Authored by Chris Martenson via PeakProsperity.com,
As the dog days of summer wind down, it’s hard not to notice how the climate is suffering brutally right now across many areas of the globe.
Crop failures have hit hard across Europe. Australia is under an intense drought. Warm water representing ‘archived heat’ has penetrated deep into the arctic. Coral reefs are dying through mass bleachings. The stocks of ocean fisheries are in deep trouble. Insect and bird populations remain in a state of collapse.
It couldn’t be any more clear that our society’s demands for ever-more “growth” are taking an increasingly dangerous toll. “Growth” is now the enemy of life on the planet; yet there are precious few leaders willing to admit as much.
What we need is less pressure on vital ecological systems and precious remaining resources. But good luck finding a politician willing to admit that.
Though a refreshing exception is French environmental minister Nicolas Hulot who dramatically resigned his position last week, on live television, declaring “I don’t want to lie to myself anymore.” His view is that the government is not addressing the major environmental issues properly and he didn’t want his presence to give the false appearance that it was. Kudos to Nicolas, though I’m not sure that losing such a rare principled person in government is a step in the right direction.
Operating On Blind Faith
Most politicians appear to think that there are no big issues out there ecologically-speaking. Of course, very few of them spend any time outside or understand where their food even comes from. Most subsist on the blind faith that our planet will somehow always bounce back from the abuses we inflict on it, despite reams of mounting evidence that it’s hitting a mulitplying number of breaking and tipping points.
Sadly, the mainstream media chooses to toss wedge issue after wedge issue, ususally in the most inflammatory ways it can, at an increasingly irate general populace that has almost zero clue about the true source of the shocks (financial, economic, and ecological) they are experiencing. This prevents society from having an informed discussion about the real risks we should be concerned with.
As heart-tugging a topic as ‘border kids’ might be, the monster asset price bubbles blown by the central banks get almost no attention in the media — despite their ability to destroy the futures and dreams of pretty much everyone reading this article.
Our media is failing us, badly, by focusing on symptomatic issues that enrage and divide us, while remaining silent on the causal matters of vital importance to all of us.
In other words, you’d do well to ignore the pre-packaged opinions being spoon fed into your mind by the media professionals. Instead, look at the data yourself and come to your own conclusions about what’s happening.
Notice the near complete lack of insect diversity and numbers? What about the collapsing populations of frogs and reptiles? How about the missing seabirds? Did you know that humans have worked their harvesting down to the lowest part of the food chain and are now netting krill — removing the base of the pedestal for the oceanic food chain?
Why is it so hard for our culture to recognize that an economic model founded on the idea of perpetual exponential expansion, while living on a planet with finite resources, is a thoroughly unworkable idea? How can we all so blithely ignore the obvious indicators screaming that we’ve already hit the limits of that model?
The lengths to which humans are now going for new deposits of oil, copper, water, arable land and other essential economic inputs are staggeringly desperate. Each should be a warning sign unto themselves.
But taken together?
Ignoring them requires the same degree of self-deception that addicts employ in their belief that they still have things under control, and can stop anytime.
Yeah, right. Somehow ‘that day’ never arrives. It’s always just one more fix, one more day.
Except in this case it’s just one more election, one more quarter of growth, one more injection of central bank money.
Frustrating? You bet.
Trying to elevate the critical observation that pursuing infinite growth on a finite planet is not only impossible, but a really terrible idea, has been a frustrating endeavor.
We here at PeakProsperity.com have been at this for over a decade, and we can tell you first-hand, Folks, this ain’t easy.
While the logic support it is extremely straightforward, it runs afoul of the majority’s entrenched belief systems. So even the most basic and compelling of data is ignored. Instead, tortured anecdotes are held up as “proof” that their treasured belief systems are correct.
Here’s an example.
Anecdote: “Electric car sales are up 40% in Europe!”
Somehow this is proof that we’re on the right track. Electric cars are going to rapidly replace internal combustion cars, and thereby solve all the issues related to the world’s addiction to fossil fuels.
Basic data: “There’s not enough cobalt or lithium to even replace 25% of all cars on the road, let alone 100%. EV cars still consume extraordinary resources, and release a huge amount of carbon in their manufacture. Massive subsidies are required to make them economically attractive, even to wealthy citizens of wealthy nations, so they aren’t well suited to the bulk of the world’s population. And if these cars were somehow all powered by electrcity from solar and wind, those energy sources are still themselves massively dependent on fossil fuels for their mining, manufacture, transportation, installation and replacement.”
The basic data says that instead of salivating over expensive and advanced personal transportation methods designed to preserve the status quo of our current failing infrastructure, we should instead be dedicating a large part of our efforts towards mass transit, relocating our work/play/farm spaces so that they are closer together, and use vastly fewer resources to deliver the same services we rely on.
Recently I’ve been frustrated by the efforts to convince Americans that our democracy is under attack by outside agents when there’s ample evidence — concrete, hard, firm evidence which I’ve repeatedly covered — that US elections have been spitting out improbable and even sometimes impossible election results for the past 14 years, ever since insecure, low-integrity eVoting platforms and central tabulators were introduced.
Yes, nefarious agents may well indeed be undermining our democracy. But the real villains appear much more domestic than foreign.
There’s nothing more poisonous to the notion of democracy than fraudulent election outcomes. Nothing. And yet the number of people rising up in protest on this issue may as well be zero, as long as we’re rounding to the nearest whole percentage. Meanwhile millions are up in arms about the still-unproven allegations that Russia tipped the recent presidential elections with a laughably tiny amount of social media ads.
For those interested in more detail on just how badly manipulated recent voting results have become, read my recent account on the topic here. And then, just for fun, take a look below at the voting “architecture” put in place in Ohio under its disgraced Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and which delivered a very surprising win for G. W. Bush over John Kerry. The pre and exit polls both showed an overwhelming win for Kerry. Oops! The new Deibold electric voting machines (which Blackwell owned a stake in) instead reported a surprising win for GWB:
You don’t have to be an IT expert to detect that there are numerous places for bad actors to insert themselves into this system and romp about with the vote totals. It’s a ridiculous joke of an architecture that, honestly, seems to have been specifically-designed to allow fraud.
In fact, this schematic reveals that the shady company “entrusted” to add up the vote totals had inserted a key piece of machinery as a “man in the middle” and not as a mirror server. That meant that the vote totals could be easily manipulated in a way that could not be undone or later refuted.
Even the most unschooled of individuals must be aware that vote counting cannot ever be a matter of “trust us”. With so much on the line, it must always be assumed that cheating is going to happen, not that it might happen. Checks and balances need to be in place to counter such abuse.
Several important questions emerge. Why did Kerry, knowing all of this, concede defeat so graciously within 24 hours? Why was such an obviously corrupt architecture put in place and not challenged? Why does it still persist to this day? Why have no major news outlets run a major investigative inquiry and publicized a huge expose on the utter lack of integrity within the US voting system? Why do we have a perfectly secure system in place for using a credit/debt card to buy a $2 slushy at 7-11, but somehow secure and trustworthy voting remains a mysteriously-unachievable outcome for a nation as advanced as the US?
The simple that explains all this: Voting is rigged, and the entire power structure wants it that way.
The wonder of it all is that there are a lot of people in Ohio desperately up in arms about Russian meddling right now, blissfully unaware that their entire state is shot through with election fraud courtesy of both major parties.
Yes, their democracy is under attack, and it has been for a long time. But it certainly isn’t the Russians designing, installing, and defending the Ohio voting systems.
The Outlook Is Deteriorating Fast
There are lots of things that we should be very concerned about and practically none of them are to be found on the news. In the rare cases they are, they’re presented without meaningful context and very rapidly replaced by trivial distractions.
We should be asking ourselves why that’s the case.
More to the point, you need to understand that very serious risks to your future prospects, well-being and liberty are building. The mounting warning signs are all around you if you look for them, though they’ll be carefully filtered out from the nightly news or your social media feeds.
Getting access to good information is difficult these days. And it’s getting harder, not easier. Only a few massive corporations own nearly all of our media outlets. They have a narrative they want sold, often developed with the goverment, and they invest billions to refine their craft of delivering it. Better algorithms, in-product placements, and mentally-addictive formats for delivering you distracting, emotionally manipulative context that has practically zero positive bearing on your life.
In short: it’s a rigged game. Perhaps it always has been, but in today’s digital age, the tools of state are becoming ever more crafty, sophisticated and complete.
Gone are the days when our financial markets served as important signals about the health of the economy. Today, they’ve been replaced by ““markets”” that central bankers and other bureaucratic planners utterly own and control. The only signals they send are what those running the show want us to hear.
Our precious ecosphere is disintegrating. The fossil fuels bonanza we are hopelessly addicted to is ending. But there is no Plan B to deal with these existential challenges (beyond the elites’ private plans to bunker down and ride out the trouble when it begins).
The message to take from this is: You are on your own. There’s no benevolent government preparing to step in and sort things out for you if/when collapse arrives. Your pensions are already gone — the math is cruelly certain on that. Self-interested corporations set the rules. Power will never be fairly redistributed due to elections.
Were a future of unlimited growth possible, these worries wouldn’t really matter. But it isn’t. So none of this is fine. Now that the pie is no longer growing, the obvious truth is that the rigged system is handing over a larger and larger portion of that stagnant pie to fewer and fewer people.
That’s an incontrovertible fact. But it’s reported by the media as if it were a wayward comet nobody expected that just showed up in the night sky. Rich people getting richer, what are you gonna do?
Never mentioned is that the system is rigged to create that outcome. And that the central banks have engineered it on purpose.
It’s time to wake up and see what’s really going on.
This is especially true right now for anyone with assets in the US equity ““markets””. With indices back at all-time highs, record complacency reigns. But scratch lightly on the “everything is awesome!” veneer, and an ugly picture of accelerating rot and instability immediately appears
In Part 2: The Outlook For The Markets Is Deteriorating Fast we expose the truly frightening contagion currently decimating a long list of emerging market countries and explain how it threatens to bring down the world economy with it. Collapse happens from the outside in, and the periphery is falling fast…
Yes, the entire system is rigged. But when a breaking point is reached, and things get so bad they spiral out of the control of the manipulators, Look out below!
Click here to read Part 2 of this report (free executive summary, enrollment required for full access)
The climate is suffering
Is it?
Suffering? Anyone talk to the climate lately? You know, check on its mental health?
Idiot.
Chris? I don’t know if you follow your articles to blogs (probably not) but if so, let me thank you for sending a few DVDs to our FF group in 2008 and giving us permission to copy and distribute your Crash Course before it was even really the “Crash Course.”
We gathered in a back room at a VFW hall, those few of us interested in your ideas about sustainability, and watched the segments over a month’s period, discussing the series as if the Crash Course were a lesson plan for those of us interested in making the life change you suggested.
For Nick and I, it really was a lesson plan and it served us well.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and perspective with the world. Hoping you continue to be wrong about “certain” things, but am ready for the worst if you are right. Oh, and we are glad you hadn’t gotten smart about forcing folks to subscribe for part II back then.
The infinite growth model is killing the Earth?
You don’t say.
There is a great deal of truth in everything you report , expose and attempt to draw serious attention too .
Nobody gives a fuck , the Kardashian’s are having butt enhancement surgery while cruise missiles are killing desert dwellers and the survivors paddle accross the Mediterranean . Then there are millions invading the US illegally and you actually have government officials rolling out the welcome mat right over the bodies of citizens they swore to protect and serve
Voting is a joke , if your vote actually counted for something it would not be allowed . The “THEY” in control of this Shit Show do not give a fuck about you me or anyone but themselves . The circle jerk of Wall Street to K-Street to Capitol Street is so infected by corrupt animals there really is little choice left as to what must be done . The fear of anyone attempting to follow thru and really make a difference comes at to high a cost and is likely to be unsuccessful .
We as a nation are at that crossroads of “FINAL SOLUTIONS”and it is being administered upon the general population daily . To resist is futile .
In the words of Kurt Russel in SOLDIER ,” I’m going to kill them all sir “ ! Great idea but who and where do you start when the corruption is so deeply ingrained that the Badge wearing Just doing my job minions will hunt you down and destroy you when they really should be helping you .
The game is rigged and we are going to hit that wall when and how hard is anybodies guess but it will hurt a lot and leave an undeniable mark on any that survive !
I don’t believe we will see much resistance unless property is jeopardized
“when neither their property nor honour is touched, the majority of men live content”
“but above all he [a prince] must abstain from taking the property of others, for men forget more easily the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony”
(Niccolò Machiavelli)
The herd always take the road of least resistance. Those that take the high road will see the forest from the trees and survive. It has always been that way. Nothing new here.
Because of this dynamic in life things just happen. No one is in control of anything although it appears people are controlling our economic, social and political patterns. In our society the majority have lost their self directing ability and as we see in the chaos unfolding around us we are fast losing our self regulating ability. This is resulting in the unwinding of our advanced civilization structure. We are seeing cracks in our coalescence as a people.
The haves have to be seeing that the have not’s are increasing in numbers. This is alarming. This is what happens when the herd grows larger than the resources to feed it.
No one is in control of this situation. Nature is now taking control of this occasion. We can see it in the weather patterns, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes around the globe.
Control is, indeed, an illusion. And if the miles don’t subject that to dilution, you’re in solution…da’ nile, specifically.
Planet X, the “destroyer”, Nibiru, the Nemesis system, planet Nine, the Universal Reset, is on approach.
https://resonance.is/solar-system-heating/
And this one
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2016/10/planet-nine-tilting-the-sun
“AM: Why is there this misalignment between the Sun and the orbits of the planets?
KB: We asked ourselves, “what obliquity, what misalignment would Planet Nine induce in the solar system?” because it must induce some. We know that Planet Nine’s orbit in inclined. As a result, when Planet Nine torques the rest of the solar system, the two sort of act as two precessing tops. Planet Nine being in its own plane induced a precession on the remainder of the solar system as if the plane of the solar system was a flat top on the surface of a table.
AM: So Planet Nine’s gravitational influence is forcing the solar system to wobble?
KB: If you imagine that the Sun and the planets were co-planar, meaning they were locked into the same plane 4 billion years ago, and allow the clock to run forward in the presence of Planet Nine, then 4 billion years later the Sun would have been apparently tilted by exactly it’s current obliquity, or 6 degrees. But what’s actually going on is that the Sun is staying put in its fixed reference frame and it’s the planetary orbits that are being tilted by Planet Nine. So Planet Nine has tilted the entire disk of the solar system by 6 degrees and because we live on that disc … to us it looks like the Sun is tilted, but it’s actually the other way around.”
I can’t link this …its a long essay…maybe holds one explanation on why the SHTF hasn’t happened yet??? Sent this to some Christian Prepper friends, thought I’d post it on TBP.
Here is a fascinating essay from a book titled: “Essays in Apocalypse” Subtitled: “Some Thoughts on the End of Days” by Terry James available at http://www.raptureready.com.
If it is true it would make sense why the “Everything Bubble” has not popped yet…why the worst of the 4th Turning has not hit as the author is right when he states:
“Now, let me say that by all common sensibility –all logic, the world’s and America’s economies should have already come crashing down. The fiscal laws are presently in a state of surreal suspension. This isn’t my opinion. The dynamics of how economics work at such stratospheric levels are far above me. But some of the great thinkers in such matters say even they are dumbfounded at how things can hold together as they are doing at present.”
I have e-mailed directly with Terry back and forth on this article and he sent it to me so I could pass it on at my request. Terry is blind and is an amazing Christian, writer. Rapture Ready is a wonderful website if you have never been on it. http://www.raptureready.com
I don’t know if his take on prophecy is correct, but it is possible and overall the essay is a thought provoking and a worthy read.
Mark
THE BUILDING ECONOMIC BOOM
There is coming, I’m convinced, an economic boom perhaps unlike any other in history. Yes. –An economic boom, not a financial bust, –the opposite of which you have been led to believe.
What I will propose here will, I hope, challenge things you’ve been induced to think about the immediate, Biblically prophetic future. My neck, proverbially-speaking, is stuck out there, I guess. My proposal is on firm grounds, however, so I’m not shy about sticking my neck out in presenting these — my thoughts on what I believe to be most immediately relevant in terms of Bible prophecy about to be fulfilled.
My confidence comes from the fact that the God of Heaven –the Lord Jesus Christ– gave the prophecy upon which my proposal is constructed.
These matters I will present have not just recently emerged to the top of my thinking. Much of it I covered in what I wrote in 2010 and 2011 through a series of essays for our Nearing Midnight column on raptureready.com.
The series was entitled Scanning a fearful future. Some of those articles were excerpted for my book Rapture Ready…Or Not: 15 Reasons Why This Is the Generation That Will Be Left Behind. Since the time of the publication of those essays there has so much taken place that I sense we must once again address the prophecy Jesus gave while sitting with His disciples that day upon the Mount of Olives. It is vital, in my view, that we do so.
A good deal of these things are chronicled, in detailed analysis, through the essays that follow. In these, I dissect much of the day by day, week by week and month by month issues and events in the news that I believe have relevance, prophetically-speaking.
PREPARE FOR ECONOMIC COLLASPE
There has been for the past number of years the constant urging by those supposedly in the know for people to make preparation for imminent collapse of the nation’s and world’s economies. ”Preppers,” as they are called, have set in supplies for the great financial catastrophe that hovers like the Sword of Damocles. Planet Earth is moving into the worst fiscal disaster perhaps of all of history, these believe. Certainly, it will be the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s –so the warning goes.
As I wrote in the series of articles, I received at the time –and still do– emails that are fearful that the collapse will come at any moment. I will say, though, that since so much time has now elapsed from the time the warnings began to first cause panic, the incoming emails have become fewer with each passing day. The little boy that cried wolf syndrome applies, i suppose.
Now, let me say that by all common sensibility –all logic, the world’s and America’s economies should have already come crashing down. The fiscal laws are presently in a state of surreal suspension. This isn’t my opinion. The dynamics of how economics work at such stratospheric levels are far above me. But some of the great thinkers in such matters say even they are dumbfounded at how things can hold together as they are doing at present.
So, I’m not poking fun at the preppers. They, in most cases, are certainly wise, it seems to me, to make some preparation for any emergency that might arise due to economic problems. All pointers indicate that the dam holding back world financial collapse should have long ago burst. The astonishing fact, however, is that the horrendous collapse hasn’t happened. The U.S. stock market gurus show no fear as they trade at all-time highs. Governments tax and spend at rates unseen in the annals of history.
Of course the answer from the standpoint of supposed reality is that their wizardry through electronic manipulations can continue to perpetuate the status quo indefinitely. the Perception is that all is well. Everything is secure while they juggle the economic balls within the building bubble of trillions of dollars in debt.
There certainly appears to be no panic, despite underlying stresses that should tell the “experts” that they are like Wile E Coyote in one of those Road Runner cartoons. They and their financial dealings are suspended in mid-air over a precipitous chasm. There appears nothing keeping them from plummeting into oblivion.
Despite the historical fact that every situation in the past that had the troubling, economic indicators of warning that are prevalent today has bought calamity, the juggling continues. And the bubble grows. Everything should, by accident if not by purposeful action, have by this time bought a monumental financial collapse.
Running along a parallel course with the strange suspension in mid-air of an economic implosion is the matter of the rumors of war. Notice I say “rumors of war,” not “war”.
The Middle East is a powder keg. Asia is rife with situations that could explode into conflict. From Syria and the genocidal actions of dictator Basshar al Assad to Iran and its Israel and America-hating Ayatollahs to the North Korean despot Kim Jong’un who threatens South Korea and the United States with nuclear weapons, the world should have erupted in major war by now. But it hasn’t.
In looking at things through the lens of Bible prophecy, it is incumbent to ask: What’s up? What do these suspensions of cataclysmic results mean? Man, himself, is incapable of preventing things from deteriorating and disintegrating into all out economic turmoil and into all-out war. Mankind’s record in maintaining tranquility in these areas is abysmal as the history books show.
Tremendous tensions exist that threaten world financial collapse and portend war at any moment –war of potentially catastrophic scope and scale. Yet there seems an unseen force that keeps Wyle E. Coyote suspended in mid-air above that chasm. There is only one Force that can suspend the physical laws, whether fiscal or other in nature. Jesus Christ is His Holy name. He is God the Son. He walked on the waters, instantly calmed the raging sea, and defied all laws of nature by performing countless Miracles. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Col 1: 16-17) Diplomats, scientists, presidents, potentates and others in authority in the humanistic sense might believe they, collectively or individually, are holding things together. But, it is the Creator of all things, God the Son, who is in actuality doing so.
It is Jesus Christ who is preventing the world systems from dissolving and sending all of humanity into the abyss of eternity. It is God, the Holy Spirit (Third Person of the Godhead,) Who is holding back absolutge evil, according to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. He will do so until He removes in His present Office of Restrainer.
The time for the consummation of history is not yet. Jesus told his disciples as much when He sat upon the Mount of Olives and they ask Him about these things. They asked the Lord when would be the time of His coming back to earth and when would be the end of the age (world system).
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” (Matt 24: 4-6)
God, Himself, in the flesh as He faced His execution through crucifixion on the Roman cross as Supreme Sacrifice for the sins of mankind, made it plain for them and for our present generation. God alone will determine when the end will come. Man will not destroy the planet or himself through nuclear war or any other way. God’s prophetic Plan will run its course undeterred.
GOD’S NEXT DIRECT INTERVENTION
So, perhaps we can begin to answer the questions. Why has not the world’s and America’s economic systems not come crashing down already? Why has not major war erupted in these tremendously tense times when nuclear weapons threaten man’s very existence? Why is all of this –like Wile E. Coyote in the cartoons– still suspended in mid-air above that deadly chasm?
I am convinced that the answer to these gravity-defying matters involve the extreme nearness of God’s next direct Intervention into the affairs of mankind.
Jesus, I believe, again gave the answer to why these exigencies have developed and why they remain in seemingly impossible to maintain suspended status. He did so while prophesying before his little group of disciples on the Mount of Olives. He explained in considerable detail exactly world conditions at the time of His next being “revealed” on Planet Earth. That is, the Lord told of His coming back following His Ascention into Heaven. The disciples, of course, had no idea at that time that Jesus would die on the cruel, Roman cross. –That He would come back following His death, burial and Resurrection. –Thus, even though He had told Him He would have to die and be raised to life in the eternal sense.
Jesus’ prophecy, giving these details, is absolutely key to why world-wide economic collapse hasn’t happened. The Truth contains within this prophecy is the reason major war that would again devastate the world has not broken out. All of this revolves around the fact, I believe, that His next direct Intervention into the affairs of rebellious mankind is right on the verge of taking place.
But, what about all of the other things Jesus prophesied in His Olivet discourse? The seven years of Tribulation, with twenty-one specific Judgments that will decimate the earth –doesn’t all of that horrendous wrath have to unfold before His second coming?
This is where the Pre-Tribulation view of Christ’s two-phase return to earth makes understandable the things I propose as cocooned within my title of this chapter. The Building Economic Boom.
The fact is that Christ, in His Olivet discourse, is the same Lord who gave the Apostle John the details of Judgment and wrath as John wrote the Revelation. John gave the glorious description of Christ’s return to put an end to the war of Armageddon. Read Revelation 19:11-12.
The carnage of the seven years leading up to that final war of the age will be so damaging that Jesus said all flesh on earth would die if He didn’t Intervene to put an end to that final battle.
But Jesus, as He sat with His disciples atop the Mount of Olives that day gave another, completely different prophetic description about how world conditions will be when he intervenes into human history. The time He speaks of leading to his being “revealed” in this case indicates no world-wide devastation prior to His return.
There is no mention of the four riders of the apocalypse –of huge, celestial bodies slamming into the sea, killing all life therein –no mention of earthquakes that flatten entire cities –of one-hundred pound hailstones that crush everything they strike. He says
quite the opposite, in fact.
Let us look at this Olivet discourse prophecy concerning earthly conditions immediately preceding Christ’s return. It is a prophecy that indeed describes conditions much different than those foretold by John leading up to the Second Advent as recorded in Revelation 19: 11-12. Jesus, rather than giving a fearful description of great Tribulation, says the following about His next Intervention into human history.
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Matt 24: 36-42)
Compare Jesus’ description here about his next Intervention into the affairs of mankind with the description given by John the revelator in writing about the time leading up to Christs return at Armageddon.
“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” (Rev 16: 17-21)
God’s Word, the Bible, is absolute Truth. It doesn’t contradict itself. So, how to conflate these two entirely different descriptions of the times leading up to Christ’s second coming is the task before us.
Jesus prophesies in His Olivet foretelling that things will be relatively business as usual when He next Intervenes. Exactly like in Noah’s day and Lot’s day when those men were taken to safety –with business going on pretty much as normal– He –Jesus– will at that future time be “revealed”. That is, He will make Himself known in that He will Intervene into this world of rebellious people. Judgment, like in Noah’s day and Lot’s day, Jesus Foretold, will begin to fall at that very moment.
Jesus, in His Ressurected form, gave John the prophecy to put into the book we call the Revelation.
So, the Lord of Heaven –God, Himself– gave both prophecies for us to consider.
He tells us through John in the Revelation that at the time He Intervenes by coming back with the armies of Heaven (Rev 19: 11-12) there will be almost unimaginable Judgment being inflicted upon earthdwellers. Jesus, through John, Foretells in other places in this great Book of prophecy that men will hide themselves in the clefts of rocks and even beg the rocks to fall on them in fear of facing God’s Wrath. There will be no flesh on earth that will survive that time, Jesus had John prophesy, if He doesn’t return when He does at Armageddon.
These two distinctly different descriptions by the Lord himself can’t be adequately explained except through the Pre-Tribulation Rapture position, in my view. Jesus is saying His Second Coming consists of two, separate phases. The first phase will be the Rapture of all believers at an unknown time while it’s business as usual –in a fraction of a second –the twinkling of an eye. The second phase will take place at least 7 years later at Christ’s Second Advent, when God’s Judgment and Wrath have all but decimated the planet.
Jesus Christ will return above the planet in the clouds in the first phase, where He will receive all believers of the Church Age (Age of Grace) –living and dead– and then take them back to the Father’s House (John 14: 1-3). He will return all the way to the planet’s surface at least 7 years later, at which time He will put an end to the war of Armageddon. He will continue toward Jerusalem, where He will set up His Millennial Kingdom.
I believe a primary reason we can be certain that the Rapture will be Pre-Tribulational is that Jesus tells us further in the Book of Luke account about the days of Noah and of Lot.
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Lk 17: 26-30)
In this account, Jesus says that Noah and lot were taken out first and judgment began that very day. it will be exactly like that, he said, when He –Jesus– is revealed (makes His Presence known through his Intervention.)
Just as Noah and Lot were removed, so will believers be removed. Then (following that removal) Judgment will begin. The believer will not have to endure any part of the Tribulation –God’s Judgment upon the wicked (read 1 Thessalonians 5: 9; Revelation 3: 10).
The Rapture is a Pre-Tribulation event.
Business better than usual!
Now we come to the crux of the reason for this chapter’s title. The Building Economic Boom.
We’ve asked the questions: Why has the American and global economies not collapsed? –and– Why has world-devastating warfare not broken out?
It is my opinion/observation that another relevant question is in order, based upon the strange developments of our specific time in human history. It is a question that has the mainstream media and political pundits of every stripe bumfuzzled, if that’s a word.
Certainly they are perplexed! But to me, the answer to this question peculiar to our current circumstance is fairly simple.
The question: Why did Donald J. Trump win the U.S. presidential election against all odds?
To understand the answer, I’m convinced you must believe in and understand Bible prophecy. More specifically, I believe you must understand it from the pre-Tribulational, dispensational viewpoint. The Trump success, defying all odds, fits perfectly, I’m convinced, within the prophecy Jesus Christ gave in His Olivet Foretelling. The strange, unexpected, win also fits neatly within the mystery that is at the heart of the questions posed above.
Why haven’t the national and world economies collapsed? Why has global war not broken out?
Essays within the following sections of this book –those articles surrounding the time of the presidential election– dissect some of the dynamics that I think explain the Trump victory. A chief reason is that God’s people –called by His name– prayed in the manner Prescribed in 2 Chronicles 7: 14. God honored those prayers. The election results make that absolutely clear –to me, at least.
Even though those essays cover the matters involved, I want here, in this chapter, to attempt to lay out what it all means in terms of where I believe we stand as a generation on God’s Prophetic Timeline.
In that regard, it is the business as usual aspect of the days of Noah, days of Lot prophecy that I wish to explore with you. Remember that for years many economic experts have been warning of imminent collapse of the American and world financial systems. Those warnings continue, even though most are now scratching their heads in wonderment over what is preventing that collapse. Every crisis before –all of less magnitude– has resulted in a bubble burst that brought deep recession at the very least. At least one such crisis brought on world depression.
Again, few if any of these economic gurus have understanding of what Bible prophecy has to say. None of the financial experts in the secular world I know of have any idea of the pre-Trib view of things to come. Few, if any who are considered authorities on economics at that high level within the Christian world have any idea, either. –Or, if they do they haven’t expressed that knowledge.
All mainstream business news “experts” I know of don’t even address the impending economic catastrophe. They go on pontificating with their punditry as if no such crisis exists. The mystery of what’s going on with our Wile E. Coyote analogy (the American and world economies) hanging in mid-air rather than crashing into the chasm, I contend, cannot be understood apart from what Christ Foretold that day on the Mount of Olives. Likewise, neither can it be adequately explained –apart from that prophecy– why Donald Trump is now president despite all the hate-filled forces of the world arrayed against him.
Recently I heard Les Feldick, host and teacher of Through the Bible with Les Feldick, teaching the Book of Isaiah. He was comparing the nation comprised of Judah and Benjamin, which fought with the northern tribes called Israel, with America. The United States, he believed when teaching that lesson in the early years of this centry, was running in a parallel course to ancient Judah. They moved in a direction away from God, and paid the price for it. He said that he talked with someone who said that if God didn’t slow down the things that were sweeping America in the wrong direction the nation would go into total depravity. Les then said that with everything else in view –the prophetic signs of the times– there didn’t seem time enough to turn things around. The best that could be hoped for, he said, was that God would slow that movement into depravity. Considering I was listening to his words at least ten years after he gave them, I was struck by their prescience. I am convinced that this is precisely what is now happening with the strange presidential election results of 2016. It all revolves, I’m convinced, around the prophecy Jesus gave that day on the Mount of Olives about the days of Noah and of Lot. The previous administration had observably been complicit in moving America down a track directly opposite to God’s Prescribed Way for individuals and for nations. Most obvious in that regard was the fact that the previous president not only championed the gay rights movement, he went to the ultimate limit of anti-God movement. Homosexuality was officially made the equivalent of or even superior to heterosexual marriage. President Obama even had the White House bathed in the rainbow colors of the Gay Rights movement to show solidary and to honor his commitment to their depravity. It was as if the president and those he praised for their debased activity were saying that while God gave the rainbow to show He would not again Judge rebellious earth dwellers for their evil with water, they were showing their defiance. They seemed to be mocking any impending Judgment whatsoever that the God of Heaven might bring.
America was on the fast-track to total depravity. That movement certainly wasn’t halted. But it definitely seems to have been slowed. Again, this is in answer to many Christians praying the prayer at the heart of 2 Chronicles 7: 14, I have no doubt. Donald J. Trump has surrounded himself with many who appear to be born again believers in Christ. This is a welcome fact while –admittedly– the president himself often expresses himself in ways not in alignment with ideal Christian comportment. He has, however, vowed to defend the Christian Faith as once again representing that upon which America was at least partially based at its founding.
At the same time, I’m ever more convinced that this movement into total depravity was slowed purposely by Force of Heavenly Edict.
God, alone, determines when things will reach their consummation –just as Jesus told His Disciples. The end will come when God, not any of the world diplomats or others decide. He Alone Knows the end from the beginning. Call it His Prophetic Plan, or just His Foreknowledge of the future; He has put in His Word how things will be as the time of His Son’s return to planet Earth nears.
The Lord doesn’t give specific detail about how things will play out in most cases. But, in the case of Jesus’ days of Noah and days of Lot prophecy in the Olivet Discourse, I believe enough detail is given to postulate a relatively sensible possibility about prophecy likely to unfold in the near-future.
According to God’s Word, in Noah’s day… “They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage… In Lot’s day they… “…did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded…”
Business was being conducted in a more-or-less normal manner in both cases. The times seemed to be in a state of upturn, not downturn, speaking strictly of economic circumstance. As a matter-of-fact, I suggest that it was business going on much better than in normal times. Jesus, in answering the disciples about the signs of His coming again to earth gave them –and us– all the signals to look for as His return nears. He indicated that the signs of things going on would be so magnified in their reality that they would be unprecedented in violence and virulence. His Second Advent at Armageddon would prevent the destruction of all flesh. It would be far beyond normal destructiveness taking place.
In the days of Noah and of Lot prophecy of His next catastrophic Intervention into human history, the Lord likewise, I am convinced, is indicating more than normal times. His words indicate a time of business –of human activity– going on that is somewhat or even significantly elevated, economically-speaking.
There is no world-wide economic collapse –no world-wide depression as some “experts” are predicting. There is predicted here, I think, a great economic uptick at the very moment Jesus next reveals Himself to the world. It will be in a catastrophic way, but unlike His Intervention at Armageddon.
In the days that will be analogous to the days of Noah and days of Lot, His Intervention will bring judgment that will begin falling. When He returns at the end –at Armageddon– He will put an end to the Judgment and Wrath —as well as to Satan’s and Antichrist’s evil.
As stated before, the election of Donald Trump surprised everyone. He is a businessman –an entrepreneur –an economic empire-builder. God obviously –to me, at least– put Trump in the most powerful office on the planet –and despite tremendous odds.
With all the other signals of Christ’s return in place, there must be significance to the strangely profound way this election unfolded. The Lord is definitely up to something big with the election of this particular man.
Satanic forces are in a rage against the Trump presidency as the news media –wich also are against Trump’s administration– fully attest, if you have been listening and watching. I believe this is because Satan’s one-world plans have been stymied. The globalists who are desperate to build their long-awaited new world order are enraged. Yet, Trump seems oblivious to their attacks. Although Mr. Trump can’t be classified a godly man, he is most definitely God’s man for the hour.
Stock markets hit all-time highs following the Trump election. This, of course, is all on optimistic speculation. The economic bubble is at an all-time, precipitous state. All of the economic structure should burst and bring the world down to rubble, fiscally speaking. However, instead there can be sensed a growing optimism –even euphoria in some quarters– that there is building a financial boom. I believe it will happen. Rather than the bust long feared to devastate the economy, I believe we are about to see a boom in national and world-wide economies.
It is just in the middle of such a boom that I believe Christ will call the Church (all born-again believers– to be with Him. It will be at a think not time (Matthew 24: 44). It will be just like in the days of Noah and Lot!
You lost most of TBP at “Rapture Ready.” You wasted your time typing after that.
That’s fine I realized I was was only posting to a few.
Just to save you a step.
Revelation 22:18-19 King James Version (KJV)
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
No step necessary, the essay’s author isn’t adding or taking away, just giving his interpretation of scripture and as he said:
“What I will propose here will, I hope, challenge things you’ve been induced to think about the immediate, Biblically prophetic future. My neck, proverbially-speaking, is stuck out there, I guess. My proposal is on firm grounds, however, so I’m not shy about sticking my neck out in presenting these — my thoughts on what I believe to be most immediately relevant in terms of Bible prophecy about to be fulfilled.”
Maybe most, but not all.
My headscratcher, who is the man behind the curtain?
It is common knowledge that the economy is hanging by a hair and ready to fall since 2008. But somehow during the Obama administration, things have rolled along rather nicely. Then Trump happened and the world held its breath; was the man behind the curtain a deep state elite? Apparently not, the doomed economy continued right along during Trump’s presidency to today. So the mystery today is, who is the man behind the curtain? It would appear the economy will crash when and only when the man behind the curtain wills it; if you can figure out who will offer up the ultimate thumbs down you will know who controls the fate of the world.
The “man behind the curtain” is the Bank of International Settlements, behind the curtain of which are its principal stockholders and their owners.
I don’t believe the little gods of this world will have the last say.
@ not sure… that man is Hollywood Rob. ?
Kidding… we know who it is.
2 Cor 4:3-4… “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.“
Mark, you used the word”bumfuzzled”. It is a good word, and applies in spades to your analysis. You rely too much upon what is written in the book you reference. Read carefully Revelation 22: 18 and 19, and consider the implication. Think about it.
Good one DD.
Revelation 22:18-19 King James Version (KJV)
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
FWIW, Matthew 24 is a chapter where the disciples asked “when will these things come to pass?” After giving clues of what to look for, the main words from the chapter that jump out to me are “watch and pray.”
Watching implies living your life with your eyes open, observing the world around you and fellowshiping what you observe with others of like precious faith. Mark is not writing a new book of the Bible (the names already been taken), but is fellowshipping his concerns with others that together they may pray for the Lord to return, for this alone will be the answer to prayer concerning the times we are observing.
DD,
I didn’t use the word “bumfuzzled” the author did. I realize the essay’s point on the delay of the inevitable economic day of reckoning is controversial and the timing issues he believes, but as I said I don’t see the essay’s author adding or taking away from scripture, just giving “his interpretations” in line with current events.
Mark, you miss my point. If the book is the word of God, and everything depends upon the accuracy of that word, then the warning would not be necessary, for God would not allow inaccuracies in his holy word, or he would not be God.
The implication is that things will be added and things taken away. The warning itself is an obvious insertion by church authorities to very credulous followers. They remain credulous to this day.
DD,
I did miss your point, sorry…I just read an intriguing angle to explain away an economy operating way off a cliff and suspended in mid air when it should have crashed years ago, that I had never considered before.
I don’t see any relation to Revelation 22: 18 and 19.
The author said: My neck, proverbially-speaking, is stuck out there, I guess. My proposal is on firm grounds, however, so I’m not shy about sticking my neck out in presenting these — my thoughts on what I believe to be most immediately relevant in terms of Bible prophecy about to be fulfilled.
He stated his interpretations in a reverent manner. Of course he may be wrong…I just thought it was interesting and intriguing.
HAHAHAHAHA. I love a good rant from the failing geebuz contingent. God will lay down his loving hand upon the earth and all shall be healed. Or is that heeled? I can never remember. You won’t need oil when you all have wings. You can fly anywhere you want to go. And your 72 virgins, or was that grapes, will have wings too and they can fly with you. And god will smite thine enemy so none shall remain upon the heaven that is earth. All trees shall bring forth their fruit and all animals shall offer up their loins for your consumption and the joy of god.
Hang on, how is this any different from Hogwarts? How is your vision of the glorious reign of your lord and savior any different from the magical manna served to the students at that school of witchcraft and wizardry? Oh, that’s right, Hogwarts is in scotland and heaven is well, in heaven. There is that difference.
My reply to the sermon regarding being rapture ready, above, Rob.
Deleted since I shouldn’t make “requests” regarding comments.
Requests are fine. Demands not so much.
I will cease both regarding any thing you write here.
Now that’s a woman for you. You left off the FINE. I want a FINE from you.
Mark,
Look around you. Our civilization is on a slow burn collapse. High minded people are the glue that keeps civilization together. Technology is dumbing people down. Software is causing people to stop being creative and doing the brain functions we once used. Ask a CAD operator if he had the internal skills to make the drawings he does on CAD? The human mind is being mined for AI. AI is replacing the human intellect. This is a guarantee that man is going extinct if he continues on this path.
All your words are nothing but past thought patterns that make little sense to man of today.
We need a new religion. One that incorporates all we have learned from science and the many earth sciences that have informed us how man and the earth have evolved out of antiquity. What you are postulating is coming from written records of people that did not have our knowledge of the universe.
There is no savior coming to save us from ourselves. I don’t believe God made man to be saved by someone else. He sent Jesus Christ to show the way. If we don’t use the example that Christ showed us to develop his consciousness within our selves then we are doomed.
Your hakaka written above comes from ignorant notions put out from men that have misread the content in the scriptures.
Our corrupt system is indeed breaking down. It has to for the new to come in. The end and the new beginning will not happen as you have been led to think.
You need to wash all this non-sense you have presented out of your mind and start from a new perspective.
The world is not what it seems from our senses.
T,
“He sent Jesus Christ to show the way. If we don’t use the example that Christ showed us to develop his consciousness within our selves then we are doomed.”
The essay’s author is quoting Jesus. Its his prophetic interpretations in relation to scripture. He is giving his thoughts on why the economy seem suspended over a cliff in mid air but doesn’t crash. He uses OT & NT scripture to make his case.
You say: “We need a new religion.”
I’m good with the entirety of the Bible, learning every day.
Have to head out for the day.
I’m with you on the Bible but realize that this book is misunderstood by many today. Many have fallen away because of their misunderstanding and of their hubris. Many eternal truths are hidden in the words. These truths are not meant to be thrown before swine. Today’s general population are swine.
There are a number in the population that know the truth.
Just like in Noah’s time the flood has come. In Noah’s time it was water, In our time it is technology and information. Different but the same. The physical water killed the body. The mental information swarming our minds today is killing our intellect.
If one observes the many people in the general population glued to their iphones what are they really doing? They are absorbing the flood of useless information tickling their emotions; and dumbing down their intellect.
So realize that the words of the Bible are put forth in the mentality of the people of that generation; so different than of today. And while the words talk of immortal truth this truth has to be expressed today in a different format.
This is why I say we need a new religion; not different truths.
Death to immortality…projects.
But that would de-impede the conversation.
That would blow the carbon(copy life forms) off the sparkplugs.
That would get the elvi outta’ the cave & into that sunshiny vitamin d•rive:
Beware the wo\man o’ one cubookle (aka phoning it in…)…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6j_i71LABA
Truth be far, far from the madding universalitea drinkers (the original & still the best seller koolaid flavor)…write it as a slap on the knee.
Laugher curve’s the best meds, exercise, & humorous bone connects to the radius that gives pie (b’bye & otherwise) diameter for the opposable thumbs to grasp, poke plums out with. A hand with no thumb is no hand at all. ☻
Thunderbird writes… “We need a new religion.”
This one may suit you perfectly.
http://www.wayofthefuture.church/
Sorry not my cup of tea. Life is a special phenomena in the universe; it is conscious, and has the ability to expand it’s consciousness. AI is not conscious and never will be conscious. For this reason it is damned. It can not create. It can only copy and arrange what man feeds it. Those thinking otherwise are insane.
You obviously don’t understand what I am saying in my comments. You are still stuck in an outdated religion. It is not that the religion is of no use but rather the speculations that the modern man have extracted from it’s verses are only speculations.
And what value are these speculations other than making ignorant people think what manipulating men want them to think?
The Bible like the Koran came out of a different era. The words prove that.
Two big lies that have been postulated in this era is that Jesus Christ will return in his physical body to rule the world and that a rapture will happen where people will return to God in the physical body. My take of it is a Christ consciousness will return to the people of this world and the rapture will occur in the mind as a result of this Christ consciousness replacing our present material consciousness.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the way. Do you see the majority following it? Do you see our government and our rule of law following it? No.
Speculations promote fear; not love. Preaching speculations is not the way of Christ. Preaching love is. If this country followed the way of Christ we would not have the problems we have.
The religion I am taking about; needed, in this era has to include science or how else can we learn about the wonders that God has ready for us in his many mansions? Do you really think our only choices are to go to heaven and play a harp or go to hell and burn in fire? That is the thinking of a past era.
In this era the wonders of the universe are being shown to us because for the last 2000 years man’s consciousness has developed to be able to comprehend his universe in marvelous ways.
War will end on this planet. And the devices made for war will be converted to tools of science. God did not create man to fail.
The new religion would be about being obligation striving:
The first striving:
To have in our ordinary being existence everything satisfying and really necessary for our planetary body.
The second striving:
To have a constant and unflagging instinctive need for self-perfection in the sense of being.
The third striving:
The conscious striving to know ever more and more concerning the laws of world creation and world maintenance.
The fourth striving:
The striving from the beginning of our existence to pay for our arising and our individuality as quickly as possible in order afterwards to be free to lighten as much as possible to sorrow of our common father.
The fifth striving:
The striving always to assist the most rapid perfecting of other beings both those similar to oneself and those of other forms up to the degree of self individuality.
Isn’t this what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about in the new era?
“Isn’t this what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about in the new era?”
If you are referring to the “striving” as listed above, no it is not.
The gospel of Jesus Christ began to be preached by the Apostle Paul. It has not stopped or changed since then. It will be over at the translation of the church which is His body when the wrath of God will be poured out on those left behind. (There is still hope even then, though different than today.)
1 Cor 15:1-4… “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
There is no religion in the above; just faith in a scriptural fact. The last thing this world needs is more religion. Religion defined as what man can or must do to please God or assuage His anger. There is not a thing you or I can do that can compare to what Christ already did sir.
There is only acceptance of the truth that we are fallen beings; no longer in Gods image as Adam once was. That we need to be placed back into that image in order to spend eternity with God in perfection. That Christ died to accomplish exactly that as explained to Paul.
Critical initial KJB reading…
Genesis 1-3
Romans 1-8
“obligation striving” 1 – 5… what???
You preach another Jesus.
2 Cor 11:3-4… “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
You preach new age mumbo-jumbo religion. See the Georgia Guidestones. The Bible says what it says. You may choose to believe it or not. Examine before making conclusions. What it says to believers today is that there is no religion. It said very different things to different groups of people in different time periods. Salvation today is the simplest thing on earth; and, paradoxically, that’s what makes it so very difficult for so many to see.
Gal 5:1… “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
Eph 2:8-9… “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Rom 5:8… “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
He did the only thing which could satisfy a Holy, Just and Loving Creator. He paid the price we can’t possibly pay.
Religious men boast. Constantly… Saved men understand their condition and are thankful.
You write… “Preaching speculations is not the way of Christ.”
The way of Christ is found in one place only. I preach the Bible rightly divided. Not speculations.
Appreciate your post Mark! You write… “I don’t know if his take on prophecy is correct, but it is possible and overall the essay is a thought provoking and a worthy read.”
It seems as if the author has some good insight as to what’s going on, arriving at (sort of) the correct conclusions but by way of a somewhat twisted path. Les Feldick, whom the author cites as Bible teacher is what I call an Acts 2 dispensationalist. He has some good ideas, recognizes the differences between what Paul and Peter preach (a critical first step in Bible understanding), but combines the two at the end of the day. This is a problem. Allow me to address just a few things here.
He mentions 2 Chron 7:14… “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
First and foremost this statement by the Lord toward His people Israel is a conditional one. IF/Then. By this alone we know for an absolute certainty that He is not speaking to the body of Christ which exists only by His offer of free grace (free; meaning without covenant agreements) through faith in the shed blood of Christ as payment in full for sin. It is directed, as the contextual scripture will attest, to the nation Israel; the only nation with which God ever entered into covenant (if/then) agreements with.
It matters not how many or how much “Americans” pray to God to heal their land. He never made any such promise to anyone other than Israel. The “land” is Israel and the above conditional prayers are straight out of the book of Leviticus. Today’s church, the church which is His body also does not need to pray for forgiveness of sin. Sin has been forgiven (atoned for, not just temporarily remitted) NOW, at present, in this dispensation of free grace.
Rom 5:11… “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have NOW received the atonement.”
Col 2:13… “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”
A man today just needs to accept Gods gift by first realizing he is in need of it. Israels atonement (made to be At One “at-one-ment” with the Lord) is a future occurrence; Christ’s physical second coming to reclaim the earth from the usurper, satan.
Acts 3:19… “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Israel must pray for forgiveness AND forgive others to receive Gods forgiveness.
Mat 6:12… “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Mat 6:14-15… “For IF ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But IF ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
If/then covenant agreement.
Since this current atonement for believers that we possess, without the intermediary Israel in place (this dispensation of grace) was a mystery hidden in God since the beginning of the world and only revealed in due time to the Apostle Paul, Christ during His earthly ministry to Israel did not, could not have spoken about it during His earthly ministry. satan would not have had Him crucified (and we would not be freed from sins penalty) if that were so.
1 Cor 2:7-8… “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
The “rapture” therefore can not possibly be found in the Olivet discourse. Something else is being addressed there. The word “taken” contextually is killed not “raptured” as some believed Christ was who He said He was but most did not. The rapture (I don’t like that word; it’s not Biblical and is therefore used against we who believe it will occur) can only be found in Paul’s epistles. The author rightly concludes it is pre-tribulational but does not realize that Jesus is not speaking to today’s church in the scripture he uses. He is speaking to Israel to whom He was sent.
Mat 15:24… “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Rom 15:8… “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:”
The point of the article is to ask the question why has the poop not yet hit the propellers?
Since God is not dealing with nations and/or covenant agreements with people today, we should seek the answer to that question from the god of this world, satan. his plan is to usurp the rightful possessor of heaven and earth (Isaiah 14:12-14) and with mans approval, has done a masterful job convincing the world that he is in fact their god. We can see this displayed when satan attempts to tempt Jesus with all the worldly power that was given him in:
Luke 4:5-6… “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.”
Anyone who has serious power in this world has it because satan wants him/her to have it. God Himself has taken a step back from intervening physically in this world with His offer of free grace. This is why sin abounds as much as it does. God moves spiritually in the world today by saving individual sinners who come to Him, humbly admitting their need for and acceptance of His gracious gift. His body of believers then (hopefully) act accordingly. The next major PHYSICAL move of God in the world will be the “rapture” as we His ambassadors will no longer be needed to preach free grace. God will then change the program to one of judgement and war; not the message of grace and peace that was given to Paul and thus to us.
Things are the way they are in this world because satan has convinced man that he is god or that there is no God at all. Will the economy tank, will it boom continually? I have little idea. Need to get in on a Bilderberg meeting to find that out… Paul does say that “peace and safety” will be the rallying cry and we do see a lot of that. Because believers today are of the light, we have no need to worry about the “last days” as did Peter and his church. We will not be here.
1 Thes 5:1-5… “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For 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. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”
For sure, people will live, work, play, marry as the author states, until God has had enough and His 2,000 year longsuffering offer of free grace to any and all who simply believe is rescinded. Mr. Poop will then meet Mr. Propeller and satan and his upper level human minions will pray for death but not find it.
Rev 9:6… “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”
Hope this helps some. Big huge topic indeed…
grace country pastor
I said: “I don’t know if his take on prophecy is correct, but it is possible and overall the essay is a thought provoking and a worthy read.”
I should have been more clear, I meant my top comment in the context of what I said below:
“If it is true it would make sense why the “Everything Bubble” has not popped yet…why the worst of the 4th Turning has not hit as the author is right when he states:
The author: “Now, let me say that by all common sensibility –all logic, the world’s and America’s economies should have already come crashing down. The fiscal laws are presently in a state of surreal suspension. This isn’t my opinion. The dynamics of how economics work at such stratospheric levels are far above me. But some of the great thinkers in such matters say even they are dumbfounded at how things can hold together as they are doing at present.”
That point is what grabbed me about the essay…I had never considered that “Economic Rigging” angle before!
“That point is what grabbed me about the essay…I had never considered that “Economic Rigging” angle before!”
Oh, I hear you loud and clearly now!
“The author: “Now, let me say that by all common sensibility –all logic, the world’s and America’s economies should have already come crashing down. The fiscal laws are presently in a state of surreal suspension. This isn’t my opinion.”
This is so very true. As a student of scripture the “rigging” angle is the only angle which makes complete sense to me. This is all intentional, everything we see; all geared toward creating literally “one world” everything. From currency, to language, to politics to religion… all is “one” and “one” is all. That “one” who wants this is the same “one” who claims godhood in this world.
Isaiah 14:12-14… “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
he has certainly weakened all nations (peoples) to the point of utter confusion and seeming near catastrophe. he will show himself to the world from Jerusalem with displays of great “magical” power, signs and wonders waving flags of peace and safety, and the world will adore him believing he is their savior. he is exactly the opposite. he is the bringer of eternal death.
Thank God we have a present hope and a way out of this mess in Christ… 🙂
Col 2:13-15… “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
And thank you for the thoughtful post!
grace and peace…
grace country pastor
It is a huge topic…
I said: “I don’t know if his take on prophecy is correct, but it is possible and overall the essay is a thought provoking and a worthy read.”
I should have been more clear, I meant my top comment in the context of what I said below:
“If it is true it would make sense why the “Everything Bubble” has not popped yet…why the worst of the 4th Turning has not hit as the author is right when he states:
“Now, let me say that by all common sensibility –all logic, the world’s and America’s economies should have already come crashing down. The fiscal laws are presently in a state of surreal suspension. This isn’t my opinion. The dynamics of how economics work at such stratospheric levels are far above me. But some of the great thinkers in such matters say even they are dumbfounded at how things can hold together as they are doing at present.”
But thanks for the reply!
I have a nagging suspicion too about rigged elections. To control voting booth results would be a piece of cake compared to what it took to orchestrate what took place 17 years ago this month. This article sheds light on how it could be done. Thanks.
Holy cow Susie. Are you only now coming to the realization that the votes that you cast are not counted? Of course they are not counted. How else could you possibly explain how a black muslim could be elected president twice. You know that could never happen in a real democracy with real elections. So if you didn’t lose faith in your democracy ten years ago, or 18 years ago, or 26 years ago… what could it be that has finally opened your eyes. I guess you were not paying attention when the owner of Diebold said that he was going to ensure that W would win. Did you not believe what he said? Or did you hope that he was just being hyperbolic?
I don’t want to pick on you. Let’s face it, if you asked 99.9% of merkins this very day they would all say that the votes are counted. Well, of course not in the democratic primaries. There they just declare the outcome that they want. But in all the other elections it has to be true. Who would dare subvert the very bedrock underlying your concept of democracy? ((()))
I really wish Chris M would pop in to view his article here and see how it opened the door for ministry to the TBP soul.
HollywOOd, Ima Felon, so, so what? Vote? Ha! But I wanna get muh guns back…..if I could only get a pardon. And what say you as to possibility of remediation via ballot box, stuffed or not.
I hope (and change) That it is possible to effect change through the ballot box. I don’t really think that it can happen. I saw a comment on another post that lamented that you can walk into any 7/11 and use your credit card to buy a slurpy, but you can’t find a way to allow people to vote only once. Who was it who said “Here’s your sign.”
I can explain exactly how Hussein got elected twice. 8 years of George W Bush. John McCain. Mitt Romney. If the votes in Ohio were rigged, how did Trump win? And with Trump in the driver’s seat, do you think there’s going to be any monkey business next time? Don’t waste your worry on the past. We have enough in front of us to keep us busy
The system is indeed rigged. If you want to know how the world works, the real power structure and have answers to question like why don’t things ever change regardless of who is elected? You’ll find those answers in the 2 videos linked here. Hint: the govt is subserveient to the corporations which are owned by the banks which are owned by a very few. They control the world. We are the sheeple hanging on to the bottom rung of the ladder and nobody gives a shit about you and me.
Damon Vrabel s work cannot be dismissed.
Whoever thumbs down you must still be holding on to their public school indoctrination in which they were taught that nation states rule the world and corporations like the East India Trading company were subordinate to these nation states.
Fallacies abound.
Taking hordes of third worlders from their low consumption shitholes and planting them into high consumption cultures will only hasten the problems.
I agree with almost everything you are saying Chris. We live a simple rural life. My Wife and I often discuss this and we are not sure of how to help make things better. Income inequality, Corporate run government, Lobbiest writing our laws, War mongering, Education, Climate change and environmental policies that are a disaster. What we are doing to the world is a real shame. It is greed based. We have both started making comments on blogs like this one and with a call to abolish lobbiest and bring back progressive tax laws that will be a beginning to truly make America great again.
Oy. Not growth. Atrophy. The opposite of growth.
Atrophied respect for law. Which is what property rights are. Law. Not legal dispensatons. Not rites.
Tragedy of the commons: private rent extractions, externalized costs. The collective. The commune•ity. Pragmatic acquiescence, cuz that’s what most everybody else is moo’ing, too.
Oh, so reasonable. And even more risible. ‘In the long run, we are all dead.’ Between now & then, I will continue to laugh. At them, or with them, as the case may be & the chips may fall.
Yesterday (when I was young ♪♫♪) I put up Shaw’s quote about the (oh so) pedestalized family. It scales.
Weakest links of the tyranny that is the ‘family of man’ (we are all relatives) are floated up by the other weaklings in the family.
Steep-steep-steep that weak tea. Step-steep, step-steep, step-steep Sysiphus…who Camus decided must be happy. I guess ol’ Cam was right. Visits to Boulder, CO, & Bedrock, Internet, confirm-confirm-confirm.
The world is awash in sissies, licking the boots of fucked up Ahabs, & looking for Moby.
I practically lived in the woods in the 60’s, 70’s. Species shrinkage-to-decimation is real. And the reason is humanimal’s cowardly refusal to get real.