A “trigger” for the Perfect Storm ?????

This little piece of information, when added to the "Perfect Storm" scenario of the last post , could be the very thing to trigger of the world's economic meltdown……..it's a good thing we're not dependent on the "WORLD'S" economic system!

http://www.debka.com/article/20838

The 2nd Spiritual Warfare Webinar starting April 19th

I am going to be starting another 12-13 week webinar series on SPIRITUAL WARFARE FOR THE 21^ST CENTURY. If you would like to check out the testimonials from some of the current students go to the following website to see what they have to say. You can then register if you like and join in on the study starting APRIL 19^TH. All you will need is a headset or microphone & speakers hooked into your computer. This training is free of charge and you will receive a CD with all of the power point slide on it for the entire course of study……..this crucial information needs to be spread to as much of the body of Christ as possible as preparation for the difficult times ahead (2 TIMOTHY 3 & 4)

http://www.theundergrounded.org/webinars.htm

Is it “PERFECT STORM” time yet?

Take a few minutes and read this chilling article by Charles Cooper of Prewrath Resource Institute. The last line of the article is one we had all pay very close attention to!

A Perfect Storm: America's Destiny Can Turn on a Dime!

I am nervous! Someone is at work. Is it God? What about Satan? Or is it both? I do not want to

ascribe to God what Satan is doing and, most assuredly, I do not want to attribute to Satan what

God is sovereignly allowing to come to pass. But something ominous is going on. It seems that

America is being set up for a great fall.

Satan would like that because America has been a force for good in the world for more than 200

years. Many millions have come to know Jesus Christ because of the missionary efforts of this

nation over the past 100 years. The name of Jesus has been carried throughout the world due, in

part, to the high regard of many nations for America. So, I completely understand why Satan

would want to see America's role in the world greatly diminished.

On the other hand, it would surely seem that God must soon unleash the judgments that His

righteousness demands. Murderers go free on technicalities in clear violation of God's covenant

with Noah; the sin of homosexuality is legalized and protected by the courts in explicit disregard

of God's covenant with humanity; the murder of the unborn generates untold dollars for clinics

of death; men lie, cheat, and steal in the name of business, while widows and orphans are

neglected, scammed, and suffer want. Again, the President instructs the nation that marriage

between men or between women is constitutional, and it is discriminatory to think to oppose and

act against it. The list is endless. Yet many continue to claim that they not only believe in the

God who created the heavens and the earth, but that He sanctions these attitudes and actions. I

completely understand why God must – sooner or later – take action against our nation. After all,

the Bible is crystal clear: these sins are an abomination before God!

Satan has always been America's foe, but Americans have now made an enemy of God, and it is

only a matter of time before one or the other acts successfully against us. It would appear that

America is heading into a perfect storm – a storm of her own making to be sure! Slowly and

nearly imperceptibly, forces are aligning themselves in such a way that a single spark will set off

a dire chain of events that will bring great suffering upon our people. It is difficult for me to

believe that these things are happening by accident.

Allow me to make my case. First, there are over 310,000,000 people living in the United States.

Of that vast number, less than 1% claim farming as an occupation (with about 2% actually living

on farms). There are only about 960,000 persons that farm as their principal occupation, and a

like number of farmers are mainly involved in a line of work apart from farming. The number of

farms in the U.S. stands at about two million. Keep in mind that the number above does not

distinguish between those who farm to feed America and those who farm to grow corn for

ethanol production, etc. A mere 46,000 of those two million U.S. farms account for 50% of the

sales of agricultural products (USDA, 1997 Census of Agriculture data). America now imports

more food that it produces. Just one growing cycle interrupted by a significant drought or pest

infestation would produce a major crisis.

Second, while America's ability to feed its people is declining, our large cities are growing larger

and larger. There are 366 metropolitan areas in the United States with a population greater than

50,000. The top twenty areas have a combined population of just fewer than 115 million people.

Thus, one-third of America's population lives in areas where the production of food cannot

sustain the population. New York City alone could not feed itself for one week during a crisis.

Do you remember the crime rate in New Orleans just after Katrina? How long would it take for

murder in order to steal food became rampant if a major crisis hit a large urban center in

America? The concentration of 10, 15, or 20 million people in a small area, with neither the

ability to grow food nor secure it elsewhere, would lead to unparalleled crime in a very short

time. Yet, people continue to move into the big cities.

Third, cities, states, and the federal government have all but filed for bankruptcy. Yet, instead of

strongly encouraging and incentivizing the American people to buy and completely pay off their

home mortgages as soon as possible and purchase hard assets such as land, gold, and silver,

which are not ever likely to lose total value, the government prefers its own plan.

The government encourages Americans to invest our pension plans in the stock market (which,

by the way, has collapsed three times in the past!). The stock market subsequently invests those

pension plans in risky ventures like the dot.com and housing bubbles, both of which burst with

the result that millions of people have had to delay retirement. They are hoping that the market

will get back to its all-time high. Paper money has and always will have a very uncertain future,

especially as we go ever deeper into debt. With the United States presently over 14 trillion

dollars in debt, our future is more precarious today than it has ever been. Many of the same

economic conditions that preceded the 1929 collapse of the American economy are present once

again, but with one difference: America is now more than 14 trillion dollars in debt. One true

crisis with the dollar and the American economy will have nowhere to go but down. Millions and

millions will lose their hopes and dreams in a market crash. So far, we have too many people that

need to eat, too few people working to feed them, and most people's money invested in a stock

market that is artificially bloated and supported by debt.

Fourth, in the 70s, the world began to lose respect for America. Jimmy Carter's decisions to

negotiate with terrorists have emboldened our enemies. Radical fundamental Islamists are now

quite willing to use their bodies as bombs to kill and strike fear in our hearts. They think they are

succeeding in lulling Americans into the silence of passive resignation and a willingness to go

along to remain safe. Islamic extremists are now employing America's values to gain access and

set up their network for a final blow against Western democracy in America.

Al Qaeda extremists have stated and demonstrated that their ultimate goal is the destruction of

the West by any means necessary. Their hatred for us, their commitment to Islam, and their

willingness to die in order to achieve their goals suggests they are biding their time – waiting for

the perfect opportunity to hurt us severely.

Fifth, in just a few years America will have the largest elderly population in the history of the

nation. The same generation that is responsible for the death of more than 80 million abortions is

now reaching the age when to have had children is the most critical aspect of growing old. Those

unborn children were supposed to secure their parents' and their grandparents' future in their old

age. But with so few workers, Social Security cannot provide enough income to sustain the

population. Healthcare for the nation is now under serious assault. And with great numbers of

people in the senior citizens' category, many of whom living carefree lives without much

attention to taking care of themselves, and then adding a medical system that is proving itself

more and more inadequate to care for the elderly, a crisis or epidemic among the elderly would

result in the death of millions. With no money or medical help, the elderly will be on their own,

and many without children to care for them.

Sixth, the past forty years have witnessed a slow searing of the American conscience. Our youth

are trained from birth to see the killing of others as nothing more than a game. The graphics in

video games are extraordinary in their ability to make their imaginary scenarios look and feel

real. Game makers are now experimenting with adding smell to their games. Not only do they

want our young people to see events with incredible graphics so close to reality that they forget

it's a game, but they also want them to smell the gun powder, and the burning and decaying

flesh. They want the gamers to experience every possible sensation necessary so that the game is

perceived to be reality. The downside is a generation of kids that have a difficult time

distinguishing between what's real and what's make-believe. Not only do they not fear death, but

they have no qualms about killing others. A society no longer fearful of killing or being killed is

a dangerous one.

It's a perfect storm if the dollar suffers a significant weakening, and if a strategic terrorist attack

is successful against a particular American interest, and if a health epidemic among the elderly

occurs (drug resistant diseases are increasing exponentially, perhaps one more AIDS-type

epidemic), and if a significant natural disaster strikes America's food production or our ability to

import food. There are five or six more "if scenarios" that I shall not name, but if our country

experiences several of these events, a significant portion of our nation's population will suffer.

Someone is positioning the circumstances and situations of our national life like pieces on a

chessboard – to the end that America could fall with profound and lasting consequences. I do not

know what the end of all these things will be! Yet, the potential is frightening. Jesus said,

"Watch and wait." So let's become "Wait-Watchers". And may we wait and watch well!

SIGNAGE

As I have traveled all over the world one thing has always struck me, the more developed the country is the better the road signs are…….STOP, CURVE AHEAD, DO NOT PASS, YIELD, ETC. In countries like Pakistan, when you get out of the cities there is a basic mentality of "the biggest vehicle makes the rules for the road"………no road signs……..scary! That got me to thinking, what do you suppose the signage along the "narrow road" looks like;

Matthew 7:13-14
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide
is
the gate, and broad
is
the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait
is
the gate, and narrow
is
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 

I believe the very first "warning" sign was right at the beginning of the road…….it's the "Y", or "fork ahead"…..your choice! If you make the correct choice, and that's a major "IF"! It isn't too far down the way that you encounter the next sign;

 

Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

 

Now, in my estimation, the destination of "LIFE" has got to be one of the most developed places you could find……so naturally…..the road that takes you there should have an abundance of warning signs along the way. Here are just a few that I found on the "ROAD MAP";

 

BEWARE - 14 verses in the NT

TAKE HEED – 26 verses in the NT

ON THE ALERT – 15 verses in the NT

WATCH OUT – 3 verses in the NT

STAND FIRM – 8 verses in the NT

 

Now, on the contrary, the destination of "DESTRUCTION" has got about as many signs on the super highway as the rural roads in Pakistan.

 

Matthew 7:13
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

 

So, the moral of the story is…….are you one of those people that when they come to the "Y" on the road……and you choose the correct way to LIFE……..ARE YOU PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WARNING SIGNS? Have you been stopped by "LAW ENFORCEMENT" for violations along the way because you weren't paying attention to the signs? Have you tried to take a "DETOUR" off of the road that was more of a "SCENIC ROUTE"……with a lot less "SIGNAGE" to spoil the view?

 

GIVES US SOMETHING TO PONDER IN THESE "DIFFICULT" DAYS….ON THAT NARROW ROAD……WITH ALL THOSE SIGNS TO WATCH OUT FOR!

 

2 Timothy 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

Deluding Influence Part 6

The next area of focus in the "deluding influence" we will consider is; coming to an understanding of the "God sending" of this influence. It is established in scripture that God cannot sin or be part of a temptation to sin…..so how is this possible with a deluding influence that He sends upon any human being…….who is made in His likeness? I believe Jon Gill's commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2:11 gives an excellent explanation of this;

….for the efficacy of error (deluding influence) is not to be considered as a sin, of which God cannot be the author, but as a punishment for sin, and to which men are given up, and fall under the power of, because they receive not the love of the truth, which is the reason here given: and this comes to pass partly through God's denying his grace, or withholding that light and knowledge, by which error may be discovered and detected; and by taking from men the knowledge and conscience of things they had, (see Romans 1:28ff). So that they call evil good, and good evil, and do not appear to have the common sense and reason of mankind, at least do not act according to it……….

Romans 1:18-32 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

 

A very interesting side note to this are the words that Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3;

 

2 Timothy 3:1-5 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

 

It makes one wonder if God wasn't warning Timothy to avoid such men as these because of the deluding influence He was going to be sending on these unsaved individuals that would ultimately lead to judgment……..probably a good warning for us to behoove as well…….also a good reminder to make absolutely sure of your genuine (Born Again) salvation experience as well as anyone you lead to that saving knowledge.

One crucial area of PREPARATION

The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan that happened yesterday was a very good example of having a plan in case of an unexpected emergency, not that anyone could have foreseen a catastrophe of that magnitude and made any kind of preparations.

However, if you know that something is eventually coming that will have a negative impact on your daily life it is only wise to ponder it and see if there is something you can do ahead of time to lessen the impact of the negative thing.

If you know something will have a negative impact in a spiritual sense then you look in scripture for principles that will lessen that impact. One of the biggest areas that I personally see is the intense study of spiritual warfare……a very neglected area in most modern day churches. That is the main reason I have decided to start an on-going Internet based study on Spiritual Warfare for the 21^st Century, click on the following link to learn about this and register if you like;

http://www.theundergrounded.org/webinars.htm

Another area of preparation that we can look at does come from the earthquake in Japan, that is, being totally dependent on an outside source for ELECTRICITY. When you look at the number of people that really weren't in the major part of the earthquake but are still effected by not having electricity……it is staggering. Just things like 1.keeping food edible, 2. Being able to communicate with loved ones, 3. Everything in your home that uses electricity that won't work. This is overwhelming for most people who have never had to deal with this kind of thing.

In looking at this one thing personally, and pondering it a bit, we have decided to consider having to live as if we were camping somewhere where there is no electrical hookups. We have purchased items that work off of 12 volts, have bought an extra deep cycle battery with a solar panel for charging them when we don't have electricity, we bought a 12 volt ice chest to keep food cold after you cook it on a butane gas stove, we purchased a 12 volt to 110 volt AC inverter so we can charge our computers and cell phones………just a few things like this will help tremendously in times of crisis.

Now for Christian persecution preparation, you need to add in the whole idea of making sure your neighbors are truly born again as you so you can work together during a crisis instead of having to defend what you have from your neighbor……who could be your worst nightmare depending on his or her spiritual condition.

This is just one area of preparation to consider. In the days ahead I will try to highlight several others so we can honestly say that we have done all…….and then stand firm in the Truth.

DELUDING INFLUENCE Part 5

I believe we have pretty much established who are going to be the "deluded ones", now we will switch our attention to "when" this deluding influence is scheduled to take place (everything is on God's schedule, you know).

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (Emphasis added)

Well…….that was pretty simple. Paul is reassuring the church at Thessalonica that the rapture hadn't taken place yet……..and they had missed it. However, he establishes two very important FACTS here that were both for the Thessalonian believers and all true believers down through history……right up to today. The first fact is that Paul fully expected them to "not be quickly shaken". This tells me that he was absolutely assured of their real & genuine salvation (as we spoke of in the past 4 posts)……..the enemy (a spirit) doesn't waste his time on those who are not genuinely "born again"! He focuses his attention on those who have the ability to impart the gift of reconciliation to those who need it desperately……..remember, he does not want his kingdom to shrink any further than it already has….and time is getting short for him.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

The second FACT
is probably one of the most important ones for all true believers, especially in today's heightened spiritual climate. He unequivocally establishes that the rapture (gathering together to Him), and, the unmistakable biblical phrase (the day of the Lord) are one in the same……at the same time. In coming to an understanding of how our enemy works it is really easy to see how he has quickly shaken some of us from our composure over this whole issue of the rapture of the church. It really is a classic attack that he has used down through history on believers. It's not "divide & conquer"……..it's "divide & confuse"…….once you have confusion you spend endless hours in debate and argument of your point…….and less and less time in IMPARTING TO THE LOST THE GIFT OF RECONCILLIATION.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

The prophet PAUL has told us that He is not coming back until the apostasy takes place first and the man of sin is revealed! Let's really attempt to stay on target here and truly believe what has been written down here by God's Holy Spirit……..GO AND SHARE THE GIFT THAT HAS BEEN IMPARTED TO YOU………Hmmmm, where have we heard this before?