TRAGEDY ON AMERICAN SOIL?

The following assessment was found on a message board and very accurately describes the current calamitous world events. Most of us here is America are totally unfazed by the Tribulation type events that are now happening to the millions of people on the opposite side of the globe.

Will it take such afflictions and tragedy on America's soil for American believers to wake up to the lateness of the hour??

 "20 MILLION HOMELESS IN PAKISTANI FLOODS-  "Look at those who are losing everything, including family members, in the flooding, earthquakes, and mudslides in Asia, and in the fires in Russia right now.  

The fires in Russia are spreading over vast areas of land, even into North China, and over areas where the Chernobyl nuclear disaster happened a few years back, the ground being full of radiation.  One third or more of Russia's wheat crop has been destroyed. The fires number in the hundreds, and they are not being put out. Russia estimates that about 700 a day are dying from the heat, the pollution, and the fires--heart attacks are up 30%, for example. 

 

The heat is incredible, the smog in the air is making breathing very difficult. The spread of the radiation from the Chernobyl by air to many areas of the world is very much a reality"

Eyes need to be opened to see that we are at the end of the age. Widespread famine and disease and economic collapse will be coming as a result of all these disasters. This is just as Jesus prophesied! It is time to take our eyes of the things of this world and prepare ourselves for eternity.

¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
²² “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”

WORLD WAR 3 LOOMS NEAR

Looks like the Psalm 83 War, which would equate to World War 3, is soon to erupt. 

Iran's allies; Syria, Hezbollah of Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza are heavily armed and have been excitedly waiting to jump into the fray when Israel is forced to preemptively strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

Time is almost out for Israel to safely and effectively do so. Former Bush administration U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton is warning that Russia's "Loading of Nuke Fuel Into Iran Plant Means Aug. 21 Deadline for Israeli Attack".

"News that Russia will load nuclear fuel rods into an Iranian reactor has touched off a countdown to a point of no return, a deadline by which Israel would have to launch an attack on Iran's Bushehr reactor before it becomes effectively "immune" to any assault, says former Bush administration U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton.

Once the fuel rods are loaded, Bolton told Fox News on Friday afternoon, "it makes it essentially immune from attack by Israel. Because once the rods are in the reactor an attack on the reactor risks spreading radiation in the air, and perhaps into the water of the Persian Gulf." 

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/John--Bolton--Iran--Nuclear--israel/2010/08/13/id/367449 

Please see the previous blog entry for the details and end results concerning this soon coming war:

http://theworldisshaking.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-is-psalm-83-war-here-are-details.html

We need to pray for the protection of God's chosen people as well as for the many unsaved souls in the Middle East, that may soon be facing eternity.

THERE IS "NO CHANCE OF PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST" (UNTIL THE PSALM 83 WAR THAT IS)

The prime minister of Syria is correct in his awareness that there is no chance of peace in the Middle East and that "The conflict with Israel will always exist".

That is, until the Psalm 83 War when Israel will victoriously regain much of her Covenant land and defeat her neighboring enemies and there will be a temporary peace.

Please see previous entry for the details of the upcoming Psalm 83 War:

http://theworldisshaking.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-is-psalm-83-war-here-are-details.html

"Syrian PM dismisses chances of Middle East peace

 Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri dismissed the chances of peace ever being achieved in the Middle East in an interview with Syrian media.  "The conflict with Israel will always exist," said Otri in a report cited by the online website of Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar on Friday.  He also praised the conduct of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the border exchange that left one IDF soldier, three Lebanese soldiers and one Lebanese journalist dead."

http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=184726

What Prime Minister Orti however, is not aware of is that due to the terrorist backing that his country, Syria, provides in their enmity against Israel, that one day their seat of government, Damascus, will be decimated. 

Please note that many of of the major terrorist organizations are headquartered in Damascus. These include Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hezbollah and other extremist groups whose main mission is to destroy Israel and terrorize Israeli citizens.

Therefore, it is easy to conceptualize the reason behind the soon prophetic fulfillment of Isaiah 17: 

Isaiah 17 ¹ The burden against Damascus.  

“ Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. 

ETERNITY IS COMING-ARE YOU READY??

Many who follow pastors because of the feel-good, false prosperity Gospel may find themselves one day free-falling into the pits of hell because they only professed Christ because of the earthly gain they had been promised by the blasphemers they followed. 

Others who talk the talk but do not walk the walk and give earthly cares priority over God and are therefore, lukewarm need to reflect on their priorities lest they also join the free-fall. 

Revelation 3:16
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth

On the other hand, many may serve the Lord all their lives but if they harbor unforgiveness to any degree they may be shocked and horrified when one day they pass into eternity. 

The Lord Jesus clarified that a state of unforgiveness will disallow us from entering Heaven.

Therefore, entrance to Heaven is barred when one has an unforgiving heart. It is a Kingdom principle and cannot be altered just as gravity on this planet cannot be altered.  

That is why Jesus warned us many times of the eternal consequences of unforgiveness. 

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew conveys our relationship with the Father and with others. Jesus paid our debt that He didn't owe and that we ourselves couldn't pay. 

Because of this, the Father has forgiven us this unpayable, unsurmountable debt just as the "certain king" forgave the debt of the servant who owed much.

However, like the debtor to the king who was forgiven so much but in turn refused to forgive the servant who owed to him a much lesser debt, so are our actions when, as believers, we choose not to forgive.

Just as the king's response to the unforgiving servant was to then revoke the cancellation of the large debt that the servant had owed, so too will we be treated if we do not forgive our "brother from" our "heart".
 

Matthew 18 :21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" ²²Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents^[g] was brought to him. ²⁵Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

 ²⁶"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' ²⁷The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

 ²⁸"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^[h] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

 ²⁹"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

 ³⁰"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

 ³²"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' ³⁴In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

 ³⁵"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Preceding the above parable note that Peter had asked of Jesus: 

²¹.. "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 

Jesus's response was that we are to forgive  "not seven times, but seventy-seven times." As such, even when we encounter a repeat offender we are to repeatedly forgive, with sincerity from our heart.

In the Lord's Prayer, when Jesus instructed us exactly how and what to pray, He reiterated how it imperative is for us to forgive:

^{Matthew 6:12} And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 

This model prayer given to us by our Lord and Savior charges us to examine and address the matter of forgiveness in our hearts on a daily basis.
 

No matter what the offense perpetrated against us whether real or imagined, purposeful or by accident, we are to not only offer but also display true heartfelt forgiveness.

Bearing feelings of unforgiveness never harms the source/perpetrator. It only harms the one harboring it. 

In fact, the object of the unforgiving attitude is usually virtually unaware and totally unaffected while the one holding the unforgiveness in their heart is both emotionally and spiritually miserable and in danger of the fires of hell.

To clarify, harboring unforgiveness only hurts humankind while on this planet by removing our peace and for many can actually cause an emotional "hell on earth" as well as the potential of actually literally sending one to hell after death.

Jesus made it very clear that our sins are not forgiven us if we do not forgive others. If our sins are not forgiven, we cannot enter into the presence of God as the holy and righteous God cannot tolerate sin in His presence.

^{Matthew 6: 14}For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

To reiterate, forgiving others is not optional for Christians. It is a Kingdom principle upon which the violation of negates salvation because if we do not forgive others, our sins are not forgiven us.

Especially in these end times, we all need to be mindful of our stance with our Creator, having true forgiveness as He forgave us and giving Him, the one who deserves all the honor, glory and praise, our uppermost priority!!

IT IS TIME TO HEED THE LORD'S COMMAND TO WATCH!

Jesus wants His people to be aware of and watch for the signs of His return as it gives us the urgency to ready not only ourselves but also reach out to the lost. 

The Lord gave us these signs of His coming not to scare or alarm us, but to the contrary, to prepare, encourage and comfort us.

In John 14: 1-3 our Lord told us to “not let your hearts be troubled” because He has gone to prepare a place for us and is coming back to get us so that we may be with Him. So, we know that He is returning to come back for us.

 ^{John 14: 1}"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ²In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.    

In verse 27, He reiterates to us to not “let your hearts be troubled” as well as “do not be afraid“ as He has given us His peace. The Lord is reassuring us that we need not be fearful regarding His return.

^{John 14:27}Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  ²⁸"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.'

 In fact, knowing the signs of His coming can help give us His peace as we see the world scene destabilizing because we know it is all in His perfect plan. 

We can be comforted as we see this chaotic, spinning out-of-control world, knowing that He will be soon coming for us as He promised.

So, instead of fear, seeing the signs coming to pass should give us hope, excitement and joy knowing just how very close we are to seeing our Lord and what He has prepared for us!

1 Corinthians 2:9 Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
 
We are instructed in Hebrews to meet and encourage each other "all the more as you see the Day approaching". 

If we are not watching, we cannot see the Day approaching in order heed the dictates of this Scripture. 

Jesus gave us these instructions for us to gather together so that by our fellowshipping we can exhort one another to operate in the Spirit as it is only by His Spirit that we will be emboldened to proclaim His Gospel and the nearness of His return.
 
Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

We are actually warned in Revelation 3:3 that if we do not watch, He WILL come upon us a thief and we WILL NOT know the hour when He is coming. 

To the converse, if we ARE watching, He WILL NOT come upon us a thief and we WILL know the hour of His coming:


Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not WATCH, I will come upon you as a thief. and you will not what hour I will come upon you.

In 1st Thessalonians 1:5-6, we are reminded that "the day of the Lord will come like a "thief in the night." 

Next, we are given end time signs to watch for:
 
"While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." 

Then, we are told that we are "not in darkness" meaning that since the prophetic Word gives us so many end times signs to be on the watch for, that we are not being kept "in the dark" as to God's end time prophetic timeline.  

Therefore, if we ARE watching, the Day of the Lord WILL NOT surprise us as a "thief in the night"!

Conversely, those who are NOT watching will NOT be awakened to the nearness of the end of the age to see the many signs He forewarned us to watch for, come hurtling at them. 

They will then be more easily overtaken as by a "thief in the night".

For this reason, we have been commanded to "not sleep, as do others; but let us WATCH and be sober".

1 Thessalonians 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us WATCH and be sober.

There is a perpetual preparedness that naturally accompanies a fervent watch. In the following parable of the virgins, only the wise were prepared, having their lamps filled with oil, as they watched for the coming bridegroom.

Matthew 25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming ;go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’13 “WATCH therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
 
As we approach the end of the age, we need to be watching and operating in His spirit as the Spirit is the oil in our lamps that enables us to be ready for His return.

As with the foolish virgins who were shut out of the wedding so shall it be for the "foolish" professing Christians who have not been watching and staying in constant readiness. 

In fact, to those who are not watching and are thus unprepared the Lord will say " Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you".  They will be then be left behind because the door will already be shut.

As this parable relates, NOT watching has dire consequences. If Christians are not watching for the signs and thereby not even aware of their fulfillment, they will be lax and unprepared as were the foolish virgins.

Whereas, watching incites us to realize the lateness of the hour which spurs to ready ourselves and to ensure that our oil in our lamps are to the brim as we await the bridegroom.
Note that this parable of the virgins concludes with the admonition for us to WATCH:

“WATCH therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Matthew 25:13

Important to note is that in Luke 21:28 we are told that If we are watching for the fulfillment of the prophetic Scripture, then we will be able to know "when these things come to pass" so we can then anticipate our soon redemption.

Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
  
As such, only those aware of the prophetic Scripture and watching for its fulfillment would know when to "look up, and lift” our heads; for the coming “redemption" that "draweth nigh".

To the contrary, those who are NOT watching will not know when to "look up". 

Those who have not heeded the Lord's command to be on watch, will be clueless when it is time to "look up" to await redemption.

In Luke 21:36, we are commanded not only to watch but also to pray that we may be counted worthy to escape the wrath to come, and stand before the Lord, Jesus Christ:

Luke 21:36 WATCH you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Therefore we are supposed to be not only diligently watching for the signs of our Lord's return as He instructed ,but also praying that we "may be accounted worthy to escape" the coming wrath.

The Lord is so gracious and merciful that He gave us the signs of His return. These many end time signs coming together, signaling the end of the age, are to remind us that it is time to separate from the things of this world.

They are but temporary and these earthly lives that we live are as a vapor as we face eternity, which is everlasting.

If only the children of the Most High God will obey His command to WATCH they will see that He is providing clear evidence to us that His return as near, even at the door.

It is now time for those who truly belong to the Risen Lord to lessen their grip on the material distractions of this world, shifting their focus upward, to things eternal.

Global Wheat Shortage Feared

The potential for a global wheat famine continues to become more possible as the extreme weather worldwide has adversely affected global yields.  

Note that wheat is currently second to rice as the main human food crop so this scarcity could aid to the diminishing global food supply needed to feed the world's fast growing population.

Please see the previous blog entry covering this very real threat:

http://theworldisshaking.blogspot.com/2010/07/global-wheat-crop-is-encountering.html

"Global Wheat Shortage Feared as Prices Surge'

"Severe drought, brush fires and heat waves in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan have driven wheat prices to their biggest one-month jump in more than 30 years, killing half the crop in some areas and reportedly fueling fears of global shortages."

"The slump in Russian wheat production has pushed prices up 62 percent since early June, and last month saw the biggest and fastest increase since 1959.

The rise prompted warnings from food companies that prices for flour and products that use flour will soar, The Wall Street Journal reports."

"Putin bans Russia grain exports due to drought"

 "MOSCOW– Russia, the world's third wheat exporter, Thursday banned grain exports for the next four-and-a-half months due to a record drought that has destroyed millions of hectares (acres) of its land."

Revelation 6:5-6

" And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see.  And I beheld and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine."

PROOF OF THE LORD'S RESURRECTION HERE AT THE END OF THE AGE!

Little publicized and thus vaguely known, but of GREAT importance, is the finding of a death certificate on the Shroud of Turin, discovered back in November 2009. 

The Christian world ought to have been reeling with excitement having this physical proof of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, but it has seemingly been vastly ignored, even by many of those knowledgeable of this extraordinary finding.

Bear in mind, that even with our modern advances in science and technology, the shroud cannot be duplicated. 

The reason it cannot be duplicated is because it was the result of a supernatural event that occurred when Jesus, (Yeshua Ha Mashiach) was resurrected on the third day and translated from death into life, from mortality into immortality, into a glorified body.

This transformation of Christ's mortal body into a supernatural body was a nuclear event, resulting in radiation. This radioactivity at the moment of the resurrection, imprinted the Shroud with the image of the Lord much like an x-ray image is produced.

Following are these amazing new findings of the death certificate that has been discovered on the Shroud: 

"Dr Frale said that many of the letters were missing, with Jesus for example referred to as "(I)esou(s) Nnazarennos" and only the "iber" of "Tiberiou" surviving. Her reconstruction, however, suggested that the certificate read:  

"  taken down in the early evening In the year 16 of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius Jesus the Nazarene,after having been condemned to death by a Roman judge because he was found guilty by a Hebrew authority, is hereby sent for burial with the obligation of being consigned to his family only after one full year".  It ends "signed by" but the signature has not survived."

"Dr Frale said that the use of three languages was consistent with the polyglot nature of a community of Greek-speaking Jews in a Roman colony."

"Best known for her studies of the Knights Templar, who she claims at one stage preserved the shroud, she said what she had deciphered was "the death sentence on a man called Jesus the Nazarene'."

"If that man was also Christ the Son of God it is beyond my job to establish. I did not set out to demonstrate the truth of faith. I am a Catholic, but all my teachers have been atheists or agnostics, and the only believer among them was a Jew. I forced myself to work on this as I would have done on any other archaeological find."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6925371.ece

Interestingly, the use of three languages as outlined above, corresponds exactly with the use of the three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin, in the Gospel of John 19: 19-20:
 

"And Pontius Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin."

The exact wording on the death certificate corresponds perfectly not only with Scripture but also historically regarding the cruxificion of the Lord Jesus:

Following is a dissection of the wording on the death certificate using supporting Scripture and/or historical events:

"Jesus the Nazarene":

Mark 16:6

And he said to them, " Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who has been crucified He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him, Jesus of Nazareth.

"In the year 16 of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius..":

The sixteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius would have been approximately AD 31 as he reigned from AD 14-37.



"..after having been condemned to death by a Roman judge.."

Research shows that Pontius Pilate, governed the Roman province of Judea from AD 26-36.  Well known is the fact that he presided as judge over Jesus's sentencing.

These two Roman historical figures along with the coinciding dates help further confirm the authenticity of the Shroud by narrowing down the dateline of the cruxificion of the man whose image penetrates the Shroud, "Jesus the Nazarene".

"..because he was found guilty by a Hebrew authority..":

 ^{Luke 23:23} 

But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.^{[e] 24} So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.

Matthew 27:1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. ²They bound him, led him away and  handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

"..taken down in the early evening..":

The below scriptures tell us that the Messiah died sometime around the 9th hour of the day (9 hours after the sun had risen). The ninth hour would be about our 3pm in the afternoon.

Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Mark 15:37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

Therefore, according to Scripture, Jesus gave up His spirit at three p.m. According to custom, they would have quickly taken his body down as soon as it was verified that He was dead.  

It was necessary to expedite the burial of a dead body prior to sundown as was required preceding a Sabbath. Note that the Jewish Sabbath begins at sunset. 

As such, this imprinted death certificate Scripturally verifies that: 

"  In the year sixteen of the reign of Tiberius" ,
 "  Jesus the Nazarene"  was """  taken down in the early evening"  to be "  sent for burial"  after he was "  condemned to death by a Roman judge"  (Pontius Pilate) """   because he was found guilty by a Hebrew authority""  (the chief priests).

What a gracious and loving God to offer proof of the Resurrected Messiah here in these end times!

God has now allowed physical and scientific evidence not only to solidify the faith of those who already follow the living Christ, but also to beckon any who will accept His free gift of pardon made possible by His death at the cross.

This death certificate details the events surrounding the redemptive work that Yeshua accomplished at Calvary on our behalf.

The image of the Lord Jesus on the Shroud is proof to us of His resurrection and also gives us the hope of our own resurrection into immortality, when He comes !