EXPRESS GOD’S VALUES: LOSE YOUR JOB OR GO TO GAOL OR BOTH

Aaron Edwards, a 37-year-old Christian theology lecturer at the Methodist-run Cliff College in England has been dismissed after tweeting that “homosexuality is invading the church. The institution, which touts itself as a global center for evangelism, dismissed the father of five for misconduct last week, deeming his tweet had brought the institution “into disrepute.”

This is a ‘Gospel issue,’ by the way. If sin is no longer sin, we no longer need a Saviour.

United Kingdom MPs voted 299-116 to continue criminalizing even silent prayer in the vicinity of Abortion Clinics. A lawyer for the U.K.’s Alliance Defending Freedom stated: “Today’s vote marks a watershed moment for fundamental rights and freedoms in our country. Parliament had an opportunity to reject the criminalization of free thought, which is an absolute right, and embrace individual liberty for all. Instead, Parliament chose to endorse censorship and criminalize peaceful activities such as silent prayer and consensual conversation.

Washington Elementary School District, a public school district in Arizona, recently severed ties with Arizona Christian University over the university’s biblical views on marriage. The district, which had long partnered with ACU, decided to ban student teachers from the classroom. “The most alarming or shocking part of this meeting was that, despite the recommendation of the staff of the district who are the on-the-ground players in this, the LGBT agenda-driven board decided that it was just not safe,” Christian Post author Leonardo Blair explained. These student teachers have been in the classroom for 11 years without incident. And yet the Board decided that they just could not trust the student teachers not to be biased when they haven’t had any sort of incident in the classroom before.

Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, a national student movement dedicated to identifying, organizing, and empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government. In anticipation of Charlie Kirk’s speaking engagement at the University of California, Davis, Chancellor Gary S. May released a remarkable video, expressing the hope that no one would show up for the event. Yes, he said, “we can work together to neutralize and negate their influence” — and we do this in the name of free speech. Talk about doublespeak! Chancellor May made clear that he personally considered Kirk’s views to be “loathsome and hurtful.” And he referred to Kirk as “a well-known proponent of misinformation and hate and who has advocated for violence against transgender individuals.” This last claim cannot be substantiated and is in fact a lie.

These are just four incidents reported today that I have seen. Persecution of Christians is now becoming commonplace. Jesus told us that this would be the case prior to His return to set up his Millennial Kingdom. Jesus and the resurrected Saints will reign on this earth for 1000 years prior to the second resurrection, the White Throne judgement, and finally a new heaven and new earth where only the righteous dwell.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.Matthew 24:9-13

They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.Revelation 20:4-6

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN INDIA

“Christian persecution has skyrocketed in India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP (Bharatiya Janta Party) took power in 2014,” said International Christian Concern (ICC) President Jeff King. “With the goal to set up India as a Hindu nation, they have passed laws and enforced policies targeting Christians. The [recent attacks] are the result of this overarching hostility toward followers of Christ. It has created an increasingly dangerous climate for Indian believers.”

India ranks as the 10th most risky nation in the world for believers, according to Open Doors USA’s 2022 World Watch List, which ranks countries where persecution is most prevalent.

“The persecution of Christians in India is intensifying as Hindu extremists aim to cleanse the country of their presence and influence,” the World Watch List explained. “The driving force behind this is Hindutva, an ideology that disregards Indian Christians and other religious minorities as true Indians because they have allegiances that lie outside India, and asserts the country should be purified of their presence.” This is of course Satanically driven and I am reminded of the amazing account of Daniel and his experience with the Angel Gabriel. What an amazing message Gabriel gave to Daniel from many aspects, but it shows that Satan appoints demonic angels to be princes over his territories and no doubt Satan has his Prince of India.

O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you… Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me,.. and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.” Daniel 10:11-14

Satan did not want Daniel to receive that message from God and he had his demonic angel that he had set over Persia to try and stop Gabriel. Note Gabriel needed help from the Archangel Micnael which shows the power demonic angels still possess. Gabriel also mentions that on his return he will fight against not only the Demonic Prince of Persia but also the Demonic Prince of Greece.

But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. Daniel 10:20

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” which helps us get a better understanding of what is playing out in India right now.

According to ICC, Christians in 20 villages in the Chhattisgarh state of India were attacked last week during church services.

Hindu nationalists used bamboo sticks to attack believers, looted their homes, and destroyed three churches. Several people were severely injured and hospitalized, while others fled to the jungle or nearby police stations, but authorities refused to help. 

“Small kids and women with their families were sitting in open places in biting cold, with no food or water, warming their hands with their breath,” one witness told ICC.

A church leader said, “These large-scale violent attacks bring back traumatic memories of the Kandhamal anti-Christian riots,” referring to August 2008 when radical Hindu nationalists killed 39 Christians and destroyed 3,906 homes. “These incidents have shocked the entire Christian community in the state, and the sad thing is that the people in authority did not bother to help,” the leader added. 

India ranks as the 10th most risky nation in the world for believers, according to Open Doors USA’s 2022 World Watch List, which ranks countries where persecution is most prevalent.

As my followers know this account of what is happening in India is prophesied to take place before Jesus returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom. Tribulation even great tribulation is what we can expect.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.Matthew 24:9-13

HOW TO STAND STRONG IN THE END TIMES

We are witnessing shakings that disrupt virtually every life, disrupting the world, setting cities on fire, changing governments, and ushering in an agenda that wars against God’s people. Is there a way to stand strong and immovable through it all? Jonathan Cahn tells us how to find it – and live it.

There is no doubt in my mind that God is using Jonathan Cahn to alert the church to what God is doing in line with end times Biblical prophecy. Regardless of what Satan does to deceive the world when the Antichrist comes on the scene, our hope must be in the fact that God is in control of history. Satan’s time of controlling the world is coming to an end. Make sure you are on the winning side.

NEW YEARS GREETING FROM TORBEN SØNDERGAARD – NOW SIX MONTHS IN JAIL

New Year’s greetings to all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This year is soon over, and I’m sending this greeting to all of you, from Baker’s County Detention Center where I have now been locked up for six months – yes, a half-year! I could not imagine something like this was possible! But this shows that the times are changing and that we are in a spiritual war. Our enemy is busy spreading his lies and doing everything he can to stop the Gospel from going forth. But he will NOT succeed. GOD has the last word, and I truly believe we are standing in front of a breakthrough like we have never seen before!

Fortunately, Torben understands that GOD is in it! He has SPOKEN! He is FAITHFUL! Torben also knows that it is not just about him. He knows this is about Satan trying to destroy the Last Reformation Movement that is having a tremendous impact in spreading the Gospel around the world. Make sure you show you show your support by going to FriendsofTorben.com.

We need to remember that all of the O.T. prophets had to deliver messages of coming judgement to the people of Israel and most were rejected, persecuted, and killed. Likewise, all of Jesus’ disciples and Paul met similar ends.

Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.John 15:20

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Psalms 33:18-22

Our hope needs to be in our Lord Jesus Christ and the assurance of His second coming to put things right.

FAMINES AND PESTILENCES IN THE LAST DAYS

Unprecedented famine conditions not seen in the last 40 years are gripping parts of Africa. Back-to-back droughts, COVID-19, and the effects of the Ukraine war have created dire conditions for the eastern region. Fadumo Abdi Aliyow has just buried her two sons on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia. She lays a thorny branch on their graves to protect their bodies from wild animals. Both died from starvation. “I wanted to die before them so they could bury me, but both of them died before me,” Aliyow said. Somalia and its neighbours in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia and Kenya, are facing unprecedented drought conditions. “We’ve had four failed rains,” said Alex Marianelli with the World Food Program (WFP). “The drought that we are currently seeing in the Horn of Africa is the worst drought in over 40 years.”

On average, one person dies every 48 seconds from hunger in the Horn of Africa. “Because of the drought, many water sources have dried up,” Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef, a UNICEF representative warned. “Many wells have also dried up.” With crops failing, the United Nations says some 22 million people are at risk of starvation, many of them farmers who only grow enough food to feed their own families. “People will be forced to flee to look for food,” warned Rein Paulsen with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. “People will have to try and find a way to survive and obviously this entails very perilous journeys for people who are already marginalized.” Many in the region who rely on livestock for livelihood have seen massive numbers of their animals wiped out.

“For example, in northern Kenya, we’ve lost about 1.5 million herds of livestock,” Joseph Kamara with World Vision Kenya, said. “Similarly, in southern Ethiopia, we’ve lost about two million. In Somalia, we’ve even stopped counting.” In Somalia alone, around eight million people, or half the population, are experiencing crisis hunger levels. One-in-three children face chronic malnutrition. “I have been shocked to my core these past few days by the level of pain and suffering we see so many Somalis enduring. Famine is at the door,” said Martin Griffiths, the United Nations’ humanitarian chief. Anne Kasombo oversees CBN’s offices in Kenya. In partnership with Operation Blessing, they’ve been distributing food and other aid supplies to some of the hardest-hit regions of her country.

“It’s been quite devastating in some communities, especially in the arid areas, even when there’s rain, food is hard to come by because they’re not able to grow their food,” Kasombo said. Four consecutive droughts and African economies still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic have created these dire conditions. “The situation has been aggravated by the current conflict in Europe between Russia and Ukraine,” Kamara said. Before the war, Somalia imported 90 percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine while Ethiopia imported 42 percent. Kenya, which also imports oil, iron, steel, and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine, imports 44 percent of its wheat from both countries. All that has come to a screeching halt since the war started. The result: skyrocketing prices for practically everything. “It has really affected us, especially on food prices,” Richard, a resident of Nairobi, said. “It has also affected the cost of fuel.”

“When the fuel prices go up, the production cost is high, so everything is affected,” Allis, another resident of Nairobi, said. A new survey just out found that most of Kenya are forced to dip into their savings or take out loans to meet the rising cost of living. “It’s been a buildup: From COVID, to inflation, to drought, to war in Ukraine,” Kasombo said. “So just before one situation gets better, another one crops up so the impact has been quite deep and long. It’s devastating. It’s been tough on families.” In late August, the first ship carrying grain from Ukraine docked on the Horn of Africa offloading some 23,000 tons of wheat. “That’s enough wheat to feed 1.5 million people for about a month,” Marianelli of WFP said. Food experts say that’s a drop in the bucket considering the immediate crisis facing millions across the Horn of Africa.

Jesus warned us as recorded in all three gospels Matthew Mark and Luke of the signs that would precede His second coming particularly the increasing persecution that Christians will endure so we can be prepared.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:9-14

Source: CBNNews

END TIMES PROPHECIES BEING FULFILLED IN OUR DAY

Article in The Weekend Australian (major Australian Newspaper) by Greg Sheridan Foreign Affairs Editor

Christianity and individual Christians are blamed for all Western sins, real and imagined. The West will not survive, as the west, if it abandons its belief in God. But while it’s true that Christianity shaped Western civilisation, Christianity comes from the east. The vast majority of Christians alive today are not in the West. Western chattering classes believe the West is uniquely evil, and that more traditional societies embody superior human wisdom and justice. The woke folk should apply these strictures to themselves. It’s only in the West that atheism is ascendant. Christianity is on fire in Africa and Asia. It is only the West, in its present cultural confusion and distress, that has wandered down this strange atheist cul-de-sac.

In Nigeria, Ondo State governor Rotimi Akeredolu (3rd L) called it a “vile and satanic attack”

On Sunday, June 5, in the little Catholic church of St Francis in the town of Owo, in southwest Nigeria, a crowd gathered for Sunday morning mass. This was the most offensive thing they could do in the eyes of some fellow Nigerians. Gunmen drove up and opened fire, killing 50 worshippers, and injuring many more. Ordinary Nigerian folks, men, women, and children, seeking peace with God and neighbour, just saying their prayers, all slaughtered. The global media is dominated by the West, and the Western media cannot bring itself to regard Christianity, as a sympathetic subject and therefore avoids awarding them victim status wherever it can. Christianity is the most persecuted religion on the planet.

Beijing continues to ratchet up active restrictions on Christians but it has not been successful. In 1949, when the communists took power, there were about 4 million Chinese Christians. Now it’s between 60 and 120 million. For the past decade, Beijing has intensified surveillance and pressure, shutting churches, making it illegal to sell Bibles in non-church bookshops, banning anyone under 18 from attending Christian worship, severely restricting believers’ careers, kidnapping, and imprisoning pastors and subjecting them to psychologically brutal re-education. In the Middle East, the Copts in Egypt, the Maronites in Lebanon, and Christians have been mostly chased out or killed. In many locations, Christian women are subject to sexual assault, forced marriage, and human trafficking.

Thank goodness Jesus told us that persecution/tribulation would be the lot of Christians in the “last days” before His return to earth first to rapture the Saints and then pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant people.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

Source: The Weekend Australian

PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN CRISIS

The global food shortage is hitting persecuted Christians hard. In many countries, Open Doors field teams are now operating with a “FOOD FIRST” mission.

Displacement, drought, discrimination, rising food prices, and lack of resources have made persecuted Christians more vulnerable, insecure, and desperate—especially in remote areas where resources are few.

Open Doors is fighting to provide critical supplies to believers on the brink of survival in countries like Burkina Faso, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria, and many others.

“Persecuted believers can’t … worship or serve one another if they’re too weak and starving.”

— Field Partner in Burkina Faso

“Food inflation in Sri Lanka has surged to 80 percent … The needs are urgent.”

 —Field Partner in Sri Lanka

The following Scriptures remind us that we have been warned by Jesus that persecution, tribulation, and disasters on earth and in the cosmos will precede His second coming, to first rescue the Saints and to pour out His wrath on the unrepentant.

There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Mark 13:8

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be... See, I have told you beforehand.Matthew 24:21, 25

BE PREPARED – END TIMES TRIBULATION

Persecution of Christians is escalating just as the Bible prophesied would happen before Jesus’ second coming. For simply stating the truth that natural marriage between a man and a woman is the fundamental building block for a successful society, Maureen Martin lost her job as a Housing Manager with the London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q).

A recent article in Christian Post stated: “A housing trust in England has doubled down on its decision to terminate a housing manager who voiced her belief in the biblical definition of marriage while campaigning for mayor of her local community.”

The L & Q which houses over 250,000 people, issued a statement this week in response to legal action filed by former employee Maureen Martin, who claims she was terminated this spring after voicing her beliefs on marriage in a leaflet during her campaign for mayor of Lewisham.

The alleged offensive copy in the election leaflet:

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Genesis 2:24

Marriage: I pledge to cut through political correctness and simply state the truth that natural marriage between a man and a woman is the fundamental building block (ordained by God) for a successful society and the safest environment for raising children,”

In a statement, the Christian Peoples Alliance, a political party formed in 1999, said Martin’s beliefs on marriage are “what millions of people believe and is a belief that is protected in U.K. law.”

Someone posted an image of the leaflet on Twitter, calling it against the law and hate speech. Three complaints followed, telling L&Q’s chief executive that Martin’s beliefs should have no place at the company. The Christian candidate was described in the complaint as “bigoted” in need of “anti-oppressive training.”

Martin was soon “suspended, investigated, hindered from campaigning as part of the election and then dismissed for allegedly bringing L&Q into disrepute, breaching social media policy and failing to declare political interests.”

The Bible reveals that losing one’s job is just the beginning of tribulation as the following Scripture reveals. This warning is given by Jesus on what will occur in the end times before He returns.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.Matthew 24:9-14

THE HOLY SPIRIT SUSTAINS US THROUGH TRIALS AND TRIBULATION

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30

Coptic Christian martyrs for Christ

While this life is fraught with many trials and tribulations, the sufferings we experience are to be counted as incomparable with the glories to come. We groan, we wail, we suffer—yet with much hope as we persevere to the end, waiting for the redemption of all creation, and even our bodies. Yet in this, the tension that all mankind faces come to the forefront, and the reason for this is simple: we must wait. This anticipation for glory builds more and more anticipation the longer we must endure this life. This anticipation for glory sustains us and brings forth one major reason why we persevere: we hope in the age to come rather than in this broken and fallen age.

Paul says, that in the same way, this hope for glorification sustains us, the Spirit sustains us, for He knows precisely how to intercede on our behalf before the Father.

Where words and utterances fail us in our prayers, the Spirit transforms them into prayers that match the will of God. The very purpose of the Spirit’s intercession is not so we can feel good about His work in doing so, though we should have much joy in this fact. Rather, the Spirit’s work in transforming our failed prayers likewise culminates in us reaching the finish line, where we are ushered into the presence of our Triune Lord for all eternity. In other words, the Spirit’s work of intercession on our behalf is part and parcel of our endurance; we endure not only for the hope of the age to come but specifically because part of the Spirit’s work is to bring about endurance in us.

Here then is where we find our particular reference that God works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And what is that purpose? Paul says, the “good” that God is working all things together for, is explicit.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30

Human suffering has a purpose that culminates in glory. To make that ever clearer: the purpose of our trials and sufferings is to bring us to final redemption, where we see God face to face, free from the pain, devastation, and destruction caused by the curse of sin, our adversary Satan, and death itself.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 8:38-39

God sees to it, from eternity past to eternity future, that those who love God, that is, those who are in Christ, will one day be glorified, first to assist Jesus in His Millennial reign on this earth and then, after the White Throne judgement, to be ushered into a world free from the Fall and its effects. All of our groaning, all of our longing, all of our deferred hope for what is to come, shall be satisfied in the fullness and richness of God’s saving love through Christ.

Adapted from an article by Jason Gilbert “God Works All Things for Good” August 23, 2022, http://www.patheos.com

REVIVAL AND PERSECUTION IN THE END TIMES

Both are possible and Jesus told us that this is what will happen before He returns, first to raise the dead in Christ and then rapture the Saints that are alive, before pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.Matthew 24:9-14

I met Jonathan Cahn by chance at breakfast at the Leonardo Hotel in Jerusalem. I was ordering an omelette at breakfast when a voice behind me said, I will have one of those too. I looked around and could not believe I was looking at Jonathan Cahn. Surprised, I said, Jonathan Cahn! He replied that’s right. Wanting to keep the conversation going, I asked, what are you doing here, Conference? No! he replied, I am here on vacation, I have not been well. I was handed my omelette, so I returned to my table, but I immediately asked the Holy Spirit why had I met Jonathan at this time. Was there a purpose? Immediately, the Holy Spirit told me to share with Jonathan why I was in Jerusalem and what was happening at the Gathering that I was attending in the large International Convention Centre opposite the Knesset. Jonathan was sitting at a table with his wife and children so my immediate reaction was no, I should not interrupt them, but the Holy Spirit then added why I needed to tell him. He needs to know that 1500 of the 3000 at the Gathering are Chinese. So I went to the table and first apologised for interrupting their breakfast, but I said, that I believed the Holy Spirit wanted Jonathan to know what God was doing in Israel at this time. I then asked him if he knew that 3000 Christians were here in Israel for a Gathering – no speakers just to worship and hear from God. Jonathan said no, he was not aware of the Gathering and was surprised at the number of Christians attending. I then dropped the “bombshell” 1500 of the attendees were Chinese a large portion from mainland China. No way, was Jonathan’s response. 1500 Chinese came to Jerusalem to pray and offer their support to their Jewish brothers and sisters. Jonathan knows what God is doing in America, but had no concept of the extent of how God is using Chinese Christians to impact the world, even Jerusalem.

Jonathan is God’s prophet for America at this time issuing warnings that America needs to turn back to God or receive His judgement. His book The Harbinger warns America that God had already sent nine warnings to America starting with 9/11, the attack on the World Trade Centre and as America has not heeded those warnings further judgement is inevitable.

If you have not heard Jonathan before you will be blown away by his revelation of Biblical prophecies.