END TIMES PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS

A Hindu nationalist religious leader called for fellow Hindus to behead Christian converts at a mass rally in India’s central Chhattisgarh state. Swami Parmatmanand, a prominent leader in the Hindutva movement, called for the targeted killings at a protest earlier this month. The protest was organised against an alleged rise in conversions of Hindus to Christianity.  Speaking to an audience, which included senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Swami Parmatmanand said: “Keep a lathi (stick) at home in our villages, people keep hand-axes. Why do they keep axes? Behead them – those who come for conversion. Now you’ll say that I am spreading hate although I’m a saint. But it’s important to ignite the fire sometimes. I am telling you; anyone who comes into your house, street, neighborhood, village, don’t forgive them.” The Swami continued: “I want to tell those Christians who converted, why did you leave the ocean for the well? “I want you to talk to them politely first. Stop, protest, shoot.”

Who is motivating this Hindu nationalist leader who says he is a saint despite urging his followers to kill fellow Indians on the basis they are Christians? It is certainly not the God of love who tells us to love our neighbour as ourselves. I would suggest it is Satan himself.

Note the placards signifying Christians are PEACE LOVING

Dr David Landrum, Director of Advocacy for Open Doors UK & Ireland, said: “What we are seeing in India is a coordinated campaign against Christians by Hindu nationalists. Violence is being incited by local political and religious leaders who see the public vilification of Christians as an easy way to shore up their Hindu vote bank. Police are complicit and state actors ignore and even condone persecution. The way Hindu nationalists spread the message of hatred through these rallies and protests is unbelievable. This self-perpetuating cycle of violence and intimidation has now become socially acceptable.”

Satan knows his time is short and he is doing his utmost to take as many people (people made in God’s image) down with him.

PROOF GOD IS IN CONTROL OF NATIONS

In the episode of Keeping it Israel, Jeff Futers, Executive Director of First Century Foundations, talks to Stephen Briggs, a Christian Filmmaker who has an astounding comprehension of God’s Word and God’s faithfulness to Israel. Learn about Stephen’s new film, AMERICA AND THE ISRAEL EFFECT: BLESSING, CURSE OR COINCIDENCE – the newest film in a powerful series about God’s promises to “bless those who bless” and “curse those who curse” Israel.

I first met Stephen through our involvement with the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) at an ICCC International Conference in Jerusalem. I think it was 2008, Stephen had just joined Hatikvah Films and Lance Lambert who produced and presented the first video in the series “Blessing Curse or Coincidence? The womb of the Kingdom of God on Earth” was a speaker at our conference. Every conference attendee received a copy of the first video in the series.

Israel’s existence is a reminder to the nations that God is in control of nations. The evidence is clear that God deals with those nations that curse Israel. Babylon, Persia, British Empire, and Germany to name some of the significant nations. Stephen covers this in-depth.

SHEEP AND GOAT NATIONS

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei announced his intention to make Guatemala Latin America’s pro-life capital during a speech at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., last week. Giammattei delivered remarks at an event hosted by the Institute for Women’s Health, a pro-life organization founded by former Trump administration Department of Health and Human Services official Valerie Huber, and the International Human Rights Group. 

Guatemala
Members of the Catholic and Evangelical churches and conservative sectors participate in a demonstration against abortion in Guatemala City on Sept. 2, 2018, as the Congress is scheduled to vote on September 4, 2018, a bill to further criminalize abortion. Guatemala only allows abortions in cases where the mother’s life is deemed to be in danger. 

As noted in a statement from the Institute for Women’s Health, Giammattei was not invited to President Joe Biden’s Democracy Summit, where leaders from the world’s democracies gathered: “Guatemala was not invited to take part in the Summit, despite being a democratic nation. Alfonso Aguilar, president of the International Human Rights Group, suggested that ideological differences were likely a significant reason for the country’s omission since Guatemala is unapologetically pro-life.”

In his speech at the Institute for Women’s Health event, Giammattei elaborated on his passion for the pro-life movement and announced that Guatemala would be declared the pro-life capital of Ibero-America on Mar. 9, 2022: “Every individual deserves to have their lives protected, from conception to natural death. … It is totally false that abortion is a human right. Any effort to try to impose abortion in a country is undue interference in international affairs.”

Alejandro Giammattei
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei makes remarks after signing his country onto the Geneva Consensus Declaration declaring “there is no international right to abortion,” Oct. 12, 2021. | Screenshot: Vimeo/Pinkston

“We seek to protect life and to prevent interference,” he added. “We do not approve of abortion because of my faith but also my profession as a medical doctor. Life should be protected from conception.”

It is wonderful to be able to put up posts like this that show us there are sheep nations in the world. Those that hold to God’s values.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.Matthew 24:12-14

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Jesus, true God, and true man was born into this world to redeem all of His people: past, present, and future.

For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.Isaiah 9:6-7

Jesus, Christ, God, Holy, Spirit, Bible
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (which means God spoke to us).” Isaiah 7:14
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Micah 5:2
At the time Isaiah wrote his prophecy about the coming Saviour, the people of Israel were waiting for a king—the Messiah—to emerge and sit on the throne of David. Judgment was upon Judah at the time, and the nation had barely survived.

Just when the lineage of Jesse and his son, David, seemed all but gone—cut down like the trees of Israel—this passage in Isaiah indicates that the Saviour was yet to come out of a small shoot from the stump of Jesse and that eventually, He will rule the nations.
 “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Isaiah 11:1
And for the people of Israel, where no hope seemed to be found, God used the smallest of beginnings to sprout up a lineage that led to the birth of our Savior Jesus. The second part of the prophecy is future, at Jesus’ second coming.

The prophecy by Isaiah is just one of 300 prophecies of Jesus first coming to earth and all proved accurate. There are 2000 prophecies of Jesus’ second coming including this one and many of them have already been fulfilled, Israel’s re-establishment as a nation back in 1948 was a prominent one. Another is the increasing apostasy in the church as it compromises with world values that are against God’s moral laws.

UN VOTES AGAINST TRUTH

The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted a resolution erasing Jewish ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. It was the most controversial of a set of three resolutions that were passed together by a vote of 129-11 with 31 abstentions.

The other resolutions blamed only Israel for the impasse in peace efforts and denounced Israel’s “occupation” of the “Syrian Golan.”

The text of the UNGA’s “Jerusalem resolution,” made no mention of the holy city’s ties to Judaism or Christianity. It referred to the Temple Mount only by its Arabic name, al-Haram al-Sharif. It “deplored” Israeli settlement activity in and around Jerusalem, and Israeli “acts of provocation and incitement” at the city’s holy site. The resolution also accused Israel of displacing Palestinians from homes in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan and conducting illegal excavations in the Old City.

The vote’s passage was a foregone conclusion. With 193 countries and no protective US veto power, the Palestinians enjoy what Israelis refer to as “an automatic majority.”

The US voted against the resolution, saying it was “morally, historically and politically wrong” for the UN to deny Jewish and Christian ties to the city. Britain abstained.

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The city will be surrounded by open country and for the housing of all the tribes of Israel… and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.” Ezekiel 48:15–19,35

One of the primary weapons used to discredit the legitimacy of the Jewish state in its ancestral and indigenous homeland has been the denial of Jewish history and millennia-old Jewish sites and archaeology.

Most such denials are cheap—easily disproven lies levelled by corrupt Palestinian leaders and Arab “scholars.” The apex of the tactic is what Israeli American writer David Hazony calls “Temple Denial”—”a campaign of intellectual erasure …  aimed at undermining the Jewish claim to any part of the land,” which he compares in brazenness to Holocaust denial.

Since Palestinians have never had sovereignty or control in this land, their attacks on Israel’s legitimacy depend on such fake history. They’re forced to “prove” that Jews are foreign colonizers, and that Muslims and Arabs have been there since time immemorial.

Unfortunately for them, the mere presence of the Temple Mount and countless Jewish sites around Jerusalem—predating the Muslim invasion and Arab occupation—completely undermine these lies.

If only they knew what God has planned for Israel when Jesus reigns on earth during His Millennial Kingdom.

At the United Nations, there are 22 Arab countries and 57 Islamic states meaning that the Arab and Muslim world has an overwhelming majority in all multilateral forums. This is what is constantly referred to as the “automatic majority” against the Jewish state by Israeli leaders, and what has led to systematic discrimination in international bodies. Also, between half and two-thirds of the world’s natural resources originate in Muslim-majority countries. This is a powerful tool of persuasion and the reason why so many so-called Christain nations vote with the Muslim majority.

The second resolution, titled “The peaceful resolution of the question of Palestine,” put the sole blame for the lack of peace on Israel. The text reiterated previous resolutions labelling settlements as illegal and made no mention of Palestinian terror.

“Spurring a culture of hate and incitement against Israel is more important to Palestinian leaders than improving the quality of life of their own citizens. The Jewish blood has barely dried, and you have the audacity to single out Israel for violence in Jerusalem? Today, you will vote on three resolutions. Three resolutions that have one purpose and one purpose only: to demonize Israel,” Erdan said.

The votes came on the heels of the UN’s annual “Day of Solidarity With the Palestinians” on Nov. 29. That was the day in 1947 when the UN General Assembly endorsed the Partition Plan, a recommendation to divide British Mandate Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The Jewish establishment accepted the proposal but the Arab world rejected it.

In other words, the UN was celebrating Arab rejectionism of the two-state solution.

The Partition Plan prompted Arab states to begin taking the earliest discriminatory measures against their Jewish citizens. That’s why Israel marks Nov. 29 as a day to recall the expulsion of more than 850,000 Jewish refugees from Arab lands.

WHAT JESUS ACCOMPLISHED FOR US

It is important to read the following two Scriptures regularly to remind ourselves of what Jesus has accomplished for us. Progressive Christianity has rejected penal substitution, seeing it as cruel and unjust, inducing self-loathing. The problem here is that they have not truly understood what God the Father has accomplished with His Son Jesus. There is no doubt that “the beginning of wisdom is to fear God” but that is not the end of the story.

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.Hebrews 12:18-24

“Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews… and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.” John 19:19-20

What actually happened on the cross? If we put aside unhelpful traditions and consider what the Bible teaches us, there is much to celebrate.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus didn’t just carry sin, or pay for sin; he became sin. The perfect Lord of all, who humbled himself to serve his own creation, became all human brokenness. Paying for sin is one thing; becoming sin is far deeper. Jesus became every expression of human brokenness, and more than that became the cause of all human brokenness, which is judgement. His spiritual agony was so much worse than the physical pain of the cross. It is no wonder the sky darkened, as all that is good became all that is harmful.

It doesn’t stop there. Jesus became sin, that we might become the righteousness of God. In turn, this means that we become righteousness, as completely as he became sin. 

The cross, then, is an exchange – of our lack for his supply, our brokenness for his wholeness, our fear for his love, which can all be summed up as our righteousness (“filthy rags”) for his righteousness (right-standing with God, forever).

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.Colossians 2:13-15

The cross provides the forgiveness of sin, by cancelling our legal indebtedness. Sin and death were destroyed. The enemies of humankind were disarmed, triumphed over, and made a spectacle of. What a wonderful God we have.

STORMS OF LIFE BUT PEACE IN THE STORMS

Jesus promised believers in Him two things that are certain in life. First, you will experience storms while on planet earth. Second, you are promised perfect peace during the storms.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:7

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.John 14:21

Note what Jesus told his disciples about peace before He knowingly went to the Cross. Also, He acknowledged who was ruling the world then, and even today two thousand years later it is obvious to Christians that this is still the case. The good news is that we also know from God’s Word, that Satan’s rule is coming to an end. Scripture gives us incredible detail about the final seven years before Jesus returns to this earth. Look what happens in heaven when the seventh trumpet is blown at the end of the Trumpet judgements being poured out on planet earth.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Revelation 11:15-18

The Bowl judgements follow and then the wrath of God is finished. Shortly thereafter Jesus returns with the glorified Saints to rescue Israel and set up His Millennial Kingdom.

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels, with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished... 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.” Revelation 16:1

The Thousand Years

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. 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 20:1-6

FOCUS ON THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Three hours of beautiful instrumental music based on Christmas Carols. As you listen, the words of the carols come to mind, and you are reminded of what Jesus accomplished by entering our world as a human some two thousand years ago. What an amazing story, and what an amazing God, who loves us to this extent. May you enter into worship (words of the carols are shown) as you contemplate His goodness and love.

Sadly, the world empowered by Satan is doing its best to take Jesus Christ out of Christmas. The lastest in Australia is Lego sponsoring a Christmas program but what do they call it “Bricksmas”

Increasingly, Merry Christmas is replaced with Happy Holidays and in many Christmas cards, they replace Christmas with Xmas.

Santa (anagram of Satan) is the focus of Christmas instead of Jesus

CHURCHES ARE BEING TRANSFORMED IN THE USA

We are so excited by the amazing fruit being harvested at the Last Reformation Kickstart Weekends that are happening all over the world. They are transforming people’s lives. Even churches are being transformed as you will see in the video below.

Here a whole church got transformed, the Pastor got baptized, and they are now changing the way they are doing church and will go and start small groups. This is transformational!

If you live in the USA and have the opportunity to go and join a Kickstart near you, Torben and his team would love to see you. Keep your eyes on TLRMap.com, where there are often new Kickstarts. For example, in California, a new Kickstart will happen at the beginning of the year in the southern part.

However, you don’t need to wait for a Kickstart Weekend. You can host your Kickstart by using the Kickstart Package. The Kickstart Package comprises seven videos where you get all the teaching for a Kickstart Weekend. The Package comes with a leaders book along with a workbook. Of course, it is not the personal contact you get in a Kickstart Weekend. However, it allows you to host it where you are, such as in your living room. You can invite people over to your home, and you can be the host. Use this tool to reach out to others around you just like other people have done.

Below is a testimony from Jeff and Diana in Pennsylvania.

Testimony from Pennsylvania

Jeff and Diana Ellis hosted a Kickstart in a conference center in downtown Butler, PA. This was the first time they used the Kickstart Package in a seminar-type event vs. a home setting. They utilized the Kickstart Package videos, engaging the workbooks. There were about 25 people in attendance, two of the attendees got baptized, and several received prayer and personal ministry.  Jeff stated, “we learned that anyone could do a Kickstart using this package. However, if you have more than four attendees, it is good to have other disciples present to minister alongside you. Overall, for our very first Kickstart, I believe this was a successful event!”

Jeff and Diana plan to follow up with several people for Bible Discovery Groups and do more Kickstarts.

THE DAY OF THE LORD

“Wail, for The day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty, it will come! Therefore, all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labour. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.” Isaiah 13:6-8

Behold, The day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.Isaiah 13:9-10

JESUS SPEAKING TO HIS DISCIPLES ABOUT THE END TIMES

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Matthew 24:29

When Jesus referenced this prophecy from Isaiah 13 in Matthew 24:29 and said that all of these things will not take place until “after the tribulation,” this was His way of saying that The Day of the Lord is what takes place after the portion of the Great Tribulation that believers will endure.

Paul echoes the same message:

you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

The Day of the Lord is what initiates and immediately follows the resurrection of the dead Saints and the rapture of the Saints alive on earth. It’s also the time when God will call the world to account and pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

God does not rescue believers from all suffering during the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:3-28; Rev. 13:5-10). Rather, He rescues us from the “wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:9-10) which is poured out with the Trumpet (Rev. 6:8-13) and Bowl (Rev. 16:1-20) judgements.

Finally, Paul makes it clear that before The day of the Lord, the Antichrist takes his seat in the temple and declares he is God. As this does not take place until halfway through the final seven years it is obvious believers will experience the time of great tribulation.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect that The day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

“Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken [paralambano], and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [paralambano] and one will be left. Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:40-42