This Recent Articles page is proud to serve up links to the house specialties that have been on offer at Chez ALS during the current year of 2024.
Each entry below contains a "hook" that suggests what the article deals with (an hors d'oeuvre), the first several paragraphs (an appetizer), plus a link to the full article (the main course). If you just want to scan over a list of the titles of all the articles on this site, you can save time by grabbin' a burger at the Article Index page. Bon appétit!
If you want to look for a specific topic, use the search function in the sidebar. Use the menu below to go to similar pages for previous years.
JAN '24: Delusion Confusion
The world is being inundated with a deluge of lies and deception. Well, that strong delusion Paul talks about just has to be part of that, right?
Delusion Confusion
Many believers have heard of the "strong delusion" that the apostle Paul mentions in his second letter to the Thessalonians; and as an increasingly dazed and confused world tumbles headlong into the run-up to the Tribulation, this topic seems to be receiving a bit more attention in certain circles.
Although it's true that in the past I have seen many good people fail to properly understand and interpret the strong delusion in various ways and to varying degrees, I recently watched a video by one of my absolute favorite Bible teachers (and no names are needed because I have nothing but the sincerest love and deepest respect for this individual, and nothing I say in this article is meant as criticism) that made me realize that this particular scriptural topic and the misunderstanding thereof is becoming a bit more prevalent and pronounced as the world inexorably lurches into the sequence of events that will usher in Daniel's 70th Week.
FEB '24: The Year of the Dragon
Recently I stumbled across an obscure fact that made me believe there is even deeper significance to Satan's association with the serpent than I thought.
The Year of the Dragon
We've just finished celebrating Chinese New Year here in Taiwan, and I'll tell you guys a dirty little secret: A number of Taiwanese people are not all that crazy about this lengthy holiday that is typically about seven or eight days long, sees many business establishments closed for much of that, and occurs in January or February when the weather tends to be chilly and drizzly.
But worst of all, no matter where you go in Taiwan during Chinese New Year, it is absolutely guaranteed to be packed to overflowing with people who are just as desperate as you are to get out of the house and go somewhere and do something. As it is sometimes sarcastically opined in Taiwan in regard to this traditional holiday of holidays, which for people here is Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the regular New Year's celebration all rolled into one:
"Taiwan is a small island nation with about 23 million people and about 23 good places to visit. Do the math."
MAR '24: The Valley Revisited
A second solar eclipse in April will complete an "X" over America—but only recently I learned the second passes over a number of cities named Nineveh.
The Valley Revisited
As many of you know, on April 8, 2024 the United States will witness the second of a pair of total solar eclipses, the first of which occurred seven years ago on August 21, 2017. The first eclipse swept downward across America from the northwest to the southeast, and the second will sweep upward from the southwest to the northeast, and together they will mark a big "X" on the country. Naturally, the watch community has been buzzing about it for a number of years now.
I devoted an article to these two eclipses about a year and a half ago entitled "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" (OCT '22) and in that article I examine the prophetic significance of the fact that the path of totality of the first eclipse in 2017 passed over seven towns named Salem, while the path of totality of the second will pass over 12 such towns, one of them being one of the seven Salems that was in the path of the first eclipse. Not only that, but the area where the paths of the two eclipses intersect is the New Madrid Seismic Zone along the Mississippi River near St. Louis, site of the three most powerful earthquakes in American history east of the Rocky Mountains in 1811–12.
APR '24: The Mirage
Many see Trump saving America and envision a Christianized world that Christ would be happy to return to rule. But is what they are envisioning real?
The Mirage
I've hinted on several occasions that I intended to write something about the fact that many good people are looking to Donald Trump to be the savior of America. About how they believe he has been chosen by God to save this country and return it to the position of strength and global leadership it held up until a few years ago (during Trump's first term, to be precise). About how they believe the dark, sinister forces of the Deep State are going to be rooted out and held accountable for their crimes against our country, with good ol' President Donald J. leading the charge.
Leading the charge, that is, after he is gloriously triumphant in the 2024 presidential election and soundly defeats the drooling dolt that has been illegitimately occupying the White House since January 2021—or what is far more likely, whatever left-wing liberal decoy the Deep State decides to replace him with at some strategic point between now and November.
MAY '24: Wrestling With God
Just as Jacob wrestled with a man who changed his name to Israel, many believers are wrestling with God over support for the nation named after him.
Wrestling With God
I'm sure many of you are familiar with an incident that occurred in the life of Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, in which Jacob spends the night wrestling with some unidentified man who ultimately changes Jacob's name to Israel. Some commentators have pegged the mystery man in the story as a preincarnate appearance of Christ, and I am inclined to agree.
In the story, Jacob is on his way to meet his brother Esau, many years after Jacob and their mother Rebekah conspired to deceive an elderly Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing he intended to give Esau (Gen. 27). Although both brothers have prospered handsomely since that time, Jacob is understandably afraid Esau will seek to kill him out of a deep-seated desire for revenge. So, he is planning his moves carefully and preparing generous gifts to bestow upon Esau when they finally meet face to face.
JUN '24: The Final Judgment
The Bible makes it crystal clear that there will in fact be a final judgment, but many believers disagree on the details of exactly how it's going to work.
The Final Judgment
Judgment—a word I think many would agree is one of the most sobering words in the English language. But judgment is a vital and necessary aspect of God's plan and His dealings with His creation, and so it should surprise no one that it is an important topic that features prominently in and is alluded to numerous times in Scripture—in both the Old and New Testaments.
I say judgment is vital because it enables God to effectively dispose of or cause certain elements of His creation to be conformed to His perfect standards of holiness. And it is necessary because certain elements of His creation fall far short of those perfect standards of holiness. (Wait for it...)
And that would include us.
JUL '24: Thoughts on Hell
Some believe a loving, merciful God would never doom people to eternal suffering in hell, and insist Scripture doesn't say that. Well, what does it say?
Thoughts on Hell
I recently received an email from a nice woman who lives in Eastern Europe, and she asked me a question about hell, of all things. I confess that I can't remember the last time I got asked a question about hell, but this woman seemed to be convinced that the Bible has a number of passages that refute the traditional view of hell as being (gasp) a place of conscious, eternal suffering and torment for people who never believe the gospel.
She presented me with a short list of several passages of Scripture that she believes support what I later discovered is an alternate teaching about hell that has been growing in popularity in recent years that holds that instead of suffering for eternity, unbelievers will simply be snuffed out of existence. According to this teaching, the human spirit is only immortal in the case of believers, and God is free to demonstrate His great mercy (and presumably the fact that He is not a cruel, bloodthirsty monster) by annihilating unbelievers, rather than forcing them to endure the unthinkable:
Conscious eternal torment in a literal lake of fire. Ouch!
AUG '24: The Gospel in the Stars?
Some say (a) the signs of the zodiac spell out God's plan of redemption, and He revealed this to man early on. Some say (b) He didn't. I'm going with (c).
The Gospel in the Stars?
As you know, September will mark the seventh anniversary of the stellar-planetary confirmation of the first "great sign" seen by the apostle John in Revelation 12:1–2 (i.e. the REV12 sign) that came together with stunning precision on September 23, 2017.
As I reminisced over those exciting days recently, I admit that I couldn't help but recall the reaction of many well-known ministers as they haughtily dismissed and viciously condemned the REV12 sign and all the poor, deceived people who had foolishly gotten caught up in it—condemnation that was based largely on specious, exaggerated claims made by a few YooToob cowboys (some of whom built up substantial YT channels as a result).
It seems the basic problem was that as soon as these ministers heard the words "Virgo" or "Leo" (as in the constellations), their heads exploded and flames shot from their mouths as they deliriously denounced it as "dabbling in astrology," which is condemned in the Old Testament as a form of divination (Deut. 18)—right along with witchcraft, sorcery, and fortunetelling.
SEP '24: Seven Years On
Seven years ago, the night skies were graced with a stunning astronomical alignment that God used to speak to those with ears to hear. Did you hear it?
Seven Years On
It seems hard to believe, but September marks the seventh anniversary of the stellar-planetary alignment that gave stunning confirmation to the first of two great signs that the apostle John saw and describes in the opening verses of Revelation 12. Or as I like to call it, the REV12 sign.
I've written several articles related to the REV12 sign in the past, and actually had no special plan to write yet another one. I was actively considering a completely different topic, but at some point during the course of the month it suddenly just walloped me upside the head:
C'mon...seventh anniversary? This is a biggy—I gotta write this!
OCT '24: Will They or Won't They?
After putting a humiliating hurt on Iran's terrorist proxy Hezbollah, many are wondering if and/or when Israel will go for the jugular...
Will They or Won't They?
As I'm sure you're aware, the fighting in the Middle East between Israel and Iranian terrorist proxies Hamas and Hezbollah continues to mount and intensify, and the nations of the world are looking on with increasingly bated breath as the situation continues to spiral toward frightening new levels—levels that were all but unthinkable until recently and that are evoking images and warnings concerning the potential congealing of a World War III scenario.
As I wrote in a recent Commentary entry, some pundits are opining that there seems to be no end in sight, and that this conflict between Israel and her enemies is shaping up to be a "forever war." As I pointed out in those same remarks, however, as prophetically aware believers we know this is not the case. We know this is not a "forever war," and indeed have a pretty good idea where all this is heading based a knowledge of God's prophetic Word.
NOV '24: Alea Iacta Est
America is about to vote for one of two radically different candidates who would lead the country down radically different paths—the die is about to be cast.
Alea Iacta Est
On the 10th of January, 49 BC, Julius Caesar made the fateful, irreversible decision to cross the Rubicon river in Northern Italy in defiance of the Senate of what was then known as the Roman Republic. This intrusion was seen as a hostile attack, and it triggered a civil war that ultimately saw the fall of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire.
On that fateful day, when Julius made the decision to cross the Rubicon and launch a maelstrom of events that he was well aware would lead to either victory or death, it is reported that he uttered the following words:
Alea iacta est!
"The die is cast!" Indeed. There was no turning back, and Julius and his men knew it. These words went down in history, and are sometimes invoked when a situation reaches the point of no return.
1. Adapted from Sunset Over Grass Field © AOosthuizen at Can Stock Photo
2. Butler With Tray © NewAfrica at Depositphotos
3. Offshoot Growth Concept © lightsource at Depositphotos
4. China Lights Dragon © darksideOfPink at Depositphotos
5. Adapted from 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (35909952653) © NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA (text added), [CC BY 2.0]
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6. A Mirage in the Desert between Abu Simbel and Aswan © Vermeulen-Perdaen-Guido at Depositphotos
7. Adapted from Jakob worstelt met de engel (Jacob Wrestles With an Angel), RP-P-1935-1296, Rijksmuseum, (cropped, resized), [CC0 1.0]
8. The Fresco of Jesus the King in the Church Parroquia Santa Teresa de l'Infant Jesus by Francisco Labarta © sedmak at Depositphotos
9. Halloween Concept Zombies Hand Silhouette © fotokitas at Depositphotos
10. Adapted from Virgo Horoscope Star White © realcg at Depositphotos
11. Birthday Cake With Number 7 Lit Candle © destinacigdem at Depositphotos
12. Adapted from 12a–12b:
12a. Iranian Missile Launches From Underground Silo © alexlmx via Depositphotos
12b. Optical Sight © Dmitrydesign via Depositphotos
13. White Dice © Ben_Stevens at Depositphotos
Scripture Quotations:
All Scripture is taken from the World English Bible, unless specifically annotated as the King James Version (KJV) or the American King James Version (AKJV).