This Commentary page contains all entries for the year 2023. Commentary entries are posted weekly (normally Tuesday in Taiwan) and briefly discuss recent news events. Although any news story that catches my attention is fair game, I make no bones about the fact that these entries tend to lean toward news events that might be of interest to believers who, like me, have an interest in end-time prophecy and its fulfillment.

You can use the text links provided at the beginning of each month if you want to move around the page, and the menu below will take you to similar pages for previous years.

*Entries normally include a link to an external article. It's always
possible that any such article may have been moved or deleted.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

1/3/2023 — From the "New Year, Same Hope" Department...

What better way to start off the brand-new year than with a dose of one the U.S. government's favorite pastimes: That's right—Trump bashing.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (RINO-IL) stated the other day that if Donald Trump is not indicted, he fears for the future of the country. Yep, he actually said that. Kinzinger appeared on CNN's (Who else?) "State of the Union," and spoke in reference to the trumped-up, manufactured lies and nonsense that was been spun beyond recognition by the J6 Committee for the past two years in a desperate attempt to concoct something with which to indict Trump. Why? Why do you think? For the unstated but patently obvious goal of preventing him from ever seeking office again.

New year, same hope.

The J6 Committee is a gaggle of anti-Trump politicians from both sides of the aisle who have worked tirelessly for two years to create a mirage of wrongdoing with this singular goal in mind, and the reason is just as patently obvious: They fear Trump more than any other force in the universe. Kinzinger said:

"I look at that and go, if he is not guilty of a crime, I frankly fear for the future of this country because now every future president can say, hey, here is the bar. The bar is do everything you can to stay in power."

Of course, the J6 Committee's bar is do everything you can to destroy Trump so the Democrats and RINOs can stay in power. But I digress.

I confess that there are few things in this world I despise more than spineless politicians who lie and connive to advance their own misguided agendas with no regard for the good of the country (second only to so-called preachers of the gospel who follow the same tack in regard to the body of Christ they are called to shepherd).

But let me cut to the chase: My New Year's message to people like Adam Kinzinger is simple:

The only reason to fear for the future of this country is because it has utterly abandoned God and has sought to remove Him from every aspect of American society. But don't get the idea that America is special—the fall of America is part and parcel of God's larger plan to judge the entire world for rejecting the grace and mercy He has expressed to it through Christ and for persecuting His people Israel, and ironically enough the event that pulls the plug is the removal of millions of people the world hates and fears the most: born-again believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ who, as a rule, see right through and so aren't falling for the world's lies and delusional narratives because their eyes are focused on their Lord, Savior, and soon coming King.

And may 2023 be the year He does just that.

New year, same hope.

1/10/2023 — From the "Word of the Day" Department...

OK class, pay attention. It's time for today's Word of the Day:

dox (v.) — to publicly identify or publish personally identifiable information (PII) about someone, especially as a form of punishment or revenge

Ex. "The J6 Committee just doxxed 2,000 people, including a number of high-ranking Republicans, by carelessly and inexplicably exposing their Social Security numbers."

Ahh, the J6 Committee...the Democrats' sparkling pinnacle of vindictive political theater: What hast thou done? On second thought, perhaps a more pertinent question would be: What hast thou not done?

• Their so-called investigation has failed to expose why J6 prisoners continue to be held in abusive confinement for what, at the absolute worst, amounts to trespassing.

• Their so-called investigation has failed to expose why 14,000 hours of J6-related video is "missing."

• Their so-called investigation has failed to expose why the FBI and Nancy Pelosi did nothing to stop or prepare for a potential breach of the Capitol, in spite of knowing about the peaceful gathering on the nearby Mall weeks in advance.

• Their so-called investigation has failed to expose why there were plainclothes FBI agents, complete with MAGA hats and earphones, who were captured on video literally shoving peaceful protesters in through the open doors of the Capitol building.

In short, they have exposed nothing to back up their contrived, fictional narrative about how President Trump committed insurrection by urging thousands of his supporters to violently storm the Capitol to stop the confirmation of Joe Biden's fraudulent "victory" in the 2020 election. At the same time, they have done their utmost to hide, deny, alter, or ignore evidence that would clearly show that this entire proceeding has been little more than a first-rate sham.

But that's no longer entirely true. The J6 Committee finally has exposed something of value:

The Social Security numbers of 2,000 people, including several Republican governors and their family members, not to mention federal judges and former Trump cabinet members.

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, whose name and Social Security number were on the list, summed it up thusly:

"Whether it was a careless and sloppy handling of records or a deliberate disregard of decorum, either scenario is a perfunctory and callous display of government and a frightening reminder of the current state in Washington."

So, the gaggle of Trump-hating Democrats and RINOs who have wasted almost two years polishing and grooming a fictional narrative the only purpose of which is to prevent Trump from seeking office in the future has just doxxed 2,000 innocent people, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), Texas Gov. Greg Abbot (R), and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R). And in the case of Gov. Noem, the list included her husband and three children.

I'll leave it to you to decide what this says about the Democrats and their J6 Committee, but it does suggest another potential Word of the Day:

iniquity (n.) — wickedness; unrighteousness; evildoing; infamy; depravity

And if you're looking for an example, go back and re-read the above—I'd be hard-pressed to make up a better one.

1/17/2023 — From the "Something's Gotta Give" Department...

I've commented on the growing military alliance between Iran and Russia in several past Commentary entries, but this is a biggie.

According to Iranian media, Iran is set to receive 24 Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, a package that will include "air defense systems, missile systems and helicopters" according to one news report. Delivery is expected by the end of March.

According to experts, the Su-35 is competitive with the current F-15 and F-16, but not quite as advanced as the cutting-edge F-22 or F-35 aircraft. But however you look at it, this is a major boost for Iran's military capabilities. According to U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby:

"These fighter planes will significantly strengthen Iran's air force relative to its regional neighbors."

Regional neighbors that would include Israel.

Of course, this is not merely a major boost for Iran's military capabilities—more to the point, it is a major boost in the military alliance between Iran and Russia. This delivery of Su-35s is no doubt a way for Russia to show their appreciation for over 2,000 drones that Iran has supplied to Russia that have been used in their war with Ukraine.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy (who is Jewish) has long been trying to guilt Israel into coughing up some military aid to match their humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and cites the mutually hated Iranians' involvement in the conflict as reason enough for Israel to do so.

Some analysts, however, fear that Israel's new right-wing government led by newly re-elected Benjamin Netanyahu will lean more toward Putin's Russia than to Zelenskyy's Ukraine, partly due to the fact that Netanyahu and Putin have had a relatively warm and mutually supportive relationship for many years. In other words, it's complicated.

O Prophetically Aware Ones, make no mistake: God is continuing to stir the pot, and the march toward the battle of Ezekiel 38–39 continues to accelerate. And it won't be long until something's gotta give.

And we may not even be here to see it, but when that something finally does give, somebody's gotta go.

And that's us.

1/24/2023 — From the "Zero Percent" Department...

Brace yourself for some shocking news: According to a recent article, U.S. churches are (gasp) on the decline! The article describes how thousands of churches across the country are closing, especially since the beginning of the COVID pandemic nearly three years ago.

Other than all the gloomy statistics, one thing that always stands out in such articles, at least for me personally, is the manner in which Christianity is perceived. The authors of such articles invariably talk about people leaving, abandoning, or falling away from Christianity, as if it were a club you joined, or a body of beliefs you agreed with or adhered to in some manner. They talk about congregations dwindling and people "losing their religion."

And they often talk about how in today's woke generation, young people no longer feel accepted in many church environments. According to Scott McConnell of Lifeway Research:

"Some of the reasons [young people are leaving the church] were 'logistical' [moving away from home, going off to college, etc.]...But some of the other answers are not so much logistics. One of the top answers was church members seem to be judgmental or hypocritical...And so the younger generation just doesn't feel like they're being accepted in a church environment or some of their choices aren't being accepted by those at church."

In other words, many young people are leaving the church because they feel some of their choices aren't welcome there—choices that no doubt touch on topics such as abortion, gender identity, and various other trendy LGBT-related issues such as homosexual marriage and transgenderism.

OK, here's a couple of quick points that multitudes of people should take to heart:

(a) Forget about all the sinful, unbiblical slop people want a church to accept and agree with to make them happy and feel "accepted." Preachers, it's on you: Call it what it is and preach the gospel—that's what God called you to do.

(b) As soon as you start talking about people "leaving" or "abandoning" Christianity, you are no longer talking about real Christians or real Christianity. You're talking about deceived people who are involved in a religious charade—people who not only don't believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, but don't even rightly understand it...in most cases because they have never even heard it properly preached.

Not trying to sound all super spiritual here or anything, but that's the simple truth of the matter, like it or not. The article went on to say that according Pew Research, in 1972, 92 percent of Americans claimed they were Christians. However, by 2070 that will drop below 50 percent.

News flash: The time is coming, and it is coming much sooner than many suspect, that the percentage of people—not just in America, but the entire world—who are real, actual Christians will be much lower than that. On some fine day in the very near future, that percentage, for a brief period of time, will be significantly lower than 50 percent.

It will be zero percent.

1/31/2023 — From the "God's Terms" Department...

Anytime I post a Commentary entry related to a megachurch, it's almost invariably something negative—something pertaining to apostasy or the complete breakdown or absence of the preaching of God's Word or the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'm pleased to report that this is a rare exception.

With an average Sunday attendance of over 3000, First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida certainly qualifies as a megachurch. But that figure is not what put them in the news recently.

FBCJAX, as the church is sometimes called, created more than its fair share of waves recently by requiring its members to sign a statement affirming their agreement with the Bible's clear teaching about sex, gender, and marriage. Here is the text of that agreement:

"As a member of First Baptist Church, I believe that God creates people in his image as either male or female, and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not individual choice. I believe marriage is instituted by God, not government, is between one man and one woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression."

KA-BOOM...clear as crystal and straight as an arrow (no pun intended, but I'll take it). I confess I did a double take and read it twice to make sure I had read it correctly...and partly because it resonated so deeply in my spirit.

According to First Baptist Senior Pastor Heath Lambert:

"[The primary issue] is our faithfulness to the unchanging Word of God. This is a statement for the members of our church, who are free to sign it or not. If people don't like our statement, they can ignore us. They [can] go to any other church or to no church."

I love it. Translation: "That's what God's Word says—take it or leave it."

Lambert stated that the church had been considering issuing such a statement for a long time, and finally felt it was the right time to do so.

It should be noted that this biblically solid statement comes at a time when other churches and denominations around the world are sliding into Satan's cesspool by pandering to a fallen, sinful world in terms of sex, gender, and marriage. And that slide is rapidly turning into an avalanche.

For example, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell of the Church of England recently stated that homosexual behavior and same-sex marriage are just fine and dandy as long as such couples...

"...are in committed, stable, faithful relationships...[and will be] welcomed fully into the life of the Church, on their terms."

"On their terms?" I'm sorry, not to be a stickler for details or anything, but...

What ever happened to God's terms?

Of course, the truly sad part is that any church anywhere would feel the need to make such a statement in the first place, but it's still a breath of fresh air in the increasingly sin-choked atmosphere of a fallen world that is on the cusp of God's judgment.

Kudos to FBCJAX. Where do I sign?

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

2/7/2023 — From the "Pied Pipers" Department...

If you are in any way unsure about what constitutes true Christian character, or what makes up real Christian values and ideals, have no fear:

The Pied Pipers are here.

Chief among them these days being one Taylor Swift, one of the best-known musical performers in the world and a legitimate mega-celebrity.

Not to mention an outspoken advocate for abortion and the LGBT lifestyle—things she sincerely believes are fully coherent and compatible with biblical Christianity.

According to a recent article, in a recent Netflix documentary "Miss Americana," Swift openly claims to be a Christian woman and expresses her disgust with others who make the same claim, but for some inexplicable reason don't see eye to eye with her woke, liberal politics. Case in point, conservative Christian and Republican Senator from Tennessee Marsha Blackburn:

"I can't see another commercial and see Marsha Blackburn disguising these policies behind the words 'Tennessee Christian values.' Those aren't Tennessee Christian values. I live in Tennessee. I'm a Christian. That's not what we stand for."

So as you can see, Swift considers herself an expert on the nature of Christian values, and they certainly aren't those nauseating anti-abortion, anti-LGBT ideals that she vilifies and condemns as a Christian woman living in the great state of Tennessee.

Just to help establish a benchmark of sorts, it is worth noting that Lady Gaga also openly and proudly claims to be a Christian. In a rant against former Vice President Mike Pence, Gaga once stated:

"I am a Christian woman, and what I do know about Christianity is that we bear no prejudice and everybody is welcome."

And that, I dare say, is literally all Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift put together know about Christianity: two little half-baked platitudes, wrung dry of any scriptural meaning or significance and bearing at most cosmetic resemblance to anything taught in the Bible. Oh, but that can be gushingly applied to people who about as Christian as the spiders under your porch.

Meet the Pied Pipers: promoters of a "celebritized Christianity" that push a mascara-deep version of Christianity in which you are free to bend the Bible to support whatever you feel led by the world to believe. And in the event of any tug-o'-war between your values and God's Word, you win and God goes along for the ride.

And it works because they're more beautiful and popular than you can ever hope to be.

Is it any surprise that untold millions follow the notes flowing so sweetly from their pipes?

Do I have to say it? Use some spiritual earplugs.

2/14/2023 — From the "Johnny-on-the-Spot" Department...

There is one item that always bumps my Rapture-ometer up a notch or two every time I notice it in the media:

An uptick in news reports concerning any type of UFO-related activity.

And wouldn't ya know—the word "UFO" is suddenly dotting the headlines again.

It seems the U.S. has shot down several craft of some sort recently, and officials are not being overly forthcoming about the identity of those craft (personally I don't care what they are, because I know what they aren't). Some are saying they are some type of spy balloons, courtesy of mainland China. But they are officially unidentified. They were flying. And they are objects.

Ergo, some in the media are beginning to toss that word around rather freely and with guarded suspicion:

Unidentified Flying Objects

That's right, some are using the word "UFO" to describe them.

(Wait for it...) S-o-o  w-h-a-t?!

Be aware of something: Satan has been busily preparing his very own explanation for the Rapture ever since the peculiar events of July 1947 unfolded near a sleepy little town named Roswell, New Mexico (events which unfolded as soon as it became a virtual certainty that the Jews would actually be given an independent state, which became a prophecy-fulfilling reality 10 months later). And guess what?

It involves aliens.

For decades, there have been numerous New Age types all over the world who have been channeling messages from aliens (i.e. demonic beings) that spin a narrative about how one day soon a benevolent alien race will visit earth to help us through the "earth changes" we are about to experience, and to help mankind in their "ascension" process to evolve spiritually. To that end, they will "help" us by suddenly but safely evacuating to nearby spacecraft millions of people who are not ready to ascend due to their dark, negative energy and antiquated beliefs (i.e. born-again believers).

The story will be that these evacuees will be patiently retrained and reunited with us at a later date when they are as ready to "ascend" as those who were lucky enough to be left behind. After the initial "evacuation" (i.e. the Rapture), people who foolishly adopt and cling to such errant, outdated beliefs will represent a dire existential threat to the entire world, and will have to be eliminated to ensure the very survival of mankind.

Nod if any of this is starting to make sense.

I've written about this before, but the bottom line is that Satan is actively preparing to present to the world his explanation for the Rapture to draw attention away from the Bible's explanation. (And for what it's worth, anyone with an ounce of cerebral matter can plainly see that he is preparing to explain away a pre-trib Rapture.)

Satan's problem, however, is that he doesn't know exactly when the Rapture is going to occur any more than we do. I mean, he knows it's pre-trib (he can read); but like us, he doesn't know the exact timing.

If Satan assumes the Rapture is going to happen and pops the cork on "alien disclosure" and releases his narrative, and then the Rapture doesn't happen for a couple of years, he's blown it. In that case, by the time the Rapture occurs his alien narrative will have become just another failed piece of apocalyptic hooey, and the world won't be nearly as likely to fall for it. Bottom line:

Satan must wait until the Rapture
actually occurs before he can launch
his Rapture narrative involving aliens.

So, Satan wants to keep the UFO/alien narrative percolating in the public consciousness to at least some degree. He wants to keep it in the back of people's minds so that when the Rapture does occur, the UFO/alien shtick will be comparatively fresh.

After the Rapture, the world will be screaming for answers—and Satan will be Johnny-on-the-spot with just the answers they so desperately want to hear. And it will all seem so right to a world that has been conditioned to believe in aliens and UFOs ever since the peculiar events of July 1947 unfolded near a sleepy little town named Roswell, New Mexico.

The truth isn't "out there"—it's in here,
in God's prophetically confirmed Word.

2/21/2023 — From the "One Step at a Time" Department...

I wrote in a Commentary entry last month (1/17) that Iran was apparently set to receive 24 Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from their pal Vladimir Putin. Well, you might say this is the next step in the process.

Iran has been constructing a new underground air base, and recently released promotional videos and photographs contain clues that it has been designed to accommodate exactly that: the Russian Su-35. Color me surprised.

According to an article in the Times of Israel, in one particular photograph taken inside Iran's new Eagle 44 air base, the silhouette of several fighter jets can be seen. All the silhouettes correspond to aircraft that Iran currently has in their fleet...except one.

One of those silhouettes is that of an Su-35.

Another clue was detected in satellite images that show that Iran has constructed a full-scale model of an Su-35, which is believed to have been used to make certain the facility could readily accommodate the slightly larger Russian aircraft. According to Chris Biggers, former imagery analyst for the U.S. government:

"These are likely being used in assessing clearances for maneuvering the aircraft throughout the underground facility and could suggest they'll be based here."

His report also noted that the current entrance tunnel to the underground base was too small for the Su-35, but that a second, larger tunnel was currently under construction.

Analysts have also opined that it makes little sense for Iran to construct an advanced underground air base for its aging fleet of relatively outdated jets, but that it makes a great deal of sense if they are planning to use it to accommodate Su-35s.

Iran has accused Israel of several recent attacks on their military infrastructure, and has warned Israel not to "play with fire." According to Iranian Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri:

"Any attack on Iran from our enemies, including Israel, will see a response from our many air force bases including Eagle 44."

OK, long-story-short time: What we are witnessing is a clear, calculated, step-by-step lead-up to the attack of Gog Magog. It is progressing with stunning clarity, one step at a time, and it is rapidly approaching the point where all they are waiting for is the signal to attack. Oh, let's see...what kind of signal would be appropriate here...hmmm...oh, I know!

How about the sound of a trumpet?

2/28/2023 — From the "Breakout Time" Department...

It was confirmed recently that Iran is now in possession of uranium enriched to the 84 percent level, with 90 percent being commonly accepted as the magic number for making a nuclear weapon. Biden and his gang are wringing their hands and whining about how Iran's so-called "breakout time" is shrinking fast...oh whatever shall we do?!

But before anyone panics and heads for their underground shelter, there are a couple of things to be aware of.

One is the idea of "breakout time." Breakout time is how soon Iran could be in possession of uranium enriched to 90 percent. Currently people are throwing around breakout times of a couple of months, a couple of weeks, down to a couple of days.

The shorter, the scarier.

But breakout time is a bit of an illusion. As they say, "Highly enriched uranium doth not a nuclear weapon make." Opinions vary, but in reality no one actually knows for certain how long it would take Iran to successfully develop a nuclear warhead that could house that nuclear fuel, and then a ballistic missile system capable of delivering that nuclear warhead to its intended target. Personally, I am inclined to go with the estimate given by Israeli intelligence of one to two years. If anyone knows, it would be them.

Israeli intelligence makes the CIA look like a gaggle of Cub Scouts.

But to listen to some people, you'd think that Iranian nukes would be zooming off to their targets within a matter of days. The truth is, however, that it may not matter if Iran is ever actually in possession of a functioning nuclear weapon or not—and in reality they may never be. What matters is the perception of other countries.

For another thing, I can guarantee you that Iran will never nuke Israel as they dream of and hint at doing...even if they do ever possess a nuclear weapon. No one knows what sequence of events will trigger the attack of Gog Magog, but whatever that sequence of events comprises will not involve Iran dropping a nuclear bomb on Israel. You have God's Word on that.

The potential scenarios are unlimited. One such possibility that is routinely discussed is Israel taking some offensive action against Iran to thwart their perceived progress toward a nuke, and that triggering a retaliatory attack that blossoms into Gog Magog. My point is this:

A sequence of events that
could lead to the attack of Gog
Magog could kick off tomorrow.

Don't look now, but that means
the Rapture could happen today.

Forget one to two years, even though that may be a fairly realistic estimate. In other words, the truth is that it's irrelevant how much longer it would take Iran to possess a functioning nuclear weapon.

The bottom line is that the perceived threat of developing one is entirely sufficient for biblical purposes...and biblical purposes are the only ones that really count.

Personally, I think I'm going to borrow the phrase "breakout time" and start using it for my own purposes, as in how much longer until we "break out" in joyous celebration in the presence of the Lord with our departed loved ones at the Rapture. Works for me.

That way, every time I see a scary headline about how Iran's "breakout time" is shrinking, instead of feeling distressed over scary events that are looming on the horizon...

I'll just nod with a knowing smile.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

3/7/2023 — From the "Way Down Under" Department...

I grew up thinking of Australia as a nation that was pretty squared away—a good, decent country that I always had the utmost respect for. Although I've never had the pleasure of visiting Australia, I always thought of it as a place I would greatly enjoy traveling to someday because everyone I ever met who has visited Australia raved about it.

But within just the last two to three years, those sentiments have waned.

Like many frightening changes the world has experienced in the last several years, it began with COVID-19: the virus created in a lab courtesy of mainland China and the so-called "vaccines" pushed on the world to combat it (i.e. sicken and ultimately kill millions of unsuspecting people who believe the narrative spun by the powers that be).

From the very beginning, Australia was among the leaders in the field of draconian COVID measures and vaccine crackdowns and showed the people of the world a frightening picture of what their lives could be like if their governments followed Australia's lead...which only a few did, fortunately.

And then there were the inevitable residual effects, such as their refusal to allow tennis superstar Novak Djokovic to enter the country to compete in the Australian Open in early 2022 due to absurd vaccine status requirements, accompanied by a smug "Rules are rules, mate" retort from government officials. Although that situation has eased somewhat since then, the damage has been done to Australia's reputation.

But never mind the COVID concentration camps and the vaccine madness. Forget about the not-so-grand Grand Slam events.

This one reverberates with prophetic implications.

This past December, there was an incident in Queensland in which four police officers went to a property to respond to a routine missing persons report. Tragically, by the time it was over, all three of the individuals living at the property, two police officers, and a neighbor who came over to innocently investigate the commotion all lay dead of gunshot wounds.

This event, dubbed by many as "one of Australia's darkest days," might not have even made the front page of many newspapers in major American cities. But it was a rare event in Australia, a country with very strict gun control laws. These strict gun laws are largely the result of an incident back in April 1996 in which a lone gunman killed 35 people, and it wasn't long before laws were implemented that resulted in the destruction of over a million guns.

Naturally, in the process of investigating the crime, a motive for the killing was sought in earnest. And it wasn't long before Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford had a key piece of information in that regard to share with the Australian media:

The three people living at the house were "religious extremists."

Ah, yes...religious extremists. It figures, right? Most likely some goat-slaying Satan worshipers. Or some Islamic jihadists secretly plotting terror attacks on innocent Aussies in the name of Allah. Gotta be.

Oh no. These three depraved, bloodthirsty villains? They were worse than Satan worshippers. Worse than Islamic jihadists...much worse.

They were (gasp) premillennialists!

According to Linford, the three were religious extremists who adhered to "a broad Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism."

Josh Roose, Associate Professor of Politics at Deakin University, chimed in to help clarify this dangerous, bizarre body of beliefs, and conceded that...

"They're poorly understood and really, there's not a lot known about to what extent they're present."

In other words, the Land Down Under has gone way down under in its grasp of basic, widely believed Christian doctrine. This esteemed professor spoke of people who believe in the Rapture as if they were an infestation of some exotic but deadly invasive species of vermin.

If either of these individuals had bothered to ask any local pastor, they would have realized how ridiculous their statements sound to anyone who knows a Bible from a bag of donuts. But in the process of making themselves look like complete buffoons, they succeeded in painting a bullseye on the back of every single person in Australia who believes the clear, straightforward teaching of the Bible—that Christ is going to remove His Church from the earth in the Rapture, and that this will be followed by a period of God's judgment the likes of which the world has never seen.

In other words, the "religious extremism" that allegedly motivated this tragedy is sound biblical doctrine believed by many millions of believers all over the world...including Australia.

As laughably embarrassing as this is (or at least should be) for the Queensland police, however, it should serve as a harbinger of things to come in the minds of all premillennialists (this writer included).

May this serve as a wake-up call to how close we are to the days when it will be a capital offense to believe the gospel. And not just in Australia...

Such policies will be strictly enforced
on a global scale by a global government
that will be led by a global dictator.

Believers call him the Antichrist.

But to the Australian authorities who continue to reject the things of God and seek to persecute those who believe in Him and His Word:

You'll call him God, mate.

3/14/2023 — From the "Spare the Rod" Department...

A Democratic State Representative in Illinois has proposed a bill that would criminalize what most normal adults see as routine parenting. Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) has proposed a bill that criminalizes what it refers to as "parental bullying," which according to the bill is defined as follows:

"A parent or legal guardian of a minor commits parental bullying when he or she knowingly and with the intent to discipline, embarrass, or alter the behavior of the minor, transmits any verbal or visual message that the parent or legal guardian reasonably believes would coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to the minor."

In other words, routine discipline administered each and every day by millions of normal parents all over the world. And if this bill passes, such behavior will be a crime in Illinois.

Pardon me while I shake my head in disbelief. Talk about "spare the rod"—this is break it into pieces and bury it.

"With the intent to...alter the behavior" of a child? Last time I checked, that was the definition of being a good parent. And the Author of Scripture agrees:

Oh, and just in case that's not quite galling enough, the website of Rep. Ford proclaims that he...

"...is a firm believer in the power of responsible parenting and established the Council on Responsible Fatherhood, which aims to support fathers and help them to become more responsible and present."

Right...he just wants those Responsible Fathers arrested and charged with a crime if they deign to discipline their children in any way. And when you see what a crime-infested snake pit Chicago is today, none of this comes as a great surprise.

I grew up in Illinois, but luckily for me my godly parents felt differently from Rep. Ford. In fact, I dare say they agreed with the Author of Scripture. Two examples, one each.

1. Once when I was four, I left my tricycle in the driveway behind the car. My father backed out to go to work at his job at a nearby factory, and damaged my trike. He calmly took a few minutes to bend my trike back into shape.

And then he spanked me.

That was the last time I ever left my trike in the driveway behind the car.

2. Once when I was five, I was at church one Sunday morning with my mother (my father was at work if memory serves). I was playing around in the pew during the service, being a bit ornerier than usual in my father's absence, and at one point my mother shushed me. I stuck my tongue out at her.

And then she slapped me.

That was the last time I ever stuck my tongue out at my mother.

So, were they trying to "alter my behavior"? You got that right. And did they succeed in doing so? Same answer.

And glory to God, I think I turned out OK.

3/28/2023 — From the "Calling Evil Good and Good Evil" Department...

Dr. Aaron Edwards is a Christian theology lecturer at Cliff College, a Methodist college in Derbyshire, England who was fired for "misconduct" in regard to something he tweeted recently. Brace yourself...here is the horrifying tweet heard round the Evangelical world:

"Homosexuality is invading the church."

Edwards was informed by the college that he could be reported to Prevent, the U.K.'s counter-extremism program. In other words, they basically treated him as if he were a terrorist who had spray-painted anti-Islamic vulgarities on the walls of a mosque and then threatened to blow it up.

Edwards was ordered by the college to take down the tweet. He refused on moral grounds, stating that it would violate his conscience and be an admission that the tweet was intended to be provocative, rather than an expression of his religious convictions.

Edwards went on to say:

"That *is* the conservative view. The acceptance of homosexuality as 'not sinful' *is* an invasion upon the Church, doctrinally. This is not controversial. The acceptance is controversial. Most of the global Church would agree. It is not homophobic to declare homosexuality sinful."

Of course, he is 100 percent correct on all points. This is something I continually try to make people see: It is not homophobic to say that the Bible condemns homosexual behavior as a sin—it is a simple statement of biblical fact. If that causes you any heartburn, your argument is not with the person who makes that statement—your argument is with the Author of Scripture.

The most compelling statement coming from Edwards, however, and the one that will stick with me forever, comes from his original tweet:

"If sin is no longer sin,
we no longer need a Saviour."

Bingo. Edwards just nailed the overall trend of global society under the sway of Satan in one simple sentence. He just summarized where we are heading at an alarming rate of speed as succinctly as it can summarized:

Nothing is really a "sin,"
so we don't need a Savior!

At least not that loser you deluded Christians go on about. Now, we could sure use a "savior" who is able to solve some of the world's real problems such as COVID-19 and man-made climate change, but we sure don't have any use for some weakling who let himself get nailed to a cross and probably never existed anyway.

So let me get this straight: The world has become a place where a Christian teacher can speak clear, biblical truth that is clearly supported by the inerrant Word of God, and as a result be fired and accused of a horrible crime by a "Christian" college that purports to train ministers of the gospel, and be crucified by a condemning public.

Talk about an Isaiah 5:20 moment:

Out of sheer morbid curiosity, I scanned through some of the comments on Edwards tweet, and I can't say I was surprised. Here are a few sparkling little gems that were fairly typical:

"I'll pray you open your heart to the Holy Spirit for an outpouring of grace and love—god loves all he(r) children equally, unconditionally—even you, HALLELUJAH!"

"I'm a gay Christian in a same-sex marriage. Tell me I'm a greater sinner than you are."

"Homosexuality isn't sin, you evil bigot."

"How's it working out for you so far? God is love and is above irrelevant things like gender, sexuality or supposed sin. The most important thing is to try and be a decent human being. I suggest you try harder."

"Prove the existence of your sky faerie."

And you can pretty well guess the rest. A few people actually did commend, agree with, and support Edwards, but they were by far in the minority—and some of them were attacked as well.

Well, let me say it out loud: May God richly bless and keep you, Aaron. You stood up for the truth of His Word without flinching, and set an example for other born-again believers to follow. And I can only pray that I am able to do so with the same strength and vigor you have demonstrated. Amen and amen!

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

4/4/2023 — From the "Preferred Pronouns" Department...

The following news item borders on the ridiculous, but it's anything but from the viewpoint of people who have suffered in similar ways due to a perceived slight against the LGBT community.

And for the record, you can forget the "Q" and the "+" and all the rest of it. They only get four letters from me—and I'd give them fewer but it would cause confusion.

Now, I am aware of what Pokémon is, but little did I know there exist such things as Pokémon tournaments. And it appears that one such tournament was recently held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A teenage boy named Makani Tran was competing in the tournament, and from all indications he was doing quite well: He was 5–0, and preparing to compete in the sixth round. At some point during preliminary activities, Tran was asked by a judge what his "preferred pronouns" were. And I'll let Tran explain what transpired next:

"I said 'Um...he or him or uh...' and I paused trying to think of the third pronoun [the third pronoun being his]. As I just stood there looking stupid trying to think of the third pronoun, I felt embarrassed because I was failing to think of a simple word. Due to the nerves and me being embarrassed, I let out a little laugh...just a normal nervous laugh. My response together ended up being 'Um...he or him or uhhhh (haha)...his.' That's it."

That's it...a simple little moment of slightly embarrassed confusion over a pointlessly inappropriate but oh-so-woke and politically correct question. According to the article, the judge responded with:

"OK, I just wanted to check to be safe. I go by they/them so don't be a jerk about it."

He later added that Tran had violated their "inclusion policy" by making someone feel "unsafe and uncomfortable."

A nervous little giggle from a teenager made this grown man feel "unsafe and uncomfortable"?! Really? And if he thinks that's "being a jerk about it," he's lucky he was asking a nervous teenager and not the average straight, white, American man.

Minutes later, Tran felt the wrath of the LGBT community when it has been offended (which is every single time a straight person does anything except bow down before them and gush about how fabulous they are):

He discovered that the judge he had spoken to had made the official decision to summarily disqualify him from the tournament over his dangerously offensive behavior.

OK, question for the LGBT community:

Let me get this straight—you ask a normal American teenage boy what his "preferred pronouns" are, he giggles out of confused embarrassment, and you hammer him. And you honestly can't understand why the majority of people would like to see the LGBT community vanish from the face of the planet.

But have enough sense to not say so out loud, of course.

(Personally, if he had been my son, I think I would have grounded him if he hadn't giggled.)

As for Tran, he was devastated by the judge's petulant overreaction:

"I've never cried the way I cried that night. I told him that I didn't even have service and I had no way to contact anyone and didn't even have a key to my hotel room that I would've had to walk to. I'm being completely honest with everyone when I say I have never been this upset in my entire life."

So that's the message from the LGBT community, and that message is as loud and clear as they can make it:

"Bow down and worship us
or we will destroy you!"

Which might be viewed as being prophetically appropriate, because it gives us a taste of what the message will be from the soon-coming global leader who will be revealed as the Antichrist:

"Bow down and worship me
or I will destroy you!"

In the meantime, I think I'll play along with them. If asked, I'll just say:

"I'm a spiritually regenerated male, and my preferred pronouns are "Jesus loves you."

4/11/2023 — From the "Royal Flush" Department...

You have no doubt heard that the King of Beers might now be more aptly known as the Beer That Identifies as the Queen of Beers. Budweiser recently unveiled a marketing campaign for Bud Light that makes the people who came up with New Coke look like Madison Avenue mavens.

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney—who recently celebrated his (yeah...his) 365th day pretending to be a woman and who was virtually unknown prior to last week, is now the proud spokesman (yeah...spokesman) for Bud Light, a popular brand of beer that is watching its popularity with straight American males sink like the proverbial stone.

Like many people, the first thought that flashed through my mind when I heard about this was something along the lines of...

"Are the people at Anheuser-Busch out of their ever-lovin' minds?!"

Well, maybe...maybe not. Other news items have been trickling out concerning the real reason a company like Anheuser-Busch would essentially commit brand suicide, and those reasons are darkly foreboding in relationship to the coming kingdom of the Antichrist.

There is a powerful group known as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) that acts as the vanguard of the far-left LGBT mafia, and it is backed by massive funding from George Soros (surprise!). The HRC foists upon companies something called the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which basically serves as a woke-ometer that measures such things as:

• Workforce Protections (no hint of discrimination in hiring based on sexual orientation or gender identity)

• Inclusive Benefits (including such things as healthcare and retirement benefits for same-sex couples, etc.)

• Supporting an Inclusive Culture (including gender-neutral dress codes, "trans-inclusive" restroom facilities, etc.)

• Corporate Social Responsibility (marketing and advertising that is geared toward the LGBT community)

• Responsible Citizenship (you lose if you support any group that is not pro-LGBT...which includes any Christian group worthy of the name)

Companies are told point-blank what they must do to get a good CEI score—and if they come up short, so does the preferential treatment and generous support offered by such powerful groups.

The point is that the HRC has the cash and the clout to make life miserable for almost any company that fails or refuses to toe the line and get with the program of being exuberantly, gushingly supportive of the full spectrum of the LGBT agenda. According to many analysts, this puts a new spin on the "get woke, go broke" meme that has come into being:

These companies stand to get hurt far worse by not hiring someone like Dylan Mulvaney as a spokesperson than by alienating millions of their loyal customers by doing so.

I believe this raw power exerted by a group like the HRC—this suffocating influence that can make a company like Anheuser-Busch reduce their brand and their image to a shambles in one fell swoop—gives us a taste of the power the world will exert over people as the one-world government that will ultimately be headed up by the Antichrist congeals. We are making a beeline for a world where you're either in or out. You either go along with the program, or you're on the outside looking in. You're either sustained and empowered by the grid, or you're living off the grid. And ultimately...

You will either be allowed
to live or you will be killed.

Everywhere you look in the world today, you can see Satan tipping his hand. And the reason he is tipping his hand is because he is getting ready to put his cards on the table. But there is no need to worry:

The LORD is holding a royal flush.

4/18/2023 — From the "E.T. PHONE HOME" Department...

Not to sprain my elbow patting myself on the back or anything, but the following news item is the fulfillment of a private bit of "prophetic anticipation" on my part.

I've written about the UFO/alien narrative and its prophetic significance before, and that's because I believe it is foundational to Satan's explanation of the Rapture. Satan has an alien-based narrative carefully planned out and waiting in the New Age wings to explain away the fact that several hundred million people suddenly disappeared, but he has to wait until the Rapture actually occurs before he can bring it to the forefront and have the mainstream media spew it into every living room. And as you've probably already guessed, it is designed to lead people away from the truth of God's Word.

It seems we have routinely had some sort of UFO-related story in the news every couple of months for quite a while, but for the last few years I've kept this private piece of speculation tucked away concerning a significant ramping up of UFO/alien speculation that I believed would come at some point prior to the Rapture. Enter the following news item.

Here's the tantalizing headline, but there is more to this than meets the eye:

Alien motherships: Pentagon official
floats a theory for unexplained sightings

In October 2017, a peculiar cigar-shaped object was spotted flying through our solar system, and was pegged by astronomers as the first interstellar object to ever do so. There has been an understandable level of buzz about it ever since, but recently that buzz was taken to a new and, at least in my personal opinion, significant level.

(I only learned of this event recently; but if you've read my article entitled "The Good Years," you'll appreciate why the fact that this thing was spotted in 2017 just trips my little trigger.)

Last month, Sean Kirkpatrick, head of the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (ARRO) and Harvard astronomy professor Avi Loeb co-authored a paper in which they speculated that this object, christened with the Hawaiian nickname Oumuamua (oh 'MOO-uh 'MOO-uh) and demonstrably able to move in violation of the known laws of physics, could be a probe from an alien mothership—an alien mothership apparently hanging around somewhere in our vicinity.

Now, don't misunderstand me. There have been legions of people saying these kinds of things for decades. For most UFO enthusiasts, this is pretty tame. For many, this is more like:

"Yeah, I know—we're being visited by aliens...pass the meatloaf."

But these aren't New Age wackos that are suggesting this. These aren't people wearing tinfoil hats.

This is a Pentagon official and
a Harvard professor of astronomy.

Big difference...and I believe that difference has prophetic significance.

Again, don't misunderstand me. Not everyone in the Pentagon and the academic world is breaking out their "E.T. PHONE HOME" T-shirts and jumping on the extraterrestrial bandwagon. Many are urging caution and restraint, and pointedly questioning the authors' methods and motives. In other words, plenty of people are taking a "Whoa, not so fast!" approach to the ideas presented in the paper. Even the authors themselves are quick to label their ideas as speculation. But this paper has done something significant:

It crossed a line.

And it's a line that had not really been crossed in any significant way to date. In other words, this paper sends a message to both the military complex and the academic world, and that message is simply this:

Hey, it's OK to speculate about aliens
investigating and/or visiting the earth.
You won't be laughed out of the room.

It represents a tectonic shift in the landscape of the UFO/alien narrative, and begins to raise it to a higher and more serious level. And that is precisely where I believe it will go—where it must go—immediately after the Rapture. The point is that Satan is plowing the ground in which he will plant the seeds of his deception following the translation of the Church.

For the last several years I've been biding my time, quietly and patiently waiting for a moment such as this, which I see as another distinct step forward in the march toward a very special day. And unless I miss my guess, you know exactly what day I'm talking about.

It won't be "E.T. PHONE HOME"—
it'll be "EKKLESIA COME HOME!"

4/25/2023 — From the "Boogeyman" Department...

I suppose kudos are in order for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)—they are stepping up and boldly assuming their role in the development of the end-time scenario according to the following chilling headline:

World Meteorological Organization Warns
Climate Eve of Destruction Is Here

On a related note, Joe Biden recently chipped in and read from his cue card that the cause of climate change is "no longer subject to debate." Which in a twisted sort of way is actually correct: The debate is basically over. At this point the vast majority of people believe the lies.

(Cue scary music) Enter the boogeyman. As I have said on numerous occasions, the next major step in the drive for a one-world government is our old pal climate change: the boogeyman du jour. Oops, sorry...I mean MAN-MADE climate change. The kind that is going to kill every living creature on Earth by 2030 unless all the governments in the world join together and force everyone to change their energy-wasting, gas-guzzling ways.

And we'd better hurry, because the climate eve of destruction is here!

Thus saith the WMO.

In a report brimming with dire statistics, the WMO warns of widespread food insecurity, mass migration, droughts, floods, famine, and heatwaves. The only thing missing is a partridge in a pear tree. In the WMO's recent State of the Global Climate 2022 report, they summarize the situation as follows:

"While greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the climate continues to change, populations worldwide continue to be gravely impacted by extreme weather and climate events."

Never mind that human activity contributes a fraction of one percent of the CO2 in the earth's atmosphere. Nevermind that most of the anomalous climate activity we see in this general time frame is due to natural cycles of activity on the sun. Never mind that weather-influencing techniques mastered during the Vietnam war can alter weather conditions in regional areas to suit...whoever's calling the shots. Oh no.

"It's the boogeyman!! Run for your lives!! Buy an electric car and vote Democrat because those MAGA extremists are denying the science!!"

Ahh, but there's hope, didn't ya know. There is hope in world agencies coming together in cooperation. According to WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas:

"Collaboration amongst U.N. agencies has proven to be very effective in addressing humanitarian impacts induced by extreme weather and climate events, especially in reducing associated mortality and economic losses."

Well, that's great! So...let's do more of that. You know, that collaboration thing. Or maybe we need to do that on a slightly bigger scale (hint...hint).

I'm sure you see where this is going, and it's going there at a brisk pace. As we look around, prophetically knowledgeable believers cannot help but see the writing on the wall. The trends that will culminate in the one-world government of the Tribulation are well underway, and are gaining momentum on a daily basis. Scary, huh?

No, it's not scary. It's exciting, because the one thing that born-again believers need to keep in mind these days is that the worse it gets, the closer we are. It's pretty much that simple. Say it with me:

The worse it gets,
the closer we are.

Repeat daily. Tape it to your bathroom mirror. I am positively bursting with excitement and anticipation in the face of all of this sludge, because I know God is allowing us to be here to witness all this for a reason:

Many argue that the Lord is referring to the Second Coming here, and I have no problem with that. I just happen to believe that this basic exhortation applies equally well to both the Second Coming and the Rapture.

So look up.

You might wanna add that one to your bathroom mirror, too.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

5/2/2023 — From the "Rip It Up" Department...

I see Satanists have been in the news recently. They held what was billed as SatanCon 2023 in the Satanic Temple in Boston to celebrate the temple's 10th anniversary, which the Satanic Temple's website feted as "a weekend of blasphemy and remembrance."

One of the evening's activities (presumably part of the "blasphemy") featured a female speaker who stood at the podium and enthusiastically ripped a Bible to shreds to chants of "Hail Satan!" and the raucous cheers of the audience.

Frankly, Satanism isn't really interesting enough in my opinion to spend much time on. To me, it comes across like a glorified version of Dungeons and Dragons (a seriously geeky fantasy role-playing game that was all the rage when I was in high school, and which I never played—not because I was raised in a Christian home, but because I wasn't quite that big a geek).

But the Bible-ripping thing got me thinking. In some ways, I don't see why Satanists would be so vitriolically opposed to the Bible, since it actually has a lot of interesting things to say about Satan. Aside from proving his existence, that is. Speaking of which, I found it amusing when I read that most Satanists don't believe in a literal Satan: Many of them just think it's hip and cool and supportive of a lot of trendy, pro-left issues such as abortion, LGBT rights, etc. As if Satan was thinking of running for president in 2024 as a Democrat.

Yeah, the Bible has plenty to say about Satan. Hey, forget president—he's going to have his own kingdom, and it appears it's coming soon! That sounds like a real hoot. The Bible says he wants to be like God, and what's wrong with that, I ask you. I mean, who wouldn't? Don't tell me that grouchy old Yahweh is scared of a little friendly competition.

But in other ways, I can understand why Satanists would want to rip up every Bible they see. Not as a way to protest sheepish obedience to a cosmic tyrant, but because the Bible tells us the truth about Satan. He's the father of lies. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. He's not creative—everything he does is a second-rate imitation of something God did or created first. And don't even get me started on the pride thing.

And to top it off, he's going to be tossed into the lake of fire, where he will spend eternity with many of those in attendance at SatanCon.

Honestly, it's tough for me to see many people wanting to worship Satan if they ever took the time to read what the Bible says about him, so I really can't blame Satanists for wanting to rip up every Bible they can get their hands on.

If any book exposed my hero as the biggest loser in the history of the world, I'd want to rip it up, too.

5/9/2023 — From the "God Save the King" Department...

As you know, this past Saturday saw the coronation of King Charles III in London's Westminster Abbey, the site of the coronation of British monarchs since that of William the Conqueror in 1066.

I confess that I have managed to avoid the public's insatiable fascination with the British royal family, and tend to ignore the slop that gushes forth from the media in regard to comings and goings of Charles, Camilla, Harry, Meghan, William, Kate, and all the rest. My message to the media is simply this:

I'm sure they're perfectly nice people, but leave them alone and let me ignore them.

I've paid scant attention to news articles related to the coronation, but one item that managed to catch my eye brought joy to my heart because it reported the following tidbit:

The 350 million people who tuned in to watch
the coronation were treated to the gospel.

Of all things. It hadn't occurred to me, but it makes sense because the coronation of British monarchs is steeped in history—and a significant part of that history is religious in nature. And as the article I linked to above astutely points out, the religious history that such coronations are steeped in predates the decline of Christianity in the West in modern times.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby got things started with the following greeting:

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you...Alleluia—Christ is risen."

To which those in attendance responded:

"He is risen indeed. Alleluia."

At one point, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak read the following passage of Scripture:

Don't look now, but Paul managed to slip the gospel in there somewhere around verses 13 and 14. Later, the following prayer was offered up:

"All glory be to thee, almighty God, our heavenly Father, who, of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption; who made there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in his holy gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death, until his coming again."

There it is again: The gospel. The euaggelion. The Good News. God's message for the world, and a message that hasn't changed in two thousand years:

A merciful God sent His Son Jesus to die
on the cross as the perfect sacrifice to
provide for our redemption from sin.

And by the way, He's coming back.

Of course, we can only pray that some of these words pricked the hearts of Charles, Camilla, Harry, Meghan, William, Kate, and many of the rest of the 350 million people watching only the second televised coronation of a British monarch in history (the first being Queen Elizabeth II in 1953).

So, yes...God save the king. And God save as many of those 350 million people who will humble their hearts before Him and believe His message in faith.

I will say one thing, however:

Never underestimate God's ability to get His message across.

5/16/2023 — From the "Too Little, Too Late" Department...

As you may have heard (even if you still watch CNN), the final report from Special Counsel John Durham on the origins of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation came out a few days ago. Many in Washington are screaming and fuming at the FBI over it, because it verifies what many people in America have known for years (people that ignore the mainstream media):

The Russian collusion hoax was a cloak-and-dagger fantasy invented by Hillary Clinton and sold to the FBI, the DOJ, and other leading Democratic leaders (including Barack Obama) without so much as a molecule of proof, and eagerly carried out in an attempt to smear her conservative Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump.

Surprise! So there you have it in black and white: The FBI, the DOJ, and those Democratic leaders are hopelessly corrupt...although it's the FBI that seems to be taking the lion's share of the heat at the moment.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) expressed the sentiments of many Republicans:

"The baseless and politically motivated Russia collusion lie robbed the American people of three years and tens of millions in taxpayer dollars. This lie, perpetrated by the DNC and Clinton campaign, was aided and abetted by senior FBI and DOJ officials who, at best, consciously avoided their duty of due diligence, and at worst, knowingly and willingly participated in one of the dirtiest smears in American history."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) added:

"What have we learned from the Durham report? That the New York Times and Washington Post were given a Pulitzer Prize for writing a bunch of politically motivated crap. When it comes to reporting on Donald Trump, the mainstream media is dead. The Durham Report is a damning indictment of the FBI under James Comey and the operations of the Department of Justice. Their behavior during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation reads like a page out of the Nixon playbook."

(And I almost hate to see him insult Richard Nixon like that.)

Although it's gratifying as a conservative to read about this development, the nagging question in my mind and I'm sure in the minds of many others is basically this:

How much does it really matter at this point? Does this really help Trump in any tangible way? Or will it simply motivate a round of even nastier attacks that are even less grounded in reality, if that's possible?

I mean, what's next?

"Hey, why don't we accuse Trump of being involved in a human-trafficking ring that kidnaps innocent Ukrainian children from playgrounds and sells them as heroin-addicted sex slaves in Russia? Oh wait, no...kidnaps them from churches! Yeah...maybe we should bounce this off Hillary."

As fun as it is to read about all this, I admit that I'm not convinced that it will change anything. I fear things like this are too little, too late. For what it's worth, I still do not believe Donald Trump will get within ten miles of the White House in 2024. And to be brutally honest, I still have reservations about whether there will even be a presidential election next year.

I still harbor a sneaky suspicion that some earth-shattering supernatural event just might, shall we say, interrupt scheduled events.

And turn the world upside down and shake it...hard.

5/23/2023 — From the "Not Ashamed" Department...

The slop you read about in the news is so depressing and discouraging that sometimes it just makes you want to throw your hands in the air and say "Come quickly, Lord!" I know it does me.

But once in a while you read about something that reminds you what it's all about and what we as believers are really here for.

Case in point: Josh Alexander is a 16-year-old Canadian youth who was arrested in February at St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Renfrew, Ontario for returning to school after being suspended for stating that there were only two genders, and being opposed to his school's gender-neutral restrooms. Last month, he led a protest against a drag queen performance at York Mill Collegiate Institute, a Toronto high school.

And last Wednesday, Josh was arrested outside Western Canada High School in Calgary, Alberta for passing out Bibles at a protest that was literally named after him: the "I Stand with Josh Alexander" International Walkout Protest, which was joined by Christian youth protest group Save Canada and other groups. Josh tweeted:

"According to Calgary police, my views were too 'inflammatory' to be expressed near the Western Canada HS. Thankfully some of my assailants were charged after the event. I will not yield to the pressure of the woke mob or corrupt state. We will continue to spread the truth in love."

Josh also tweeted that...

"I was released and told if I returned I would be arrested and charged. I continued handing out Bibles. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ."

(Excuse me while I shout "Glory to Jesus!!") And excuse me while I ponder how many ministers in the United States would be willing to follow suit.

Imagine that...a 16-year-old Canadian boy bringing to mind something from the book of Acts:

May God bless and strengthen you, Josh. We could use a few more like you here in the U.S. of A.

5/30/2023 — From the "Previews of Coming Attractions" Department...

According to what is, quite frankly, one of the most delusional articles I have had the misfortune of reading in a good while, the U.S. faces increasing risks of terror attacks by right-wing, lone-wolf extremists who spew inflammatory Republican rhetoric.

And I'm sure I left out a few of the left-wing's favorite buzzwords, but at least I gave it a shot.

In an article in the Guardian (I'm not quite sure what they're "guarding," but I do know it has precious little to do with journalistic integrity), we are told that the country is at great risk of increased terror attacks, not so much from conservative groups and organizations, but from relatively isolated lunatics that have fallen for the lies that have spread through the conservative community like kudzu along an Alabama backroad in the last few years. Didn't ya know.

The article cherry-picks a handful of examples to "prove" the point, and readers are left with the intended message:

We've got to stop all those crazy MAGA extremists before they destroy our great country—and we can ill afford to wait any longer to do it!!"

I would report more of what the article actually says, but I don't wish to insult your intelligence. Suffice it to say that it blathers on about the usual suspects: the violent insurrection aimed at taking over the government on January 6 2021; the ludicrous, baseless conspiracy theories about so-called election fraud in the 2020 election; the vicious attacks on the LGBTQIAE=MC²@#?%+ community by cretins who would turn innocent, curious children into homophobic, transphobic zombies like themselves; etc.

And you can pretty well guess the rest.

Besides, none of this comes as a surprise anyway—most conservatives have grown accustomed to this kind of drivel by now and, considering the sources, have learned to ignore it. But this type of news article bears the fingerprints of a harbinger: something that indicates or foreshadows what is to come. Why? Because lying buried deep in the heart of this hated group of right-wing, MAGA terrorists is what will soon be the most hated group on the planet:

Born-again believers—just like li'l ol' me and li'l ol' you.

These people don't have to place believers at the forefront of their attacks: All they have to do is make sure we are nestled somewhere in the broad, nebulously defined range of groups they are attacking.

Make no mistake: We are seeing the foundations of the Antichrist's kingdom continuing to congeal. During that soon-coming (and short-lived) kingdom, believers in the gospel will be painted as an existential threat to mankind and the earth itself—and so obviously they must be hunted down and eliminated or the human race and the planet we all inhabit will be doomed.

So what we are witnessing is a preview of coming attractions.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

6/6/2023 — From the "Yet Another Glimpse of the Future" Department...

Just last week, I wrote a Commentary entry in regard to an article that warned of an increase in terror attacks by right-wing, lone-wolf MAGA extremists, and I observed that this kind of blather was part of an organized push by Satan's useful idiots to move the country in the direction that Satan desires:

Toward the kingdom of the Antichrist, in which all believers in the gospel will ultimately become capital criminals who will be hunted down and exterminated on a global scale during the Tribulation, ostensibly to save the earth and all of mankind.

This week's entry falls in the same general category, however, in the sense that it also gives us a small foretaste of what the Antichrist's kingdom will be like and how it will operate. And for that, it's off to China.

Unknown to the vast majority of Westerners, something called the "social credit system" was introduced in China back in 2014, and it's basically a system of ranking people and giving them a "social credit" score based on their social behavior. This score, in turn, is used to influence their "social standing" in regard to things such as whether or not they are able to get bank loans, book rooms in the best hotels, enjoy high-speed Internet connections, purchase tickets for flights out of the country, etc.

One's social credit score could be influenced by a wide range of behaviors, such as minor traffic violations, spending excessive time online playing games, smoking in non-smoking areas, failing to repay loans in a timely manner, and so on and so forth.

It was supposed to be fully implemented by 2020, but many local government agencies are still tinkering with what this system could look like and how it could operate.

It also works the other way around. If you are observed doing things expected of an exemplary citizen, it can earn you benefits and privileges that might be denied others who may not be so civic-minded. For example, if the "information gatherers" who walk the streets of towns around China spot you dutifully scooping up your dog's poo, who knows? You might be given permission to stay in a nicer hotel on your next vacation.

The point is that we are moving toward a world where people's behavior will be monitored to a frightening degree, and rewarded and punished accordingly. For example, let's say you engage in some of the following activities today:

• Discussing online the mountains of compelling evidence that a presidential election was stolen outright.

• Claiming a pandemic was planned and that unsafe and ineffective vaccines are being pushed on people.

• Insisting there are only two genders, and demanding that innocent children not be exposed to lewd material that suggests otherwise.

OK, now ask yourself:

Do you think the powers that be would like to punish you or reward you?

That's right...they would like to punish you. They'd probably want to ban you from social media.

Fast forward a few years. Let's say the Tribulation is in full swing, and you engage in some of these activities:

• Aiding and abetting Jewish fugitives instead of reporting their whereabouts to authorities as required by law.

• Rejecting the amazing new world leader whose miraculous brush with death proves he is divine.

• Refusing to take his Marvelous Mark that shows you are a sterling citizen of the first rank.

Same question...same answer. Oh, except I don't think they'll bother banning you from social media.

Statistics show that after people have been beheaded, their online activity drops off precipitously.

6/13/2023 — From the "Run for Your Lives!" Department...

I've seen a few news items along the following lines in the past, but this ominous-sounding one just tripped my trigger for some reason.

A headline at the website of The Messenger reads as follows:

The US Is Preparing Evacuation Plans for
American Citizens in Taiwan (Exclusive)

So run for your lives! Don't even bother to read the whole article, which actually goes on to greatly tone down the threat and the scary-sounding language. The headline, however, is nothing but the usual trumped-up hype designed to make Americans tremble with fear that we are on the brink of World War III. Which we may be...but it ain't gonna start with Taiwan, I guaran-dog-tee you.

But whenever an item like this appears in the media, I invariably have a few sincere readers who email me with the "breaking news" and urge me to pack a suitcase and make a mad dash for the airport.

And I can only think of one basic thing to say to them:

"Thank you for your concern, but there's really no need to write to me."

Please bear with me as I explain a couple of basic facts:

1. First off, don't get the wrong idea: I genuinely appreciate your concern for my welfare. I certainly don't want anything I say here to cause anyone to think otherwise. May God bless you for your genuine concern for a fellow believer.

2. No offense, but I actually do read the news once in a while.

3. People in Taiwan do not live in fear, and that includes my Taiwanese wife Phoebe and I in the suburbs of Taipei. On the contrary. Like everyone else, we go about our business and live our lives as normal and don't really give a great deal of thought to the bluster and saber-rattling that spews forth from the Communists across the Taiwan Strait. Why should we?

4. The people of Taiwan have been listening to the same old song-and-dance routine from mainland China for 74 years. It never changes. What does change is the Western media's reaction to it (hence headlines such as the above). Forget political correctness...I got a news flash for y'all: Taiwan has been a de facto independent nation since 1949, and the only ones who are unable to grasp this simple fact are the deluded Communists who run China and their citizens who dutifully believe whatever they are told to believe. Speaking of which...we do not hate the people of mainland China. We're OK with them. We just hate the deluded fools who run their government.

5. If mainland China actually turns out to be stupid enough to attack us, it would likely turn into a drawn-out affair that neither side would win easily. China doesn't want that, and we know it. (Here's a tip: Don't let geographic size fool you—that has far less to do with anything than most Westerners realize.) Not only that, but Taiwan does have friends in this region who dislike the mainland bully almost as much as we do.

6. I have lived in Taiwan for 31 years. This is my home. Phoebe and I have no plans of going anywhere, no matter what. Nor do I have any genuine desire to return to the United States. We own a home here, her family support system is here, and that's that. We are both believers, so if worse comes to worst and it turns out that we do die here in some sort of fiery explosion, then we'll catch you at the mixer after the bema. Although I have a couple of sisters in the State of Washington, let me say it again: The U.S. is not my home. It's become more like a foreign country that just gets weirder and weirder and where I just happen to speak the language like a native.

'Nuff said. So, when you see some scary-sounding headline like this and think of poor old Greg being in imminent danger, don't worry. We are fine, and will very likely remain so until we hear the sound we are waiting to hear.

No, not the sound of artillery.

The sound of a trumpet.

6/20/2023 — From the "Stand on Guard" Department...

I don't see too many stories like this these days, so when I do I want to shout it from the rooftops.

Or in this case, just belt out a few bars of "O Canada."

Longfields-Davidson Secondary School in Ottawa, Canada apparently marches in step with globalist wannabe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's push to ensure a radical gender ideology program is crammed down students' throats throughout the entire country. Well, these high school students aren't having it:

They staged a walkout.

Former high school teacher Chanel Pfahl, who is openly against such gender ideology curricula being forced on young kids, responded:

"The kids at Longfields-Davidson Heights are just pure awesome."

The principal of Longfields-Davidson, however, put out a strongly worded message to the whole community in response to the students' actions:

"When one individual or group of individuals' beliefs and actions result in the demeaning of another individual or group, it is completely unacceptable."

Is that right? Well, in that case, if I were one of those brave students, I'd have a question for the good principal:

"Mr. Principal, you said if someone or some group says something that demeans us, it's completely unacceptable. Well, we were told by our teacher that we can identify as any gender fantasy we please, and that everyone else has to honor and respect that decision—regardless of who or what we identify as. In class, the teacher asked us how we identify in regard to gender. I said 'I am a straight, white male. I identify as a straight, white male. I would tell you my preferred pronouns, but anyone who speaks English already knows them...so there's no need.' She called me a transphobic bigot and made me stay after school. With all due respect, Mr. Principal, I'm feelin' kinda demeaned here. Is what she said and did completely unacceptable, or what?"

(Pause for awkward silence...)

God bless you, you brave young people from our Neighbor to the North. Wish we had more like you.

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love thou dost in us command.
We see thee rising fair, dear land,
The True North, strong and free;
And stand on guard, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.

May God stand on guard for thee.

6/27/2023 — From the "Whose Side Are You On?" Department...

There are a few people in the world the sound of whose voice I cannot listen to. Now, I might force myself to read some the foolish or annoying things they have to say, but I cannot listen to them saying it. I simply can't do it.

One of those special people is Whoopi Goldberg. I am aware of the fact that she is one of the co-hosts of a television show called "The View," but I have never watched it and never will. The fact that it features Whoopi is all I need to know. It's really not personal—it's just that the sound of her voice sends searing waves of pain shooting through my cerebellum.

So, I read the other day that Whoopi had some sage advice for evangelicals. At the Faith & Freedom Coalition convention recently, the predominantly Evangelical and pro-Trump audience booed former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie after he attacked and dissed Trump like the washed-up, self-serving, political weakling that he is. But the gang at "The View" didn't see it that way. Oh no. Co-host Sunny Hostin observed:

"What was shocking to me was the hypocrisy of the evangelical community, booing at the truth."

Yes, booing at the truth. Those high-sounding cheap shots were the truth, didn't ya know.

Then it was Whoopi's turn:

"The evangelicals are not the evangelicals of my youth. I've always known evangelicals. And while we have different roads to God, they're, you know, basically the same roads. But I don't know who these folks are."

I'm sorry Whoopi, but I'm confused. Which is it:

Different roads that are the same roads...or is it the same roads that are different roads?

She was on a roll, and she continued:

"You know, the thing about evangelicals that we all have to remember is that they're human beings. They're people and they're flawed, like all of us, so, you know, when they wake up and realize that God may not be on their side the way they think he is, because someone who says, 'I'm doing this for you,' sounds an awful lot like, you know..."

Co-host Sarah Haines eloquently and respectfully finished the thought:

"The great J.C."

That would be Jesus Christ, for all you out-of-touch Evangelicals. And honk if you appreciate Whoopi's heartfelt empathy toward born-again believers. I admit it's good to know that Whoopi has always known believers, and wisely observes that "God might not be on our side."

It's hard to watch myself type this, but Whoopi actually has a good point. God isn't always on our side. It's true that too many Evangelicals worship Trump and view him as the savior of all that is good in America and the world. Well, I'm sorry, but he's not. True, we would be better off with him in the White House instead of a crime family that would make the Cosa Nostra weep with admiration, but still.

Of course, the real problem is light-years beyond Whoopi. The problem is that it's never up to God to be on our side on any issue, ever.

It's always up to us to be on God's side.

Every. Single. Time. That means there is only one question to be asked:

Whose side are you on?

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

7/4/2023 — From the "Not-So-Good Book" Department...

Like most of you, I've been hearing a lot about AI recently—and in retrospect I should have seen this coming. Now people are using AI to rewrite certain parts of the Bible, and I'm sure it won't be long until we have a completely computer-generated version of God's Word.

Case in point: PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has announced their AI version of the Creation story in the book of Genesis, simply entitled "The Book." And it certainly doesn't take a biblically knowledgeable reader long to see there are some significant differences between "The Book" and "The Good Book."

Some are rather amusing. Some...not so much.

For example, "beasts" and "creatures" are now "beings," and God clothes Adam and Eve in outfits made of hemp and bamboo instead of animal skins. Also, in PETA's AI version of the whole book of Genesis, Abraham and Sarah adopt a dog named Herbie from a local animal shelter.

Yeah. Herbie.

Overall, PETA's AI version of Genesis is replete with vegan and animal rights messages from start to finish. According to PETA president Ingrid Newkirk:

"The Bible has long been used to justify all forms of oppression, so we've used ChatGPT to make it clear that a loving God would never endorse exploitation of or cruelty to animals."

So, PETA is doing all of us a favor by getting us to see that our loving God would never endorse animal sacrifices of any kind, so all that cruel Levitical stuff has gotta go. Which makes me wonder what they plan to coax AI into doing with the Crucifixion.

How about Jesus being beaten up by a gang meat-eating pro-lifers?

(Or MAGA extremists—that'll work.) Another PETA representative gushed:

"We asked an AI to create 'The Book' as a modern companion to the Bible, and we're pleased with the results because this complementary piece provides readers with moral lessons relevant to the world of the 21st century...Our words matter, and this creation story conveys the wonderful lessons of the Bible while acknowledging that animals are now known to be feeling, intelligent individuals, capable of experiencing joy, love, fear, and suffering."

OK, straight up: This is worshiping the creation instead of the Creator taken to a whole new level. And anyone foolish and deceived enough to believe a single word of the above is in desperate need of what the original version of God's Word really provides—and that's something far beyond a bunch of silly little "moral lessons" that elevate animals to the level of human beings created in the image of God:

Salvation from sin and
eternal life in heaven.

If PETA wants a "moral lesson," let 'em run this up their flagpole:

Yes, those animal skins God used to clothe Adam and Eve required the shedding of the blood of innocent animals (yes, animals—not "beings"). Oh, "animal cruelty" you say? Uh, no. Try a foreshadowing of the greatest single act of love, mercy, and grace ever carried out in the history of the universe. This prefigured what God would have to do to His own Son thousands of years later to judge our sin and provide for the atonement for that sin that would allow Him to reconcile us human beings to Him for all eternity by grace through faith.

In other words, dismissing God's actions with Adam and Eve as "animal cruelty" is just about the most spiritually obtuse thing a person could possibly do—and it is indicative of the thick, suffocating blanket of deception that Satan continues to cast upon the world as we speak.

But on a positive note, I can't wait to read about Paul teaching the believers in Corinth that it's OK to eat tofu offered to idols.

7/11/2023 — From the "Vilest Form of Scum on the Planet" Department...

I may as well have labeled this Commentary entry as being from the "Why Am I Not Surprised?" Department.

You almost know where this is going as soon as you see this guy's official U.N. title. He is the (ahem...):

Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

So the U.N.'s official IEOPAVADBOSOAGI advisor, one Costa Rican lawyer named Victor Madrigal-Borloz, put out a report recently that, to the surprise of no one, reduces born-again, Bible-believing Christians to the vilest form of scum on the planet.

According to Madrigal-Borloz, anti-LGBT religious beliefs are not protected human rights. Rather, such beliefs constitute "discriminatory positions of prejudice" that are responsible for engendering "violence, discrimination, and exclusion" against fine, upstanding Ls, Gs, Bs, and Ts everywhere.

Flip that one over in your mental frying pan a time or two:

Believing God's Word is not a protected human right.

He claims that over the last six years, he has received numerous reports from members of the LGBT community who claimed they wanted nothing more than to "pursue happiness by embracing their sexual orientation or gender identity," but were deterred and blocked from that goal by members of the aforementioned scum that condemned them as "sinful, or evil; as inherently immoral, or not worthy of transcendence."

But Madrigal-Borloz was just getting warmed up:

"Laws enacted with the aim of mandating standards of conduct purportedly demanded by interpretations of religious dogma effectively deny [LGBT] and other gender diverse persons the right to equality and, often, equal recognition under the law...Religious freedoms are not adequate legal protection for anyone who uses their beliefs for not only violence but also denial of the human rights of LGBT persons...Violent and discriminatory positions of prejudice are beyond the international legal protections of religious or other beliefs."

Straight up: We should be getting used to this sort of thing by now. In another one of his reports, Madrigal-Borloz refers to "dark corners where LGBT people are regarded as sinners."

(Gasp)..."dark corners" (such as churches, perhaps?)...sinners. The nerve of those hate-filled bigots!

Make no mistake:

This is exactly where the world is rapidly heading.

And where is that, exactly? To a place where anyone who dares to believe the Bible and espouse any gospel-oriented biblical principles will be eviscerated as a criminal of the worst kind who needs to be eliminated for the benefit of society at large. That's where.

Welcome to the kingdom of the Antichrist.

Check your last molecule of spiritual horse sense at the door.

7/18/2023 — From the "Play It Again, Sam" Department...

Hey, boys and girls, it's time once again for our monthly dose of UFO-related "news" from the mainstream media:

Senate considering a bipartisan measure
to release government UFO records

According to the article, the Senate is considering a measure that would authorize the release of government records of what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) described as "mysterious and unexplained" UFO sightings. According to Schumer:

"For decades, many Americans have been fascinated by objects mysterious and unexplained, and it's long past time they get some answers...[We have a] right to learn about technologies of unknown origins, non-human intelligence and unexplainable phenomena."

Well, I don't know about you, but this just has me on the edge of my seat in breathless anticipation.

Yeah, baby: Technologies of unknown origins. Non-human intelligence. Unexplainable phenomena.

Wowie zowie!! Be still, my beating heart! Chuck's right—we want answers!

In reality, however, about all this amounts to is having the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration gather up a few UFO photos during the coming year and then have a board decide whether they should remain classified or not. Woo hoo.

Sorry, kids—no advanced alien technology, no skinny gray aliens.

Just a few fuzzy, gray photos.

So it's "Play it again, Sam." Play the same tired old refrain once again to refresh those images in people's minds of an advanced alien race from a distant star system that is about to bring us technology far beyond anything we can imagine and save us and our world from conservative MAGA extremists who would thwart our efforts to evolve into that Brave New World that visionary leaders like Barack Oba...er, I mean, Joe Biden seek.

After all, those advanced aliens will be coming down to meet us soon!

(If they were real, we'd probably pass 'em on the way up...)

7/25/2023 — From the "Who's Crying Now?" Department...

According to an article in Breitbart, the Washington Post, one of the leading mouthpieces of the liberal left in America, has declared right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Israel's "biggest security threat."

The article in question, written by a dutiful Never Trumper named Max Boot, compared Netanyahu to America's biggest security threat, which is obviously Donald Trump, didn't ya know.

According to Boot:

"[Netanyahu] doesn't seem to care that his policies are undermining Israeli democracy, risking Israel's close relationship with the United States, and might even be sparking another violent uprising...Like Trump, he seems to care about nothing but holding onto power, and his radical policies are the price of keeping together a coalition of far-right extremist parties. [Here's a tissue—take two. Ed.]"

Incredibly, Boot insists Joe Biden is a "true friend of Israel" who has been unsuccessfully attempting to "warn Bibi off the destructive path he is on—but to no avail." Make...it...stop...

A wee bit of background is in order. Since the 1990s, Israel's judiciary (and along with it, the liberal left) has been progressively amassing increased power through what is deceptively known as the policy of "reasonableness." The Israeli judiciary system has amassed the power to block government policies that it deems "unreasonable" for some reason, and this has steadily grown into the same species of monster that has been strangling the United States since the stolen election of 2020 and the crippling takeover by the left that ensued. One of the goals of Netanyahu's recent efforts at reform has been to remove that power, and on Monday his ruling coalition won a major victory in its effort to do so, sobbing protests by the Biden administration notwithstanding.

So, that explains why the left in both Israel and the U.S. are crying their eyes out, wringing their hands, and writing the kind of deluded left-wing drivel that Max Boot wrote for the WaPo.

Like they say: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Well, Satan knows this principle as well as anyone, and so what has worked in Israel since the 1990s has worked well in America since 2020...arguably even better.

But if nothing else, this is a great object lesson in how to know when something is on the right track. All you have to do is ask yourself one simple question, which is in the form of an old song title: "Who's Crying Now?"

If it makes the liberal left cry and howl, it's probably good and right.

You know, it's funny how what applies to the liberal left also applies to Satan:

If it makes Satan cry and howl, it's probably godly and righteous.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

8/1/2023 — From the "Yes, It Can Get Worse" Department...

Just when you think things can't get any worse...or phonier...or more deluded...or more criminally insane.

got energy?

Well, enjoy it while it lasts. Now the energy industry is afraid Joe Biden will declare a "climate emergency" and invoke powers that would make the COVID-19 fiasco look like a canceled church picnic. Such a declaration would allow the Biden administration to go hog wild in ways only it can. According to the above article, Biden could start off by doing a few of the following...

• End crude oil exports.
• End all offshore oil and gas leasing.
• Restrict U.S. fossil fuel exports and end hundreds of billions of dollars in overseas fossil fuel investments.
• Dramatically accelerate a transition to clean energy.

And restricting what vehicles you can drive and what appliances you can use are just the tip of the iceberg at the personal level. According to U.S. Oil and Gas Association President Tim Stewart:

"[It would give Biden] vast and unchecked authority to shut down everything from communications to infrastructure."

According to the article, what certain people (who are clearly three sheets to the wind on Kool-Aid, especially the Klimate Kumquat flavor) are saying is this:

"It's your patriotic duty...It's your ethical duty or spiritual duty to the state."

So...you have a "spiritual duty" to the state to passively allow them blow your life to pieces on account of an elaborate hoax designed to weaken the country to the point where it will be more than happy to join a global government.

In other words, the answer to the unspoken question is...

Yes, it can get worse.

And it will. But just keep one comforting thought in mind:

The worse it gets, the closer we are.

Believe it or not, calls for such an insanely misguided declaration are growing in certain circles. And I say "insanely misguided" for a reason, and that's because there is overwhelming evidence that man-made climate change is a hoax. But that hoax is being pushed on the world to create another "global emergency" that will serve as one more key element needed to manufacture the urgent need for a global government...that will ultimately be led by the Antichrist.

The only difference is that his Kool-Aid will come in a very special flavor:

Drink-It-Or-Die Dragonfruit

8/8/2023 — From the "So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh" Department...

Even though I know he's a narcissist and fell well short of being a truly great president, technically speaking you could call me a Trump supporter. There...I said it. And one of the reasons I say that is because...well, who else is a conservative Republican supposed to support?

Mike Pence?! Please—there's no need to insult me. His political career ended January 6, 2021 and cannot be revived by anything he has said or done since then (especially recently). He didn't "follow the Constitution," and all the lies and double-talk in the world cannot change that or make it disappear.

Up until the other day, however, I would have been quick to say:

"Hey, that Ron DeSantis is a good man—I'd vote for him in a heartbeat."

But it's like they say:

What a difference a day makes.

I wonder if and when it will start to sink in to Ron DeSantis that he just brought his faltering drive to swipe the Republican nomination for president from Donald Trump to a screeching halt. And make no mistake: It's over for him.

Ron DeSantis didn't just shoot himself
in the foot—he blew both his legs off.

After DeSantis' recent remarks, no conservative Republican I would admit to knowing would vote for him if you held their family hostage in a swimming pool filled with piranha.

I'm sorry, but contrary to everything the mainstream media, the entire left-wing political machine, and a gaggle of self-preserving RINOs say, there is an overwhelming amount of incontrovertible evidence the 2020 election was stolen through massive, widespread fraud of different types. So much so that within a couple of months after the election, the question of whether or not the election was stolen wasn't even an intelligent question anymore.

So what does DeSantis do? He rides that train:

It's all aboard the "Biden Really Got 81 Million Votes!" Express, and there isn't a shred of evidence of any fraud! Oh, not only that, but the whole mail-in ballot thing was funded by money from something Trump signed, so it's all his own fault! And it was Trump's FBI that censored Hunter Biden's laptop, so that's on him as well! Go figure...Donald Trump engineered his own defeat! So...vote for me!

Now, perhaps in a galaxy far, far away, this solidifies DeSantis' position as the Republican candidate of choice over a poor, beleaguered Donald Trump, who is busy defending himself against a seemingly endless series of phony, clumsily manufactured indictments. Tsk tsk tsk...what a loser, huh?

But here in the real world, which is filled with a far greater number of clear-minded, reasonably intelligent people than DeSantis and that left-wing political machine I alluded to realize, it comes across as a desperately self-serving, self-destructive swerve to the left. So much so that it brought to my mind the lyrics of an old Woodie Guthrie song:

"So long, it's been good to know yuh."

As a matter of fact, a left-behind world may be singing this song before we ever even get to the 2024 election.

Assuming there even is one.

8/15/2023 — From the "All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go" Department...

Saudi Arabia has appointed Nayef al-Sudairi, its current Ambassador to Jordan, to be its first non-resident Ambassador to Palestine and non-resident Consul General in Jerusalem.

Emphasis on "non-resident." He will be a Consul General in Jerusalem who will not enjoy the luxury of an actual consulate in Jerusalem.

All dressed up and nowhere to go.

Of course, the reason Israel is not allowing him to have a consulate in Jerusalem is because the Israeli governmment is drawing a line in their efforts at normalization with Saudi Arabia, and that line passes through the city of Jerusalem—the "undivided capital of Israel," according to the Israeli party line. It also passes through a non-existent Palestinian state, which is the way Israel would greatly prefer to keep it. According to the above article:

"Senior members of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-Right coalition are expected to draw the line at any concessions toward Palestinians."

The Saudi's use of the word "Jerusalem" in al-Sudairi's title, however, is seen by many as an open and direct challenge to Israel's position on the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. As it stands, Saudi Arabia is not backing down from its insistence that fully normalized relations with the Jewish state rely on the creation of a state for the Palestinians, who are wringing their hands over the possibility that the current push for such normalization will overshadow and overlook them.

So, the political sparks are flying...and the general direction in which those sparks are flying is becoming clearer all the time:

They are flying in the direction of a full-scale normalization treaty which normalizes relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia (and quite possibly any number of other Arab nations), gives the Palestinians their state, and allows Israel to rebuild their Third Temple.

And likely a few other things thrown in for good measure. Now, I know a lot of people are excited about the upcoming SDG agreement at the UN in September, and the ranks of YouTube are rapidly swelling with people who are convinced this is the treaty of Daniel 9:27 that launches the Tribulation (which places the Rapture no later than mid-September). I respectfully disagree, however, for a slew of reasons (not the least of which is the fact that I am convinced Daniel's treaty is made with Israel, and this September SDG agreement has essentially nothing to do with the Jewish state).

If you want to peer into the prophetic horizon and catch a glimpse of the treaty of Daniel 9:27 coming into view, don't look toward the UN in New York City. Cast your gaze further eastward to the land where issues involving Israel, the Palestinians, and Arab nations wanting to normalize relations with Israel are beginning to percolate with rapidly increasing urgency.

We're not quite there yet, and I am scripturally inclined to believe at least one major event will occur first that will finally create the conditions that will give birth to Daniel's treaty, and that's the attack of Gog Magog. But I believe that Israel's relationship with the surrounding Arab nations represents the cauldron that will yield what the prophet Isaiah called "a covenant with death and an agreement with hell" (Isa. 28:15).

Of course, none of this has any bearing on the timing of the Rapture. The Rapture could happen today—none of these events must precede the catching away of the Church. But as we see them congeal, it's time to look up.

So here we are, all dressed up in His righteousness—but we definitely have someplace to go:

Straight up...to be with the Lord in the air.

8/22/2023 — From the "Wanna Cut Class?" Department...

The university system in the United States is generally referred to as "higher education," but you might change your mind about that after learning of the policy being forced on students at well-known Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey.

In the last couple of years, Rutgers has earned the nickname of "the most anti-science college in America," primarily for its attitudes and posturing over COVID-19 and the associated vaccines. And they're at it again.

Some people never learn—even the most highly educated.

In the last few days, it has been confirmed that Rutgers will now officially disenroll any students who have not met their COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

There are fewer than 100 colleges or universities in the United States that still have COVID vaccine mandates (out of a total of about 2,700 four-year institutions), and Rutgers is one of the most prestigious among them. Yes, these are institutions of higher learning that are aware of the fact that the CDC openly admitted that the vaccines could prevent neither infection nor transmission of the virus (a virus that has since been statistically proven to be about as deadly as the common flu). Institutions of higher learning that are aware that Germany has released statistics that confirm that not one single young, healthy person died from COVID-19, but that the risk of myocarditis is 28 times greater for young men who have been vaccinated.

And Rutgers requires not just one, not just two, but three COVID vaccinations for every student. So, the august administrators of Rutgers University know nothing, have learned nothing, and can be taught nothing.

Not a good look for any institution of higher learning.

But that is a perfect characterization of those leading the world today, and who will lead the world into the horrors of the Tribulation one fine day coming soon enough. And when that day comes, students at Rutgers will have much bigger things to worry about than vaccines.

(Pssst...hey, you wanna join our group? I'm in this special group of students that are planning to cut class that day!)

8/29/2023 — From the "Play Ball" Department...

I suppose it's a bit ironic that I am posting an article today in which I do my utmost to dismantle the idea that so many are taken with today that the upcoming UN SDG Summit on September 18–19 will produce the treaty of Daniel 9:27, and at the same time I am posting a Commentary entry that points in a completely different direction in regard to Daniel's treaty.

But as they say: That's how the cookie crumbles.

The Palestinians don't have a particularly good reputation when it comes to negotiations. Their traditional approach could be summarized as follows:

If you agree in advance to give in to all our demands, we will agree to come to the table and "negotiate." Otherwise, we'll simply boycott the whole thing and fire a few missiles into Israeli territory for good measure.

Of course, this goes a long way toward explaining why Israel has had so little success in dealing with the Palestinians over the years. But the Palestinians appear to be changing tack.

A Palestinian delegation is set to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia for the purpose of discussing what concessions they are seeking in any normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel. In other words...

All of a sudden the Palestinians are ready to play ball.

They have opted to change course and be part of the process this time, obviously in order to secure as many benefits as possible in any upcoming agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which they are apparently beginning to view as inevitable.

According to some sources, Israeli leadership had previously hoped to arrive at a deal with the Saudis without any significant material concessions to the Palestinians, but is beginning to realize that this probably won't be the case and that pressure from both Saudi and American sources to take the Palestinian issue seriously is not just so much talk.

The scope and significance of normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia are steadily growing, and include the possibility of a green light from the United States for a civilian nuclear power program for Saudi Arabia if they are willing to reduce their economic and military ties with China and Russia.

What I want you to see is that this potential normalization treaty between Israel and Saudi Arabia is pregnant with prophetic possibilities.

Do I have to say it?

With just a touch of makeup, some version or variation of such a ground-breaking agreement between Israel and at least Saudi Arabia (if not other Arab nations as well) bears a legitimate resemblance to the treaty that will launch the Tribulation.

Oh, and one other detail I neglected to mention: According to reliable sources, they want to have it done before the end of 2024.

Just thought I'd toss that in.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

9/5/2023 — From the "Elephant in the Room" Department...

Officials from Israel and Bahrain celebrated the opening of Bahrain's first Israeli embassy in Manama, Bahrain on Monday, an event that was hailed as an "important milestone between the two countries" by Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani. Present at the event was Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was making his first visit to Bahrain in that capacity. Zayani noted:

"This visit will be a further important staging post in the development of our cooperation across the widest range of fields, benefiting not just out two countries...but also the security, stability and prosperity of the wider Middle East region."

Well, break out the champagne, right? But as the article I linked to aptly puts it, Zayani didn't fail to make reference to the elephant in the room:

Palestinian statehood.

Yes, the topic many Israeli officials are loath to discuss and quick to downplay. But it is becoming increasingly clear at every step along the road of Israel's lauded efforts to normalize relations with various Arab states that the issue of Palestinian statehood is indeed the elephant in the room. And one other thing is also becoming increasingly clear:

That's one elephant that isn't going anyplace.

Cohen also met with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Zayin was quick to capitalize on the opportunity to highlight elephant-related snippets from those discussions:

"In the meeting, his royal highness, the deputy King reiterated the importance of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a two-state solution as outlined in the Arab Peace Initiative...The initiative put forward, in 2002 calls for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines. It's a move that Israel has opposed but which the Palestinians, the Arab world and the International community all support."

And he was quite right: Israel has opposed it. They would have to be clinically insane not to.

Be aware that all the talk of Palestinian statehood in the Middle East inevitably gravitates to one key document: the Arab Peace Initiative (and it's worth noting that it's not called the Israeli Peace Initiative...or even the Arab-Israeli Peace Initiative). Put forward in 2002, the Arab Peace Initiative openly calls for the formation of a Palestinian state coupled with Israel's withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders. And make no mistake:

The real elephant is those pre-1967 borders.

Giving the Palestinians some kind of state may be a distasteful sticking point for Israel, but it's a trivial detail compared to the idea of withdrawing to the pre-1967 borders. Why? Because a return to the pre-1967 borders is a virtual death sentence for Israel. The Jews know it. The Arabs know it.

And Satan knows it.

But that is the price Israel will ultimately pay to make "peace" with her Arab neighbors, and I have no doubt that every imaginable concession will be made to reassure Israel that such a move will be respected and protected, and that they have nothing to fear.

Giving the Palestinians a state is one thing—but a return to the pre-1967 borders effectively chops Israel in half and renders it all but indefensible.

And that's the entire point.

Never forget that Satan's primary mission in the end times is to destroy Israel, and a return to the pre-1967 borders is a key stratagem to that effect...all the smiles, handshakes, and photo ops notwithstanding.

But understand that there is another even bigger elephant in the room that only a small percentage of believers are aware of. And that elephant is destined to lift the curtain on Satan's end-time program and turn him loose on a Christ-rejecting world, and the reason is simple:

That's one elephant that is going someplace:
up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And it's certainly not a death sentence—it's a life sentence.

Eternal life, that is.

9/12/2023 — From the "Usual Practices" Department...

The Western Heights Public School District in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is under attack for hiring a new principal at John Glenn Elementary, and for what I hope many would consider good reason.

Shane Murnan, the man they hired to be the new principal at this elementary school, just happens to have had his personal devices confiscated by police on suspicion of possession of child pornography in 2001. At the time, Murnan was a fifth-grade teacher at Will Rogers Elementary School in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The judge in the case made one thing crystal clear:

"[It is] clear from a review of the pictures that they do represent child pornography."

Although Murnan lost his teaching job, the charges against him were ultimately dropped and his record was expunged as a result of what amounted to legal technicalities: His attorney claimed Murnan had obtained the pictures "by accident," and the ages of the children in the photos could not be legally verified. And it stood up in court.

Murnan went on to other teaching positions at other schools in Oklahoma in subsequent years, until recently landing the principal's gig at Western Heights. Brayden Savage, superintendent of Western Heights Public Schools, sent out a letter to the parents in the district to address their eminently understandable concerns about Murnan:

"This evening, the Board of Education approved the hiring of Dr. Shane Murnan for the Head Principal position at John Glenn Elementary. Recently, the district has been made aware of previous charges that were dismissed more than 20 years ago. Dr. Murnan has been serving the field of education for more than 25 years and has an outstanding reputation. He comes highly recommended from previous supervisors, colleagues, and educators. Recently, information began circulating about Dr. Murnan and the charges he faced more than 20 years ago for an alleged crime involving child pornography. According to news reports at the time, those charges were dismissed by the court, and the record of the charges has been expunged."

Savage also added that the district had followed the "usual hiring practices" in regard to Murnan, even conducting a criminal background check.

Yep...the "usual practices." And just like that, he's good to go.

Oh, I neglected to mention one minor detail: Murnan has also been an established drag queen performer for many years who goes by the stage name of Shantel Mandalay, and performs on a regular basis at the Boom, a gay bar in Oklahoma City that features such performances as "Sunday gospel brunch" and other performances that openly mock Christianity. In addition, Murnan has won the titles of Miss Gay Oklahoma America and Miss Gay Oklahoma USofA.

My point is that this is what America has become. Not "is becoming"—I mean "has become." It has become a country where those who traffic in the most sickening sexual perversion imaginable can be openly approved to be in charge of the education of your innocent children. Not only that, but installing such sick, depraved individuals into such positions of leadership and responsibility is glibly described as being in accordance with the "usual practices."

Well, why don't we pray that the Lord would place a hedge of protection around our children to protect them from such influences, raise them up in the fear and admonition of the LORD, and train them up in the way they should go so when they are old they will not depart from it.

You know, the "usual practices" in our world.

9/19/2023 — From the "It Ain't Over Till It's Over" Department...

You may be aware that as I write this, the United Nations has just wrapped up their big SDG Summit in New York. You may also be aware that YouTube has been flooded with videos from prophecy-minded people who have been buzzing about the idea that this summit was set to produce some sort of agreement for "seven years of accelerated, transformative action" in order to reach the lofty goals that were established in 2015 to fix the world by 2030.

And you may also be aware that many of these same people have been buzzing about the fact that this might actually be the treaty of Daniel 9:27 that launches the Tribulation. So, you know...the word on YouTube has been that the Rapture was going to happen by, what...this past Sunday?

Well, obviously it didn't...and luckily for those YouTubers I don't have an "I told you so" bone in my body.

If you have read my last two articles, you know that I have stressed the fact that the treaty of Daniel 9:27 is a treaty between Israel and her Arab neighbors, and that whatever the UN did during these past two days ain't it. In my most recent article "Déjà Vu All Over Again," the title of which was borrowed from a well-known quip of Yogi Berra, I went so far as to state...

The UN's SDG agreement has much more
to do with pesticides than with world peace.

(Pardon me while I pound my fist on the table...) Well, what I read the other day brings to mind yet another Yogi-ism:

It ain't over till it's over.

That is, maybe I spoke too soon. According to recent reports, the Saudis co-hosted an event on the sidelines of this two-day summit, and it was aimed at "revamping the Israeli-Palestinian peace process," according to an article in the Times of Israel.

This side meeting, officially entitled "Peace Day Effort for Middle East Peace," only involved the Saudis, the Arab League, and the EU—no representatives from either Israel or Palestine were invited (presumably because the point of the event was to talk about them, not to them).

So, although the treaty of Daniel 9:27 it ain't, clearly I was wrong about there being nothing going on at this SDG Summit related to peace in the Middle East or any type of treaty with Israel. Even though it wasn't the focus of the summit, to my surprise a very public step was taken in that direction. But understand that plenty of hurdles lie ahead.

In spite of those hurdles, however, I can tell you now that the current drive toward the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia is rapidly growing into the most important prophecy story going. And I am personally convinced that the treaty of Daniel 9:27 will ultimately grow out of those efforts one way or another, in one form or another. It may be next year, it may take a little longer. No one knows (I don't)—no one can say (I won't). But I do know one thing for certain:

I have never been this excited about end-time prophecy before! And the Rapture is imminent with a capital "imm."

After all, it's like they say:

The Rapture is 90 percent mental,
and the other half is physical.

(Sigh...) Pray for me.

9/26/2023 — From the "What's in a Name" Department...

Something I have noticed about succumbing to the cancel culture and the woke-mob mentality that has reached the point where it makes me bust a gut instead of grimace comprises two simple observations:

(a) It never ends, and (b) you can't win.

It is clear to me that as soon as anyone starts seriously listening to those spewing cancel-culture claptrap and wokester twaddle, it's over for them. They have placed themselves on the Treadmill of Political Correctness and Social Justice and it simply never ends, and they will simply never win.

And few seem to realize that the only solution is to simply get off that treadmill and tell the woke mob to go pound salt—and then go right back to doing things however they were doing them before the wokesters came along.

Case in point: The NFL team formerly known as the Washington Redskins.

(Which is exactly what I will make it a point to call them from this day forward.) Due to complaints from certain woke groups (some funded by George Soros...surprise, surprise) that the name "Redskins" was racially insensitive, in 2020 the team owners caved and temporarily changed the team's name to the Washington Football Team until they could come up with a more suitable name (read less offensive to the woke mob), and in February 2022 the team officially became the Washington Commanders.

And I'm quite sure their attitude was something along the lines of...

"Whew...glad we got that nonsense out of the way. That oughta make 'em happy. Yeah...'Commanders'—kinda ties in with 'Commander-in-Chief,' you know? Nothin' wrong with that, right?"

Au contraire, mon frère. Oh, we're just gettin' warmed up.

Now a group called the Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) is accusing the team of the exact same thing they were originally accused of and that made them change the team's name to begin with: "Commanders" is racially insensitive and speaks to white supremacy and to the white oppression of Native Americans, didn't ya know.

NAGA's demand? Simple: Change the name back to the original "Redskins"!

S-C-R-E-E-C-H... Uhh, you wanna run that by me again?

Sure. They are demanding that team owners switch back to the original name "Redskins" because "Commanders" speaks to white oppression and the original name honors Native Americans. Isn't it obvious?

The original team logo was designed in 1972 and was based on the image of Blackfoot Chief John Two Guns White Calf. And according to NAGA's complaint:

"The Washington Redskins (were) the only team in the National Football League to honor an actual Native American."

(Pardon me for a moment, but it's awfully difficult to type while you are rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter...)

So the Redskins are right back where they started: No matter what they do, at least someone in the woke, cancel-culture crowd is unhappy with them. It's just like I said:

It never ends, and you can't win.

No matter what you say or do, you are going to offend someone these days. That's the point. That's the message from the woke crowd:

All we want you to do is shut up, feel guilty,
and let us attack you because it makes us feel
good and justifies our high-sounding ideology.

That's it. It never ends, and you can't win.

Now, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to the woke crowd coming up with some more sensitive, politically correct terms for the word "Christian" (I'm halfway expecting something along the lines of "Judgmental, Scripture-Spouting Oppressor"). So, what I have decided to do is try and come up with a replacement term to use so that if and when they do, I'll be ready to "go woke" in terms of being a believer. Here's what I got so far:

Oh, am I a "Christian"? Well, I suppose you could say that, but I actually prefer to be called a born-again, spiritually regenerated, Spirit-sealed, Spirit-indwelt, blood-bought, blood-washed, and heaven-bound child of the Living God who has responded in faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the name that is above every name and the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, and who is my Lord, Savior, and soon coming King who shed His precious blood on a cross at Calvary so I could be redeemed from sin and reconciled to a holy God by grace through faith, and who is just about ready to catch me up to be with Him in a place He has prepared before He returns to judge the world and establish His kingdom on earth.

Triggers. Tripped. It still needs a little tweaking, but it's getting there.

And I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to seeing the look on the face of the first woke individual that hears it.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

10/3/2023 — From the "Harbingers of Things To Come" Department...

As we look at the world today, it's not hard to see things occurring and situations developing that are harbingers of things to come—of things that will happen or be true during Daniel's 70th Week.

For example, we know from Scripture that the Third Temple will be built on the Temple Mount and that the Jewish people will be offering sacrifices in it at some point before the midpoint of the coming seven-year Tribulation (because the prophet Daniel tells us that's when those sacrifices will be stopped and that temple will be desecrated).

So what do we see? We see the following headline:

Israeli man seeking to sacrifice
goat on Temple Mount arrested

Yair Hanoch is an Israeli activist and a member of a group called Return to the Mount, which was described in a recent news story as "a fringe group that is seeking to renew animal sacrifices on the Temple Mount, where the First and Second Temples stood."

Hanoch was arrested on Sunday near a light rail station in Jerusalem, carrying a goat in his arms and preparing to head to the Temple Mount to offer it as a sacrifice. Following Hanoch's arrest, Return to the Mount released a statement that read in part:

"There is no more room for Muslim rule on the Temple Mount—the time has come to build a Jewish temple and renew the sacrificial works."

After Israel's victory in the Six Day War in the summer of 1967, Moshe Dyan decided to allow the Temple Mount to remain under the management of the Islamic Waqf, although technically Israel retains overall sovereignty and is responsible for security in the area. According to longstanding rules, non-Muslims are allowed to visit the Temple Mount, but are not allowed to pray there. A lower court ruling in May of last year, however, overturned that and effectively began allowing Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. According to reports, security personnel quietly monitor them from a distance, but take no action to stop them.

Oddly enough, various polls taken in Israel differ widely in response to whether Jews want to see a Third Temple built, with some polls indicating that a large majority of Israelis want the temple, but with others showing that fewer than 50 percent want it. Personally I tend to put more stock in the former, but who's to say. I'm sure many Israelis responding to such polls do want the temple, but don't want WWIII.

Luckily, however, the answer to the question of a rebuilt temple doesn't depend on polls—it only depends on God's prophetic Word.

So people like Yair Hanoch don't really need to force the issue. Nobody has to attempt to force his way to the top of the Temple Mount toting barnyard animals and get arrested in the process to push things along or to make a statement. It's. Gonna. Happen.

The temple will be rebuilt.
Sacrifices will commence.

God said so—it's that simple.

And probably while Yair Hanoch's goat is still alive and kicking.

10/10/2023 — From the "All Eyes on Israel" Department...

As I'm sure you are aware, Hamas terrorists launched a surprise terror attack on Israel last Saturday morning. According to the most recent update I have seen, nearly 1,000 Israelis have been killed and over 100 civilians have been taken hostage, with at least some subject to documented cruel and inhumane treatment. Israel reported that about 2,200 rockets were fired at targets in Israel starting at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday Israel time, while Hamas is putting the total at about 5,000.

The big, screaming question in the minds of many people, however, centers around Israel's apparent lack of preparedness and the failure of its vaunted defense mechanisms—particularly the Iron Dome. For all intents and purposes, it simply went down. It failed, leaving Israel wide open to attack, and there are a lot of people at every level who are demanding to know how and why.

It is well known that the Iranian regime funded and helped plan and coordinate the attack. That's not even an intelligent question at this point—it's common knowledge, and Iran itself is only half-jokingly denying it. There are also those, however, who are saying that the technical capability to cause the Iron Dome to shut down the way it did is only possessed by the United States and (wait for it...) Russia. In other words, some believe Russia was responsible for hacking the Iron Dome, thus throwing the door wide open for the attack.

Now, I do not claim to know for certain whether or not Russia played a direct role in making this attack possible, although I can't say I would be shocked if it were so. I do know, however, that Iran is absolutely the hand in the puppet. I won't burden you with the details, but there is sufficient info out there that effectively places that fact beyond dispute.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasted little time in declaring the country officially at war with Hamas, and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has called up about 100,000 Israeli reserves. The IDF is currently busy destroying many known Hamas strongholds within Gaza, and vows to crush their ability to attack Israel in the future.

To the surprise of no one, many people around the world are putting their politics on display, with many left-wing types openly celebrating the Palestinian cause and praising the attack of Hamas, and many right-wing folks condemning Hamas and their Iranian puppet masters and openly showing their support for Israel. Nothing new there.

I will certainly have more to say about the situation as time goes on; and just like every watchman worth his salt, I am burning my share of midnight oil over the potential relationship this attack may have to Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38–39, and other end-time events. These are issues that I'm sure will be front and center in my next article. (On a side note, this is the type of situation that actually makes me glad I stick to a monthly format for my articles: That relieves the pressure on my trigger finger, and affords me more time to think things through a bit more carefully than I might otherwise.)

But for now, I would simply ask you to join me in praying for the nation of Israel and the peace and safety of the Jewish people, as well as any other innocent civilians who have gotten caught up in and have been or are being adversely affected by this savage attack in any way:

10/17/2023 — From the "Don't Get Cocky" Department...

Many are wondering what is happening in Israel at the moment, and one of the chief things being wondered about has to do with when the promised ground invasion of Gaza is going to start.

Last Thursday Israel announced that they were giving residents of Gaza 24 hours to evacuate to clear the way for a ground invasion, and they did it in order to minimize civilian casualties.

I mean, you know how cruel and dastardly those evil, morally bankrupt Zionist occupiers can be, right?

That deadline expired on Friday, and...no invasion. As the days have clicked by, the drumbeat has grown louder, but still...no invasion, even with the Israeli Air Force effectively softening things up with several days of heavy bombing.

Now speculation has emerged about why Israel may be delaying that ground attack. Some believe that Israel is being cautious because it doesn't want to walk into a trap. Some believe that Hezbollah (which is much bigger and more powerful than Hamas) is hoping that that IDF ground troops will become fully engaged and mired down in Gaza so that it can gain the upper hand in a larger attack on Israel on a second front.

In other words, some fear that Hezbollah wants to play possum and then catch Israel at a disadvantage.

Some also opine that the IDF hasn't actually done anything like this in several decades, and care should be taken to make sure that the IDF ground forces are as rust-free as possible, rather than rushing in without being fully prepared to satisfy the general hunger for retaliation that permeates the air in Israel. They point to the ground invasion during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which was characterized by some embarrassing blunders on the part of Israel. Their message to the IDF ground troops?

Don't get cocky.

There are, of course, other reasonable factors that could be delaying the invasion, such as pressure from the U.S. to avoid civilian casualties, concern over the fate of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, and the simple desire to give Palestinians more time to evacuate. Hamas has been literally preventing people from leaving their homes and neighborhoods in Gaza, claiming that Israel's threats to attack are lies.

Plus, you know what great shields innocent civilians make for missiles and caches of various types of weapons.

So as the heated rhetoric continues, we'll see what develops over the next week. And as always:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

And if you're totally convinced this all means the Rapture is only days away, that's OK with me. After all, you could be right.

Just don't get cocky.

10/24/2023 — From the "Hardened" Department...

Well, it sure is nice to hear Barack Obama's sagacious, measured input concerning Israel's response to the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, isn't it? It's just so...nice.

The former president previously said that Israel should dismantle Hamas. Yes, "dismantle." My goodness...such a strong word. Now, however, Obama is criticizing Israel for the way it is going about that dismantling.

According to Obama:

"As I stated in an earlier post, Israel has a right to defend its citizens against such wanton violence, and I fully support President Biden's call for the United States to support our long-time ally in going after Hamas, dismantling its military capabilities, and facilitating the safe return of hundreds of hostages to their families...But even as we support Israel, we should also be clear that how Israel prosecutes this fight against Hamas matters...Still, the world is watching closely as events in the region unfold, and any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire. Already, thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the bombing of Gaza, many of them children. Hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes. The Israeli government's decision to cut off food, water and electricity to a captive civilian population threatens not only to worsen a growing humanitarian crisis; it could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel, play into the hands of Israel's enemies, and undermine long term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region." (emphasis added)

In other words, Israel should fight fire with a squirt gun and give those terrorists a firm pat on the fanny, since we sure don't want to "harden" those poor, persecuted people any further, now do we? Israel must understand that their role is to sit there and let Islamic terrorists attack them to their hearts' content.

And then smile and do nothing.

The following is a letter I would love to see Barack Obama receive from Israeli leaders:

Dear Mr. Obama:

     We deeply appreciate your heartfelt concern for the welfare of the terrorists who attacked Israel on October 7. But we must respectfully take issue with the fact that you fear if we respond with a level of force sufficient to dissuade them from further attacks, they might become more "hardened," as you put it.

     In our considered opinion, which is based on the historical facts on the ground—facts with which you are apparently unfamiliar, people who are capable of cutting unborn babies out of their mothers' wombs and then chopping those babies' heads off and setting their mothers' bodies on fire and shouting "Allahu akbar!" while they watch them burn to a blackened crisp are not capable of being hardened to any further degree.

     In our opinion, that qualifies as fully "hardened," and it is apparent to us that little has changed over the last 4,000 years.

Respectfully,
The Government of the State of Israel

The fact is that Obama's approach to dealing with terrorism during his presidency is widely viewed as a failure. He's the one who mockingly derided ISIS as "the JV team," and his overall approach to dealing with terrorism amounted to little more than "idealism and wishful thinking," according to an article in Foreign Affairs.

So thanks for your input, Barack. But if anything in this entire situation is "hardened," it is Israel's resolve to do whatever is necessary to eliminate the threat from Islamic terrorist groups that seek to destroy them...and do so in spite of the "idealism and wishful thinking" spewing forth from deluded, high-minded liberals like our 44th president.

10/31/2023 — From the "Time for War" Department...

As Israeli ground forces make advances into Gaza, it should come as no surprise that many around the world—led by the United Nations, arguably the most anti-Semitic organization since the Gestapo—are suddenly crying for a ceasefire. All over the world, prominent people are suddenly voicing their heartfelt concern for the people of Gaza and denouncing Israel for doing what it knows it must do in order to defend itself and ensure its survival.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a spade a spade, and dismissed any notion of Israel agreeing to any kind of ceasefire. Netanyahu said that anyone who calls for a ceasefire is in effect calling for "Israel to surrender to terrorism":

"I want to make clear Israel's position regarding a ceasefire. Just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas. After the horrific attacks of October 7, calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen."

To their credit, the United States is supporting Israel's dismissal of a ceasefire, with National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stating on Monday that the U.S. believes "a ceasefire is not the right answer right now."

Netanyahu made it clear that Israel had every intention of defeating Hamas and bringing an end to the savagery they inflict on innocent people. Keying on Ecclesiastes 3:8, he added:

"There is a time for peace and a time for war. This is a time for war. A war for a common future. Today we draw a line between the forces of civilization and the forces of barbarism. It is a time for everyone to decide where they stand...Victory begins with moral clarity. It begins with knowing the difference between good and evil, between right and wrong...It means making a moral distinction between the deliberate murder of the innocent and the unintentional casualties that accompany every legitimate war. As long as Hamas's use of Palestinian human shields results in the international community blaming Israel, Hamas will continue to use [the practice] as a tool of terror. Hamas will continue to use the basements in Gaza's hospitals as the command posts of its vast terror tunnel network. It will continue to use mosques as fortified military positions and weapon depots. It will continue to steal fuel and humanitarian assistance from UN facilities."

Sadly, too many people in the world are unable to make a distinction between "the deliberate murder of the innocent and the unintentional casualties that accompany every legitimate war." That's asking altogether too much from the left-wing social justice warriors who openly and proudly parade their support for Hamas and disdain for Israel.

Of course, one can't help but wonder where the impassioned calls for an end to the hostilities were on the morning of October 8, as 1,300 innocent Israelis lay dead after being butchered. Funny, but I don't recall any American university students gathering and publicly demanding any ceasefires, if memory serves.

Oh, that's right...I forgot. Those only come when Israel fights back.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

11/7/2023 — From the "Day of Prayer" Department...

In the last few days, great momentum has been generated in Israel for a National Day of Prayer, reportedly for Monday, November 6. According to reports, 20 Knesset members sent a letter to the chief rabbis of Israel to ask them to call for such a day of prayer, and apparently the rabbis have responded. That call to prayer was based on a well-known passage of Scripture that is frequently misappropriated by the Church, since it applies directly and exclusively to God's people Israel:

Although the idea was initially pushed in part by Evangelicals, they have wisely remained in the background to ensure the idea was allowed to take root and quickly gain momentum as an event inspired and led by prominent rabbis and other Jewish leaders throughout Israel, which is exactly what happened.

It strikes me that this is an incredibly appropriate thing to have occur, not just for the obvious reason of praying for God to bless and protect Israel in general, but also for prophetic reasons.

As you know and as I have written about on several occasions, we are drawing palpably close to the battle of Gog-Magog (Ezek. 38–39), in which a Russian-led coalition of nations descend upon Israel to destroy the Jewish nation as well as to commandeer their vast natural resources in the form of natural gas.

But according to the prophet Ezekiel, God intervenes to decimate those attacking forces and He saves His people, which I believe constitutes God turning His face back to His people after two thousand years to "unharden" them and draw them back into a relationship with Him in preparation for their final purging before Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth.

Not only that, but as a result of God's miraculous intervention to save His people, both Israel and the nations of the world will know that God is the LORD. OK? Now, think about this for a moment:

So...what better way to cause the world to see that it was the LORD who protected His people Israel than to have Israel call for a National Day of Prayer to very publicly ask for that protection?!

And that's precisely the point:

Their prayers are going to be answered in spades.

I hope the same is true for you, but it just thrills me out of my socks to see God carefully paving the way for the fulfillment of His prophetic Word.

Oh, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for the nation of Israel...

Not just today, but every day.

11/14/2023 — From the "The Greatest Evil on Earth" Department...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday with host Kristen Welker, and he didn't mince words about what Israel must to do achieve peace, for both Israel and the people of Gaza:

"If you want peace, destroy Hamas. If you want security, destroy Hamas. If you want a future for Israel, the Palestinians, the Middle East, destroy Hamas...We're absolutely intent on achieving it. And what I can tell you, [Kristen], is given the extraordinary performance of the Israeli army in the last few days, the last few weeks, we're going to achieve it. We'll do it with as few civilian casualties as we can and with maximum casualties on the Hamas terrorists, which we are achieving day by day, hour by hour, will complete the task." (emphasis added)

Netanyahu also discussed the fact that a new authority or administration of some type would be needed in Gaza after the war, after making it quite clear that Israel would not stop until there was no more Hamas—a gang of depraved lunatics that functions as the current "government" of Gaza. Hamas has shown the world that it is a "government" that thinks nothing of sacrificing the lives of innocent civilians in Gaza they are supposed to be "governing" as human shields to protect themselves after their brutal savagery on innocent civilians in Israel. Netanyahu added that it was too soon to speculate on the specifics, while Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog quipped concerning the Palestinians seeing Hamas as the greater of two evils:

"They don't like us, but they don't like Hamas either."

In reality, however, Hamas is much more than the greater of two evils—they are arguably the greatest evil on earth.

Netanyahu also spoke of maintaining military pressure in order to press forward toward a deal involving the release of hostages, but wisely refrained from setting any timetable for such a deal.

The Israeli leader also had some choice words for people around the world who are openly and aggressively protesting for Hamas, as well as wolves in wolves' clothing (such as one Barack Hussein Obama) who blithely and irrationally equate senseless savagery with essential self-defense:

"There are a lot of misguided people out there who don't know the facts. You're talking to people who deliberately targeted civilians—raped and murdered, women were raped—who beheaded men, who burned babies alive, who kidnapped little babies in the hospital, [and the] Holocaust survivors, you name it. These are the people that you're supporting now."

That's why the oft-repeated refrain "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" is such a nauseatingly sick joke: Palestine will never be free until you destroy Hamas...and people support them?!

(See the right sidebar for a biblical reply to this misguided childishness.)

Of course, let us never forget that there will be no true peace in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world until the Prince of Peace returns to establish His kingdom. So let us simply pray as the Lord instructed us to pray:

Thy kingdom come.

And that kingdom will be the greatest good the earth has experienced since the Garden of Eden.

11/21/2023 — From the "Move Over, Holocaust Deniers" Department...

Sometimes you read things in the news that are so preposterous they're almost funny, but they grieve you so deeply they're almost sickening. This one doesn't leave much doubt in anyone's mind as to why Gaza is in such pathetic condition, in spite of all the aid given to it.

Consider the leadership.

Mahmoud Abbas leads the Fatah party based in Ramallah, which was the sole governing authority of Gaza until 2006. After winning Palestinian legislative elections in Gaza in January 2006, Hamas established a Palestinian national unity government with Fatah. This quickly collapsed as a result of violent conflicts between the two groups, and Hamas took over control of Gaza in 2007, while Abbas and Fatah remained in Ramallah with authority mostly limited to the West Bank. To this day, each party recognizes itself as the only legitimate government over the Palestinian National Authority, although the international community generally recognizes Abbas in Ramallah as the legitimate government of Palestine. In other words:

As far as Gaza is concerned, imagine California being governed by MS-13.

(Wait, scratch that...that actually might be a bit of an improvement.)

But you see the fundamental problem: You have a small country being "governed" by a gang of militant terrorists that are insanely devoted to only one objective, and that is to harm, attack, and ultimately destroy Israel and kill all Jews. That's it. Helping the people they "govern" live anything resembling normal, peaceful lives? Mmmm...not so much. But hey, the hospitals and schools do make great shields for their weapons and secret bases of operation for attacks on Israel.

Oh yeah, the preposterous part. Ahh, Mahmoud Abbas, who just turned 88 last Wednesday. Get this: According to Abbas, it wasn't the terrorist organization Hamas that penetrated Israeli territory on October 7 and slaughtered 1,400 innocent Israeli citizens...

It was the IDF!!

Didn't ya know. I mean, isn't it obvious?! The Israeli Defense Forces swooped in to that outdoor festival and started chopping folks up and taking hostages, and then blamed it on Hamas in order to give them an excuse to attack Gaza and utterly wipe them out! Who knew?!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasted little time in giving this nonsense the smackdown it richly deserves:

"Today, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah said something utterly preposterous. It denied that it was Hamas that carried out the horrible massacre at the nature festival near Gaza. It actually accused Israel of carrying out that massacre. This is a complete reversal of truth. Abu Mazen [Abbas], who in the past has denied the existence of the Holocaust, today is denying the existence of the Hamas massacre and that's unacceptable. My goal is that the day after we destroy Hamas, any future civil administration in Gaza does not deny the massacre, does not educate its children to become terrorists, does not pay for terrorists and does not tell its children that their ultimate goal in life is to see the destruction and dissolution of the State of Israel. That's not acceptable and that is not the way to achieve peace."

Personally, my favorite line is "the day after we destroy Hamas." Sorry, but I'm not hearing any hints of a ceasefire here...and I don't suspect we're going to.

It is becoming clearer with each passing day that Israel is intent on actually going through with their plan to literally destroy Hamas, and in one sense I'm glad to hear that. But it's also a bit ironic that in reality Iran is goading them into just such action as part of their plan to wipe Israel out. Next up will be an attack from more powerful Hezbollah, and at some point after that it'll be the Big Boys brandishing their nuclear warheads. And next thing you know...

It'll be hello Gog-Magog (and goodbye Church).

But something tells me Benjamin Netanyahu knows all this. So why would he so strenuously seek to finish the job with Hamas, knowing what Iran has up its sleeve? The answer might surprise you:

Benjamin Netanyahu believes the
God of Israel will protect His people.

A lot of people today probably think that's so preposterous it's almost funny. But the funny part is this:

He's right.

11/28/2023 — From the "A or B" Department...

It just keeps happening. I keep seeing things here and there that serve as little Post-its that remind us that the events we see transpiring in the Middle East today really are going somewhere, and as I discussed in my last article, that "somewhere" is a date with the prophet Ezekiel. And that would be chapters 38 and 39, to be precise.

This is a little thing, but like I said: It's a Post-it that reminds us that events we see occurring in the Middle East these days are inexorably heading to the ultimate fulfillment of Ezekiel 38–39, which is when a coalition of nations including Russia, Iran, Turkey, and several Northern African countries gather to descend on Israel to destroy it.

A little thing—just a phone call, and probably not a very long one at that.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke over the phone, and discussed the war in Gaza and related topics. Many of the statements made in that conversation have become standard fare from these countries, such as:

"(The U.S.) is the killer of the people of Gaza, (and any future interference by the U.S. in Gaza) is the continuation of this country's crimes against Palestinians."

"(The U.S.) has no right to interfere or make any decisions for the people of Gaza, and any action they take in this regard is condemned."

Translation: We need to send the Great Satan packing.

(On the other hand, we could just chuckle with glee as we watch it descend into impotent chaos.)

"(Raisi hopes the joint cooperation between Iran and Turkey) will be a model (for future interactions between Islamic countries)."

So in the eyes of Turkey and Iran, such a sterling example of solidarity on supporting the Palestinians (including Hamas) and stridently condemning Israel and the U.S. is seen as a "model" for other Islamic countries to follow.

But I saved the best for last. According to the above article:

The call addressed Israel's unlawful attacks against Gaza, humanitarian aid activities for Palestinians, and steps to be taken to achieve a lasting ceasefire in the region. (emphasis added)

Now, on the surface, this might come across as just another routine but subtly anti-Israel diplomatic statement, and there is certainly no shortage of such statements flying around today.

But as I read the above article, something suddenly occurred to me...and it has to do with the brutal logic of the above statement.

OK, imagine you have two groups living next to each other...let's call them Group A and Group B. Now, unfortunately Group A has a hatred for Group B that they have been indoctrinated with for so long and that is so deeply embedded in their psyches that they will never accept the very existence of Group B, much less live at peace with them. Group A lives for only one thing: the complete annihilation of Group B. Thus, as long as Groups A and B both exist, Group A will never stop its attacks and violence against Group B. As long as Groups A and B both exist, there will never be a "lasting ceasefire." It's logically impossible.

Logically, the only way to reach a "lasting ceasefire" is to eliminate one of the two groups. If we eliminate Group A, the violence and hatred will stop and Group B will be able to live in peace indefinitely. If we eliminate Group B, Group A won't have anyone to hate and attack any longer, and so presumably they could do the same.

As I know you have already guessed, Group A is the Palestinians and Group B is Israel, and so the two possible solutions are as follows:

1. Eliminate the Palestinians and allow Israel to live with a "lasting ceasefire."
2. Eliminate Israel and allow the Palestinians to live with a "lasting ceasefire."

Logically, these are the only two choices. And as far as Turkey and Iran are concerned (along with most other Islamic countries):

We already know the
choice they've made.

 JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN 
 JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 

12/5/2023 — From the "New Version, Same Old Lies" Department...

There are increasing numbers of professing Christians in the world today who seem to have picked up an updated version of the Bible. I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy of this version yet, but I've heard a few quotes from it. It's called the Adios to Israel Version (AIV), and it appears that a few well-known verses got a new twist in the process. But it's like they say:

New version, same old lies.

Here's a taste:

What's that? Oh, you've heard some quotes from the AIV, too, have you? Well, here lately this version is skyrocketing in popularity, so I'm not surprised.

OK, that's enough. I really wish I could say I was joking, but these days it's no joke. Anti-Semitism is booming like nothing we have seen since Kristallnacht, and there is no end in sight. And sadly it is also booming among the last group of people on earth among whom it should find any footing whatsoever:

Professing believers in
the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I would simply like to take this opportunity to remind people who have been foolish and deceived enough to imbibe from this cup that should they perchance find themselves still earthbound following the Rapture, their eternal destiny will ultimately depend largely on how they treat the Jews during the Tribulation (assuming they have enough spiritual horse sense to trust Christ for their salvation for real the second time around).

And if you are truly saved and have had your sins washed away by the blood of God's one and only Son, you should be thanking and blessing and praying for the Jews, not condemning and demonizing them for "occupying" one small piece of the land God that gave them as an eternal inheritance roughly 39 centuries ago (about 25 centuries before Islam was even invented).

And you should especially be thanking one particular Jew:

Yeshuah HaMashiach.

12/12/2023 — From the "Continued Crumbling" Department...

I have discussed on a number of occasions the rapid deterioration in the diplomatic relationship between Israel and Russia over the last two years (since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, to be precise), and a recent article in the Times of Israel indicates that things are still clearly heading south between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the article, Netanyahu had a 50-minute telephone conversation with Putin on Sunday, and in it he "flogged" Putin over his stance on the Hamas war as well as his budding alliance with Russia's new BFF Iran. According to the article, this was the two leaders' first conversation since mid-October and came in the midst of "rapidly cooling ties between Jerusalem and Moscow."

According to the article, ever since October 7 Russia has consistently criticized Israel for its Gaza offensive, including at the United Nations Security Council. At the same time, Russia has hosted leaders of Hamas in what is widely viewed as an indication of the strengthening ties between Russia and Iran, who owns and operates Hamas.

During the call, Netanyahu expressed "sharp criticism over the dangerous cooperation" between Putin and the leaders of Iran. Russia has consistently called for aid to Gaza and a ceasefire, all the while insisting that it recognizes Israel's right to defend itself. But in the same breath Russia criticizes Israel's "cruel" methods, so the real message is a bit more like:

Sure, you have the right to defend yourselves...
but don't you dare actually defend yourselves!

Putin's (uncharacteristically) prim and proper attitude toward Israel's dealings with monsters who are openly out to slaughter them (not to mention his definition of the word "cruel") leaves me wondering:

I wonder if Big Bad Vlad would be OK with the IDF confiscating the terrorists' Sweet'N Low...

So that's the weather forecast for the relationship between Israel and Russia:

Cloudy and crumbling, with continued
crumbling for the foreseeable future.

So as every watchman I know keeps saying, one significant prerequisite for the attack of Gog-Magog remains solidly checked off the list: Russia must see Israel as an enemy. And not just any enemy: an enemy with vast deposits of valuable natural resources there for the taking.

And the God of Israel says:

Oh, please...go ahead and try. I dare ya.

12/19/2023 — From the "Gettin' Warm" Department...

Tucker Carlson was a guest on the "Redacted" podcast a few days ago, which is hosted by Clayton Morris, one of Carlson's former colleagues at FOX News. At one point during the segment, Morris asked him what news stories bothered him the most, and Carlson said there were two.

The first was the fraud involved in the 2020 election. Carlson admitted that he had been overly dismissive of some of the claims of fraud at first, but since then he has learned that much of what was claimed appears to be true.

Hey, I would have been more than happy to fill you in on a lot of that back in the spring of 2021, Tucker.

But the widespread, multifaceted, and exceptionally well-choreographed fraud that the Democrats had four years to prepare and that blatantly stole the 2020 election from Trump is old news. It has long been painfully obvious that nothing will ever be done about it no matter how many metric tons of damning evidence are unearthed, so it's water under the bridge at this point. Bottom line: The U.S. government is based on a foundation of lies, fraud, and deception. Deal with it. And I say that because, much to the chagrin of a lot of good people, it's not going to get any better this side of the Rapture. Or the Second Coming, for that matter.

The second story Carlson mentioned, however, is the one that got my attention. He said the UFO/alien story is so deeply disturbing that he actually wishes he didn't know what he knows. According to Carlson:

"There's a spiritual component there I don't fully understand."

Well, with all due respect, Tucker, if you studied the Bible you would understand it a lot better.

"Part of it is the public can't deal with it. It's too far out. The implications are too profound...This is established and I feel comfortable saying it, these are real, whatever they are, they're not human, and the government has known that for a long time..."

Yes, there is something real there—that's not the issue. Now, I have stated in the past that alien disclosure in a sense is much ado about nothing, because there is "nothing to disclose." What I meant by that, however, is that the government has no physical bodies of any alien species from some distant star system hidden away anywhere, nor do they have any physical spacecraft used by those creatures to travel many light years to come and pay us a visit. Why? Because these things really don't exist, and the popularly accepted idea behind their existence is a finely tuned lie from the father of lies.

But it's not that there's nothing to disclose—it's just not that. Please understand that all this Area 51 junk about alien beings from another planet visiting earth in their advanced spacecraft is pure Hollywood, and should be flushed down the toilet where it belongs (right along with the bulk of what comes out of Hollywood, but I digress). Carlson went on to add, however:

"There is some stuff, if it's true, and I'm kind of thinking it is true, it's so radical, we don't want to tell the people we love most about it."

Now you're gettin' warm, Tucker.

The problem that good people like Tucker Carlson face is that to actually understand and appreciate what is really going on behind the well-crafted UFO/alien narrative requires a minimum of three things:

1. Belief in a Creator God.
2. Belief in a created being called Satan.
3. Belief in the prophetically self-confirming Word of that Creator God.

Including what it tells us about the end times, which is precisely where we are now. But this is simply a bridge too far for all but real, born-again believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, who are sealed, indwelt, and guided by the truth-revealing Spirit of that Creator God.

Yes, Tucker, there is some stuff, and it is true. And I can certainly understand why you don't want to tell the people you love most about it. But those of us who meet the above three conditions are compelled to tell the whole world about it, because the message we have to share is the only way anyone will ever escape what is coming.

And what is coming makes all the Area 51 junk that Hollywood has spoon-fed the world since the 1950s look like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

12/26/2023 — From the "Dark Age" Department...

Sometimes the news is so dark and foreboding it actually cracks me up.

Case in point: A powerful new endorsement for Team Biden-Harris is in the offing, as a British group announces its support for the Biden-Harris ticket in the 2024 presidential election.

But I'm betting that staffers at Biden-Harris headquarters re-corked the champagne and put away the confetti when they learned the stated reason behind that endorsement:

Only Biden-Harris can bring about the end of history.

The Order of Nine Angels (O9A, ONA, o9a, etc.) is a satanic cult that was established in the U.K. in 70s, and they believe the current age is about to come to a crashing end and then a new Dark Age will be ushered in...and that's what they're looking forward to:

"We want to rush into the abyss so that the 'end of history' can come to its natural terminus and a new Dark Age will be visited upon the Earth...In this new era, might will make right, the claw and tooth will always be red, and blood will cross the land like an ever-flowing stream. The strong will oppress the weak, the weak will die, and natural selection will resume. This can only happen through weak humanist leadership that will stumble its way into war, famine, recession, terrorism, corruption, and human misery. The suicides will leave before the battles commence..."

Not surprisingly, there is a disturbing amount of cold, hard truth in some of their statements. This should surprise no one, however, since Satan is a master at mixing his lies with truth to deceive the people of the world...and he's good at it. And one more resounding truth they nailed is something that is patently obvious to all but the most hardcore left-wing liberals:

"Only Biden-Harris can bring about this advancement of history, and therefore, we endorse the Biden-Harris campaign in 2024."

On the surface, this is hysterical. I mean, what better reason to support Biden and Harris, right? I can't wait to see what kind of campaign posters they might come up with: Joe and Kamala sacrificing a baby on the lap of a Baphomet, perhaps? Oh, man...don't even get me started.

But what really strikes me about this group is how their view of this soon coming "Dark Age" resonates surprisingly well with what the Bible describes as occurring during the Tribulation, as Satan, through his man the Antichrist, seeks to exercise brutal control over mankind as their "god" and establish his kingdom. It sounds like some demonic entites have been whispering in the ears of members of O9A.

I suppose you could say that this a bit of a "good news, bad news" thing: The bad news is that the Antichrist's kingdom is really gonna be bad. The good news is that this "Dark Age" that O9A yammers on about isn't exactly what I would call an "age." I mean, after all:

It's only going to last 42 months, and then it will be crushed out of existence and replaced by Christ's Millennial Kingdom—a glorious kingdom people like O9A will have no part in.

That's a small detail that I'm sure those demonic entities failed to mention.

Top of the page

Site Search

Powered by:
JavaScript Kit

© 2012–2024 by Greg Lauer | alittlestrength.com. All rights reserved.