IS IT TOO LATE FOR TRUMP TO SAVE AMERICA?

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Many in America, including many Christians, are on a high right now with the comprehensive election win by Donald Trump and the Republicans. Christians see Donald Trump’s win as a reprieve. The fact that he miraculously survived two assassination attempts was seen by Trump and many Christians as the hand of God.

However, the consequences of many years of reckless government spending make the following events inevitable for America. A stock market wipeout, a coming home-equity slaughter, a trillion-dollar pension fund wipeout, the collapse of the dollar, and the real threat of war with China.

Dylan Jovine in his book Midnight in America – Five Cracks that Threaten America’s Foundation, says the collapse has already begun. I have listed six cracks.

During the next six months, the stock market will plummet by at least 50 percent, real estate will drop 40 percent, savings accounts will lose 30 percent and unemployment will triple.

It’s already starting to unfold. Let’s take a look at crack one.

Crack #1: The Inevitable Stock Market Wipeout

The stock market is at all-time highs. And it’s been one heck of a rally. But this rally is about to end. And it won’t be pretty when it does. Three warning signs are flashing right now. 

A big warning sign is coming from the U.S. government bond market. 

This is something almost no stock investors talk about. But if the bond market sneezes, the stock market catches a cold. The U.S. government is borrowing $1 trillion every 100 days. Think about that: $1 trillion every 100 days! This is unprecedented. And it’s unsustainable. We’re now spending $2.7 billion per day on interest costs alone! 

Historically, Wall Street has had no problem buying as many bonds as the U.S. government was selling. But in October of 2023, the U.S. government finally hit a brick wall. Wall Street told Washington it couldn’t sell all these bonds anymore. Traditional buyers like foreign central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and large institutions started to just say “NO!” After decades of reckless borrowing by both parties, we have FINALLY reached the point where nobody wants to lend us money anymore.

The stock market’s recent highs are being driven by government spending. The more the government spends, the more jobs are created, and the more people buy things. But the government is now being told it cannot borrow anymore, which means it will have to cut spending. And when it finally cuts spending that means millions of jobs will disappear. And when those jobs disappear, spending will disappear along with it. Once that spending dries up, corporate profits are sure to follow. It’s so clear, J.P. Morgan called this coming crisis, “The most predictable crisis in history.”

The second warning sign is coming from the gold market.

For stock investors, the recent rise in gold is the canary in the coal mine. It’s signaling serious danger for investors. Right around the time, word began to leak on Wall Street that the U.S. government was having trouble borrowing money gold was selling at about $1,800 an ounce. The following month, gold hit $2,100 an ounce, a 16% gain in 30 days. That’s a big move for an old-fashioned metal. It almost moved like an AI stock. But then reports kept coming out showing how hard it was becoming for the U.S. to borrow money. And the price of gold began its historic rise, hitting $2,400 an ounce.

Gold has always been a great predictor of a stock market crash. Its price tends to rise in the six months before the market gets hammered. 

The third warning sign is the price to earnings ratio.

The price to earnings ratio tells you how many years of earnings it would take to get back what you pay for a stock. In a healthy, normal market, the P/E ratio is about 16. That means, it would take 16 years for a stocks’ earnings to equal the price. But right now, the average stock in the S&P 500 has a p/e of 35. That’s over twice the historical ratio! There have been two other times in history that the p/e ratio has been this high. The first was right before the market crash in 1929…. Right before the market crashed 80% from its highs. The second time this happened was in 1999… Right before the dot com bubble burst and the market crashed 50%.

These are just some of the indicators signaling that a massive collapse that will blindside most investors is coming very soon. A 50% correction in the stock market is a conservative estimate. If the market drops to the lows we hit during Covid we’ll see a 60% decline. What makes this coming crisis so unique, is that there are four more cracks that are just as dangerous. Maybe even more so. 

They are breaking apart the foundation of our prosperity each and every day. When one of these cracks gets big enough, it will blast open all the others causing the market to crash 50%, real estate to plummet 40%, bonds to lose 30% of their value, and unemployment triple. It’s already starting to happen. 

Crack #2: The Looming Home Equity Slaughter

During Covid the government sent checks to people worth $7 trillion. One of the consequences was soaring house prices. Prices of homes have doubled in the past 10 years. In 2014, the average home in America cost $200,000. In 2024, the average home in America costs $400,000. The problem is average incomes in America haven’t doubled in the past ten years. They’ve only increased by 13.8% since 2014. In the short term, housing prices are based on whatever people will pay for them. But in the longer term, they’re based on income. And the fact that housing prices have doubled in the past ten years, while incomes have stayed about the same… means homes are unaffordable to most buyers in America. Prices will have to come back down to a level where buyers can pay for them. It’s already begun. The only reason housing prices haven’t gone down faster is that the government is still borrowing $1 trillion every 100 days. But when that finally ends, and the hangover hits this country, housing prices will have to drop 40% to get back down to the level folks can afford them.

Crack #3: The Coming Pension Fund Wipeout

As a result of Covid the new “work-from-home culture” is causing a collapse of the commercial real estate market. And the problem is about to get worse. Banks are sitting on a ticking time bomb: almost $3 trillion in commercial real estate debt. What most people don’t know is that pension funds are one of the biggest investors in commercial real estate. The simple fact that the commercial real estate market is causing a $6 trillion meltdown for banks and pension funds is a topic most people don’t grasp.

Crack #4: The Stunning Pace of “De-Dollarization”

China has already convinced Brazil, Argentina, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia to trade in yuan so America is on its way to losing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

President-elect Trump has said it would be a disaster. “It would be worse than losing any war.”

Crack #5: War With China Over Taiwan

China’s attack on the U.S. dollar is bad for America. But it’s nothing compared to what would happen if they attacked Taiwan.

Taiwan makes 90% of the world’s advanced semiconductors. They’re the tiny operating brains inside just about any modern device, like smartphones, hospital ventilators or fighter jets. And yes, the chips Nvidia sells to power AI all come from Taiwan too. A China attack on Taiwan would immediately stop 90% of the world’s chips from leaving Taiwan.

That would be like cutting off 90% of the global oil supply. The price of smartphones, iPads, computers, washers, televisions, and smartwatches would skyrocket. Firms would be forced to lay off workers as they couldn’t make their products. It gets even worse. Look around your house. How many of those items pass through the South China Sea? Nearly one-third of all global maritime trade. This includes smartphones, computers, furniture, car seats, clothing, hats, heaters, paint, shoes, rubber tires, washers, dryers, bicycles, microwaves, toasters – you name it.

A Chinese attack on Taiwan would instantly freeze one-third of global trade. Firms that sell furniture would have no furniture to sell. Firms that sell car seats would have no car seats to sell, and firms that sell shoes would have no shoes to sell. That would send the stock market crashing, as global firms lost revenue, profits and faced bankruptcy.

Crack #6: The Coming Spike in Unemployment

AI and Robotics is already having a major impact on jobs. Amazon has robots and AI operating its warehouses. They operate seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day with minimum mistakes. Amazon’s bottom line has improved enormously. Wal Mart is following Amazon’s lead and the job losses will be enormous.

AI is being adopted faster than any new technology in history. Faster than automobiles, faster than the internet and faster than the iPhone. And that’s a problem. It’s being adopted faster than the jobs it will replace. Indeed, this technology threatens the jobs of almost every man and woman in America. And it won’t distinguish between blue-collar workers and white-collar workers. Jobs will just vanish. 

A new study from MIT estimates that AI will replace as many as two million manufacturing jobs within the next 12-18 months. And a recent report from Goldman Sachs was even worse: the bank predicts that two-thirds of all jobs are at risk from AI. 

I LOVE JORDAN PETERSON: GOD IS USING HIM MIGHTILY

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There are very few people walking the earth today who can claim to have engaged the minds of millions in the way that Jordan Peterson has, and his influence isn’t based on political power or obscene wealth, but his diamond-cut intellect. Having garnered notoriety from his decidedly anti-mainstream takes on news and culture, Peterson has been tempered by the fires of public opinion and left stronger than ever. That isn’t to say however that the man is made from stone, and when the conversation turns to his father, and by extension fatherhood, Peterson has no shame in letting the tears flow. Together, he and Piers Morgan conjure up a meaty dialogue on Trump, America, family, and God as they discuss Jordan Peterson’s latest book We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine. ENJOY

DEMONIC DELUSION OF ANTISEMITISM: FOUR CRITICAL TESTS FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN

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Calling every pastor and every follower of Jesus worldwide to ‘Be Like Bonhoeffer!’

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian who possessed not only the moral clarity to distinguish good from evil but also the historical and doctrinal clarity that Jesus was a Jew.

Bonhoeffer understood that it was impossible to separate the person and work of Jesus — who he believed was the Messiah of Israel, and therefore the Savior and King of the world — from the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!

But his understanding was not merely intellectual; it was a deep, unwavering conviction that fueled extraordinary courage.

He boldly stood against Hitler and called the church to awaken to the evil of antisemitism, urging those who followed Jesus to stand with and protect the Jews, who were being systematically isolated and persecuted.

In 1938, Bonhoeffer wrote, “Only he who cries [out] for the Jews may sing Gregorian chant.”

In April 1943, Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo after attempting to save 14 Jews by helping them escape to Switzerland.

Following his arrest, it was revealed that Bonhoeffer had been involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

Yet Eberhard Bethge, Bonhoeffer’s close friend and biographer wrote, “There is no doubt that Bonhoeffer’s primary motivation for entering active political conspiracy was the treatment of the Jews by the Third Reich.”

On April 9, 1945, just days before the American liberation of the POW camp, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged at Flossenbürg where it is believed 10,000 Jews lost their lives.

The last words of this brilliant, godly, and courageous man — who stood up to Hitler, gave his life to rescue Jews, and once said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die” — were: “This is the end — for me, the beginning of life.”

A ‘Bonhoeffer Moment’

Today, we stand at a turning point in history. We are facing a “Bonhoeffer Moment” — why? Because we are witnessing the rise of antisemitism and anti-Zionism at levels not seen since the Holocaust.

As Christians, we cannot, NOT see what we are seeing. We must not make the same mistakes that so many made in the German church during Bonhoeffer’s time.

What is essential at this crucial moment is that every Christian pass four critical tests:

1. The moral test

Hitler believed in a superior race, while today the Iranian Islamic leadership believes in a superior faith and seeks to establish a new Islamic world order, with Israel standing on the front lines of this battle. Today, the “Free Palestine” campaign has become nothing less than the rallying cry of “Islamic Nazis” — those who seek to destroy Israel and spearhead an Islamic New World Order. Those who chant this slogan are deluded by evil; those who promote it are its puppets.

2. The historic test

The land of Israel is the ancestral home of the Jewish people! Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to a national home in Israel. A Christian is a Bible believer who stands on the biblical promise that God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people and in fulfillment of prophetic Scriptures, God is behind Israel’s regathering in the land after nearly 2,000 years of dispersion.

Anti-Zionism stands in opposition to the very purposes of God. Anti-Zionism is the promotion of the idea that the land of Israel is not the historic and ancestral home of the Jewish people. This lie is the fertilizer of the false narrative that Israel is “the oppressor” in “occupied Arab land,” feeding the delusion that murder and rape against Jews is a justified response.

3. The theological test

Christians are grafted into God’s unfolding plan through Israel and the Messiah of Israel. “… you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you” (Romans 11:17-18).

4. The faith test

Our faith should not only inform us of the truth but also transform us. As Scripture reminds us, “faith without works is dead.”

If Christians don’t pass these tests, how can we expect the world to?

To be like Bonhoeffer is to pray for and protect all Jews, to fight against the insanity and demonic delusion of antisemitism, anti-Zionism, radical Islamism, replacement theology, and other attacks on Israel and the Jewish people.

May there be an awakening throughout the Christian world — one where the darkness of antisemitism and anti-Zionism is confronted first by Christians, ensuring that our Jewish friends and the nation of Israel know more than ever that they are not alone. Now is the time!

Article by Greg Denham, Op-ed contributor, Christian Post, Saturday, November 23, 2024. Greg Denham is the Senior Pastor of Rise Church in San Marcos, CA. He is the founder of “The Context Movement” and spearheads yearly “Friends of Israel Weekends” to fight anti-Semitism and champion friendships between Christians and Jews.

AUSTRALIA: NUCLEAR POWER IS THE ONLY SOLUTION TO OUR ENERGY DILEMMA

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Article by Chris Kenny in The Australian, November, 16th 2024.

Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen have long argued that renewable energy is the cheapest form of electricity. However, while tens of billions of dollars in subsidies and investments flow into renewables, prices keep going up. A reckoning must come, and it will be ugly.

Not only is Labor’s plan to reach its net-zero goal by switching the electricity grid to 90 percent renewable energy physically impossible (it has committed to get to 82 percent within 6 years), but the attempt is sending us a broke. At some stage, the facts will break through the delusion.

The unavoidable logic behind firming up a renewable energy grid makes additional costs unavoidable – a renewables grid demands two grids. You need to construct an expansive network of wind and solar generation plants, enough to cover about three times peak demand spread across vastly different microclimates in the hope that wind or sun will be available somewhere when you need it.

On Friday, the Coalition released estimates from Frontier Economics putting the total requited spend for the renewables transition at $642bn – that is $500bn more than Labor has estimated, and about five times what we have already spent. All of this must be recouped with profit, so our power price pain can only ­increase.

The catch with renewables is that they will always require backup, in effect another electricity grid, perhaps using much of the same transmission lines, but capable of generating peak demand without wind or solar. Most likely this backup grid would be powered by gas.

Once we know there is enough backup to supply peak demand, we can understand that the entirety of the renewable asset build is an additional and unnecessary energy cost we have chosen to impose on ourselves. It alienates land, increases complexity, and escalates costs without providing additional power, all so we can meet emissions reduction targets that other countries are not meeting, and which will make no discernible difference to global emissions or, therefore, the climate, anyway.

And whenever gas is needed to firm up the grid, the price the gas generators can charge will determine the cost of electricity. Two grids, a vast and inefficient renewable grid we could well do without, and an effective and reliable fossil-fuel grid are needed to guarantee the energy that underpins our society.

The lies being told on renewables costs have been brilliantly exposed by simple observations and arguments run by entrepreneur Dick Smith in an, until now, private debate with The Guardian Australia. Smith responded after The Guardian ran a piece slamming him for running “ill-informed claims” about renewable energy costs and practicality.

Smith does not contest the need to reduce emissions. His arguments are about whether renewables can power a modern economy and whether nuclear might not be a crucial part of the energy mix. In his letter, Smith says the underestimates from the CSIRO allow it to “falsely claim that renewables with storage is the cheapest form of energy”.

The electronics entrepreneur, adventurer, and environmentalist made a killer observation that exposes the ruse. “No doubt you have noticed all the wind and solar farms that exist around our country,” Smith wrote to The Guardian. “If the CSIRO claim that wind, solar, and storage is the cheapest form of energy is correct, these facilities would include batteries to supply power 24/7 – or at least for five hours. None of them do.”

This connects to a point I have made for a decade or more – instead of subsidising the installation of unreliable renewable energy, we should have made any subsidies or targets contingent on generators firming up their own supplies, either with batteries or dispatchable generation. Smith provides a clear explanation for why this is impossible: “That is, the cost of even limited storage results in solar and wind power being so expensive it is unaffordable.”

Dick Smith has also pointed out that when Broken Hill went dark last month because the main transmission line from Victoria was taken out in a storm, neither the nearby solar factory, wind farm, or big battery were able to keep the Silver City in power. He cites the real-world example of Lord Howe Island where despite a $12m grant for a renewables grid with storage, they have ended up with higher power prices and a reliance on diesel generators for 100 percent of their electricity at times.

This is just the reality. No developed country has even attempted to run on a 90 percent renewables model, and unless there is a watershed development in energy storage no country ever will – so what is Australia playing at?

A clue for a secure, prosperous, and clean energy future comes from our defense force—not the inane net-zero strategy but their plan to run nuclear-propelled ­submarines.

Instead of wasting government subsidies and burdening consumers with the investment costs of unproven renewable models and other “green energy superpowers” hyperbole like green hydrogen and pumped hydro, the time is ripe for nuclear power. It is dense power with a small land footprint that can use existing transmission infrastructure,

Remember the Whyalla wipeout? A decade or more on, it is still on the way with grave doubts about the future of the steelworks, delayed only by taxpayer subsidies and green energy posturing.

A steel manufacturing centre established with the advantage of cheap and reliable coal power is struggling again, as it awaits some kind of “green hydrogen” saviour. Yet a couple of hours up the road is one of the world’s largest uranium mines, and Whyalla and Port Augusta are linked to the national transmission grid because of the now-demolished coal-fired power plants in the region.

A nuclear power station near Port Augusta would buttress power supplies for Whyalla, South Australia and the national grid. Any excess power at times of low demand could be used for desalination or hydrogen production.

It is a much more logical and efficient solution, with proven technology, than our current renewables-plus-storage experiment. The only thing stopping the nuclear option is an honest and truthful appraisal of our options – and the political will.

THE TIMING OF THE RAPTURE

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Jesus promises that in the end times, there will be tribulation, even great tribulation before His return but believers will be kept from the wrath of God that is poured out on unbelievers at that time.

Dr. Baruch Korman of Love Israel Ministries (www.loveisrael.org) explains the timing of the rapture and the wrath of God is poured out with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements. What happens and who is involved when the seven seals are opened and the four horsemen are released is enlightening.

Christians will be on Earth for six years of the final seven. The Wrath of God with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements will take one year and ten days which just happens to be the same time as the time God poured out His wrath the first time with Noah’s flood. Why one year and ten days? The length of a year before a Jubilee year is always one year and ten days on the Hebrew calendar.

ANOTHER GREAT JORDAN PETERSON INTERVIEW

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Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship. This episode was filmed on November 4th, 2024. They discuss the true story behind the hit film “The Jesus Revolution,” Laurie’s relationship with hippie-preacher and counter-culture icon Lonnie Frisbee, how he found faith in the most unlikely of places, and the past 50 years of building his world-renowned ministry.

I have followed Jordan Peterson’s faith journey for several years. He has come a long way and his knowledge of both the O.T. and N.T. is impressive. The questions he asks Greg Laurie ensure we see what God did to capture Greg Laurie’s heart and direct his steps. I believe God is using Jordan Peterson to reach many with the Gospel message.

Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship with campuses in California and Hawaii. He began his pastoral ministry at the age of 19 by leading a Bible study of 30 people. Since then, God has transformed that small group into a church of some 15,000 people. Today, Harvest is one of the largest churches in America and consistently ranks among the most influential churches in the country. In 1990, Laurie began holding large-scale public evangelistic events called Harvest Crusades. Since that time, more than 9.8 million people have participated in these events in person or online around the United States. In 2012, Laurie launched Harvest America, a nationwide event using the internet to simulcast live HD video to thousands of locations across the country. With an unprecedented 306,000 Americans in live attendance, Harvest America ranks among the largest presentations of the gospel in United States history. Harvest Crusades have also been held internationally in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. More importantly, some 531,889 people have made professions of faith through these outreaches.

WAITING FOR THE LATTER RAINS SPOKEN BY THE PROPHET JOEL

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We are told prophetically in Joel that the latter rains will be greater than the former rains. The “latter rain” or the spring rain is interpreted as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God’s children. Biblical writers used the terms “latter rain” and “former rain” to describe the visitation of the Holy Spirit upon the church in a dispensational sense. The “early rain” came at Pentecost to give power to the witness of the gospel. And another outpouring of rain will be coming at earth’s final soul harvest before the second coming of Christ.

The “latter rain” and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be to qualify the Saints for witnessing. This power for witnessing gives power within, power to proclaim the truth and power to lead sinners to God. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples and transformed them from fearful men to brave warriors for Christ. They spoke the truth with boldness despite threats, persecution, and even death.

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” Joel 2:28-29

This latter-day outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurs before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. It is the time when Jesus comes to raise the dead in Christ and rapture the Saints that are alive but also to pour out His wrath upon the unrepentant with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements. There are spectacular celestial signs signalling the event.

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” Joel 2:30-31

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.” Joel 2:32

At the sixth seal in Revelation 6, we read about the celestial signs in the heavens that Joel talks about and the awesome day of the Lord that has come.

“Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6:15-17

It is at the trumpet blast at the opening of the seventh seal that the resurrection and rapture of the Saints occur as well as the beginning of the trumpet and bowl judgements being poured out on the unrepentant.

“When the Lamb (Jesus) opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour (Jesus has gone to resurrect and rapture the Saints). Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets (Trumpet Judgements) were given to them.” Revelation 8:1-2

UK MOVING AHEAD WITH SMALL MODULAR NUCLEAR REACTORS

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Britain’s nuclear regulators have approved early designs for small modular reactors (SMRs) developed by Rolls-Royce SMR as a first step towards significantly expanding the UK’s nuclear power capabilities.

The firm is offering a different approach to delivering new nuclear power that is easier to scale and more affordable than building larger nuclear power plants. 

It’s an approach that aims to deliver an entirely factory-built nuclear power plant that would be transported as modules and assembled on-site, radically reducing construction activity and making the SMRs a commodifiable product.

The previous government had an ambition to increase nuclear capacity in the UK from around 6GW to up to 24GW by 2050, as set out in the 2022 British energy security strategy.

The SMRs designed by Rolls-Royce will only provide around 470MWe of energy, but are significantly cheaper than major plants like the upcoming Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C. 

The Environment Agency, Office for Nuclear Regulation and Natural Resources Wales confirmed that the firm has completed step 2 of a generic design assessment (GDA).

The GDA process assesses new nuclear power plant designs for deployment in the UK, demonstrating they can be built, operated and decommissioned in accordance with strict regulations on safety, security, safeguards and environmental protection.

Step 2 of the GDA began in April 2023, and since the design has now been approved, it can move onto step 3 which will entail more detailed scrutiny.

 Saffron Price-Finnerty, the Environment Agency’s new reactors programme manager, said: “Our team of specialist assessors have worked diligently to assess hundreds of submissions and documents provided by Rolls-Royce SMR Limited and attended numerous technical meetings with the company.

“We have not currently identified any significant issues or concerns with the design and Rolls-Royce SMR Limited has been able to demonstrate that environmental protection and radioactive waste management are key areas of focus for its developing design.”

Rolls-Royce SMR said that today’s announcement puts it ahead of any other SMR manufacturer in Europe.

Helena Perry, Rolls-Royce SMR’s safety director, said: “The completion of step 2 of the GDA is the most important milestone to date in advancing deployment of Rolls-Royce SMRs in the UK.

“We have built fantastic momentum, and the team will move directly into step 3 of this rigorous independent assessment of our technology – ideally positioning us to deliver low-carbon nuclear power and support the UK transition to net zero.”

However, four companies, GE Hitachi, Holtec, Westinghouse (Canada), and Rolls Royce SMR have been shortlisted following two rounds of assessment by GBN, the government’s expert nuclear delivery body.

GBN will negotiate with all four before final tenders are submitted, with final decisions to be taken in the spring.

Each of the four designs was subject to a robust analysis to reach this stage. GBN has evaluated each technology, including aspects such as safety, deliverability, and their ability to support development of a fleet of SMRs. GBN considers the designs, each of which is proceeding through the UK’s regulatory process, are viable options for development. Subject to negotiations, GBN consider any one of these designs would be fit to use in the UK nuclear programme.     

GBN’s Chair, Simon Bowen said, ‘This is a significant moment for the SMR programme. Our technical experts have assessed each design in detail and are very confident these SMRs could play a key role in the UK’s future energy.

Once again this news strengthens Peter Dutton’s proposal for Australia to include nuclear in our energy supply mix.

DO YOU WANT GOD’S BLESSINGS OR CURSES?

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The living God says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). He offers us true life and, with it, blessing. But He warns us against sin and the curse that always comes with it. Just as He did in the Garden, God offers us the quality of life that comes from obeying Him. God says, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live” (Proverbs 4:4).

There are many reasons to obey what God commands us in Scripture. Here are five of them:

1) God, your Creator, said it.

2) God knows better than we do.

3) God is in charge, and we are not.

4) Whenever I have obeyed God, I and my family have ultimately benefited.

5) Whenever I have done it my way instead of God’s, with all my rationalizations and excuses, it hasn’t been for His glory, for my good, or the good of others. To obey God is always in our ultimate self-interest. In a universe where God sets up the rules, what is right is also smart.

Finally, we should remember that God gives us the power and strength to obey Him. Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity to be our helper, our counsellor, our teacher, and our comforter. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for our spirit to function as the lamp of the Lord as God always intended.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

Scripture says we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in holiness.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” Titus 2:12

We are fast approaching the time of Jesus second coming to Earth to fulfill the promises God made to the nation He established for His purposes, Israel.

“Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 36:33-36

JESUS AND THE WORLDWIDE FLOOD OF NOAH’S DAY

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Right before His death, Jesus told His disciples key details about His return saying:

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37-39

This Scripture is important for several reasons.

First, not only does Jesus know the catastrophic historical events recorded in Genesis 6 and 7, but He also knows His audience is familiar with them. Their prior understanding of the flood’s unexpected, total destruction is the basis for His comparison.

Second, Jesus describes the normal actions of the people living in Noah’s day as “unaware” that a flood was coming.  This is how we hear people describe natural disasters; they are consistently surprised by them.  It is an interesting note of historical authenticity that plays into His comparison.

Third, Jesus says the flood swept them all away.  The fact that Jesus is linking an event where “all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind” to His eventual return, means something about that return.  It’s going to be big, and it’s going to affect everyone.

According to Jesus, Noah, the ark, and a global flood that killed all the birds, beasts, and people on the earth, were as historically real as His second coming.  They are a historical preview of coming attractions that everyone would be wise to remember regarding their timing and scope.

This is one of the many reasons the idea that Noah’s flood was local somewhere in the Middle East is a misguided interpretation.  It does not fit the language of Genesis, which is well-known to both Jesus and His disciples and is central to His comparison.  Were the flood recorded in Genesis just local, it would make Jesus’ comparison be that ‘my return is going to be local, and it’s going to affect a few living creatures.’  But that’s not what either Jesus or Genesis says.

The fact that Jesus was well acquainted with the actual words of Genesis and knew them to be real history is why it is such a powerful statement.  If Noah was not real, or if everyone in the world was not killed, or if the flood was not global, then Jesus’ comments make no sense.  Jesus would say to a modern audience debating Noah and the extent of the flood, “Have you not read what I said about them?”