the pigs in the entire world lived in China, and they would usually slaughter about 700 million a year. But now pork production has absolutely plummeted, and this is driving pork prices in China through the roof.

Unfortunately, this insidious disease has also been devastating farms in many other nations all over the planet. In particular, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines have been hit particularly hard.

It has been estimated that one out of every four pigs in the entire world has already died and this crisis is far from over.

Meanwhile, there has been a very alarming resurgence of the H5N1 bird flu in China. According to the Daily Mail, more than 17,000 chickens have been culled in an effort to keep this new outbreak from spreading further…

China has reportedly seen an outbreak of a ‘highly pathogenic’ strain of H5N1 bird flu which has already killed 4,500 chickens. The outbreak was initially reported at a farm in Shaoyang city in the southern province of Hunan, south of the epicentre of the Coronavirus in Wuhan. According to the Reuters report, Chinese authorities have already culled 17,828 poultry in the wake of the outbreak.

Unlike African Swine Fever, humans can become infected by the H5N1 bird flu and according to the World Health Organisation, the mortality rate for human cases is approximately 60 percent.

Alarmingly, the H5N1 bird flu has also popped up at a facility in India…

Authorities in an eastern Indian state will start culling chickens and destroying eggs from Tuesday to contain a bird flu virus of the H5N1 strain, a government statement said on Monday. The samples collected from a poultry breeding and research farm of a veterinary college in Odisha state tested positive, the statement said.

We haven’t heard much about the H5N1 bird flu in recent years, but this is an extremely deadly disease, and so we will want to monitor these developments very carefully.

On top of everything else, the H1N1 swine flu is starting to spread once again. In fact, more than 100,000 people in Taiwan “sought medical treatment for flu-like symptoms at hospitals across the country over the past week” and there have been 13 confirmed deaths…

At a time when the world is panicking over the coronavirus outbreak, the H1N1 flu virus is actually posing a greater threat in Taiwan, claiming 13 lives in the country in just one week, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

At a weekly meeting Friday, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said 116,705 people sought medical treatment for flu-like symptoms at hospitals across the country over he past week, including 61 more confirmed flu cases.

Never before have we seen so many alarming outbreaks occur simultaneously. Could it be possible that we have entered a period of time when mass pandemics are going to become “the new normal”?

JUST HOW ANTI BIBLE IS THE SCIENCE NEWS MEDIA?

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Many science news media outlets seem to think that ‘fake news’ is OK when it denigrates the Bible.

Researchers recently extracted DNA from skeletons, dated at around 3,750 years old and unearthed in Sidon, an ancient city inhabited by Canaanites at the time. When the DNA was compared to modern Lebanese people, they found that modern Lebanese derive about 93% of their ancestry from these Canaanites. There appears to be little reason to doubt the findings. And it’s interesting to see how genetics can provide clues to history when we lack written records. But science reporters seemed to have been utterly enthralled with the idea that these findings ‘contradicted’ the Bible. Here are some examples:

  • “Bronze Age DNA disproves the Bible’s claim that the Canaanites were wiped out: Study says their genes live on in modern-day Lebanese people” (Daily Mail)
  • “Bible says Canaanites were wiped out by Israelites but scientists just found their descendants living in Lebanon” (The Independent)
  • “Scientists Find Evidence That Ancient Canaanites Survive Today: Was The Bible Wrong?” (Tech Times)
  • “New DNA study casts doubt on Bible claim” (Mother Nature Network)
  • “The Bible was WRONG: Civilisation God ordered to be KILLED still live and kicking” (Express)
  • “Genetic evidence suggests the Canaanites weren’t destroyed after all” (Ars Technica)
  • “Canaanites Weren’t Annihilated by Ancient Israelites After All” (Newser)
  • “Study disproves the Bible’s claim that the ancient Canaanites were wiped out” (Click Lancashire)
  • “DNA vs the Bible: Israelites did not wipe out the Canaanites” (Cosmos)
  • “The Bible got it wrong: Ancient Canaanites survived and their DNA lives in modern-day Lebanese” (Pulse Headlines)1,2

Problem: the Bible says exactly the opposite of what these news outlets claim!

It will help to quote Scripture at some length, just to show how ludicrous these headlines really are. Clearly these ‘reports’ didn’t check the source they say this DNA evidence ‘contradicted’. 

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.” Numbers 33:55

God didn’t command the total ‘extermination, ‘slaughter’, ‘annihilation’, or ‘destruction’ of the Canaanites! He wanted the Israelites to drive them out.

How well did Israel do at driving the Canaanites out? 

“And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced labourers.” Joshua 16:10

All the way through Scripture even in the N.T., Matthew 15:22 and Mark 7:26, the Canaanites are present in the land originally allotted to Israel.

The extent of this media bias reveals they serve the Prince of this world, Satan, and how intense spiritual warfare has become. Further evidence I believe reveals we are in the days before Jesus return, prophesied in the Bible the media so despise.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

DO YOU BELIEVE JESUS WILL RETURN IN YOUR LIFETIME?

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THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT A MAJORITY OF EVANGELICAL BLACK PASTORS IN THE USA DO

Most pastors serving at evangelical and historically black churches see some current events lining up with what Jesus said would happen shortly before His second coming, according to a new poll on Christian eschatology from LifeWay Research.

Over half believe Christ will return during their lifetimes. These sentiments were expressed in January before the prospect of a global pandemic became known.”

On Tuesday, the Southern Baptist polling research firm released results from from a phone survey, conducted between Jan. 24 and Feb. 11, of 1,000 senior pastors, ministers or priests who were randomly called from a list of evangelical and historically black churches in the United States.

90% of pastors see at least some current events “matching those Jesus said would occur shortly before He returns to Earth.”

56% of pastors either strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: “I expect Jesus to return in my lifetime.”

24% said they were “not sure,” while 20 % either strongly or somewhat disagreed with the statement

97% of pastors said they believe Christ will return to Earth again.

The respondent pastors were asked to identify from a list whether they see certain “types of current events” as the “birth pains” that Jesus referred to when He was asked by His disciples when he would return. 

79% of pastors surveyed agreed that one birth pain of Christ’s return is “traditional morals becoming less accepted.”

75 percent of pastors said that “the number of people abandoning their Christian faith” is a birth pain.

81 percent agreed that “the love of many believers growing cold” is also a birth pain of Christ’s return.

78 percent of pastors said “wars and national conflicts” are also a birth pain

76 percent agreed that “earthquakes and other natural disasters” are indicators of the second coming. 

70 percent of pastors surveyed said that “famines” are another birth pain

The fear that the historic locust infestation taking place in East Africa right now could cause severe hunger and potential famine due to the destruction of crops is a good indicator this prophesied event is underway.

63 percent of pastors surveyed said that “worldwide anti-Semitism” is another indicator that Christ’s return might be near. 

83% of pastors surveyed agreed that the “rise of false prophets and false teachings” is a birth pain.

69% percent of pastors surveyed somewhat agreed that the “modern rebirth of the State of Israel and the re-gathering of millions of Jewish people show Christ’s return is closer.” Sadly, 27% indicated they either strongly or somewhat disagreed with that statement. 

Eighty-six percent of pastors surveyed said they attended Bible college or seminary. 

60 % of pastors surveyed said they believe the ideas of “premillennialism” best describe their views on the millennium described in Revelation 20, where it is said that Christ shall reign “a thousand years following His second coming.”

21% said that they believe more in the idea of “amillennialism” — the view that the “millennium is a symbolic way of describing the period between Christ’s ascension and second coming where Christ is reigning spiritually.”

9% said their beliefs align more with the theory of “postmillennialism,” which is the belief that the “the millennium is not a literal 1,000 years, but an era in which the world will gradually grow more Christian and just ending with Christ’s second coming.”

73% believe “Christ will return and reign in Jerusalem in fulfilment of God’s prophecies to King David.”

60% of pastors surveyed said they believe that teaching on Revelation and Old Testament prophecies is “important.” Meanwhile, 89 percent said that communicating the “urgency of Christ’s return” is also important. 

“For too long many pastors have shied away from teaching on birth pains and events leading up to the second coming,” bestselling evangelical author Joel Rosenberg said in a statement. “But the current pandemic demonstrates the need for solid, non-sensational preaching done in a biblical manner.”

The LifeWay survey was sponsored by Chosen People Ministries, Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem, Rich and Judy Hastings and the Hendricks Center at Dallas Theological Seminary. The research has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points. 

A RATIONAL LOOK AT CORONA VIRUS

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Your worldview affects how you will deal with this virus. Dr Shiva a PhD biologist is recognised in the medical world as an expert on the immune system. He understands the amazing ability of the immune system to deal with viruses such as the corona virus so he gives us a very different view of how this virus should be handled by governments. Realising only compromised immune systems will result in this virus causing disease should determine how governments legislate this pandemic. Dr Shiva says, the real issue is our immune health and this is what needs to be addressed. A nutritional approach makes good sense. Listen to what he suggests for each group that are compromised and susceptible to the virus. For most of us that are in good health, he suggests a “shield approach” with – 5,000 to 10,000 units of Vitamin D and A, make sure our iodine levels are good and then get back to work.

His explanation of how the establishment is using these circumstances to undermine and remove any anti establishment power blocks that have been elected to power by the people such as Trump is instructive.

You need to listen to this video, it will give Saints, who understand that ultimately God is in control, a fresh understanding on what is happening in the world in relation to the Biblical prophecy of a future one world government.

AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST

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Jesus is returning to this earth to rule and reign for 1000 years. Most of the O.T. prophets were shown a latter days restored Israel with a descendant of King David ruling the nations from His throne in a restored temple in Jerusalem.

The true Biblical Gospel involves much more than us being forgiven of our sins, it also involves us being enlisted into the service of a King that will shortly rule over this earth with complete dominion and authority.

THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM: The extent of the detail given in the Bible on a restored Jerusalem and new temple is inspiring. As well, incredible detail is given on Millennial governance, geography, ecology and healthcare. We also know that Satan is bound for most of the thousand years. He is released at the end and incredibly, he is able to raise an army “whose number is as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:8). Even with Jesus ruling and reigning with a rod of iron and the resurrected saints reigning with Him, Satan is still able to raise an army of enormous size. Just as he was able to convince one third of the angels to rebel with him in heaven, sadly, he is similarly successful with the inhabitants of earth during Jesus Millennial reign.

I have felt called to do a power point sermon on the Millennial Reign of Jesus and will make that available shortly here and on http://www.powerpointsermons.net.

HULK HOGAN CALLED IT RIGHT

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Wrestling star Hulk Hogan believes God is using the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to strip people of the idols they have in their lives.

Hulk Hogan praying

With 95% of Americans under stay-at-home orders, the celebrity — whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea — urged people to use their newfound free time to reflect on God and the Bible.

“God has taken away everything we worship,” the 66-year-old Hogan wrote in the now-viral Instagram post with a photo of the wrestler praying against a wall.

Can you handle the truth my brother? In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. God said, “you want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theatres. You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don’t want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can’t go to church”
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Maybe we don’t need a vaccine, Maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival where we focus on the ONLY thing in the world that really matters. Jesus.

REASONS WHY JESUS IS COMING BACK SOON

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ABORTION LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN 2019 AT 42 MILLION

Abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide last year, with termination procedures accounting for some 42 million losses of life.  The latest figure was highlighted by renowned stats website “Worldometers” which keeps a tally of many different world statistics in a live format.  The specific abortion number is based on the most recent figures published by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This abomination is just one of the reasons why God could decide it is time for His Son to return and rule with a rod of iron. His Word reveals that lawlessness will abound in the “last days”. Jesus said the “end times” will be just like the days of Noah when mankind was so wicked that God destroyed all but eight people with a worldwide flood. Many other prophetic “end times” signs are coming to pass, the big one was the reestablishment of Israel as a nation in 1948. God has miraculously preserved it despite repeated attempts by its hostile neighbours to annihilate Israel from the map. Jesus also said pestilences, plagues, famines, and so called natural disasters will be more evident in the “end times” and it is hard not to see the evidence of those events unfolding across the world.

Are you living with an end times focus now? Are you preparing for the coming persecution of Christians that hold to the word of God and His values? Are you ready for Jesus return when He will rule and reign on this earth for 1000 years?