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| PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines |
HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY
- Egyptian FM sparks uproar by saying Israel not guilty of 'terrorism'
- Poll: Israeli Jews fear Palestinians, reject plan for PA state
- Jerusalem: Netanyahu, Abbas don't need aides to 'prepare' meeting between them
- Turkey slams Israeli strikes in Gaza despite reconciliation
- With 50 raids in 2 hours, has Liberman begun to implement his new security plan?
- Hamas blames Israel for Gaza escalation
- Hezbollah Threatens to Invade Israel, Destroy Jewish State
- France: Assailant shouts 'Allahu akbar,' stabs Jewish man in street
- State Department issues updated travel warning for Iran
- State Dept Warns: Iran Seeking to Capture U.S. Citizens
- US officials: Up to 100,000 Iran-backed fighters now in Iraq
- Iran says Russian use of air base for Syria strikes over "for now"
- Russia 'showed-off' over use of Iran airbase for Syria strikes
- Iraq stops would-be child bomber for ISIS
- Clashes on Turkey-Syria border after vow to 'cleanse area of Isis'
- UN warns Syria has become 'greatest crisis of our time'
- US says 100 troops deployed to troubled south Afghan city
- Knife-Wielding Woman Wounds 3 in Belgian Capital
- The Latest: Turkey says EU not keeping migrant deal pledges
- Reinforce border fence with pigs' heads to better repel refugees, Hungarian MEP proposes
- Southern Command Warns Sunni Extremists Infiltrating From South
- Men chant 'Black lives matter' before viciously attacking white victims, police say
- 'White Lives Matter' Protesters Rally at NAACP Building in Texas
- State: Nearly 15,000 New Clinton Emails Found in FBI Probe
- Colin Powell says Clinton officials trying to 'pin' email scandal on him
- Congressman Says Some of Clinton Emails 'Classified' Simply to Avoid Embarrassment
- Rudy Giuliani says Hillary Clinton has a secret illness. His supposed proof? Online videos.
- New York Times Tech Columnist Calls on Google to Hide Hillary Health Info
- Our World: Soros's campaign of global chaos
- Leaked Doc: Soros Open Society Seeks to Reshape Census, Electoral Districts
- Bill Gates's Net Worth Hits $90 Billion: Chart
- Ventotene summit to chart roadmap for EU's response to Brexit vote
- 'Assange kill attempt'? Unknown man climbs Ecuador's London embassy, sheltering WikiLeaks chief
- Evidence points to another Snowden at the NSA
- Man Who Leaked CERN Sacrifice Found Dead
- US 'Deeply Concerned' Over Philippines Drug Crackdown as Extrajudicial Deaths Mount
- North Korea threatens nuclear strike amid US-South Korea drill
- 5.6 magnitude earthquake hits near Izu Islands, Japan region
- 5.3 magnitude earthquake hits near Ishinomaki, Japan
- 5.1 magnitude earthquake hits the South Georgia Island region
- 5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Nikol'skoye, Russia
- 5.0 magnitude earthquake hits the South Georgia Island region
- 5.0 magnitude earthquake hits near Visokoi Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- Klyuchevskoy volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 20,000ft
- Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 16,500ft
- Sinabung volcano in Indonesia erupts to 13,000ft
- Sheveluch volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 12,000ft
- Hundreds of flights cancelled as typhoon hits Tokyo
- Fiona is holding as tropical depression in the Atlantic
- Seventh tropical depression of 2016 Atlantic hurricane season forms
- Louisiana Flood Victims Unaware They Live in a Flood Zone
- At least 40 dead as floods hit central, eastern India
- 'Unprecedented': Deadly parasite kills thousands of fish, prompts Yellowstone river closure
- Teenagers struck by depression 'epidemic'
- Hundreds Of CA Children Sent Home On First Day Of School Due To New Vaccination Law
- Aborted Babies Reportedly Cut Open while Still Alive
- Judge blocks Obama administration directive on transgender facilities use
- Your Facebook photos could be betraying important biometric data
- Goodbye Rio, hello robots: Expect high-tech cool at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
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| PROPHECY UPDATE NEWSLETTER STAY INFORMED, GET EQUIPPED, BE ENCOURAGED Pre-Millennium - Pre-Tribulation - PrePARED *If you missed an issue or did not receive your daily copy - All Newsletters are archived at: http://www.prophecyupdate.com/newsletter-archives.html |
It is 0'Dark Thirty, and we have just slipped into this undisclosed airbase within the enemy's territory, under the cover of darkness, with our jumbo jet's exterior lights turned off to try to elude the bad guy's detection. This airfield in Afghanistan is a beehive of activity, as is usual, when we fly in to drop off needed hardware and supplies. The early morning hours and the blackness of night makes no difference to the combatants waging the war, nor to those engaged in fighting off their advances.
F-16s go thundering down the runway, with a deafening roar of their engines ripping open the quietness of the still air, while their afterburners cut a swath of bright light through the thick dark of the early morning. Unmanned drones are taking off and landing repeatedly during our three to four hours on the ground, in their attempts to pinpoint the position of the extremists out in the surrounding mountainous terrain.
Helicopters are constantly on the move, coming in and going away from the base, flying personnel and equipment to remote locations. Aerostats are tethered 1500 feet above the airfield, collecting data, using cameras and sensors, to feed information back to the base about the local weather and unusual activity being sensed in the surrounding region. Even the base's anti-rocket and mortar defenses are continuously in a state of readiness to shoot down anything that poses a threat to the base and its inhabitants.
But in spite of all the hardware that is on this base to fight the bad guys, and all the efforts of those involved, all the training that has gone on, all the sorties being flown, and all the money being spent to try to thwart the enemy's advances-I'm left wondering after departing these bases whether or not we are making any difference at all there or even globally to stem the onrushing tide of terror and violence. Are we even making a dent? Are we slowing down the enemy and his encroachments?
The same line of questioning and wondering can be applied in the spiritual sense also. It is 0'Dark Thirty in the Church Age and to the build-up to the soon arrival of the oncoming darkness of the Tribulation period. The enemy is waging an unrelenting war in the battle for souls. He has honed his craft of deception over the centuries and is pulling out all the stops to influence, coerce, entrap, deceive and mislead millions into a Christ-less eternity.
Is the Church-the Body of all believers in Christ-even making a dent in the advancement and encroachment of the evil enveloping the world? Have some of its troops, as it were, gone AWOL and are sitting on the sidelines as the enemy's forces gain more ground and establish strongholds in all theaters of operation?
As Christians, we are soldiers for Christ. We have been commissioned to advance the gospel of Christ and to make disciples in all nations:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:19).
We have an enemy who doesn't, of course, want this kind of activity to prosper. In fact, he wants the opposite. He knows that he is a defeated foe and that he will wind up in the lake of fire. His main driving force, in the time that he has left before his date with destiny, is to thwart God's ambitions for Man and the gospel of Christ, and to take as many of God's creation with him to this horrific and eternal abode.
We are fighting in his territory; we are behind enemy lines in all regions of the globe. He has been described as the "god of this world":
"Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
His title deed to the planet was acquired through obfuscation, when he conned the first of God's created beings known as man, with the first of his deceiving tactics to be used on these new creatures. He has had centuries to perfect his craft in beguiling humanity and to wreak havoc across the globe. Millions have fallen prey to his devices, and in these end times, he has ratcheted up his fervor to snuff out the light of Christ's saving gospel.
We can plainly see, throughout the world, the devastation he is leaving in his wake; it will only get worse, much worse, with the onset of the final seven years before the return of Christ to the earth. He has his minions, a demonic force-up to a third of the angels followed Lucifer's rebellion to God-positioned at key points globally, to carry out their master's plan. They fight an unconventional style warfare, using deception and spiritual wickedness:
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).
They don't tire; they don't seek a truce; don't call for a peace treaty; are not interested in drawing up demilitarized zones of no conflict; nor any other device normally used during periods of conventional battles. Theirs is an all-out war with the aim of destroying as many souls as they can possibly achieve. They take no prisoners in the usual sense, except for to gather as many humans as possible and to have them imprisoned in the same final abode that they will ultimately find themselves existing.
For the Christians, who have been blood bought by the cross of Christ, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, but have a huge target on our backs to warrant special attention by these enemy forces. They don't want us to draw nearer to the Lord, nor especially carry out the Great Commission in winning souls to Christ. We can't move about stealthily in this endeavor; they know what we are up to and try to impede us at every step. Spiritual landmines and improvised explosive devices are ever laid before us in an attempt to stop us in our tracks from spreading forth the gospel.
Unlike rocket propelled grenades and stinger missiles, the enemy of our souls uses "fiery darts" to dissuade us and cripple our service to the Lord. These darts include deception, discouragement, illness, troubles and whatever else the enemy can find in his quiver to trip us up and to keep us out of the battle for winning souls and increasing Christ's kingdom. Although unseen when fired, these darts have been extremely effective and have caused many casualties. The enemy knows exactly when to deploy them and they never miss their mark. How we react to these weapons of warfare, though, determine how successful we will be in carrying out our orders.
The Bible talks about what kind of countermeasures we can implement in this never ending battle, or at least on this side of eternity. Ephesians 6 details the contents of our "mobility bags" (a military term for a bag that carried items for wear and other essentials needed at a moment's notice for a rapid, unannounced deployment) necessary for an effective defense against the enemy's onslaught:
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." (Ephesians 6:10-18)
How well we wield these provisions of the Lord to fight off the enemy's attacks will determine how effective we are in our service to Jesus. Many have used those countermeasures wisely and have influenced many souls to accept Christ and His gospel for their salvation. Others, maybe not so much and fell by the wayside, suffering crippling blows and were rendered less effective in the battle, or got out altogether.
For the students of Bible prophecy, we can see and sense that the end is near for this parenthetical period of the Church Age, and know that Daniel's prophesied last seven years of Tribulation will soon be upon us. Which means, the Rapture of Christ's Church is extremely near. The hour is very late; it won't be long at all until our mission is complete. The Church Age will have concluded.
How well have we done? How well are we doing?
Looking around at the landscape, we see evil advancing in every quarter. Every facet of society and every corner of the globe seems to be inundated with mayhem and chaos. Confusion reigns in the halls of government; corrupt politicians have replaced strong leaders. Climate Change, in political correct speak, we are being told, presents a greater danger than Islamic Extremism.
America, where a large percentage of the population claim to be Christian, placed a relatively unknown person in the White House, reelected him, and has suffered for the change that he promised to bring about. The further moral decline of the nation has been his legacy, complete with the promotion of homosexual and transgender rights, along with instances of race-baiting from him and his administration, and his seemingly never-ending support for all things Islamic. And this from a guy who also claims to be Christian.
You would think that the larger population of those who identify themselves as Christians would have a louder, and more effective voice in derailing the aims and ambitions of the small minority who have negatively influenced the law of the land.
The strong position and a force for good in the world that America once had is waning due to the policies of the current regime in power, and is instead being methodically weakened to move in lockstep to the whims of those who seek a globalist agenda. An agenda to take away sovereignty from individual nations. For those of us who love this country, this erosion of this country is sickening to observe. Clearly, the enemy is getting his agenda accomplished in America.
Churches that once held true to biblical teachings are falling into apostasy, and leading their flocks away from scriptural truth to adopt teachings that conflict with the Holy Word of God. Prosperity gospels, emergent movements and other errors have replaced the gospel that Christ and His apostles taught, spread and died for. Mainline churches are also finding themselves being lured along the ecumenical road to Rome, accepting and being coerced by Roman Catholicism as a legitimate form of Christianity; and nothing could be further from the truth.
Roman Catholicism has to be Satan's masterpiece in his counterfeit offering of Christianity. Many who would identify themselves as a Christian have been deceived into believing that theirs is the true church of Christ. And yet, once sound Christian denominations are being enticed to "Go Home to Rome" in the Pope's ecumenical drive to bring all under their control. How has the influence of true Christians during this Church Age not hampered or slowed down this development?
The enemy has also used his other false religion of Islam to wreak havoc throughout the world. He has become very adept at using religion to deceive millions; it has to be his favorite form of deception! We all know about the destruction and the killing of innocents that this religion has wrought, and yet, we are told by the Western world leaders that Islam is a religion of peace. Has the Christian influence stemmed the tide at all of this slow moving tsunami? It doesn't appear to be so.
The list could go on and on about the advancements being made by Satan's forces. The world's condition is deplorable and looking bleaker by the day. We can't fathom how utterly horrible life will become once the Tribulation period is underway-but we are now seeing glimpses of what must lie ahead.
Presently, the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is still indwelling the Body of Christ-the Church, and is holding back the all-out-evil that will arise during the final seven years before Christ returns. But with each passing day we become even more cognizant of the evil that has replaced good.
The enemy is out there; he is lurking. He is seeking to devour:
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter5:8).
Be on guard. equip yourself with the whole armor of God. Our role is to advance the gospel, not to save the planet. While I don't like seeing what is happening in the world and especially here in America, we also know that this is not our final home and that our mission is to carry out the commission Christ has tasked us with in bringing people into His Kingdom.
The world is imploding and exploding all around us, and while it can be disheartening to observe, we know that the condition of life and of the world will only worsen as the Tribulation hour draws near. And when it does occur, you don't want to be here.
In spite of the worsening condition of life on this planet and the apparent lateness of the hour, with the short time we have left before that call of "Come Up Hither", the Church needs to remain focused and win as many souls to Christ by the spreading of His gospel. Now is not the time for some R&R. A lot of unknowing people are going to be thrust headlong into a seven-year period that even Christ said, if it were not cut short, even the very elect would perish.
Millions saved during that time, but life as we know it, will become extremely difficult-unparalleled since the foundation of the world. Those who become Christians during those dark days will be martyred for their faith. A global holocaust will ensue, to exterminate all those who refuse the mark of the beast.
We must be about the Father's business. We have to be a part of Christ's commission. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can rescue souls from the clutches of the enemy.
The enemy and his forces are out there; we can't elude their detection. Part of the armor of God didn't include a cloak of invisibility. Those who remain in the battle for souls have been targeted and are squarely in the crosshairs. They're not using night vision goggles to watch us, nor infrared sensors to check our every movement.
They are furious with our attempts to save souls for Christ, and if you are actively engaged in the soul-saving operation, chances are extremely high that you will come under attack. Anything and everything at their disposal will be used to sideline your effectiveness.
But, we have the Lord on our side and He is ready to fight our battles for us. We can stay strong in the Lord and there are no chinks in His armor, if we implement them properly. There are still 2/3s of the angelic force left who remained loyal to God after Lucifer's rebellion, and I'm no math major, but that is a higher number than those who chose to side with the enemy of our souls.
We also have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to comfort us, guide us and seal us until the day of redemption. I'd say those are pretty good odds that we can withstand the evil in the present day. We may get harassed and bruised during the battle, but our victory and outcome are secure.
Let us stay involved until that trumpet blasts. It won't be very much longer. End time signs are swirling about us. The Gog/Magog coalition is already in view. All nations, including America, are turning their backs on Israel. Even mainline Christian churches are distancing themselves from the Jewish people through divestments and boycotts.
Apostasy is fully underway, and a harlot church is coalescing before our eyes, seeking new members to join her. Nations are paving the path for the Antichrist, and it is only a matter of time before he rears his ugly head.
Do all for the glory of Christ.
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"Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel." Genesis 49:7 (The Israel Bible™)
Hamas on Sunday threatened to abduct Israeli soldiers, showcasing two "prison cells" built especially for future Israeli captives.
The Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, held a rally in Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday, honoring three senior operatives, Muhammad Abu Shamalah, Raed al-Attar and Muhammad Barhoum, killed during Operation Protective Edge waged in the summer of 2014.
Hundreds of armed Hamas terrorists participated in the rally, where weapons and rockets were put on display, as were the jail cells. Both "cells" included Hebrew writing indicating they were intended "for enemy prisoners."
"The siege will not prevent our brigades from developing their abilities," Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida remarked, referring to a blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel. "It [the siege] will not help the current calm continue. Whoever awakens our wrath will unleash a volcano."
The brigades and the resistance, he said, are prepared to protect the Palestinian people.
Abu Obeida criticized Israel's treatment of Palestinian prisoners and promised Hamas-held Israeli prisoners will be treated in the same manner. "We will continue our struggle until we are victorious," he declared.
He reiterated the brigade's solidarity with "soldiers of the resistance," families of terrorists, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa mosque.
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An Iran poll survey suggests that the former president now trails incumbent Hassan Rouhani by just eight percentage points in a head-to-head match-up, compared with 27 points in May 2015.
It is clear that Iran's former firebrand-in-chief Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president from 2005-2013, is attempting a political comeback.
First were the well-timed media profiles of visitors making the pilgrimage to his home in Tehran's Narmak neighborhood seeking favors; next, the Iranian press accounts of Ahmadinejad's opportunistic trips to Iran's provinces; then rumors from spokespeople that he intends to run for the presidency in 2017; and now a public letter to the president of the United States seeking the repatriation of $2 billion of assets frozen in the US.
But will all of these efforts and publicity help him succeed in reclaiming the presidency, and winning the mandate of the Islamic Republic's hardliners?
An Iran poll survey suggests that the former president now trails incumbent Hassan Rouhani by just eight percentage points in a head-to-head match-up, compared with 27 points in May 2015. But the numbers don't tell the whole story - indeed, Ahmadinejad faces an uphill battle in regaining the regime imprimatur due to heavy political baggage.
Ahmadinejad was the Supreme Leader's darling when he began his reign in 2005. It is believed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei quietly supported Ahmadinejad while his influential son Mojtaba openly endorsed him in 2005, all in the midst of a run-off between Ahmadinejad's campaign and that of the moderate former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
But as early as 2008, the bloom was beginning to come off the rose, with reports circulating that Khamenei was disappointed with Ahmadinejad's economic policies, which "had led to steep inflation in basic necessities, from food to property values."
Then came his hotly contested reelection in 2009, which saw the Supreme Leader publicly bless Ahmadinejad's purported victory during a dispute between his camp and that of his challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. But at the same time, the cracks in the relationship continued to grow, with the Supreme Leader having to publicly chastise Ahmadinejad for his accusations of corruption against his opponents during live televised debates, saying "[o]ne doesn't like to see a nominee, for the sake of proving himself, seeking to negate somebody else."
Ahmadinejad soon fell even deeper out of favor. In 2011 he fired his intelligence minister, accusing him of being a spy who disseminated information to the Supreme Leader on his chief of staff - and preferred successor - Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. This led to Khamenei having to reinstate the intelligence chief, prompting Ahmadinejad to begin his "great sulk" - not appearing in public or participating in cabinet meetings for two weeks.
The mullahcracy in Tehran long had its eye on Mashaei, whom it suspected of attempting to undermine their religious authority.
Throughout the rest of his presidency, a fifth clerical column routinely targeted Ahmadinejad's allies - in 2011 he saw at least 25 lieutenants arrested and accused of "black magic." According to media reports, one arrested supporter was dubbed by a conservative daily as a "man with special skills in metaphysics and connections with unknown worlds" and was "accused of summoning a genie, who caused his interrogator to have a heart attack."
By the 2013 presidential campaign season, the former president was considered damaged goods. In a final political rebuke, rumors ran rampant in Tehran that Ahmadinejad would face 74 lashes or six months in jail after he illegally accompanied Mashaei to register as a candidate. In the end his loyal confidante Mashaei was barred from running for the presidency.
Even after Ahmadinejad left office his record continued to haunt the halls of power in Tehran.
His first vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, was sentenced to five years in prison and forced to pay a $300,000 fine on undisclosed embezzlement charges; Hamid Baqaei, Ahmadinejad's vice president for executive affairs, was arrested in 2015 on unspecified grounds; his ally and billionaire Babak Zanjani was sentenced to death for fraud and economic crimes in profiting off of sanctions imposed on Iran; current regime officials have called for Ahmadinejad himself to stand trial for mismanagement of the country; and the most recent "pay slip-gate" furor over the inflated salaries of the heads of state-owned companies seems to have begun during his reign.
Finally, let's not forget the power of the Guardian Council. There is a precedent for a former president being prohibited from running for the presidency again: in 2013, the Guardian Council thwarted former president Rafsanjani's ambitions for a third term, suggesting that Rafsanjani was too old. His battles - like Ahmadinejad's - with the Supreme Leader have become legendary.
Ahmadinejad could find himself sharing a similar fate.
So, while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is once again entering the political limelight, his record and reputation precede him. His list of enemies is long, but will memories of his reign be short with the lack of economic improvement in the aftermath of the Rouhani administration's nuclear deal? Only time will tell.
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Monday, Aug. 22, just a week after the Russian defense ministry proudly released images of the first Russian bombardments in Syria to be launched from Nojeh airbase, which Tehran had granted Moscow near the Iranian town of Hamedan, the Iranian defense ministry snatched the concession back in a public rebuff for Moscow.
The Russians had presented its Iranian acquisition as the twin of the air base granted by Syria at Kmeimim near Latakia.
However, the Iranian defense ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi announced baldly on Monday that the Russian mission "is finished for now." He added that the Russian air strikes in Syria were "temporary, based on a Russian request;" they were carried out with "mutual understanding and with Iran's permission" and that the Russian mission "is finished, for now."
Iranian sources claimed that this stinging slap to the Kremlin was prompted by mounting Iranian popular and parliamentary criticism, on the grounds that permission to a foreign power to use an Iranian base for the first time since World War II violated Article 146 of the Islamic Republic's constitution.
Attempts by Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and other regime officials to explain that the Russians had not been given an air base in Iran, only permission to use it to support the war Bashar Assad was waging against terrorists, an interest shared by Iran, fell on deaf ears.
A public outcry on this scale against any steps taken the ayatollahs' regime is unusual enough to warrant exploration to uncover the hand behind it and its motives. This is all the more pressing in view of the stunning impact of the abrupt Iranian curtailment of the Russian air base venture after no more than three sorties were waged against Syrian targets: Stopped in its tracks for now - even before takeoff - is Vladimir Putin's effort to promote his grand plan for a new and powerful Russian-Iranian-Turkish-Iraqi-Syrian pact.
The only figure in Tehran capable of raising such a public firestorm with the clout for thwarting the Russian president is supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, debkafile's Iranian sources report.
In handling the air base issue, Putin made the same mistake as US President Barack Obama. Both assumed that getting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's cooperation and sensitive diplomatic prodding would eventually win the supreme leader over.
Rouhani had hoped that by extending permission to Iran's friend Putin for the use of the Nojeh base for air strikes against Syria, he would recover some of the standing he forfeited in Tehran by signing off on the international nuclear accord in 2015.
He took a chance when, on Aug. 16, he summoned the national supreme military council and, without prior consultation with Khamenei, announced the decision to make the Nojeh air base available to the Russian air force. This was a serious miscalculation.
The supreme leader was further incensed by the exclusive report published by DEBKA file that day that Russian air freighters were on their way to the Hamedan base with advanced S-300 and S-400 air defense missiles for guarding the site and the Tupolev-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers deployed there.
Khamenei interpreted this to mean that the Russians were already acting to commandeer the airspace over the base deep inside Iran.
Not content with the brush-off administered to Moscow by his spokesman, Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan chided Moscow crudely for "showing off" over the air base in an "ungentlemanly manner" and a "betrayal of trust."
He said: "We have not given any military base to the Russians and they are not here to stay."
Realizing he was in hot water, the Iranian president tried to save face.
He arranged to be photographed for state media over the weekend, alongside the Bavar-373 missile defense system, declaring that having developed this system at home, Tehran can defend itself without recourse to the Russian high-altitude, long-range S-300s, because the Bavar-373 was just as good.
debkafile's military sources refute this claim. Indeed, the system on display which is based on Chinese technology is not operational.
However, the display did not save either Rouhani or Putin from Khamenei's ire. Nojeh was shut down, a message the Iranian defense ministry spokesman underlined when he said Monday: Russia "has no base in Iran."
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We are not endorsing extreme prepping, but we do believe that we should always be prepared! We believe that the Bible teaches that the Church will be removed before the Tribulation begins! We also believe that until that day, we are not exempt from difficult times, and will experience times of trials and tribulations. We never know when our lives might be disrupted by an earthquake, flood, tornado, hurricane, power outage, or any other number of natural disasters, or even in these times, an act of terror!
As an Eagle Scout and a former scoutmaster, the Boy Scout motto of "Be Prepared," has never been more important than in these times in which we live. We believe that every family should be prepared, and have at least a good first-aid kit, food and water for three or four weeks, and other basic supplies necessary for any emergency or disruption that we might incur. We have affiliated ourselves with some of the biggest vendors in the industry to provide you the best preparedness supplies. Please use the link below, thank you!!!
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The Rapture is in the Air - Preview
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New DVD - Now Shipping! -
The Rapture is in the Air
This exciting new DVD covers why, we believe that the Rapture will happen before the Tribulation and that the Church will not go through the Tribulation. Never before has the pre-trib Rapture view been under such attack as it has been in the last few years. Attackers and naysayers of the pre-trib Rapture have become downright hateful in their attempt to mock and disavow the pre-trib Rapture. Surprisingly much of this hatred, is coming from within the Church itself!
In this DVD, we will show why we believe that the Bible teaches that the Tribulation cannot even start until the Church has been removed. We will also explain what God's wrath is and to whom it is directed at, who's who in the Tribulation, the identity of the Restrainer, and the doctrine of Imminence. All this, and much, much, more!
"The Rapture is in the Air," is based on the recent article written by Pete Garcia of the Omega Letter -
www.omegaletter.com Pete was kind and generous enough to give us permission to do a DVD based on his article.
To order your copy or copies, please visit our store, thank you!
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My Review of "Rapture Ready...Or Not?"
Over the last 35 years, I have literally read hundreds of books on Bible Prophecy and End Time signs. I especially enjoy books on the Rapture, and I have read almost every Rapture-related book published. In all those years, devouring thousands of pages, and millions of words, I have not read a better book on the Rapture than, Rapture Ready...Or Not?
Terry James might be physically blind, but he is spiritually sharp and well discerning beyond most authors. In "Rapture Ready...Or Not?" Terry has nailed the pre-trib Rapture, and removed any doubt what so ever about the Church going through the Tribulation. With great insight and Godly discernment, Terry explains with simple, yet profound words, why and how that he has come to believe the ways he does about the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the End Times scenario. I think after reading "Rapture Ready...Or Not?" you too will believe as Terry does, and be Ready for the Rapture like never before! - Randy Thomas - Publisher / Editor - Prophecy Update
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In writing last week's "Nearing Midnight" column, I expounded a bit on the all-out assault on national sovereignty. I thought I was through. I'm not. The gist was that this end-times attack can be seen in all its vehemence while the entire mainstream media and even Republican establishment leaders in many cases are waging all-out war on Donald Trump's candidacy.
Trump presents his political case as "America First." He claims to want to reestablish America's autonomy in the area of global trade--a thing that has set off a frothing-at-the-mouth rage by the globalist-elites. No matter any other invective they throw at him, Trump's nationalistic campaigning, wanting to keep America as the leader of the world's nations, thwarting their globalist agenda, is the real reason for the rage, make no mistake.
There is no longer any pretense of equal coverage of the candidates. Rather than question both candidates on the issues, the mainstream news journalists (no longer an accurate nomenclature for this mob) don't question Mrs. Clinton at all and hang on every word from the mouth of Trump. There ravenous desire is not to find out what his hopes for making America great again is all about, but to take anything he says and either blow it out of all proportion or make up lies about what he says out of whole cloth.
Well...maybe not always exactly out of whole cloth, but certainly to take his audaciousness and turn it, through twisting and fabrication, into what they hope will continue to widen the margins in the polls in favor of their own political ideology and chosen candidate--an ideology that is in complete synchronization with that of the Democrat Party--in my humble estimation.
The mainstream news organization is a global conglomerate as never before. They view America as the hold-up to the utopian dream. If all nations are forced to be more equal in material wealth--all peoples equal in personal wealth--the world will live at peace. It didn't work with Stalin's Soviet Union or with Mao's China. It's not working anywhere in the world at present--e.g., Venezuela, Cuba, and any other place it's being tried. But, somehow, if America gives up its wealth in some sort of insane redistribution scheme this time it will work, so the reprobate thinking goes.
Thus, globalism is the ideology, philosophy, and theology all rolled up into one ball of upside-down thinking that will in the minds of the one-world order types bring peace, prosperity, and love for all mankind.
We have witnessed the scheme being implemented to an incremental degree over the past seven and three-quarters years. Even before the Obama administration, the scheme was underway, as a matter of fact.
The James Bakers of this new world cabal, it must be truthfully noted, are no different in their pursuit of bringing America down than are the George Soros types. They are all simply at the opposite ends of the geopolitical spectrum, and rather than that spectrum being linear, it forms a circle, with the left meeting the right to close what will be a planetary dictatorship at some point.
Put a cross-hair symbolically over that circle, and it is all of us who are at the center of that bull's eye. We are to be encapsulated within that circle of power.
The circle is quickly closing. This election of the next American president will likely determine just how quickly and completely that geopolitical spectrum-corral is in place.
Ours is not a political website. We are about eschatology--the study of end things from the perspective of Bible prophecy. So what I have written here is all examined after prayer and much study about what God's Word has to say about things to come. We are particularly interested for the moment, of course, in what might be about to come to pass in terms of the immediate future.
We know beyond any doubt within our own prayer and study that what we are seeing is the attempted closing of that one-world circle--the structure that will be the stage setting for the coming king of fierce countenance. We are witnessing the rapid advancement of the neo-Tower of Babel being constructed, the platform from which Antichrist will, for a time, be allowed to subject most of the planet.
I find it rather ironic that the one question I and other speakers often get at forums where we interview or speak is: "What about America? Is it in Bible prophecy?" Or: "Why isn't America in Bible prophecy?"
I find it ironic because we have no real answer as to why America, the most grandiose and powerful nation-state of all of history, is given no mention, while other smaller places--like Libya--are mentioned. Yet, we, in my opinion, now find ourselves at a moment in history when the American electorate has at its fingertips when entering the voting booths the ability to determine whether, in fact, this circle of global gulag will be sooner rather than later closed.
That global, imprisoning circle will ultimately be closed. There's no doubt about it. The Lord has long ago reported it's closing. But, I sense it doesn't have to be closed just yet. I believe the American electorate might just be able to have an effect on its timing so far as its closing into a lock-down position is concerned--to delay it for a time later rather than sooner.
I view this matter under the rubric of 2 Chronicles 7:14. God's people hold the key to slowing the onslaught of the Antichrist regime that is reaching out for the throats of the peoples of the world--particularly for the throats of all Christians. The Holy Spirit is still the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. He is resident within each believer, those who constitute the church of Jesus Christ.
We must, as God's people, humble ourselves and pray, turn from our wicked ways, and seek His face. And, I believe that we must vote in the right way in this presidential election, perhaps one of the last opportunities we might have to do so.
The rider on the white horse of Revelation chapter 6 is preparing to gallop. Rapture Ready...or not the time is coming when God's children will be called into Christ's presence. It is time to be about doing our earthly duty, while looking up.
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In 1960, the city of Detroit was the greatest manufacturing city that the world had ever seen. Nearly two million people lived there, and it had the highest per capita income in the United States. That may be hard to believe, because today it actually has one of the lowest per capita incomes of all of our major cities. Over the decades more than a million people have left the city, and thousands of abandoned homes have been torn down. But there are still tens of thousands of abandoned dwellings that remain standing, and some have sold for as little as one dollar in recent years. Once Detroit was the envy of the entire planet, but now it has become a global joke and in other countries they love to do news stories about "the ruins of Detroit" to show how rapidly America is rotting and decaying. Sadly, Detroit is far from alone, because there are other formerly great manufacturing cities that have declined just as fast as Detroit has.
Earlier today, I came across a video that contains footage that someone recently captured as they drove through the city of Detroit at night. To say that the footage is disturbing would be a tremendous understatement...
It has become known as a mecca of violent crime and poverty, and now a viral video is giving an unpleasant view of Detroit after dark.
The clip, called Driving through Detroit at night, was filmed by a woman who was a passenger in a car going around the Motor City and was posted to Twitter at the weekend.
It shows terrifying scenes of gangs gathered on the sidewalk, prostitutes lifting up their skirts and dancing, and even a man being run over by a car on purpose.
I would have liked to share the video with you all, but it is just way too graphic. There really are prostitutes lifting up their skirts in the video, and a man really is hit by a vehicle. If you want to watch it for yourself, it is very easy to find on YouTube. But please be warned that children should not be watching this.
If you live in a peaceful rural or suburban setting, the kind of behavior displayed in this video may seem very foreign to you. In America today, it is way too easy to allow our televisions to define reality for us. But the warped view of reality that we get through our televisions is nothing like the real world. The real world is cold, cruel and very unforgiving.
If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, the real world will eat you alive.
In the city of Detroit today, close to half the population is functionally illiterate, and one survey found that 60 percent of all children in the city are living in poverty. It has been reported that 40 percent of the street lights do not work, and as you can see from the video it is a very frightening place to be after dark.
And don't count on the police to help you. The size of the police force in Detroit has been reduced by about 40 percent over the years, and it has been estimated that it takes the Detroit police an average of 58 minutes to respond to a call.
If it was just one major city where all of these things were happening, that would be bad enough.
Sadly, the truth is that what is happening in Detroit is happening all over the nation. In fact, St. Louis and Memphis now have higher gun crime rates than Detroit does...
The listing places St Louis above the notoriously dangerous Detroit which has topped the list in previous years thanks to the city's high gun crime rate.
Detroit is now listed as third after Memphis, Tennessee which had 84.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents.
Birmingham, Alabama comes in fourth place with 82.8 violent crimes per 10,000 residents while Rockford, Illinois was fifth with a rate of 76.3.
Earlier this month, we saw how a major city such as Milwaukee can erupt in flames in just a matter of hours. And in Chicago, some of the major gangs have agreed to use automatic weapons and sniper fire in their battle against the police.
A spirit of chaos and violence has descended on America, and things are going to get much worse during the months and years to come.
Meanwhile, crime continues to rise in our smaller cities and in our suburbs as well. For a moment, I want you to consider a short excerpt from a recent Bloomberg article entitled "Walmart's Out-of-Control Crime Problem Is Driving Police Crazy"...
The call log on the store stretches 126 pages, documenting more than 5,000 trips over the past five years. Last year police were called to the store and three other Tulsa Walmarts just under 2,000 times. By comparison, they were called to the city's four Target stores about 300 times. Most of the calls to the northeast Supercenter were for shoplifting, but there's no shortage of more serious crimes, including five armed robberies so far this year, a murder suspect who killed himself with a gunshot to the head in the parking lot last year, and, in 2014, a group of men who got into a parking lot shootout that killed one and seriously injured two others.
Police reports from dozens of stores suggest the number of petty crimes committed on Walmart properties nationwide this year will be in the hundreds of thousands.
Did you catch that?
This Bloomberg report says that there will be "hundreds of thousands" of crimes just committed at Wal-Mart stores alone this year.
If people are behaving like this while times are still relatively stable and relatively good, what would things look like during a real crisis?
Many people openly wonder what happened to Detroit, but it really isn't much of a mystery at all.
Over the decades, our politicians have stood idly by as tens of thousands of businesses and millions of good paying jobs have left the country. Our economic infrastructure has been absolutely gutted, and as a result formerly great manufacturing cities have become rotting, decaying hellholes.
And it certainly doesn't help that voters in many of these cities have willingly chosen to put radical leftists into power time after time.
Unfortunately, it appears that the nation as a whole is about to hand the keys to the White House to a radical leftist that has a violent temper that is absolutely legendary. If she gets into power, that might just be the final nail in our coffin.
What has already happened to Detroit is slowly happening to the entire country, but we never seem to learn from our past mistakes.
So now we will suffer the consequences for our very foolish decisions, and it will not be pretty.
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One of the purposes of The Daily Jot is to equip readers with a Biblical perspective on a current event so they are able to use it as encouragement to evangelize. That you are able to see an event from a Biblical lens and speak intelligently with the facts about it to someone is certainly a form of evangelization. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." The Daily Jot provides you with that steady supply of salt so that you can "Let your light so shine before men." This is a rough arena. People get angry. Accuse. Judge. Project. Even threaten.
When I tell you about them, it's to give you an example of what happens when you bring truth to the world. It's an example to prepare you for what you might encounter, even among your own Christian brethren. I want you to know what is out there so that you can have a response. There is a vein of people who absolutely hate Donald Trump. They say they are Christians. I wonder if they are because of what they write to me. They are quick to call names, to imply that I don't have a brain, even to say that I am not saved. If you use The Daily Jot to make your points, you may face the very same accusations. It takes a tough skin to be in the truth business because to some, truth is not always considered fair.
Here are a couple of examples from readers: "It's evident by your words that you are not a Christian sir. That's your choice... Trump goes against everything God says about being godly." "I resent the fact that you think that I am stupid enough to believe that the Donald has pivoted and is now a stable contender for POTUS." "With all due respect sir, do you follow the Sound Doctrine of Jesus Christ? Or do you belong to some worldly religion? It will give me a clue as to why a Christian man would vote for someone that is a joke to this election." See, this is the kind of response one gets when telling it like it is. Now, the vast majority of responses are respectful and encouraging, but there is a pattern with the rest.
The pattern is one of projection. They call into question your Christianity. What does that tell you? They call names like racist or bigot. What does this say about their feelings toward others? Usually when someone accuses you of something totally out of context, they are accusing you of what they are or what they have done. The response needs to be done in respect, in love and in firmness. Holding accountability is a tough job. Being a Christian takes tough skin. Just read how the apostles, watchmen, and prophets were treated. As you speak out on the issues of the day from a Biblical perspective, be an Ephesians 6 person-speak boldly as you ought to speak, and having done all, stand! Be encouraged!
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But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -Romans 5:8
When you tell other people about what God has done for you, you are sharing your testimony. A testimony is when you share your story of how you came to faith. Every Christian has a testimony.
Some Christians have dramatic testimonies where they tell of being delivered from a life of drug addiction or crime or some sordid deeds. Other Christians don't have testimonies that are quite as dramatic-but they are just as significant.
I like to hear how people came to Christ, but I don't like it when people go into gory details about their past. Then there are testimonies where people tell how much they have given up for Jesus. They'll say things like, "I gave up this and that for Jesus. I have made such sacrifices for the Lord. I have done it all for Him!"
Your testimony is not about what you gave up for Jesus. It's about what He gave up for you. Don't share what you have done for Jesus. Share what Jesus has done for you. Jesus is the one who has done the work. It is Jesus whom we are proclaiming.
A good, strong testimony will lift up what Christ has accomplished. The fact of the matter is that all of us were sinners hopelessly separated from God, traveling in the same boat on our way to hell; and the same gospel came and transformed us. That is the testimony we all have.
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If ever there was a time to invest in God's Kingdom, it's now! What on earth are you doing for Heaven's Sake? "Share in the Blessings and Rewards that will last Forever!" "Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey 1) We need your prayers!- We proclaim the Truth of the Word of God and we are under constant spiritual and sometimes even physical attack. 2) We need your encouragement!- We need to hear from you, let us know how the Lord is blessing you through this ministry so that we can share it with others. 3) We need your input! - If you have a prophetic article or story or if there is a news related item we missed, let us know. 4) We need your financial support!- To put it quite simply, without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update. I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Remember, your gift, no matter how small, does make a difference! You will be helping to touch lives, around the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to the internet your generosity carries a global impact! - Thanks! Our Prayer for You- "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 Prophecy Update is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt - non-profit organization, and all your donations are tax deductible. If you have been blessed by Prophecy Update and would like to help support this ministry financially. You can make a secure donation online by going to: DONATE NOW Or Visit our website: http://prophecyupdate.com/donations/
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We are very pleased to offer all our readers this FREE download on Bible Prophecy from the Evangelical Bible College of Western Australia - Just download and enjoy and be blessed! Feel free to share it with all your friends and family members.
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Maranatha! (Lord Come Quickly)
"On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All other ground is sinking sand."
"Let Us make the short time we have left count for all eternity!"
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