PSALM 83 AND END TIMES PROPHECIES

Does Psalm 83 speak of the end times? Jonathan Cahn says it does. It is about the enemies of Israel coming against Israel to destroy it. The enemies of Israel are enemies of God.

Satan has been coming against Israel ever since its inception. The nations mentioned in Psalm 83 are all the nations that are coming against Israel today so it does have meaning for today. Remember that Israel did not exist as a nation for almost 2,000 years. It only became a nation again in 1948 and when it became a nation again, almost immediately, all of the nations mentioned in Psalm 83 came against Israel intending to annihilate it exactly as stated: “They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!” Psalms 83:4

This is a great sermon. God has raised up Jonathan Cahn as an end-times prophet. He is just one of many who speak the truth from God’s Word about the perilous times we are living in.

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE USA?

It really does not matter who wins the next Presidential election as Biblical prophecy reveals:

1. We are fast approaching the last seven years before Jesus returns to Earth to set up His Millennial Kingdom (http://www.millennialkingdom.net).

2. Biblical prophecy shows us that during the end times, there is a one-world government and the USA is no longer a leading nation. It will fall further under the judgement of God.

Following Trump’s survival of the assassination attempt and his acknowledgment that but for the grace of God, he would be dead, many Christians hoped that Trump was God’s vessel to turn the nation back to God.

However, the deceptive action taken by Trump and a select group of Republicans at the RNC Platform Committee Meeting last week indicates he is prepared to do whatever is necessary to win the election even if that means compromising with the world’s values. They changed the Republican Party’s Platform on which it will stand for re-election. The platform waters down and walks away from bedrock principles that have defined the Republican Party. Donald Trump and his operatives this year decided that they wanted rid of strong pro-life language so that language was taken out of the platform. Not only is the RNC position on Pro-life watered down but marriage as well. All it says now is the RNC supports the sanctity of marriage. What does that mean? It no longer defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Will Harris and Obama accept more U.N. control?

Christians are already speaking up about this anti-God deceptive move by Trump and his allies. Hence the support he was getting from Christians as a result of the failed assassination attempt and Trump’s supposedly Godly reaction will likely dissipate.

Whilst Obama has not yet supported Harris as the Democratic Presidential candidate, I believe he will, and when he does, they will emerge as the winning team. We already know that Obama is one of the influential leaders of the World Economic Forum who is working to create a one-world government. Obama and Harris will further the decline of the USA as a world power as it becomes a godless, lawless nation.

HOW AI AND QUANTUM COMPUTING WILL IMPACT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Amazon and Walmart are good examples of how AI will adversely affect employment opportunities.

The online retailer behemoth, Amazon, is the second-largest private employer in the U.S. – 1.5 million people. It’s also one of the largest investors in AI.

It’s building out fully autonomous warehouses… It’s working to automate the delivery process with self-driving vans and delivery drones… and 30% of its “workforce” are already robots.

Robots don’t sleep. They don’t take vacations. They never need a break. So, let me ask you this: How much longer until Amazon decides these robots are ready to take on the full workload of its 1.5 million remaining workers? And what do you think will happen when 1.5 million hardworking Americans are suddenly out of a job? Biblical prophesied end times lawlessness will be the outcome. Young people will be marching on the streets causing havoc.

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 24:12-13

And Amazon is far from the only giant company doing this. Walmart Inc. (WMT), the largest private employer in the U.S., is rolling out fully automated distribution centers using a combination of AI and robots. The company’s distribution centers are in operation but come with one big catch: There aren’t any people.

What about “knowledge workers” – i.e., accountants, business strategists, lawyers, and doctors – who make optimal decisions, are good at problem-solving, can strategize, and always act in the best interests of the business?

ChatGPT and other forms of AI are killing that paradigm. It makes it so that businesses can scale critical thinking and knowledge work. It doesn’t matter if you have a blue or white collar: AI could be a threat to your job. The reason why AI is more of a threat now than it was when ChatGPT made its debut in 2022 is because of quantum computing. Quantum computers allow for multiple computational pathways to be explored at the same time, opening new avenues and speeds for solving complex problems.

We’re talking about machines so advanced that they can instantly execute calculations that would take the world’s most advanced supercomputers nearly half a century to process.

It’s not like the transition from the horse and buggy to the automobile. It’s more like horse and buggy to the SR-71 Blackbird… the fastest jet ever made. The difference is utterly mind-blowing.

With quantum computing, the digital elite will have AI that is not constrained by computational speed. Quantum-powered AI will drive efficiencies by getting rid of human workers and driving up corporate profits. No matter the job, robots, software, and AI – powered by a new breed of computer – will be able to do it better and cheaper.

This is the societal and economic equivalent of a 10,000-foot mega tsunami. It’s about to slam into our world and alter the trajectory of our world forever. It is amazing that 600 years before Jesus Christ came to Earth for the first time, Daniel was told that the time before Jesus’ second coming to Earth, two of the signs would be that people would be travelling a lot and knowledge would increase. This must have sounded strange to Daniel as he had no concept of air travel and the internet, AI, and quantum computing.

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.Daniel 12:4

WHAT IS NEXT-GEN MARXISM?

In the USA, a highly influential movement within the Left is an organized, international, and well-funded Marxist movement that has been on the rise for years.

It started to become mainstream in American universities in 1989 and now runs rampant in US culture through the implementation of critical race theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies. Authors Mike Gonzalez and Katharine Gorka thoroughly researched and exposed the history and organization of the Left in their new, eye-opening book, “NextGen Marxism.”

Not only do Gonzalez and Gorka reveal how organized, international, and powerful the Left is, but they also show how powerful and effective passionate citizens — especially parents — have been at stopping it in recent years. They provide straightforward action steps for those who love America and its freedoms and want to continue fighting for them on behalf of freedom-loving people worldwide. The message is equally applicable to the situation in most of the Western world.

What Is NextGen Marxism?

NextGen Marxism (or cultural Marxism) is a philosophy implemented by “social justice” warriors (led by Black Lives Matter) through DEI policies that — over the last four years especially — companies and schools are expected to implement. If they don’t, they are labeled as heteronormative, sexist, white supremacist oppressors, and are likely to be canceled.

Gonzalez and Gorka explain:

“This book makes the case that the social upheaval we are experiencing in the United States today is the result of a zero-sum view of the world, a world of irreconcilable antagonisms, one in which the open exchange of ideas is replaced by a rigid orthodoxy, in which there is no room for dissent, in which people are reduced to their skin color or sexual orientation. It is a worldview that sees the United States as fundamentally flawed and for which the sole antidote is its destruction and rebuilding.

“The [Black Lives Matter] leaders who shared this view well before they founded BLM made use of [George] Floyd’s tragedy to try to deliver a knockout blow against the US constitutional order in 2020 and were able to convince the managers and leaders of all our top institutions to buy in to the idea that the United States is systematically racist and oppressive, and thus in need of total transformation. It is this phenomenon that accounts for what has happened to American society.”

In The Heritage Foundation’s online forum, “NextGen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It,” Gonzalez and Gorka discuss how they discovered that in 1989 (when the Berlin Wall came down and many thought that Marxism and communism were dying), in reality, Marxism became mainstream in American universities’ humanities and law departments, CRT was created, and Eric Mann formed his Marxist Labor/Community Strategy Center in Los Angeles. (Several years later, Mann recruited Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter.)

Who Are “The Oppressors” and “The Oppressed,” according to Next Gen Marxists?

Today “the oppressors” are the “privileged”: whites, Americans, Israelis, Christians, Jews, heterosexuals, and males, according to NextGen Marxists. “The oppressed” is everyone else: those in the minority, based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and those who were once colonized. They claim that Americans cannot work together to solve the supposed fundamental/systemic problems in our country, so they have to fight. They want to bring down the oppressors because they’re the “victimizers.”

From Economic Marxism to Cultural Marxism: “Abolish the Family”

Marxists believe that humankind can be perfected and that utopia can be attained here on earth (whereas Christians know that humans have been sinful since the fall and will only experience paradise in the new heaven and new earth. For Marxists to attain utopia, they believe they must tear down norms and traditions, the “trinity of the most monstrous evils”: private property, religion, and marriage. Gonzalez and Gorka write: “One can draw a straight line from the anti-family, anti-morality position of [Robert] Owen and other utopians and socialists of the 1800s to BLM in 2020, which posted on its website (and subsequently removed following heavy criticism) the goal of destroying the nuclear family: “[W]e disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear-family-structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another.”

In the late 1980s, a group of writers, including Judith Butler, Gail Rubin, Sandy Stone, and Susan Stryker established the disciplines of queer theory and transgender studies. They argued that gender was a social construct, used to oppress racial and sexual minorities. They denounced the categories of man and woman as false binary that upholds a system of hetero-normativity, the white male heterosexual power structure. These writers made the case that these systems must be ruthlessly deconstructed and turned to dust, and the most visceral, dramatic way to achieve this is transgenderism. If a man can become a woman, if a woman can become a man, they believed the entire structure of creation could be toppled.”

These views espoused by the leftist elite influence America’s schools and culture. The nonprofit Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) writes in its guidelines on comprehensive sex education for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Sex education has the power to spark large-scale social change. SIECUS is not a single-issue organization because sex ed, as SIECUS envisions it, connects and addresses a variety of social issues. Sex ed sits at the nexus of many social justice movements — from LGBTQ rights and reproductive justice to the #MeToo movement and urgent conversations around consent and healthy relationships.” They add, “Controlling the formation of sexual identities through racialized stereotypes and the reproduction of racial and ethnic minority groups is central to effective population controls.”

Over the last 10 years, the Marxist Left has been successful at influencing schools, businesses, and the entertainment industry by making catchphrases such as “racial reckoning,” “marginalized groups,” and “heteronormative” a part of America’s everyday vocabulary. The New York Times columnist Bret Stephens described this as the “great American cultural revolution of the 2010s, in which traditional practices and beliefs — regarding same-sex marriage, sex-segregated bathrooms, personal pronouns, meritocratic ideals, race-blind rules, reverence for patriotic symbols, the rules of romance, the presumption of innocence and the distinction between equality of opportunity and outcome — became, more and more, not just passe, but taboo.”

Based on where we are according to end times Biblical prophecies the US, and for that matter the rest of the Western world, will not stop casting off God and His commandments. Gen Z and Gen Alpha have been raised with an evolutionary mindset so do not have a Biblical worldview. In the “American Worldview Inventory 2024” (AWVI), George Barna, the director of Research at Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center, explained the country’s “40-year drop in biblical worldview to only 4% holding a Biblical worldview.”

Moreover, most of the denominational/institutional churches have compromised with the world and its values. It is like the days after Joshua died the next generation did not know God.

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.Judges 2:8-10

I believe we are fast approaching the Bibical prophesied last seven years before Jesus returns first to rescue the Saints and then to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world. The seven Trumpet judgements come first followed by the seven Bowl judgements. If your unsaved family and friends knew what God’s coming judgements would be like perhaps they would be prepared to repent and submit to Jesus lordship over their lives. I have shown the first three Bowl judgement below they are terrible. I would not want to be on Earth during the coming Trumpet and Bowl judgements of God. We need to get our family and friends to read the Trumpet and Bowl judgements Scriptures so at least we have warned them. Bear in mind they can still turn to God during the time God pours out His wrathupon the Earth.

The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

​”Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.
The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,
“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!”
Revelation 16:1-7

THE WORLD IS ON AN UNSUSTAINABLE PATH

The world is on an unsustainable path,  Dr. Voddie Baucham, pastor and best-selling author points out. “People are at war with the God of the universe, and they will face his wrath. [They’re] running headlong toward a cliff, and the loving thing to do is to shout as loud as we can, put up as many signs and warnings as we can, and if necessary, grab people you know before they go over the cliff. That’s the loving thing to do, even when it doesn’t feel like it’s loving. … We’ve got to show people the car that’s about to run them over.”

When Family Research Council’s, Joseph Backholm asked Baucham how this movie ends, he shook his head. “It ends badly. We’ve seen this before [when] empires fall. And this culture is devolving.” But there’s still hope that the Lord will intervene, that there’s revival and awakening. “And that’s my prayer,” he said. “I’m not praying for the destruction of the West. I’m praying for revival.”

Christians have seen the impact they can have when they refuse to embrace the agenda that’s saturating our education system, marketplace, government, sports, entertainment, and so many other areas. We’ve watched the entire script flip on LGBT activism in board rooms we never thought would change just because we were determined to make our voices heard.

So what’s the mindset we should have now? “Two things,” Baucham insisted. “One, the Kingdom of God is undefeated. It has never lost, and it never will lose. And the second thing is that we have dual citizenship and that our heavenly citizenship trumps whatever other citizenship we hold. If we hold on to those two truths, we will take heart and we will be encouraged even during dark days.”

No matter what, we’re still in the world, he wanted people to know. “But not of the world.” In other words, “You can’t hide — so stop trying. Besides that, some people desperately need what we have — and we can’t give it to them if we run away from them.”

This article is taken from an article in The Washington Stand – A Christian Response to Pride Month, June 5th, 2024.  Family Research Council’s Joseph Backholm interviews Dr. Voddie Baucham.

Fortunately, we know how the story ends. God has given us in His Word, the BIBLE, the entire story from start to end. We can use the end times prophecies to get people into the Kingdom. They prove the Bible is true and the loving but righteous God it portrays exists. If you would like to learn how to use apocalyptic evangelism can I suggest you go to Reggie Kelly’s website http://www.mysteryofisrael.org where you can join others to develop your skills to evangelise using end times Scriptures. The following quote is taken from his website.

We want to state, firstly, that you will not be regarded so much as students as “participants” in our mutual engagement and interaction over the material. You, the participant, will play a formative and influential role in the content and direction of the course. Your response and feedback is critical towards the final product that will take its character from the many. We desire to approximate as much as possible that organic and corporate involvement that so uniquely characterizes the body of Christ, hearing the Lord in one another, the supply that every member supplies, co-contributors towards that sacred last day’s prophetic task to make the vision “plain upon tables” that to read (with understanding) is to run (compare Hab 2:2-3Dan 12:4,9).

“READ WITH PRIDE” FROM THE WORLD’S LARGEST CHILDREN’S BOOK PUBLISHING COMPANY

Conservative Americans are sounding the alarm on Scholastic, the world’s largest children’s book publishing company, for releasing the 2024 guide to their “Read With Pride” initiative.

The guide considers itself to be a “resource” for K-12 students, as well as teachers and other figures of authority, “for supporting LGBTQIA+ youth and books.” The recommended books, which are aimed at kids as young as pre-school, contain content promoting transgenderism, same-sex couples, and parents, the concept of “friends with benefits,” traveling to a “spirit realm,” and taking relationships “to the next level” with sexual intercourse.

Scholastic’s 2024 guide begins with a “letter to educators, caregivers, [and] advocates,” expressing their motivation for the 12-page document. It’s full of extreme LGBT ideology, and it makes no attempt to mask the progressive agenda. 

The first lie is a stark statement found in the letter, where it specifically states that biological reality and biblical mandates are not the “default” and must be challenged.

“Books and literature are never neutral; by engaging with queer literature for children and young adults, you are disrupting the status quo that implies being cisgender, heterosexual, and allosexual are the default.” It should go without saying that our birth sex, the male or female God created us to be, is the default. Moreover, being born a boy or a girl is also a permanent biological reality.

No one can change their gender. No one was born in the “wrong body.” No amount of hormones, surgeries, or feelings will ever change this fact. And so, while Scholastic broadcasts this lie that there is no default, let those of us who care for children boldly and lovingly share that everyone is made in the image of God with innate dignity and value. How we are born is exactly how we were supposed to be born, and it’s a beautiful truth to embrace. God doesn’t make mistakes, and He won’t start now.

Unfortunately, Scholastic’s guide continued to make another patently false claim. They wrote, “Everyone benefits from books with authentic representation of queer identities.” This simply isn’t true. I’d argue no one benefits from these LGBT, rainbow-plastered alphabet books because they are harmful, not helpful. Especially since these books target kids at an age where they don’t fully understand what reality is. Their minds are malleable, giving these dangerous ideas a better chance to take root. And yet, the “truth” they’re told is completely contrary to nature.

To add to the concern, these books expose innocent, young, and vulnerable children to inappropriate, explicit content. No child needs to be reading a book about LGBT ideology, much less books discussing pornographic content. But the guide chose to amplify debunked statistics that suggest increased support for transgenderism decreases the likelihood of suicide among those who self-identify as such. However, this claim falls flat when compared to what credible sources have discovered.

This book published by Scholastic reveals how far the world has transgressed from God and His commandments. The Bible reveals God judges nations, the nation He established for His purposes, Israel, He has judged repeatedly, and He is judging nations today. God poured out His wrath on the earth once before with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day. Moreover, Biblical prophecy tells us that He is going to pour out His wrath again on a world that has embraced the lies of the evil one, Satan, and his Antichrist.

We are given a lot of detail in Revelation on the coming Trumpet and Bowl judgements so we should use this information to present the Gospel Message to show family and friends that they need to get right with God then they will not need to face His wrath.

TRUMPET JUDGEMENTS: Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed… Revelation 8:6-9

USA: A NATION UNDER JUDGEMENT

In the United States, June now brings a more sinister side. The nation celebrates June as “Pride Month.” Desecrated rainbows fill store displays and social media feeds. Sexual deviancy and perversion are celebrated as a virtue. Baseball teams host “Pride nights” at their stadiums. Government buildings are lit up with the colours of the rainbow. The US Navy joins in, changing their entire Twitter avatar and bio to boast of wickedness.

As Christians, we might easily look at June as a month where the darkness has overtaken the light, where godless people brazenly mock God by taking His rainbow and using it to celebrate what He describes as an abomination. But we do well to remember that God in His sovereignty rules over the darkness and that God is not mocked, no matter how vigorously men may try.

While the godless of society take this month to celebrate their ungodliness, we must acknowledge the sovereignty of God in that they label this celebration with a sin that is even worse than the one they are promoting: PRIDE. Proverbs 6:16-17 says, “There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him; Haughty eyes…” Haughty eyes are the visible, outward manifestation of a heart of pride. The Lord hates pride. The Lord says that pride is an abomination to Him. Peter wrote, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). To celebrate pride is to celebrate what God hates and to put yourself in a position where God is opposed to you. That includes all pride, not just pride in sexual immorality.

When our nation celebrates Pride Month, it is a manifest indication of God’s judgment against us. The reason it is such a clear indication of judgment is not because of the rejoicing in unrighteousness that occurs, although that in itself would qualify, but because this rejoicing in unrighteousness is done under the banner of another sin that God hates, the sin of pride. God’s judgment is manifest in taking those who love sin and doubling their guilt. They no longer are guilty before God for one sin — sexual immorality — but two sins that God hates, as pride becomes their adornment. The judgment of God is manifest when He not only condemns sinners in their sin but aggravates their condition so that they become even more guilty before Him.

We see this throughout all of Scripture. Pharaoh hardened his heart before God, and God hardened Pharaoh’s heart as well. When Pharaoh refused to repent, God hardened his heart to such an extreme that Pharaoh drove his army to their death in the sea (Exodus 14). We see this with Herod in Acts 12. Herod was guilty before God for executing the Apostle James. His unrepentant heart became so hardened that he exalted himself over God, and God executed him for it. When Eli rebuked his sons for their godless behavior, including sexual immorality, “they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death” (1 Samuel 2:25).

Besides the judgment of God, we also see the sovereign providence of God over all of these events. God is no mere bystander, watching helplessly or disinterestedly as His creatures defy His authority and flout His law. God is intimately involved in ruling His world and reigning over His creation. Part of that sovereign providence is bringing specific and terrifying judgment from which there is no escape. From that vantage point, we can say as Christians that pride month is not merely a manifestation of the wicked heart of man but an indication of the righteous judgment of God. That means as Christians we realize that God is sovereign over pride month and that He has a good purpose in what man means for evil.

A heart of pride might be the most terrifying judgment of all because it is the judgment from which there is no path of escape. The necessary element for salvation is the opposite of pride. God delights in a broken and contrite heart, not a proud countenance. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3-4). The poor in spirit are those who recognize their spiritual poverty, and they are connected with those who mourn because they grieve over their sins. They are not proud, and they do not celebrate what God condemns. Their hearts are broken over their sins, and they are humbled to the dust before a holy and righteous God who judges everyone impartially.

The only way anyone can be saved is by abandoning their pride, their self-reliance, their delight in disobedience to God’s Word, and humbling themselves before the cross of Christ, seeking mercy through faith in His sacrifice for sinners.

God’s judgment becomes clear when the Lord begins to aggravate people’s sinful condition so that one sin begins to pile on top of another. That is what is happening during pride month, and that is why June is for judgment. The USA is a nation already under judgment and with much of the church compromised with the world on gay marriage, LGBTQ, and transgender issues it will also be deceived by the false prophet when the Antichrist comes to power. How foolish, when Jesus’ return is so close first to rapture the Saints but then to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

The USA church is the church of Laodicea. The church that will be left behind to face the wrath of God.

‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.Revelation 3:15-20

The church of Philadelphia represents the church that is raptured look what God says to it.

“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name… Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon.Revelation 3:8, 10-11

SATAN: PRINCE OF THIS WORLD

What does God reveal to us about our principal enemy, Satan: “Thus says the Lord GOD: You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” Ezekiel 28: 12

Because the passage is about Satan, what God has to say about the anointed cherub is all the more significant. In just six Hebrew words, Satan was revealed to be the “seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” This description, coupled with the word measurement/proportion [תכנית tochnit], means Satan was the absolute greatest of God’s creatures. His proportions were pristine, sublime, and impeccable. His form was exquisite in every capacity. It is hard to imagine what this truly means in real terms. But he was absolutely it: the seal of perfection.

To fully understand Satan’s Origin, Fall and his goals get Douglas Hamps’s three books: Corrupting the Image series. The information in this and my next post is extracted from these books.

God also created Satan completely full of wisdom [maleh chochma מלא חכמה]. Satan was not lacking in any area of understanding. Satan perfectly understood the workings of God’s creation. He understood the laws governing the Earth, the stars, and life itself. He understood the process of photosynthesis, cellular biology, quantum physics, and science beyond our grasp.

While God gave him perfect wisdom, Satan has always lacked a complete perspective because he does not know the future as God does.

For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” Isaiah 46:9-10

Lastly, God created him “perfect in beauty” [kalil yofi כליל יפי]. The Hebrew kalal means “entire, full, all.”[ 62] Thus, Satan was lacking nothing in his appearance. God withheld no aesthetic quality when He created him;[ 63] He endowed Satan with phenomenal and outstanding beauty that equaled Him in splendor. These descriptions give us insight into why Satan thought he was on equal footing with his Maker. These qualities would eventually spark his rebellion and lead to the Beast’s creation.

Satan belonged to a special class of beings known as the cherubim. Judging from his vesture, Satan had the role of high priest. He was covered with an array of precious stones, inlaid in sockets of gold and silver. Satan’s stones were in a breastplate like that of Israel’s high priest. Satan’s role as priest was to serve as the leader to communicate God’s instructions, directives, and will to others. Just as priests taught and interpreted God’s commands.

Satan had been given everything, why spoil it? God gives us the answer: “Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor” Ezekiel 28: 17

He was the one who caused the decay of his endowment of wisdom due to his arrogant confidence in his own beauty. This means that he made a conscious choice. He was not preprogrammed to be bad or to fall from God’s grace. He mindfully chose to stage a coup against his Creator and rightful King.

Satan thought that creation should serve him because; “Look at all I have. Look at all that I am.”

The path to truly being like God required Satan and the other angels to sacrificially serve others, especially those lower than themselves; This feat is perfectly demonstrated by Jesus going to the cross. Satan was unwilling to do this. Satan boasted in the attributes he shared with God, but the one that he was required to demonstrate himself, which was to sacrificially love and serve; he refused. He set the example that rulers of the nations would later practice, as Jesus said: “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them” (Matthew 20: 25).

My next post will be on the timing of Satan’s rebellion: Rebellion first in the Spiritual Realm.

5-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST

Lawmakers, legal experts, and analysts are decrying the nearly five-year prison sentence levied on pro-life activist, Lauren Handy as an example of the weaponization of the federal government against citizens with disfavoured political views.

“Today’s outrageous 57-month sentence for a progressive pro-life activist is a stark reminder: Biden’s DOJ is fully weaponized against pro-life American citizens, and they are using the FACE Act to do it,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) in a statement following Handy’s sentence. “House Republicans should defund the DOJ weaponization, repeal the FACE Act, and stand up for the freedoms that we campaign on.”

Dobbs reversed Roe in the Supreme Court. There is no right to abortion in America. So why are we now dealing with this conspiracy against rights charge? It makes no sense at all.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins further juxtaposed the prosecution of the pro-lifers with the anti-Israel protestors occupying college campuses across the country.

“You just need to go back a couple of days to look [at] what was happening on some of these college campuses, Columbia University, where they’re breaking into buildings, occupying buildings, destroying property, and at most get a slap on the wrist or maybe expelled from school, not looking at five years in prison for peacefully protesting and advocating for the protection of the unborn,” he observed. “[I]f this does not show how the Biden administration has weaponized the law and the federal enforcement through the Department of Justice, I don’t know what does.”

What this prison sentence does show is we are in the end-times persecution of Christians prophesied in the Bible that occurs before Jesus’ second coming to Earth. Moreover, that persecution will escalate to tribulation even great tribulation, and martyrdom not just 5-year prison sentences.

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.Matthew 24:9-12

Thank goodness Jesus followed this warning with the following message:

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 24:13-14

PROPHESIED APOSTATE END TIMES CHURCH

UMC drops decades-old ban on ordaining LGBT clergy without debate

The United Methodist General Conference has voted to remove a decades-old ban on ordaining pastors in romantic same-sex relationships after thousands of conservative congregations left the denomination in recent years. 

Bishop Karen Oliveto (in blue jacket) and her wife, Robin Ridenour (front, center), join in embracing delegates and visitors at the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. after the conference voted to remove the denomination’s ban on the ordination of clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” — a prohibition that dates to 1984

At the UMC General Conference Wednesday, delegates approved without debate a measure removing the language from the Book of Discipline as part of a broader consent calendar, passing it by a final tally of 692 to 51.

Since 1984, the UMC Book of Discipline has prohibited the ordination of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals,” with many progressives in the mainline Protestant denomination openly refusing to enforce or follow the restriction.  

Applause from General Conference attendees was heard after the vote, with retired Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, a longtime proponent of removing the language, offering a prayer.

“You every day are great God, and every day You are working for good in the world. Stir up in us a desire to serve You, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all creation, and devote this day to your service,” Ward said, as quoted by UM News.

Over the past several years, the UMC has experienced intense debate over whether to change various rules in its Book of Discipline regarding LGBT individuals, which included barring the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals, prohibiting clergy from performing same-sex unions and barring church bodies from funding LGBT advocacy groups.

Although efforts to change the rules at the General Conference have failed in past years, many theological liberal leaders within the UMC have ignored the rules and allowed individuals who were in same-sex relationships to be ordained or even promoted to bishop.

For example, Karen Oliveto was elected bishop in 2016 by the UMC Western Jurisdiction despite being in a same-sex marriage. Although her election was deemed invalid by the United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination’s highest court, in 2017, she remains a bishop to the present day.

Oliveto gave a sermon at General Conference on Monday, asking those gathered if they were “willing to meet and serve Jesus in the queer clergy person who has been faithful to God’s call even when the Church has tried to deny that call?”

At a 2019 special session of the General Conference, delegates approved a temporary measure that created a disaffiliation process for congregations that wanted to leave the UMC due to the debate over sexuality, with more than 7,500 churches doing so by the end of 2023.

On Tuesday, as part of another consent calendar, delegates voted 667-54 to remove the Book of Discipline’s ban on funding LGBT advocacy groups and mandatory punishments for clergy who blessed same-sex unions.

Article by Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor, The Christian Post, Wednesday, May 01, 2024